1. Mike Smith - No Check Outs -- Well, I appreciate what Mike is trying to accomplish by the no check out suggestion; however, if there were no check outs I'm sure the bigger boats would also leave earlier, therefore negating Mike's plan to let the <23 footers get to the Keys (or where ever they want to go) the same time as the big guys. We'll keep our check outs and check ins. I always like to see the <23 boats weigh in the big fish -- and that happens.

2. Bob Woithe - 2005 Schedule -- Looks as though we will have two events -- Marco Island (March 4-6) and Naples (March 18-20). Checkouts will be at Big Marco Pass and possibly a "back door" location in Marco, and in Naples by the Gordon Pass as usual.

Bob Woithe - Collier/Lee County prize for locals -- I like the idea and have asked the SKA for suggestions. It's very important to us to "grow" local teams. If we can come up with something, we'll certainly do it. I guess the only way to regulate this is by the address of the team's captain on the entries unless someone has a better idea.

Bob Woithe - Boundaries -- I discussed this with the SKA and it's pretty much the idea of the sport that you check out, fish, and time your trip to be back before check in closes. I don't think I could patrol the borders any better than they do in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California..... I know what Bob is saying but I fear it will create more problems than it can solve.

Bob Woithe - Hometowns -- We have noticed a growing number of local teams entering our events -- without going through hundreds of entries over the past years I'd say we're about 20% or more from Lee and Collier Counties. It's probably a good idea to have a survey at the captains meetings and find out where teams are from.

3. Mark Wicker - "Series" -- Well, the SKA does that but calls them "divisions". But, I agree, our situation is unique in that we have two events in Division 11 and Sandy Blowers has another Division 11 event in Sarasota. But, we're working on a plan to have a "bonus competition" for teams which enter both of our tournaments with a special prize. Everything is not 100% yet but we'll let everyone know.

4. John Peshkin - Ft. Myers Weigh In Hassle -- John, we found that, too, and we have. Actually, we found the actual site pretty nice and the river trip wasn't as bad as people feared; however, there was a major problem with hotels which is why we felt we had to add a second checkout at the 11th hour. The city did provide some great things such as the stage for the weigh in. First time I've ever had enough light to see! But John will be pleased to know that we're just in Marco Island and Naples. No pro baseball teams and thousands of boosters, no state cheerleading competition next door, no concert next door....

5. Scott Routh - Move the tournaments back a few weeks? -- Scott, I've love to and we had even contacted the SKA about that. Unfortunately, we're as far away from Hogs Breath as possible and after our events all the other tournaments around the Gulf would have to be rescheduled so I'm afraid we're locked into these dates. I agree that if we were mid-April it would probably be better.

6. Eric Smith - Friday/Saturday format -- Having the captains' meeting Thursday and fish Friday and Saturday seemed like a great idea to us and we did that the first year. Frankly, I like that schedule better, too, BUT we sure got a lot of gripes about it. I checked with the SKA to see if other tournaments are doing that and pretty much they're fishing Saturday and Sunday.

7. Jeff Braaten - Docking -- Jeff, I know what you're saying and I liked to have all the guys (or at least the majority of them) in the same place. In Naples we have the problem that the docks at the host site are mostly individually owned. Contender likes to have all its teams right at the host site and, hey, they provide our grand prizes so we do all we can to accommodate them. I know that more docks have been built at Naples and maybe there will be more available this spring but there probably won't be enough for everyone. We scrambled to find some neaerby slips, some at marinas and some at another location which we had to insure, provide security and bring in Waste Management -- all in all about a $2,000.00 cost to us. Just one person who tied up there actually paid for the slip and we had no way of controlling the situation. Our new location in Marco Island is great. And they just put in 70 slips so there should be room enough for many of the teams. I hope most of these slips will be available to us. But I agree with Jeff -- people get into kingfishing because they want to have a good time and if all the boats are in one place it makes it easier.

Jeff Braaten - boundaries and prices -- I addressed boundaries in Bob Woithe's questions. I also checked with the SKA and mentioned your concern and no one there felt our prices were too high. I wish I could do them free for everyone but we only want to put on good events and boy, does that take money and a lot of hours.

Comment -- We do a lot of events each year, mostly tennis and golf, some auto sports. I think the people I've met with the kingfish tournaments -- SKA staff, anglers and their families -- are the best I have to deal with. I really appreciate everyone's input and suggestions. - Phil Well