North Carolina Fishing Reports

bpate · 1st Mate Joined: Feb 11, 2006 Posts: 80

HORIZON HAZE TOP SKA TEAM AT SUNCOAST KINGFISH CLASSIC!
By Jack Holmes

Treasure Island, Florida – Horizon Haze Captain, Chuck Weldon, needed a good fish in this event if he had any chance to go to Biloxi this year. He only had one fish on the standings list this season but made up tremendous ground with his 32.01. This performance gave the Haze team, Jason and Chris Weldon, second place overall and top SKA team.

"We fished a spot where we've caught fish before," said Chuck. "The G-Cut inside Tampa Bay. We were in 45 feet of water and had a nice ladyfish in the prop wash. The king hit at 7:30 and Jason knew she was a good fish. He grabbed the rod and within minutes Chris stuck her with the gaff. We caught and released six other smaller kings before we decided to come to the scale at Gators."

The Mercury powered Fountain team moved from 36th all the way to 20th. Now with a fish in the fall Suncoast event, the team will finish high enough to pack their bags. This was truly a great weekend for the Weldon's.

G-Force was third in the standings going into this event and finished third with a 30.68. Jason and Debra Gell, along with Scott Lavieri are having a great spring season on their Yamaha powered Intrepid. After this finish Debra remains our Top Lady Angler in the Division. With one event left in the fall she's going to be hard to beat.

"We relied once again on our local knowledge," explained Jason. "We fished Egmont Channel in 55 feet of water. It was 8:30 when she ate our long lined ladyfish. Debra did a great job getting her to the boat and my waiting gaff. It was the only fish we saw all day."

K Factor's Mercury powered Yellowfin team turned in their best performance to date earning fourth with a nice 29.81. Aaron Salvant, Buddy Snider, and Brett Clarke have reached a three fish aggregate of over 68 points which should be enough for them to make National plans.

"We needed a good fish so we went 87 miles to the middle grounds and put out a spread in 122 feet of water," said Aaron. "We didn't have a bite till after two o'clock when our king ate a blue runner off the long line."

Jim Naset, who is a sponsor of the SKA thru ProMarineUSA.Com, usually is sitting on the sidelines watching his teams do well. Last year he had three teams in the Pro top ten. But Jim is a competitor and wanted to earn a trip to the Nationals himself. He qualified in Division 11 using Kevin Hannon's boat but wanted to do it with his team. Naset, Kyle Weaver, Eric Merchadante, and Kenny Larrison, caught a 29.64 to earn fifth. They caught a 35.76 in the PAL Tournament and now can qualify in this Division here with one more fish in the fall.

"We had to go to the middle grounds also but remember it's a very big area," Naset explained. "She hit a blue runner trolled 84 feet down at 11 o'clock. We had four other kings but they were smaller." The team is now in 14th place overall in Division 6.

This is certain, all Class boats will qualify for the Nationals. This year SKA qualifies 20 teams but only 17 are fishing, so don't wait till after the fall event to see if you make it, you will! So make your plans now.

John Ford's Team K.O. who was at the bottom of the ladder in the Division kicked it in gear this weekend. A first place Class of 23 spelled success and the team's 27.89 moved them out of the doldrums.

Ford, Brian and Mike Burnett, and Jason and Justin Ford ran 20 miles due west of Johns Pass and set up in 60 feet of water. "We fished most of the morning and even into the afternoon with a few small kings taking bait and keeping us alert," said John. "It wasn't until just after two when our 27.89 ate a blue runner off the downrigger."

The Class leader did it again this week, took second. The Knot Me team of Brian and Bill Hasson, Randy Keys, J.J. Hoyle, and Junior Angler Dominic Molfetas scaled a 24.75. Randy told us he ran the boat 6 miles east of Egmont Channel to the team's favorite spot. "We were in 40 feet of water," he said. "We had caught some small kings but just before one o'clock the biggest we caught this weekend ate a Spanish mackerel set 25 feet down on the rigger."

This was good for Dominic, who picked up his second Mercury Scholarship win. He now has a grand set aside for his college education.

Rounding out the top three in the Class were James Addison, Anthony Oakes, and Don Lamb on the ProMarineUSA.com / Gatorfan. They caught a 20.69.

Josh and Cameron Heavenridge again won Top Junior honors, but still are in a neck and neck race with Dominic Molfetas who now holds the point's race top slot with 10 points separating them. It won't be till fall now before we crown a winner.

Cody McRanie and Chris Chancey took third place Junior fishing the C.R.A.P. Happens.

As we leave Division 6 it should be noted that the Native team, now Team Chili's, has moved into the points race with 101.24 points. Remember they have already won Division 11 and are doing just fine in their rookie year in the Pros. They have one event left in the fall and have a 24.53-drop fish. They caught a 28.43 in the Suncoast event, good for sixth.

Marshall Law's Kevin Grissinger is just six points back and has a 21.09-drop fish. It should get interesting in early November.

Remember, the top 25 teams in the Open Class get to go to Biloxi. Looking over the top 20 teams, it should be safe for you to go ahead and make your plans now.

Thanks for fishing with the SKA this season!

FINAL STANDINGS
PROMARINEUSA.COM / GATOR
1. Outta Line................................... 46.20
2. HORIZON HAZE........................... 32.01
Fountain / Mercury
Charlton P. Weldon
Chris J. Weldon
Jason Weldon

3. G-FORCE..................................... 30.68
Intrepid / Yamaha
Jason Gell
Debra Gell
Scott Lavieri

4. K FACTOR.................................... 29.81
Aaron Salvant
Brett Clarke
Buddy Snider

5. PROMARINEUSA.COM.................. 29.64
Everglades / Suzuki
Jim Naset
Kyle Weaver
Eric Merchadante
Kenny Larrison

6. TEAM CHILI'S / NATIVE.............. 28.43
Fountain / Mercury
Robert Snibbe
Jerry Solovskoy
Kevin Farner
Evan Kerstein
Doug Henriott

7. JAYBIRD..................................... 28.39
Calcutta / Mercury
Jay Mastry
Karen Nash
John "BJ" Young
Glenn Carr

8. NEVER SATISFIED...................... 28.12
Everglades / Suzuki
Tim Wooten
Doug Clark
Doug Boling

CLASS OF 23:
1. TEAM K.O............................................... 27.89
Contender / Yamaha
John Ford
Mike Burnett
Brian Burnett
Jason Ford
Justin Ford

2. KNOT ME................................................ 24.75
Fountain / Mercury
Brian Hasson
Randy Keys
Bill Hasson
J.J. Hoyle
Dominic Molfetas

3. PROMARINEUSA.COM / GATORFAN....... 20.69
Contender / Evinrude
James Addison
Anthony Oakes
Don Lamb

TOP LADY ANGLER
Debra Gell
G-FORCE

TOP JUNIOR ANGLER:
Sponsored by Jack Penny D.D.S. / ProMarineUSA.com / Penny Wise
1. Josh and Cameron Heavenridge
COURTSIDE GRILLE / TOP GUN
2. Dominic Molfetas
Knot Me
3. Cody McRanie & Chris Chancey
C.R.A.P. HAPPENS

Mercury Marine Junior Angler Scholarship Winner:
Dominic Molfetas


Create an Account		Home · ReefCast · WaveCast · Supermap · Tide Charts · NC Radar · Solunar · Account · Photo Gallery · Videos · Forums · Recipes · Classified Ads