Day one found many boats headed north from St Augustine. The Greater Jacksonville Tournament held two weeks prior was won to the north and the fish were reported to still be in that area.
My son Tom and his partner Tony Simone fished the area off Ponte Vedra called appropriately Ponte Vedra Grounds. An artificial reef some 16 miles off the coast, it held some big fish last month. He made the right choice and promptly lost a big fish at the boat when the leader broke. Almost immediately after that he hooked up again, and some forty minutes later they gaffed a 39.8 pound smoker.
This fish, as did the one that broke off, ate a rigged ribbon fish fifty feet down on a down rigger. The bite there lasted about an hour – right on the high tide change, and they caught eight or ten more kings, none over thirty pounds.
After the first day’s weigh-in they were in third place overall and first place in boats 23 feet and under – a pretty good showing!
Day two sent Tom and his partner right back to the same area, thinking they needed at least a 45 pound fish to win, but happy that they would probably end up in the top ten and take home some money.
Unfortunately, the water temperature had risen three degrees overnight and the barracuda moved in. The big kings either left or simply could not get to a bait because the thirty and forty pound cudas were eating baits as soon as they hit the water.
Tom decided to head east about nine miles to look for cooler water, and ended up catching a number of kings. None of them were over thirty pounds, and his first day catch would be all he weighed.
Three boats caught bigger fish the second day and Tom ended the weekend in fifth place overall and second place in the 23 and under boats. First place went to the Worth Chasen boat with a 42.1 pound fish. Second was the Wild Thang boat with 40.5 pounds.
Wild Thang, placing second overall and first in the 23 and under, saved the life of several other boaters. While fishing off the beach north of the inlet, they witnessed another boat capsize. With people floundering in the water, this captain cut his lines and ran to help. They pulled everyone on board and took them to safety, ignoring the tournament to be a Good Samaritan. I guess it pays to do what is good and right, because they ended up with a good paycheck and trophy for the tournament in spite of the time they took to rescue a disabled crew!
