Outdoors

Tournament Insider

By DAVID BROWN
Published April 30, 2007

Capt. Mike Masters of St. Petersburg and Team Pocket Change caught a 42.04-pound kingfish to win the Boaters World Tournament of Champions on Sunday on Treasure Island.

The spot: Along with Chris Gagnon and Scott Sadorf, both of Largo, Masters fished a 34-foot center console with twin 225-hp outboards. The team slow-trolled live baits in the ship channel near Egmont Key.

On the first day of the two-day event, they fished from Clearwater to Bayport and caught several kings as heavy as 30 pounds. Masters knew he would need a larger kingfish, so the team changed direction Sunday. "We made an executive decision to go back down to Egmont because a lot of tournaments have been won there."

The bait: About 8:20 a.m., the winning fish ate a live ladyfish rigged with triple stinger hooks on a downrigger. Masters said the initial strike did not convince him that the fish was the one he wanted. But he treated the king like a potential winner. "It was our first bite of the day, and we didn't know if it was worth chasing, " Masters said. "But in this deep channel, you never know what you might get. And this one turned out to be a hog."

The fight: On the strike, Sadorf handled the rod and Masters stood by with the gaff. Midway through the fight, they nearly fell victim to the Gulf of Mexico food chain. "A giant hammerhead shark came in and was trying to get the fish, " Masters said. "So I fired up the engines and screamed up on the fish. I told the guys to stomp on the deck to make a lot of noise and spook the shark." The racket temporarily repelled the shark, but another assault hastened the crew's capture.

Best of the rest: Team Never Satisfied Capt. Timothy Wooten finished second with a 35.73-pound kingfish, Team Marlago (Capt. John Smith) placed third with 35.15, Team No Bananas (Capt. Michael Howe) took fourth with 35.04, and Team Knight Life (Capt. Matt Tarrance) finished fifth with 34.46. Steve Reihard of Team Pocket Change was the top Junior Angler with a 42.04-pound king. Leanne Haves of Team No Bananas won the Ladies Division with 35.04. Randy Keys of Team 2nd Choice topped the Small Boat Division with a 31.64-pounder.

David A. Brown covers area fishing tournaments and can be reached at tightlinecomm@aol.com.

[Last modified April 30, 2007, 00:25:15]