Rugged Anglers Fishing Report-If You Can Handle It, They're Out There

Wednesday Fishing Report: Lorraine - 2 Sailfish 1 dolphin

Weekend Fishing Report: Lorraine - Sat., 5 snook, 2 in slot 3 under. Sun., 2 snook, 1 under 1 over (34" 10.85 lbs.) All released In good condition. Lorraine 7 snook, Dick 0.

(Contributed by Dick Francis)

Great 56th Annual Light Tackle Tournament - Outlaw Wins

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Congratulations to all the owners, captains, anglers, and crew members who did such a fine job of making this a great tournament. And, thanks to our many fine sponsors who make this all possible.

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348 sailfish cooperated to provide the greatest number of releases in the LTT since 1997, and second highest in tournament history. 21 boats fished 3 days each out of 4 to average over 5 fish per boat per fishing day.

While there were many excellent boats, captains, & crews, top boat and the big awards go to the Outlaw who released 27 sails. Several others were close enough that the Outlaw crew wasn't confident until the last few minutes before lines out.

Congratulations to owner & captain Neil Subin, anglers Tom Wichers, Bob Anderson, Brian Schmidt, and Marshall Busha, and mates John Mumford, Jerry Owens, and Matt Santarsiero.

Top Angler went to Bob Greene on Sea Check with 13 releases.

For an album of 350 pictures, see Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures on our Home Page. For Ed Killer's detailed narrative in the Stuart News, see http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/dec/12/outlaw-runs-away-with-light-tackle-sailfish-win/.

For complete and final standings, see Real Time Tournament Results on our Home page.

2009 Annual Dinner & Awards

(See Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures for an album of many more pictures.)

Club members enjoyed another fine annual dinner & awards banquet. Miles Grant Country Club did their usual fine job and no one went away hungry.

And, many anglers took home some pretty fancy awards after having done a fine job of fishing over the past year. Award winners who were there or had a representative to receive the award on their behalf included:

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Outstanding Junior Angler - Van Wichers .... 11 sailfish releases

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Member Charter Boat 1st Place - Challenge .... 135 releases

Member Charter Boat 2nd Place - Bone Shaker .... 41 releases

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Member Private Boat 2nd Place - Shovel Boy .... 45 releases

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Top Adult Angler 3rd Place - Mike Fogel .... 21 releases

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Top Lady Angler - 1st Place .... Lorraine Francis .... 15 releases

Top Lady Angler - 2nd Place .... Eileen Prickett .... 4 releases

Top Lady Angler - 3rd Place .... Mary Jo Grell .... 3 releases

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Top Junior Lady Angler - Maria Pricket .... 9 releases

Top Junior Angler - 1st Place .... Van Wichers .... 11 releases

Top Junior Angler - 2nd Place .... Carl Weigold .... 10 releases

Top Junior Angler - 3rd Place .... Sky Wichers .... 9 releases

2009 Top Catches

Adult Division

Cobia - Erika Long .... 42.2 lbs.

Dolphin - Mary Jo Grell .... 38.4 lbs.

Grouper - Jesse Rehe .... 22.4 lbs.

Kingfish - Erika Long .... 24.3 lbs.

Snapper - Eileen Prickett .... 3.4 lbs

Snook - Dick Francis .... 22.1 lbs.

Tuna - Eileen Prickett .... 9 lbs.

Junior Division

Cobia - Jon Fogel .... 52.8 lbs.

Dolphin - Carl Weigold .... 34 lbs.

Grouper - Jacob Ertle .... 21.3 lbs.

Kingfish - Carl Weigold .... 19.8 lbs.

Snapper - Maria Prickett .... 1.7 lbs.

Tarpon - Van Wichers .... 80 lbs.

Tuna - Maria Prickett .... 15.2 lbs.

Wahoo - Jon Fogel .... 23 lbs.

2009 Donna Detmer Wahoo Award - Jon Fogel .... 23 lbs.

Congratulations to all these fine anglers. And, it's always great to see many new Jr. Anglers catching fish and winning awards.

Fall 2009 SSC Cruise

(Many more pictures in Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures)

Nine people on three boats enjoyed perfect weather and great times on an eight day trip to Florida's west coast. Desert Rose, Patricia J, and Cavalier left on 10/28 and returned on 11/4 with 9 people and a pup.

Overnight stops both ways at Ft. Myers, gave us the opportunity to visit the newly renovated and beautiful "old town" area a couple of blocks from the Yacht Basin. Two days & nights at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva, two days & nights at Boca Grande on Gasparilla, and one night at Venice rounded out the trip. Golf carts provided transportation around Captiva & Gasparilla.

All agreed, Ft. Myers, Captiva, and Gasparilla are definite "go back" places where all our hosts at the Yacht Basin, South Seas Island Resort, and Boca Grande (Millers) really went out of their way to be sure we knew they were glad we were there and would want to come back. The Crow's Nest at Venice, not so much, as they choose, after the fact, to sneak in such hidden charges as including bow pulpits and swim platforms in boat length charges and following it up with an additional charge for their submersed land lease space. (Ever see that before? It was new to us.) Too bad, as their facilities are just fine with a great restaurant on site, good docks, and newer clean rest rooms and showers.

See Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures for many of the sites and scenes.

Members Tournament Results

Fifty-eight anglers on eighteen boats fished the one-day tournament that was delayed one day in favor of calmer seas. And, there was some pretty good fishing for early in the sailfish season, and some excellent anglers took home some nice trophies.

Results are as follows:

PLACE.......BOAT NAME......BILLFISH.....POINTS
3rd Place...PATIENCE..........3......................75
2nd Place...PRIME TIME.....3......................75
1st Place....OUTLAW.............4......................100

PLACE......BOAT NAME.......WAHOO.........POINTS
3rd Place
2nd Place
1st Place..PRIME TIME - Sky Wichers......23.8

PLACE......BOAT NAME.......KINGFISH..........POINTS
3rd Place..R K NU -Curt Croteau.........................6.3
2nd Place..CARRIED AWAY - Jerry Robinson..8.4
1st Place....FAST EDDIE - Dave Krunic..............14.3

PLACE........BOAT NAME..........DOLPHIN...........POINTS
3rd Place....PRIME TIME - Van Wichers............14.3
2nd Place...SHOVEL BOY - Greg Carpino...........15.4
1st Place.....BONE SHAKER - Jesse Rehe............18.8

TOTAL POINTS GAMEFISH
BOAT NAME..........TOTAL POINTS
1st Place.................PRIME TIME.....38.1 lbs.
2nd Place................BONE SHAKER..18.8 lbs.
3rd Place.................SHOVEL BOY....15.4 lbs.

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TOP BOAT
PRIME TIME (Ian Wichers 2 sailfish releases Sky Wichers (1 sailfish Release)...113.1 pts.
PRIME TIME Releases + meat fish)

OUTSTANDING ANGLER
KYLE FRANCIS (3-sailfish releases)...75 pts.

OUTSTANDING JR. ANGLER
SEAN DUNNUCK- (1-sailfish release)...25 pts.

Another 3-4 sails released on other boats suggests that this could be a good season. Congratulations to all. Thanks for fishing the Members Tournament.

October General Meeting Report

50 Club members met last evening at Finest Kind to enjoy h'orderves, refreshments, and fishing lies, er stories.

President Andy Kubiak called the meeting to order at 6:30. First, he welcomed new members. We have 16 new members since June. They are:
Dennis Gayle ....................................... Serge & Kerri Rivera
Dr. Eric & Natalie Knipfer ..................Kevin McNamara
Robert Brosche ....................................Barry Berhoff
George Fearons, Jr. ............................Joseph Yeni
David Shieber ......................................Nick Newman
Philip Anson .........................................Larry & Dixie Bartlett
Jamie & Mary Matt ............................Stephen & Janice Shuda
David & Donna Deakins .....................George Scott

Next, he recognized the Club's Lifetime Members. They are:
Edward & Willy Welter
Eugene Detmer
Dean & Laura Crawford
Mary Bayley
Patti Lambrecht
George & Jilline Fearons

Business transacted included approval of changes to the Club's By Laws, as well as a vote on 2010 officers and directors. After some announcements, the meeting was turned over to representatives from Diawa who introduced many new rod & reel products for the coming year.

The meeting adjourned at about 8:30.

Talkin' Tourism

Gary Guertin, a past president of the Stuart Sailfish Club, has been very actively involved in recent years in an effort to increase tourism to the Treasure Coast. This is very much in line with the vision of the founders of the SSC in the 1930's, as one of the main early objectives of the Club was to bring tourists to Stuart during the great depression.

You can view information about current activities at http://talkintourism.blogspot.com/. Also, you can listen to Gary's weekly radio show every Friday at 10:00 AM on WPSL, 1590 AM, or on line at
http://www.wpsl.com/ .

Gary is currently general manager at the Harborage Yacht Club and Marina.

Great Double Diamond Sword

Check out our 1st swordfish day dropping. She weighed 327lbs at Light House Point marina. Our crew included SSC members Gerrard Weigold and Nick Froonjian, as well as Carl Weigold, Gary Froonjian, and Glen Rassmussen. Great fish on the Double Diamond. Hope to fish the Members tournament with you.

(Contributed by Gerrard Weigold)

Martin County Nautical Flea Market & Seafood Festival

MANY THANKS to our Club volunteers who sacrificed their personal time this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to come out to the Martin County fairgrounds and man our booth in sweltering heat.

Cindy Mumford, Char Griggs, Sherry Simmons, Erika Long, George Federko, Fred & Pat Bartlett, Nippy & Sue Pauels, Andy & Dodi Kubiak, & Jodi Mills sold new memberships, a couple of hundred dollars of Club shirts, burgees, towels, & stickers to people who came by our booth. (Nippy & Sue even pulled double duty by working Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning! If you are looking for a Charter, think about I'm On Sportfishing.) Char & Cindy were thrilled to pick up several new sponsors for Club tournaments.

We love new members and new sponsors. Thanks to all of you for all your help.

August Steinhatchee Fishing

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Baylor & Breyer Bullock released these fine Redfish on their recent trip to Steinhatchee. Nice job, guys! Do you give fishing lessons?

(Pictures contributed by Brook)

SSC Has New Landlord

Congratulations to Mary, Butch, & Jan Bayley for their purchase of Finest Kind Marina. (Click on Ed Killer and Jim Turner's article from today's Stuart News.) Bringing these two marinas together seems to be a natural.

Stuart Sailfish Club moved its office to Finest Kind over a year ago. Joe Lehner and Ed Sellian are long standing club members and have been fine landlords. Butch and Jan also are long standing members and excellent club supporters, as well as is Mary who is a Lifetime Member.

2009 Junior Angler Tournament Results

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150 young anglers enjoyed the 32nd Annual Junior Angler Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 8. And, there were some fine fish caught. Many trophy winners, fun food, raffle winners...a great time for all. (Well, almost all...some seasickness was reported by some kids and adults!)

Christopher Roberts on Challenge released 4 sails to take Top Angler in the billfish division, and Mike Szary caught a 100 lb. wahoo, as well as taking 2nd place in kingfish division and 5th in barracuda division fishing on his grandfather's boat, Stashovich to take Top Angler in the meat fish division.

Thanks to all our volunteers and sponsors, including those from Stuart Sunrise Rotary Club for all your contributions and work to make this happen. And, thanks to the people who work so hard at all the kids organizations who come from as far away as Indiantown to see that many of these kids get opportunities that they otherwise would not.

Please see Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures (link on our home page) for an album of a couple of hundred pictures. And, please patronize our sponsors who contribute their funds (and sometimes TIME) to make this possible.

PLACE - CATEGORY - ANGLER - BOAT NAME - WEIGHT - RELEASE TIME
1st .. SAILFISH -- Christopher Roberts -- CHALLENGE -- 8:43/10:43/11:15/12:02
2nd .. SAILFISH -- Heather Hasek -- R-TIME -- 9:14/9:58
3rd .. SAILFISH -- Taylor Ashley -- FISH CLUB -- 9:47
4th .. SAILFISH -- Spencer Stevens -- SHARK BAIT -- 11:40
5th .. SAILFISH -- Kaitlynn Orlandi -- FAST EDDIE -- 12:53

1st .. WAHOO -- Mike Szary -- STASHOVICH -- 100.5 lbs.

1st .. DOLPHIN -- Katilynn Orlandi -- FAST EDDIE -- 14.75 lbs.
2nd .. DOLPHIN -- Austin Ashley -- FISH CLUB -- 8.50 lbs.
3rd .. DOLPHIN -- Harley Canada -- TOUCAN -- 4.65 lbs.
4th .. DOLPHIN -- Gregory Kusel -- ONE OF THE GIRLS -- 4.5 lbs.
5th .. DOLPHIN -- Savannah Hutlan -- CONTINGENCY -- 3.6 lbs.

1st .. KING -- Chris Blakeslee -- PROCASTINATOR -- 13.75 lbs.
2nd .. KING -- Mike Szary -- STASHOVICH -- 13.55 lbs.
3rd .. KING -- Chris Roberts -- CHALLENGE -- 10.25 lbs.

1st .. BARRACUDA -- John Kettle -- LIL PROFESSOR 2 -- 15.3 lbs.
2nd .. BARRACUDA -- Mark Smith -- NO NAME 30' Mako -- 9.35 lbs.
3rd .. BARRACUDA -- Kelsey Klett -- LIL PROFESSOR 2 -- 7.75 lbs.
4th .. BARRACUDA -- Josaha Hosen -- I'M ON -- 6.8 lbs.
5th .. BARRACUDA -- Mike Szary -- STASHOVICH -- 6.15 lbs.

1st .. SNAPPER -- Jordan Ashley -- FISH CLUB -- 1.2 lbs.
2nd .. SNAPPER -- Tim Witty -- SAFARI -- .62 lbs.
3rd .. SNAPPER -- Nautica Hill -- LADY STUART -- .62 lbs.

1st .. AMBER JACK --Chris Roberts -- CHALLENGE -- 20.5 lbs.
2nd .. AMBER JACK -- Trever Maine -- LADY STUART -- 3.0 lbs.
3rd .. AMBER JACK -- Irina Cruz -- LADY STUART -- 2.3 lbs.
4th .. AMBER JACK -- Kyler lInn -- THUNDER STRUCK -- 2.1 lbs.
5th .. AMBER JACK -- Jade Newman -- LADY STUART -- 1.2 lbs.

1st .. GROUPER -- Ray Collidge -- SAFARI -- .4 lbs.
2nd .. GROUPER -- Patrick Collidge -- SAFARI --.2 lbs.

1st .. BONITA -- Shane Davison -- CONTINGENCY --15.0 lbs.
2nd .. BONITA -- Michayla Roberts -- CHALLENGE -- 14.4 lbs.
3rd .. BONITA -- Kody Ashley -- FISH CLUB -- 13.2 lbs.
4th .. BONITA -- Dane Wehr -- WALKERS RUN -- 12.8 lbs.
5th .. BONITA -- RJ Macedo -- WALKERS RUN -- 12.4 lbs.

PEE WEES

1st .. SAILFISH -- Lindsay Carnes -- MAGOO -- 1:08PM

1st .. BONITA -- Kyle Beavers -- WALKERS RUN -- 10.3 lbs.

TOP ANGLER - BILLFISH DIVISION
Christopher Roberts

TOP ANGLER - MEAT FISH DIVISION
Mike Szary

Nice Fish Heather

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Heather and I were warming up Saturday for the Jr. Angler tournament. Well, maybe we should have waited. She caught this 50 pound cobia on a spinning reel with 20 # test line. See you next week.

(Contributed by Larry Hasek)

SSC Abaco Cruise

(Click on pictures to enlarge. See more pictures at Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures.)

The Abaco cruise was great fun. Wish more could have joined in. Two boats, Patricia J with Karl & Pat Salo and Cavalier with Dave & Jodi Mills left on the 16th & returned on the 24th. Along the way, we met up with friends, acquaintances, and fellow club members. The seas were like a bath tub, and rains were limited mostly to nights, and some days were overcast giving relief from the heat. Doesn’t get much better than that!

1st stop, Spanish, for check in, fuel, and overnight. Very easy, as customs people met us in the air conditioned bar to handle paperwork. (Much better than what a couple of friends dealt with who spent a few hours the next day trying to check in at Marsh Harbor, & finally gave up in frustration.) Spanish hasn’t changed much in the past couple of years, people are nice, food very good, service good, and diesel at $4.10/gal. The property hasn’t changed, pool nice, and showers air conditioned. Currently, no reservations required as they were only about 20% occupied. A good place to stop for a night and clear customs.

Next stop, three days, Sea Spray at Elbo. Great place to spend time! Again, had plenty of room with no advance reservations. Junior Mernard, general manager, has run the place for many years, and is one of the world’s good guys. His staff is terrific, and wants to be sure that they are glad you are there and will enjoy the stay. Here, we caught up with club members Mike & Jean Matlack (Catch One) & family, as well as others from the area. Friday night the entire bar was full of people from Stuart & surrounding area. We ran into many acquaintances. The Saturday night party with local band made up of marina employees & friends brings people from everywhere within radio range. BIG PARTY!

Next stop, three days at the Bluff House at Green Turtle. Sad news about the Bluff House. Service is good, food is great, the staff does fine. But, ownership has not spent any money there for a couple of years. The property looks pretty good, but the pool needs paint, some showers don’t work, several toilet seats are broken, etc, etc. Internet service was down much of the time, so we only got weather reports one day. We were the only two paying boats in the marina. And, we didn’t pay because they were giving credit against slip costs based on money spent in the gift shop, bar, and restaurant. No fuel available there anymore, and we ran across to the Green Turtle Club for that ($3.69/gal).

Day trips & side trips included Man O War (great newer little lunch restaurant next to the fuel dock called Dock & Dine), Boat Harbour (where we ran into the Matlacks again), Hopetown, New Plymouth, and Treasure.

The last night was at West End, where we were joined by club members Levis, Beata, & Luca Minford who live in Port Lucaya. Many empty slips, but otherwise a very busy place. Pool, restaurant, and beach were filled with happy people. (Fuel $3.35/gal.)

Go-back overnight places….Spanish, Green Turtle Club, Sea Spray, Boat Harbour, and West End. Side trips include Man O War, Great Guana (Nippers), and Treasure (especially if you brought your golf clubs.) There are likely others, but we ran out of time.

(Oh yeah, assume the usual, that power goes down nearly every day/night, and have generators/inverters in shape to handle power when it’s not available at marinas. Also, the Coast Guard is active, and boarded both our boats, and every other boat in sight, on the way back today.)

Nice Snook

Dick & Lorraine Francis were out early Saturday and Sunday chasing down some very nice snook. Two from Saturday weighed in at 10.5 & 12 lbs. The 42" Sunday lady weighed 22.7 lbs. and was caught on Mark Nichols new BFL lure. (Note Lorraine removing the lure.) She had already spawned & was released in good shape. All were caught on 6 lb. Ande line.

39th Annual Small Boat Tournament Attracts 30 Boats

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Anglers boarded 28 offshore and 2 inshore boats Saturday looking near & far for scattered fish. Only 3 sails were released, one cobia caught, and a handful of kings & dolphin. Inshore anglers found redfish and trout. What, no snook!!! But, spirits were high, prizes, raffle items, and food aplenty.

Many thanks to our tournament chairmen, Don Wilson and Karl Gloeckner with their tournament committee and our generous sponsors for putting together this event. And, thanks to our anglers for their diligence in searching out the elusive swimmers.

Check out Stuart Sailfish Club Pictures for a complete album.

Congrats to all the winners who are listed below.

.....................Angler............. Weight .................Boat

OFFSHORE

SAILFISH

1st ..Greg Carpino----------------------------- Analyze This

2nd ..Patty Guinoo -----------------------------Reel Surprise

3rd ..Joseph Trojanowski ----------------------Let’s Go

DOLPHIN

1st ..Joe Shepkosky---- 16 --------------------- Mojo

2nd ..Trish Leisner----- 14.8 -------------------Blue Collar

3rd ..Dave Mills --------12.4------------------- Cavalier

COBIA

1st.. James Addison---- 47.2------------------- Gator Fan

KINGFISH

1st ..Dave Albrigion ----10.9 -------------------Gator Fan

2nd ..John Brady------- 8.2-------------------- Let’s Go

3rd.. Jim Walden------- 3.9-------------------- Sunny & 83°

TOP BOAT

1st..Dave Albritton/James Addison/Anthony Oaks --Gator Fan

2nd.. Scott Adams/John Brady/Joseph Trojanowski-- Let’s Go

JR. ANGLER

KINGFISH

1st ..Glen Brown ---------10.9------------------- Gloria Jean II

2nd ..Reese Triana --------6.4------------------- Let Er Buck

INSHORE

REDFISH

1st ..Kim Conley---------------------------------- Scout

2nd.. Rick Ankiel--------------------------------- Snook Mun

TROUT

1st ..Rick Ankiel ----------------------------------Snook Mun

2nd.. Kim Conley--------------------------------- Scout

TOP BOAT.. Kim Conley/Christopher..................... Scout

JR. ANGLER

REDFISH ..Christopher (no last name)------------ Scout

TROUT ..Christopher (no last name)-------------- Scout