PAMCA 1st Saltwater Tournament
2005

By Mark Harper

Friday was a cool, clear October evening, at about 6:00 Jim Collins and I pulled into Linda's bait camp and unloaded our gear into a rustic fishing cabin across the parking lot from the launch ramp. As tournament participants came in we got paperwork out of the way and went in to Linda's diner where we saw stuffed sailfish and trout as well as some trophy deer, elk and boar then enjoyed conversation and a great dinner of fresh caught fried shrimp and a soda. We then headed upstairs to the local hang out and listened the some great music. Finally we decided to do a little fly fishing and went down to the docks with our 8 weight fly rods. I caught a beautiful mangrove snapper with a bright red stomach. We had a group of fishermen from Commercial Boiler watching so we went under the lights and signed waivers and continued fishing. While fishing the participants from Gulf States Plumbing and Mechanical showed up and they were mostly women as the men were watching the Astros win against the Cards. Jim took the right side of the covered dock and I took the left. With both of us casting around the posts holding the deck over our heads and risking a jolt from the power lines on our back casts we each caught small gulf and sand trout and I caught 3 more snapper. Steve Halvorson came over and on his first cast with a live shrimp he got an 18 inch gulf trout. Fat and healthy, it was the biggest gulf trout I had seen in a long time.

 

Walter Pickett showed up later and we talked and did paperwork as well as discussed tournament rules.

Jim went to bed at midnight and I stayed up with Ty Tipton till 1:30 while coaching Ty in saltwater fishing with shrimp so he and his Dad, Bill could catch some nice fish the next day. By the time He got 2 Croaker and a small redfish, I knew he could continue with the help if his girlfriend so I went to bed.

 

The tournament started at dawn on a cold Saturday morning in Sargeant Texas. Linda's bait camp had plenty of live bait shrimp, breakfast sandwiches and soft tacos to warm us all up. Participants waited excitedly at the dock, some for their boats to be put in the water, some waiting for other members of their fishing group. When the boats were all ready and loaded with tackle boxes and rods, bristling like a porcupine, fisher men and women climbed aboard and set off on the first PAMCA saltwater fishing tournament. As we went towards the East Matagorda bay, boats flew past me, some at 50 miles per hour. I was fishing with Jim Collins of Bass Pro Shops out of a 16 foot john boat with a 20 hp motor so we steadily made our way to our first stop, bird island where we drifted with the current. After catching dozens of small Trout, Croaker and rat Reds (undersize Red Fish) we moved back towards the channel. We looked carefully for birds working or bait near the surface but saw nothing interesting till we got to the cut leading off shore. We dropped anchor in a prime location and started catching rat Reds and some of the biggest Croaker I had ever seen. Finally I heard Jim say fish on and he netted a 22 inch Flounder. A short while later I also hooked up and brought in his brother Flounder. Jim then got a 23 inch and I got the same size Flounder. Jim caught 2 more undersize Flounder but it was 1:30 so we headed back to the dock to prepare for the weigh in and see what everyone caught............

  Jim Collins         Mark Harper

PAMCA All American Fishing Tournament Success
By Bill Harper

The first annual or bi-annual All American Fishing Tournament was a huge success. Led by the infamous co-chairs Walter Pickett, Bobby Schmidt and Ty Tipton, the participants cast their lines into the water more times then the golfers swing at their ball at the golf tournament.

“The water was great, the day was fine,” said one fisherman, “but Walter Pickett had a net thrown around his fishing hole and we could not get into it.”  The response from the Water Pickett Plumbing team was, “Cry Babies.”

Ty Tipton brought his dad, Bill, and Bill caught fish off of the dock with a specially designed reel and had a really good time. He laughed more and had more fun then all of our golfers when watching the AAA Plumbers golf team try and hit the ball.

Ty and Bill Tipton show Bill's Mangrove Snapper

 

Judging was by length, then by weight. Plaques were given in each category and first place also got a new rod and reel, second and third places got to draw a prize out of box of different prizes. Here are the results by category:

Trout

The winner was Dustin Green of Walter Pickett Plumbing with a trout 20½” long

and weighed in at 3.8 pounds. Besides his plaque he won a new rod and reel.

Second place winner was Robert Colvin of Commercial Boiler with a trout 19½” long and weighed in at 2 ½ pounds.

Third place winner was Walter Pickett of Walter Pickett Plumbing with a trout 16¾” long and weighed 1.9 pounds. 

Red Fish

The winner was Mesha Kardas of Roto Rooter with a Redfish 26½” long and weighed in at 7.5 pounds.

Second place went to Jimmie Havins, fishing with, Walter Pickett Plumbing with a Redfish 26½” long and weighed in at 5.0 pounds.

Third place was awarded to Jeremy Hicks of Walter Pickett Plumbing with a Redfish 26” long and weighing in at 5.1 pounds.

Flounder

The winner was Greg Mendez of Walter Pickett Plumbing with a flounder 21” long and weighed 4.0 pounds.

Second place was awarded to Dustin Green of Walter Pickett Plumbing with a flounder 18” long and weighing in at 1.8 pounds.

The Third Place was given to Steve Halvorson of Gulf States Plumbing and Mechanical for a flounder 14¾” long and weighing 1½ pounds.

Jennifer Bachard of Gulf States Plumbing and Mechanical caught a flounder 15¾” long and weighted 2 pounds. She also caught a Red Fish with a length of 22” and weighed 4.0 pounds.

Bobby Schmidt and his famous Commercial Boiler team tried to outdo the AAA Plumbers golf team by casting 37,534 times during the tournament. This is just an estimate, it may have been higher. They also had 618 tangled reels, 859 snags and brought in 4 tires, 6 life preservers and a variety of other junk. Bobby said “ one of the reasons we did not have a better showing, we thought we were supposed to catch catfish and only brought worms, grasshoppers and peanut butter and bread.”

There were three brown can awards. The Red Fish went to  Jimmie Havins, fishing with, Walter Pickett Plumbing. The flounder went to Steve Halvorson of Gulf States Plumbing and Mechanical. The trout went to Dustin Green of Walter Pickett Plumbing.

The worst fisherman prize of a pair of yellow fluffy bedroom slippers went Brandon Jager of Church Services. Upon winning this coveted prize he said, “my wife will really enjoy these. Next year I am going to fish in Matagorda Bay instead of the reed marshes.”

Sponsors were recognized with certificates of appreciation and large red, white and blue signs with special thanks for the generosity of helping with this tournament by Bass Pro Shops.

Co- Chairmen of the tournament Ty Tipton, Bobby Schmidt and Walter Pickett

Prizes and Awards – Gerald Alldredge Jr. of Property Damage Restoration Services

Trophies and Plaques – Sam Snow of A.C. Supply

Fishing Tournaments Sponsors:

Karla Chando - Bass Pro Shops

Cedric Buchanan – C.B. Plumbing Services

Jeff Woods – ACT Pipe and Supply

Bobby Schmidt – Commercial Boiler

Jerry Farmer – Gulf States Plumbing and Mechanical

Walter Pickett – Walter Pickett Plumbing

Mark Harper and Jim Collins served as staff directors at the tournament.