SKA Professional Kingfish Tour Competition Angling Team

 November 21st, 2008

Mother Nature is clearly in control in Biloxi....team FishDancer attempts to adapt

"Oh the weather outside is frightful......let it blow, let it blow, let it blow"!!  Mother nature seemingly has her eye on the 'Big Dance' -- who knows maybe it's her payback from the bite of the century in 2003?  There are a series of dry cold fronts pushing through the area, making the waters a mess and bringing cold temperatures, high winds and rough seas.  Yesterday AM the temperature was 35 degrees with a wind chill factor to 28 degrees......and that is before you run the boat at 40-60 mph.....with the boat chill factor it might have been below zero????  The water conditions are as bad as we have ever seen in the Gulf with dirty, dirty green or opaque green water the rule of the day and little good water to be found inside of 70 miles from Biloxi.  The West Delta is full of cold river water - the core temps are high 60s and the color is brownish green, the east side is full of dirty and opaque green water -- dirty from the passes to 70 feet and opaque green from 70 - 160 feet.  The forecast is for the third front of the week to pass on Thursday PM and for N/NE winds to come behind it with 20-30 knot power...near shore seas are predicted at 4-6 and beyond 20 miles 5-7'. Nancy and I have always enjoyed the 'Big Dance' and never expected that we would be required to slam dance to compete.  The fish are far and few between -- few teams have caught any decent fish inside of 200' and many -- like us -- have nothing to report. So with that Team FishDancer is signing off for now.....wish us luck and stay tuned....

Fishing the fertile waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the West Delta are an adventure to be savored by all kingfish anglers and one that everyone should have an opportunity to enjoy at least once in their angling careers.  Nancy and I have had the opportunity to fish in MS/LA many times over the past 10 seasons and still look forward to any opportunity to head west and fish hard.  Big fish, large expanses of water, oil rigs, work boats, helicopters, huge baits, tricky weather, the best of the best competition and unpredictable waters await any angler seeking to fill their 'Dance Card' with an SKA championship.  The fishing can be extreme or easy, fertile or fruitless, bountiful or barren.  The weather can reach the 80s or start in the 30s. The skies clear or 100% fogged in. The seas can be flat or raging.  The winds can be calm or blowing a gale.  This is the challenge of the 'Big Dance'.  One thing we know is no matter what the fishing, the weather, the skies, the seas or the winds - Team FishDancer looks forward to this event each season.  We hope to see you on the Dance Floor or marina -- or maybe the casino floor? If you see us please come on by and say hello. Stay Tuned........

Fishing the SKA Nationals

A Special FishDancer Kingfish College Biloxi Primer

Nancy – aka ‘THE’ FishDancer – and I were recently discussing the upcoming 2008 SKA Nationals.  The nationals, affectionately known among king fishermen everywhere as ‘THE BIG DANCE, is always a fun finale for any qualifying team’s competitive angling season, an opportunity to meet and mingle with team’s from all over the country as well as fish the fertile waters of the Gulf of Mexico – it doesn’t get much better than that.  An additional bonus for any team qualifying for the ‘Big Dance’ is the opportunity to join the ranks of the2009  SKA Professional Kingfish Tour -  something Team Fish Dancer took seriously in 2002 and we have never looked back.  Any teams interested in making the step up should seriously consider this as a great opportunity …. Nan and I would be pleased to answer any questions regarding fishing the SKA Pro circuit – feel free to email either of us. 

Despite all of the fun of fishing the SKA Nationals, nothing will beat a team’s first ‘Big Dance” - Team FishDancer believes this is one of the most fun events for any team.  However for some teams the very idea can be daunting to consider;  the travel, fishing unknown waters and competing against the best of the best from divisional competition for the title of the National Champions of King Fishing.  So as a service to our readers, and to encourage ALL team’s qualifying for this event to take the plunge and fish,  I have offer below a primer for fishing the SKA Nationals out of Biloxi complete with pictures and anecdotes from our experiences. 

Teams:  Make sure all of your crew are competition members of the SKA and have fished at least 2 SKA sanctioned events during the 2008 season.   As well you should assure that all members of the team have the required fishing licenses for Mississippi and potentially Louisiana (if needed).This is one event where Nancy and I are at a decided disadvantage with a competitive team of two – when fishing in Biloxi the more the merrier.  From assuring all crew are ready to fish after a long night of gaming, to catching bait, to running more than 4 lines, the more skilled and numerous the team, the better the team’s  results will be as less time and effort will be consumed.  Several years back we had a qualified – in both SKA and angling terms - third person fish with us and good thing we did as the bite was on and we needed all 6 arms and legs to keep up with the requirements to keep the lines running straight as well as catch and release well over 50 kings in a single day – with more than 20 over 40 pounds.  That year was the year of the ‘bite of the century’ – and after weighing a 49.9 on day one Team FishDancer did not even crack the top 20.  YIKES.  

Logisitcs:  Team FishDancer must make  trip of over 600 miles to arrive in Biloxi and to those teams travelling to this locale for the first time; it is an easy highway trip across I-10 with ample services almost all along the way.  Fuel seems to be less expensive in Georgia or Mississippi so make your choices accordingly – the right fuel stop can save your enough money to pay for your tournament entry fees.  One of the surprises we ran into our first trip over was the Mobile tunnel – not nearly as famous as its cousins the Lincoln or Holland -  but more daunting as you will be hauling a boat and trailer through it – there is ample room and little to worry about except the turns entering and exiting the tunnel – prepare for it as soon as you see the Battleship on the portside of your tow vehicle as you approach Mobile from the east – once through the tunnel you are a short trip to your destination.  Once you arrive – hopefully you have made the appropriate docking and room reservations well in advance – we would recommend splashing your boat at the ramp at the Palace Casino – we have used this ramp without incident it is wide and easy to navigate.  Find the appropriate parking place for your trailer – the SKA lots are usually well marked, get settled into your hotel/condo and get ready.  Get your team a good chart of the area.....we use HILTON'S RealTime Navigator and their atlas and charts of the area.....few are better.

Tackle:  We upsize all of our tackle as it seems that the gulf fish are not nearly as leader and hook shy as the Atlantic fish are.  We re-spool with 30# mainline and tie on using a double-uni knot 40# fluorocarbon and  use #1 and 2 hooks and #7 wire.  Nancy and I will have 12 rods and reels ready to fish with along with 4 bait rods with sabiki’s already tied and ready to jig bait.  . I would not head to Biloxi without 100 premade rigs.  Our experience is that naked baits do best in the Gulf but occasionally we will deploy a skirted live bait rig or one of our secret ribbon fish rigs.

Bait:  Jigging up baits can be great fun and you need to be sure you have enough sabiki rigs and sinkers to carry you through the time you will be in Biloxi.  There is not a lot of local shops to go to due to the affects of Katrina and so we make sure to take with us what we need – however Gorenflos Bait Shop at the Point Cadet Marina near the Isle of Capri will have basic supplies. When jigging bait you should be consider alternatives to sabikis  – many times while sabikis catch higher quantities of runners  jigs will definitely catch larger baits.  Bait fishing with jigs can be time consuming – back in 2003 when fishing the West Delta in October – we had a 44 pound fish in the bag to weigh on day one of the SKA PRO event and spent the last hour of that day jigging runners catching some BIG baits.  On day two we scaled a 61.1 and won that event – something I believe the BIG baits had much influence over   Bait will live in most places you will dock but stay away from the back of the Palace Marina where the water gets stagnant and can cause the bait to die….in the end you should not need to pen bait as it is fairly easy to catch.

Navigation:   There are three main ‘passes’ each that can assist you to getting closer to different areas you choose to fish. All are marked and easy to navigate.  Dog Key Pass is used to run to the WD behind the Chandeleur Islands.  While this is a long trip the fishing can be worth it.  It is 120 miles one way and requires navigation of Chandeleur Sound, Babtiste Collette, across the Mississippi River and out Tiger, Red or SW Pass.  Horn Island Pass is the pass to use if fishing to the South to rigs in the CA, MP and VK areas and Petit Bois is the pass to use when fishing the MO area and is to the east.  There is not too much to worry about in navigating the area other than the fog that can roll in this time of year and some shallow waters in the Biloxi Bay and behind the Chandeleurs.  Several seasons back Team FishDancer made the long run to the WD and were exiting through Tiger pass when I saw a jack rig and work boat heading out through the channel as well.  Not exercising any patience or sound judgment – I attempted to pass them both on the starboard side of the channel.  Both boats drew so much water we found ourselves high and dry as the low tide was sucked out of the channel by these HUGE rigs/boats.  After running nearly 100 miles we were stuck and it took the most part of an hour to get off the mud bar – something we could have avoided by being a wee bit patient.  The areas frequently fish are fairly well marked – and there are some short cuts – but be careful if you are not familiar with the area’s waters. 

West Delta Rigs:  The first thing any team should do if considering this long run is to do the fuel math …  make sure you can actually make the roundtrip and consider many times the return trip will be into the face of an afternoon wind and stacked up chop in the Chandeleur Sound.  Next you need to purchase a chart of the waters that highlights the rigs and areas of live bottom – Team FishDancer is partial to the Hilton’s Charts, Atlas and Realtime Navigator – all essential tools to use when fishing the ‘Big Dance’.  Last season Tom Hilton and Company had a $100,000 bounty for breaking the state record kingfish at SKA Nationals – he may do it again.  All of the rigs listed on any chart can hold fish the trick is to find good water and understand what depth the fish are holding.   The waters in the WD area are directly influenced by the outflow if the Mississippi River – making them magnet for fish, especially during the fall mullet run but the water can be very dirty as well.  It is important to find good water and don’t judge the clarity of the water on the surface as many times clearer water is not far under the dirty top water.  Last season while pre-fishing for the SKA Nationals we fished a rig right off of the south pass….the water on top was so dirty you could not see the downrigger ball from the boat.  However we found some good fish holding in this area in the cleaner and cooler waters below.  Any team fishing the WD must understand that the bite is widely variable based upon river and weather conditions.  The bite can – and often will - change overnight….several years back we made the run on day one caught a 40 and made the run on day 2 and got skunked while good fish came from the east side of the Delta....  

CA, and  MP  rigs;  These are the rigs straight south out of Biloxi via Horn Island Pass.  CA 25a is world famous and several SKA Nationals have been won from this rig but frankly it is overfished.  This rig is a great place to start pre-fishing as you will get a good lay of the land so to speak and can move around the area to find your own honey hole.  One of the variables we have associated with catching big fish in the Gulf is to get away from the crowd – there are a variety of rigs, wrecks and fish havens to try to find your quarry and in our experience the largest kings seem to come from areas/rigs not inundated with 25 or more boats.  This is not to say you will not be successful if fishing is a pack – during the ‘Bite of the Century’ the fish were stacked on both the east and west sides of the delta and CA 25 was one of the places to be.  We have heard many stories about boats with multiple hookups working around each other and even one report of a high 30s fish that sky rocketed onto the T-top and into one boat.  However the ‘bite of the century” was just that – teams should be prepared to do some homework and find areas/rigs that are holding good fish.

MO and VK rigs:  Running out of Petit Bois pass your can easily get to MO rigs.  These are good rigs to stop to bait up and fish for a few laps around the rigs. Further out in deeper water are more MO and VK rigs.  There are a variety of fish havens, artificial reefs and tanks to the east of the MO rigs and these live bottoms and wrecks can hold many good fish.  During the 2006 SKA nationals many leader board fish were reportedly caught 60-100 miles east of the check out.  One of the best tips I can give you is to have a plan…..while the rigs look like they are many and right next to one another you can spend a majority of your time running from rig to rig searching when others are dialed in better.  On a clear day a rig that is on the horizon is about 10 miles away and sometimes further.  If a rig does not produce fish after 4 laps around (or more or less depending upon your tolerance) head off to another one.  

Tournament Etiquette:  In the end the invitation to the ‘Big Dance’ is the ultimate measure of a team’s ability and success and you should be proud to be attending – an accomplishment you share with several hundred other teams.  Plan to take advantage of all of the social events during this event…this is a great chance to rub elbows with some potential (or existing sponsors) as well as some of the world’s best king mackerel anglers.  There are cocktail receptions, dinners, blackjack tournaments, captain’s meetings and awards ceremonies – take it all in and enjoy.   This is the best and strongest competitive field of the season – it is truly to best of the best. Be courteous to all teams fishing this event…..you have much in common – performing well in divisional competition and the quest for a National Championship.    The check ins and check outs will take longer than a normal divisional event – and teams wanting to miss all of the boat jockeying at check out and lines at the scale should prepare themselves accordingly.  Personally I do not enjoy the waiting in line to weigh fish so Team FishDancer tries to time our return to the scales to avoid this and all of the early morning  boat jockeying at check out does nothing for ‘THE’ FishDancer’s nerves so we usually hang back out of the way.  Your team, if properly prepared, can also miss of all of the check out and weigh in drama........

Lee Ann Womack sings (with the usual editorial license from Captain Jeff - I Hope You Dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to catch
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single fish for granted
God forbid the fish god’s ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you ride upon the ocean
Whenever one bridge closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those storm clouds in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Fishin' might be a mistake
But it's one worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

Nancy and I are looking forward to the Big Dance and will be doing our Kingfish Mambo at a rig, wreck or offshore reef somewhere between Pensacola and the West Delta....we are calling on all of the fish and weather gods.......stay tuned for the BIG DANCE......

Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show sing (with the usual editorial license from Captain Jeff) to the tune of ‘On the Cover of the Rolling Stone’

Well we’re big time boaters, we’ve got twin 300 Verado motors; and we’re loved every where we go. We fish around natural beauty and we fish along the SKA trail at something near $7,000 a show. 

We've paid all kinds of bills that have funded all kind of thrills, but the thrill we’ve never known, is the thrill that’ll get you when you get your picture on the cover of the Angler Mag (azine).

Angler Mag, wanna see my picture on the cover, wanna buy 5 copies for our brothers, wanna see Nan’s smiling face … on the cover of the Angler Mag.

I’ve purchased thirty-three feet of Contender and named her FishDancer aboard which to do the Kingfish Mambo. I got my poor old grey bearded self, to haul around the boat and trailer combo;

 Now its all designed to blow our minds, but our minds won’t really be blown, like the blow that’ll get you when you get your picture on the cover of  the Angler Mag

Angler Mag, wanna see my picture on the cover, wanna buy 5 copies for our brothers, wanna see Nan’s smiling face … on the cover of the Angler Mag.

We’ve caught 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s an SKA Grand Slam we say.  We got a genuine kingfish guru who’s teaching us a better way.  We've got all the technology that money can buy so we never have to fly a flag. And we keep following the fishers but we still can’t get our pictures on the cover of the  the Angler Mag.

Angler Mag, wanna see my picture on the cover, wanna buy copies for our brothers, wanna see Nan’s smiling face … on the cover of the Angler Mag.

C’mon Jack just picture us and no others on the cover 

Angler Mag, wanna see my picture on the cover, wanna buy 5 copies for our brothers, wanna see Nan’s smiling face … on the cover of the Angler Mag.

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