RIVIERA BEACH — The 4th annual Palm Beach County KDW Classic co-hosted by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club (WPBFC) and the City of Riviera Beach was held June 3rd out of the Riviera Beach Marina and attracted an impressive fleet of 261 boats and nearly 1,000 anglers (the tournament record for participation is 264 boats).

“It was our smoothest running tournament ever. The weather was excellent and everybody had a wonderful time. We were thrilled with how it all turned out.” said Tournament Committee member Bud Tyska.

Offshore fishing had been very productive the week prior to the tournament, but a light southwest wind the morning of the tournament slowed fishing down. Many of the boats reported a strong kingfish bite, but mostly from smaller school-sized kings. The best bite occurred to the north off traditional hot spots like Juno Pier and the Hobe Sound Loran Tower reef. Approximately 120 fish were weighed in at the tournament scale. The largest fish brought to the weigh station was a 45.2 pound kingfish caught by Lantana angler Scott Sanders aboard the Tramp. Sanders’s fish earned $3,000 and the coveted King of the Classic title, which is awarded annually to the male angler who catches the heaviest tournament eligible fish.

The Queen of the Classic honor was won by Danielle Debrowski of Palm Beach Gardens, with a 29.9 pound kingfish caught aboard the Jeet Yet?. Debrowski’s third place king earned her $1,000. Over $28,000 in cash awards were presented to winning anglers in the one-day event. These prizes were generously provided by the following Cash Award Sponsors: The Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, Ande Monofilament, Rinker Materials, Badcock Home Furniture & More, Bev Smith Ford, Boynton Sport & Back Physical Therapy, Sailfish Marina, Lott Brothers, Ocean Properties, Smith Barney, Lowrance, Penn Fishing Tackle, Palm Beach Kennel Club, Florida Crystals, Grand Slam Sportfishing Supply, Palm Beach Yacht Center, Tuppen’s, Harley Davidson of Palm Beach, Cheney Brothers, Costa Del Mar sunglasses, R. L. Weigt Environmental Consultants, the Law Offices of Mark Hanson and Miller Lite.

“We weighed in a lot of kingfish this year and also saw quite a few wahoo. One boat came in with five wahoo, they evidently found a piece of debris that was holding a school of smaller fish, they were all about 12 to 15 pounds. This is the second year in a row we have filled all six of the wahoo categories. We are seriously considering increasing our cash payouts for wahoo up to eight places next year,” said tournament weigh master Pete Schulz.

Angler Chris Bryce of Lake Park landed a 30.6 pound wahoo that earned the $3,000 purse for the largest wahoo. The largest dolphin, a 28.7 pound fish, was caught by Rick Mellen of Jupiter aboard the Two Weeks. Mellen’s fish also earned him a weekend getaway at Old Bahama Bay in West End, Grand Bahama Island, because it was the largest eligible fish weighed in by a member of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. Mellen has been a club member for 11 years. The Top Junior Angler trophy was awarded to Antonio DeLiso of Lake Worth who boated a 29.7 pound dolphin aboard the Team Calvary. The nine-year old angler earned $600 for his great catch (all tournament winners are listed on the attached list).

“The association has already budgeted for the event next year,” said Tim Oenbrink of The Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, the Classic’s Presenting Sponsor.

“We continue to be impressed by the community response to this event and how well it is run. The tournament has an impressive following and is certainly good for the local marine industry.”

2006 KDW Classic Winner’s List

Kingfish

1st ($3000) Scott Sanders Tramp 45.2 lbs.
2nd ($2000) Andrew Deitz Tumblin’ Deitz 36.9 lbs.
3rd ($1000) Danielle Debrowski Jeet Yet? 29.9 lbs.
4th ($700) Bob Wummer Distinctive II 29.2 lbs.
5th ($500) Ron Owen Fishing Machine 28.6 lbs.
6th ($400) Howard Tuman Spiced Rum 27.1 lbs.
7th ($300) Tom Edwards Envy 27.0 lbs.
8th ($200) Jay Marvin n/a 26.0 lbs.

Dolphin

1st ($3000) Rick Mellen Two Weeks 28.7 lbs.
2nd ($2000) Ray Waldner EZC’s 25.7 lbs.
3rd ($1000) Tim McClure Wave Dancer 25.2 lbs.
4th ($700) Caren Scanlan Get The Gaff II 22.5 lbs.
5th ($500) Dave McConnaughay Shimako 20.9 lbs.
6th ($400) Alan Arnett Home Team 20.5 lbs.
7th ($300) Kerry Kahl Partner 18.8 lbs.
8th ($200) Vincent Juback Wet-Back 18.7 lbs.

Wahoo

1st ($3000) Chris Bryce Faux Reel 30.6 lbs.
2nd ($2000) Tom Maurice At Last 23.5 lbs.
3rd ($1000) Brad Thomas Anyway II 16.5 lbs.
4th ($700) Jonathan Bakowski Get Crackin’ 15.9 lbs.
5th ($500) Greg Aronson Nap Time 15.0 lbs.
6th ($400) Pat O’Brian Captain Harry’s 15.0 lbs.

Juniors

1st ($600) Antonio DeLiso Team Calvary 29.7 lb. dolphin
2nd ($500) Josh Jones Reel Native 21.9 lb. dolphin
3rd ($400) Sebastian Naranjo n/a 19.3 lb. kingfish
4th ($300) William Schmitt First Love 18.3 lb. kingfish
5th ($200) Dylan Valitalo Fish Magnet 17.5 lb. kingfish
6th ($100) Francis Debrowski Jeet Yet? 16.8 lb. kingfish
7th ($100) Boomer Dickinson n/a 15.9 lb. kingfish
8th ($100) Ashley Martin Raising the Stakes 14.8 lb. kingfish
9th ($100) Mike Sharp, Jr. Reel Sharp 14.3 lb. kingfish
10th (100) Sierra Groth Capt. Willie’s 14.2 lb. kingfish

Special Awards:

2006 King of the Classic: (heaviest eligible species weighed in by male angler) Scott Sanders Tramp 45.2 lbs.

2006 Queen of the Classic:

(heaviest eligible species weighed in by female angler) Danielle Debrowski Jeet Yet? 29.9 lbs.

heaviest eligible species weighed in by a WPBFC angler winner (3 day/2 night stay w/ dockage @ Old Bahama Bay, West End):

Rick Mellen Two Weeks 28.7 lbs.

‘Hit The Jackpot’ winners ($2,000 cash drawing): Boat #249……”Anyway II” captained by Brad Thomas