Posted by SSAC on May 10, 2018
Wednesday nights Kick-Off event at the White Buffalo ushered in a new era as the Annual Kick-Off Event took on decidedly country and western look and feel.
A big supportive crowd packed the White Buffalo Saloon, with many in attendance first-time attendees.
This year marked the tournament’s 88th consecutive year of competition. kicked into gear around 7 p.m.
Tournament organizers were overwhelmed by the show of support from the community. The committee expressed its sincere gratitude to the White Buffalo Saloon who acted as this year’s Tournament Hosting Sponsor along with Bud Light.
Bryan Kelly, acting as master of ceremonies, reviewed the tournament rules and gave a shout out to all the 2018 Tournament’s many sponsors. Bryan also voiced special thanks to the 2018 Presenting Sponsors, Tom Kane Construction Inc., Sugar Orthopaedics, Conley Buick, GOTTA LIVE, and Columbia Sportswear.
Lori Colado (shown above) was introduced as the 2018 Tarpon Queen. Lori fishes the tournament and is an avid Tarpon angler. Her passion for the fish and this tournament, as well as the overwhelming number of nominations she received made her the perfect Tarpon Queen.
The 2017 Tarpon Queen Aledia Tush, surounded by friends, was there to hand off the crown to Lori Colado.
As usual, there was an incredible selection of fishing related items, too many to mention here, donated for this year’s charity raffle which was conducted throughout the evening by Bryan Kelly to a boisterous crowd.
Monies raised from the evening’s raffles and the Tournament overall will, as usual, be donated to Charity. Included again this year to the list of charities, the Coastal Conservation Association.
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Posted by SSAC on Jan 28, 2018
Based on feedback from our anglers we are changing the venue for this year’s event and creating more of a celebration of the start of Tarpon Season for our kick-off party/captain’s meeting.
The party will be held on Wed., May 9th at White Buffalo Saloon in Sarasota with registration starting at 6:00 p.m. and the party itself starting at 7:00 p.m. Your $125 entry into the tournament gets you food and fun and a cash bar will also be available.
LIVE MUSIC, GOOD TIMES, a LIVE AUCTION with some incredible outdoor EXPERIENCES from CCA as well as AMAZING RAFFLES for gear, tackle, paddle boards, coolers, artwork and much more.
Also, this year’s Awards Banquet will be a scaled down and focus on awarding the prizing, honoring our winners and handing out our prize ladder for those who registered fish.
Tournament SPONSORSHIPS are available. It’s the generosity of our amazing sponsors that have kept this legendary tournament running for 88 years. As you know, we have a fantastic group of anglers and much more watching online and in the community. Please contact us if you would like to talk to a representative about sponsorship.
We couldn’t be more excited about this year’s tournament and can’t wait to see you all at the White Buffalo.
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Posted by SSAC on Jun 17, 2017
Congratulations to Bryan Wright. After a tough 5 weeks of fishing Bryan was the only angler to land a fish in today’s Fish-off. Join us July 14th to celebrate Bryan and all our winners.
This year’s Fish-Off finalist included eventual tournament winner Bryan Wright, the Week Two winner and the other four weekly winners, Tom Kane, Week One, Eric Hernandez, Week Three, Curt Tellbuescher, Week Four, and Brock Horner, Week Five. They were joined by Greg Peterson and David Sugar, who qualified for the Fish-Off with seven overall catches totaling 208 inches.
There’s a great night planned for the awards banquet this year being held Friday, July 14th at the Hyatt Sarasota. We are finalizing the headcount now and if YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY RSVP’d please comment below and let us know how many in your party. Come celebrate our winners and support the cause with a great raffle, vacation package, and a LIVE auction.
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Posted by SSAC on Jun 13, 2017
Brock Horner earned the fifth coveted spot for the scheduled Fish-Off set for Sat., June 17. Brock’s 37″ catch and release happened on Monday, June 5th at around 7:50 pm near Big Pass.
Second place finisher David Sugar landed a very respectable 32″ girth Tarpon on Sunday the 4th at around 8:00 am off of Casey Key, and Larry Leszcznski placed third, with a 31.25″ catch off of Anna Maria at around 8:45 am on Saturday, the 10th.
This year’s tournament saw some of the rainiest weather in recent memory so hats off to those courageous anglers who braved this year’s challenging weather.
Week Five Results have been certified and here is how they finished:
1st Place: Brock Horner w/ a 37″ Girth
2nd Place: David Sugar w/ a 32″ Girth
3rd Place: Larry Leszcznski w/ a 31.25″ Girth
The five weekly first place finishers included Tom Kane, Week One, Eric Hernandez, Week Two, Bryan Wright, Week Three, Curt Tellbuescher, Week Four, and Brock Horner, Week Five will be joined by David Sugar who qualified for the Fish-Off with seven overall catches totaling 208 inches, and Greg Peterson who took the Fly Division with a 26 inch catch and release on June 9th.
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Posted by SSAC on Jun 5, 2017
Curt Tellbuescher earned the fourth coveted spot for the scheduled Fish-Off set for Sat., June 17. Curt’s 42″ catch and release happened on Monday, May 29th at around 7:15 pm near Big Pass and is the largest recorded catch and release of the tournament so far.
Second place finisher Clark Nash landed a very respectable 37″ girth Tarpon on Tuesday the 30th at around 6:45 pm off of Anna Maria, and Rusty Driver placed third, with a 36″ catch off of Holmes Beach at around 10:00 am on Monday, the 29th.
The Week Four Results have been certified and here is how they finished:
1st Place: Curt Tellbuescher w/ a 42″ Girth
2nd Place: Clark Nash w/ a 37″ Girth
3rd Place: Rusty Driver w/ a 36″ Girth
There is one week of fishing left and anglers can still register here on this website.
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