2004 Classic

Classic exceeds $1,000,000- 106 Boats
            The Classic continued as the Premier Billfish Tournament for the eighth consecutive year.  Cash and prizes exceeded $1,000,000.  Jerry Pyron aboard the “Miss Celeste” captured first place in the Blue Marlin Division with a 631.7 pounder.  Chris Ayo on the boat “Petite Marie” took second place with a 610.7 lbs. blue; Bill Steere aboard the boat “Fish Tale” came in 3rd with a 410 lb. blue; 4th was Jimmy Owens aboard the “Daybreak” with a 402.4 lb. blue and the 5th place blue marlin caught by Eric Parish weighed in at 357 pounds.  426 anglers from 16 different states participated in the Classic.  46 billfish were raised with 41 being tagged.  592.3 lbs. of wahoo, 1,680 lbs. of tuna, 1,787.8 lbs. of dolphin and 2,411.8 lbs. of blue marlin were weighed at the scales.  The tournament paid cash awards totaling $1,060,000.  Since no state records were broken, the 2004 Ford Expedition, Explorer, F-150 and Escape went unclaimed.

Blue Marlin

First              
Miss Celeste - Jerry Pyron - 631.7 lbs         

Second          
Petite Marie - Chris Ayo - 610.7 lbs

Third            
Fish Tale - Bill Steer - 410.0 lbs

 

Tuna

First              
Miss Celeste - Charles Shumate - 151.4 lbs    

Second          
Ocean Commotion - Nick Sintz - 146.3 lbs    

Third            
High C’s - Hans Van Aller  - 144.0 lbs       

 

Dolphin

First              
George Kendrick - Uptoit - 49.7 lbs                

Second          
Bella Maria - Russell Hann - 47.5 lbs       

Third            
Minute Maid - Eric Kercher  - 47.2 lbs      

 

Wahoo

First              
Indy Connection - Jim Singleton - 64.5 lbs      

Second          
Road Runner III - Bryan Clegg - 53.2 lbs      

Third            
Hello Darlin - Ricky Beaton - 46.9 lbs