Tournament successful despite inaccurate weather forecasts for the coast See photo slide show below the article.
May 26, 2009 - Pensacola, FL (OBA) - For the second weekend in
a row, weather forecasters missed the mark when predicting a wash-out
for the Northern Gulf Coast beaches.
While the coastal areas did see some rain, skies for the most part were
sunny and blue, the beaches were packed and condo occupancy exceeded
75%. This year's Miller Lite Mack Attack Fishing Tournament had only half
the number of participating boats as expected. Despite the
inaccurate forecasts and the lower than usual turn-out, the
tournament was still a success, contributing over $2,000 to the PACE
Center for Girls.
Bobby Schoenfield & Danny Mathis with the 74
lb Wahoo bonus winner and 2nd place King Mackerel
Leading up to the event, Tournament Director Brad Sauers says they
had 50 to 60 boats slated for this year's popular king mackerel
tournament. As a result of inaccurate forecasts for a wash-out
weekend, only 26 teams competed for $16,000 in prizes in this year's tournament. The teams that did participate brought in some impressive fish,
including a 62.74 lb King Mackerel and a 74.14 lb Wahoo. Here's the
summary of how this year's tournament went. Truckin Up - Mobile, AL - Capt. David Van Lent - 36ft Yamaha Powered Contender -
David
has fished the Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) since 1994 and this year's entry, a 62.74 lb king,
was his biggest fish to date. It was only .08 lbs shy of the biggest fish to hit the docks in all the SKA tournaments so far this season.
Capt. David and his team won SKA Angler of the Year in 2000
when they won the SKA Professional Tour. He was also a SKA division 7 champ in 2004 and his wife was the top lady angler in 1997.
David and his team launched in Venice LA, fished some dirty water in the
west delta area and worked his way around the river mouth to this side
where they stopped to fish an oil rig. The tournament winning king was the only fish they caught all day. "It was just luck" was what
David told Sauers. The king was caught on a hardtail and it took less than 15 minutes to get it in the boat.
Cat Daddy - Gonzales, LA - Capt Danny Mathis - 36ft Yellowfin - Team
Cat Daddy fished both Saturday and Sunday.
According to the team, seas on Saturday were 9-10 feet 65 miles out of Biloxi,
where they caught three Wahoo in the 30 to 50 lb range and 12-15 King
Mackerel weighing in at 37 lbs or less. They returned to the same
area Sunday where seas were 2-4 feet and they caught five Wahoo ranging
in weight from 40 lbs to the 74
pounder that took the bonus category. Of the 22 kings they caught, the biggest, a 42
pounder, ended up in second place.
Johnny B - Rosharon, TX - Capt. Johnny Benkenstein - 23ft
Contender - John and his team have won SKA division 8
championships in 2000, 2003 and 2007. He finished 13th in the 2008
National Championship. On Saturday they left late in the
morning and headed out 65 miles south of Biloxi to catch bait and look
for favorable conditions. The current made it tough to fish so
they headed in to prep for Sunday. Sunday conditions were greatly
improved. The team headed southeast of Biloxi about 90 miles to oil rigs in 200-210 feet of water.
Around 9:30 am, their 33 pound king hit a hardtail on the surface.
At the end of the day the leader board read as follows: 2009 Miller Lite Mack Attack Results Open Division
1. Truckin Up - David Van Lent.......62.74
2. Cat Daddy - Danny Mathis..........42.18
3. Intense - Neal Foster...............40.80
4. Airborne - Steve McMullen.........40.42
5. Kwazar - Marcus Kennedy..........40.14
6. My Dinghy - James Hosman.......35.82
7. Quietus - David Rogers............27.52 Class of 23
1. Johnny B - John Benkenstein......33.82
2. Walk the Line - Chase Ming........9.16
3. Gettin Jiggy - Rickey Linton........7.28
From Tournament Director Brad Sauers:
I'd like to offer a big thank you to all the tournament sponsors including Miller Lite, Bob Tyler Toyota, WalMart, Buffalo Rock Pepsi, Bere Jewelers, Outcast Fishing and Hunting, Red Barn Bar-B-Q, and especially Lost Key Marina and Yacht Club. The service that the staff at Lost Key provided the tournament staff and competitors was amazing. If anyone is looking for a wet or dry slip to lease this summer they need to call Scott at 850-492-2612. Their dock staff is the most courteous and hard working crew I've ever had the opportunity to work with.
I also want to thank all the volunteers that helped out at the event, my
dad Fred for setting up the audio and taking photos, my wife Stacie and daughter Gabrielle, Chad and Renee Kaunitz and their three sons and Joe Zwierchowski, the
weigh master. Joe is also the tournament director for The Queen of Kings,
a Ladies King Mackerel Tournament that takes place May 29th & 30th
at Paradise Bar and Grill in Pensacola Beach.
Click here if you'd like more information about The Queen of Kings
Tournament. Joe can be reached at
joez@saltwater-events.com or 850-516-0709.
Mack Attack Fishing Tournament Wrap-up 