Gerry,

First thanks for all the effort and hard work to everyone involved running the tournament, especially considering the postponement to Sunday.

We ran out of SRI and had lines in the water at 6:30. Headed north and had a decent pick of fish, with many 21 to 22 in. fish mixed in and an occasional 24 incher. Water quality in that area was extremely clear. Wind / tide crapped out and we headed further north to find the right fish but to no avail. The further north we went, the more stained the water was but all spots fished short of one we found decent amounts of fluke. We ended up keeping only 13 keepers for the three of us fishing and honestly probably threw back 20 keepers and god only knows how many shorts. Will post a pic later of keepers. We ended up weighing in our three fish at 15.9 lbs, not enough to stand on the podium! After weighing in, we made the long trek home to SRI as the south wind started cranking but the Grady handles head seas very well so the ride back wasn't too bad.

As Lab said, that marina is a trip. Wouldn't want to call that port home especially with outboards. The water was filthy, we were stopped by the Earle Seal Team on the way in even though we were outside the markers (albeit just barely) and there is virtually no room to maneuver. All things considered the tournament did their best to deal with difficult accommodations so I again applaud their efforts.

For future tournaments, it wouldn't be a bad idea like the JCSA did this year to allow fish to be weighed in at tackle shops at various ports. I know that tournament this year had their best year as far as number of entrants and I would think that not having to start at Leonardo and being able to weigh in at other ports or tackle shops in the respective areas would greatly increase the number of boats entering. We had a great time fishing the tournament yesterday but if there were an alternative to the amount of time running all the way around the hook and inside to Leonardo Marina and the amount of additional gas burned at $4.15 a gallon, it would certainly make the tournament more attractive to enter and make the day more enjoyable. The same holds true for all tournaments run. I guess the only draw back is coordinating the results. Under that weigh in scenario, I would think the ultimate winner wouldn't be known until the next day but that shouldn't prevent having the after tournament festivities the same day if that were an issue to the Committee. Either way, just something for the tournament powers to consider for future years. I would have to think it would make a huge difference in number of boats entered, especially for the boats which sail from southern ports and have to deal with the long run back typically into the hard south wind that normally comes on in the afternoon this time of year.

Congratulations to all of yesterday's winners and thanks again for all the people who make these events possible. Their efforts tend to be taken for granted but we appreciate all you do so we have these events to add to the excitement of fishing the weekends.

Dakota