Rockfish Challenge ... final day
By Lee Tolliver, The Virginian-Pilot
Sunday, January 2, 2011
www.hamptonroads.com

After an opening day in the inaugural Million Dollar Rockfish Challenge saw some of the best catches in weeks, looks like the action hit a wall.

All of the top teams on the day one leaderboard continue to sit where they did after the first day.

The teams are back on the water for today's last chance to make some noise. But if the weather, and the past two days are any indication, the current leaders can start counting their money.

And while it highly likely at this point that nobody is going to bank one of the two big prizes - a million bucks for a world record or $250,000 for a state record - there still are some pretty good prizes for the leaders.

if The Handyman's 2-fish total of 73.85 pounds holds up, the crew will bank some pretty good dough. Just how much, though, is anybody's guess at this point. Tournament officials based a $50,000 top prize and $100,000 overall payout on 300 teams. The number of entries, however, was less than a third of that number. And prize money based on the entries has not been posted and no daily press releases have been sent out by the committee.

So we'll sit back and wait to see if anything changes today.

As of this posting, the teams had 3 hours left to fish.

Rockfish Challenge....Day One
By Lee Tolliver, The Virginian-Pilot
Thursday, December 30, 2010
www.hamptonroads.com

Here's the lowdown on the first day of the inaugural Million Dollar Rockfish Challenge taking place out of Marina Shores:

Team Handyman sits in first place with a two-fish total of 73.85 pounds, followed closely by Team Right Hook - featuring professional largemouth bass fisherman Roland Martin - in second, a pound back.

Team Ashton MacKenzie is third at 71.2.

Remember, these are two-fish combined weights.

Anglers are busy looking for that one fish that weighs more than 73 pounds to top the state record and win $250,000, or one that tops 78 pounds to win a million smackers.

The field was suprised by excellent action, especially after the lack of a good bite for the last several weeks. Coastal waters have been too cold.

But teams that traveled 50 or more miles into North Carolina waters, which are deeper along the coast and thusly warmer, enjoyed almost constant action.

With increasing warm temperatures and westerly winds that tend to bring bait closer to shore, catches could improve daily. The tournament concludes Sunday.

Don't be suprised if teams start scoring triple-digit weights.

Rick Nunn Named ASA Angler of the Year at National Tournament
By American Striper Association
Tue, Jan 02, 2007
www.sportfishingmag.com

After the top American Striper Association fishermen worked all year to put the best scores together for the prestigious title of "The Angler of The Year Award," this final tournament helped determine whom the best-of-the-best is in striper fishing. The ASA Angler of the Year for 2006 went to Rick Nunn, on Hapi Daze, a 32 ft Fountain, with twin Mercury Motors. This distinction sets Rick apart and recognizes his efforts for outstanding fishing results throughout the entire ASA tournament trail. With total points of 539.48, he surpassed all other anglers this year and out-weighed the next closest angler by 72.53 pounds. Reggie Fountain of Fountain Powerboats awarded Rick and his crew with the beautiful 2006 Crystal Trophy as well as a check for $10,000. Division Awards were also presented. Division I Top Angler went to Mike Lundholm on Metalica. Division II Top Angler went to Matt Unsworth on Mod Squad. The Division III Top Angler went to David Nova on Marlin Maniac. Junior Angler of the Year went to Emory Hanie on The Chesapeake Angler Magazine, and Lady Angler of the Year went to Edie Jett on Marlin Maniac.

And, in a perfect fishing world, this last tournament of the season would have calm seas, big rockfish and lots of suspense. This is the exact scenario that played out at the last American Striper Association Tournament of 2006, held in Kitty Hawk, NC on December 27th through 30th. A large crowd gathered for the Captain's Meeting at the Hooters in Kitty Hawk, which was the host location for the ASA National Tournament. This set the stage for three spectacular days of fishing as the 78 boat field competed for over $75,000 in cash and prizes given away at the tournament.

Day One: 30 boats weighed fish with the largest at 48.45 lbs. brought in by Harry Svenson on his Fountain boat, Cheap Shot. David Nova on his Fountain, Marlin Maniac, had the second largest Striper at 44.20 lbs. Rick Nunn's crew landed the third biggest fish of day one, at 40.55 lbs., on Hapi Daze.

Day Two: 32 fish were weighed. The fishing strategy really kicked in, since boats could only weigh fish on two days of the three day tournament. Several boats decided to wait and hope that the third day would bring them a bigger fish and hopefully a higher rank for the prize money. The big fish of the 2nd day was 48.35 lbs. caught on North Carolina Sportsman, Brian Bracey's Donzi. Jerry Harris on his Fountain, Handyman brought in a 45.15 lb. Striper. Todd Sanders on his Wellcraft, Team Rugged Marine, followed with a 43 pounder.

Day three was filled with anticipation as several Captain's waited by the scales to see if the two day total they had compiled would hold up as boats started coming in for the final weigh-in. Word was out that Marlin Maniac had a big one and it could put him in first place. The day before Marlin Maniac had a large fish on board but failed to make weigh-in when his boat developed motor problems. Team Cheap Shot was holding the lead after day two with a total of 87.25 lbs. Team Handyman had an 83.20 total, Team Rugged Marine had a 77 lb. total followed by Max King's Contender, The Chesapeake Angler, with 76.95, Robbie Brown's Fountain, Miss La with 73.05, and Rick Nunn's Hapi Daze was sitting at 73 lbs.

Seventeen boats weighed in on day three. The first boat at the scales was the Marlin Maniac, considered the only boat that could unseat Cheap Shot as the tournament leader. As their fish was put on the scales the crowd wondered if they could match the first fish they brought in on Thursday, which was 44.20 lbs. It didn't, but it was close at 43.10 lbs., giving David Nova on Marlin Maniac exactly .05 lbs. more than the current 1st place boat Cheap Shot. David's total of 87.30 was enough to hold the lead for the rest of the day and earned him the tournament championship. His efforts paid off with paychecks of $24,500, and a pair of Rolex's presented by Reggie Fountain of Fountain Powerboats. When they say ounces count, it's true, in this case 5/100 of a pound made the difference between 1st and 2nd place. David Nova lived in the prefect world of fishing at the last ASA tournament of the year!

For a complete listing of all the tournament and year end standings go to www.fishasa.com.

The 2007 ASA season kicks off on January 11th at the Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout in Virginia Beach. We look forward to seeing you there.