Outdoors Column | In this fishing tournament, the final score doesn’t really matter
“And then there were 2,” announced group commissioner Steven Suggs. “The best team in the league vs. the best team in their hearts.”
After 10 weeks and a round of playoffs for the Dirty South Fishing League, the finals came down to two teams, the Sea Dawgs and the Rejects. Throughout the season the league’s six teams went head to head weekly with six random species drawn. When a species was caught by an angler they would be given points. Catch and film yourself releasing all six species with that weeks code word and you could achieve a maximum of 35 points in a given week for your team. Add up the totals and the the team with the highest score wins.
In the playoffs. each team’s captain had the opportunity to select the species for the week. My team, the Pirates, fell to the Rejects in the semi-finals, setting up the reigning champion Sea Dawgs to face the primarily Manatee County-based Rejects. In the previous season, the Sea Dawgs’ 20 anglers each caught their maximum 35 points during the finals, a feat yet to be repeated. The Rejects knew it was going to be tough to dethrone the champs.
“Most of the Rejects live in Palmetto and Bradenton,” said captain Carl Gretenhardt, who lives in Palmetto. “When the league expanded from four teams to six, I became a captain and started recruiting guys from around here. Some like Peter Smith got addicted to it and started recruiting friends to join from there.”
With the majestic Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers making their deep playoff run, the finals were moved a day to Monday, Feb. 1 through the following Monday, Feb. 8.
The species draw was chosen by Gretenhardt and Sea Dawgs captain Michael Ortega. The list was redfish, trout, jacks, sharks, mackerel and pompano. The first day saw the dedicated teams heading out into terrible weather.
“It was freezing,” Gretenhardt said. “I went out the first night until 1 in the morning. All I caught was small trout when five days earlier I was catching 20-inch trout and sharks.”
Throughout the week the score went back and forth. After a day, the Rejects led, 45-25. Two days in, the Sea Dawgs retook the lead at 105-95. Three days in, as the weather improved, so did the scoring, with the Rejects retaking the lead 175 to 155. Before the weekend, Gretenhardt’s Rejects kept a slim 10-point lead, 240 to 230.
“We had a problem, though, we couldn’t really find mackerel or jacks, and the cold water moved the sharks. We knew they had more variety than we did.”
At the same time the Sea Dawgs struggled to find pompano.
On Sunday night, 24 hours remained while most anglers were glued to the TV watching the Buccaneers lift the Lombardi Trophy. Into the final day the Rejects’ lead was slim, 320-300.
With hours remaining Gretenhardt pulled his son out of school early to go fishing with him.
“We went to a spot in the river to try to get a couple jacks. We could see them 150 yards away going crazy but it was on the other side of a bridge and we couldn’t get to them. Peter tried to wade and when it was up to his chest he turned around. We fished until the last minute knowing it would be close.”
The final score was close, but Gretenhardt’s Rejects would fall by a score of 370-360. When Ortega picked mackerel he knew it was going to be their strength, as they would total 15 mackerel for 75 points vs. the Rejects’ two mackerel for only 10 points.
Leading the way for the Sea Dawgs was Rick Kimble and Kitty Van Aiken with 30 points, followed by Shane Mello with 25. The Rejects were lead by Luke Swanson, Mark Naglis, Ryan Amaturo and Ryan Oiles with 25 points each.
Falling just short, Gretenhardt had no regrets. “It’s all for fun, even though we go a bit crazy. There doesn’t have to be a prize. You enjoy it and make friends and that’s what makes it so much fun.”