KingfishConnection.com: Mr. Holmes, welcome to the site. Please tell us how many Professional teams have committed to the SKA trail in 2005. How many are you expecting in total?
Jack Holmes: We do not require the fishermen who decide to enter the pro ranks to register before the first event of the year. However we've heard from over 20 teams that have indicated that they will enter the Pro ranks this season for the first time. I've only heard from a couple of teams that are not fishing pros from last year’s roster. This should be the first year we will reach our 100 boat goal. Our pros are a classy bunch. They communicate with me on a regular basis about all sorts of things related to our sport. They really care about where we've been and where we're going.
The increased payouts seem to be what everyone is talking about. What inspired this change? Would it be fair to say that the competition is helping the SKA put out a superior product?
Yamaha Outboards opened their checkbook for FLW. It wasn't whether they wanted to or not, it was business. Genmar is their largest customer. They could have just said good-by to the SKA but they didn't. They gave us some more money also. With some creativity we've managed to raise the purse substantially. Some have suggested that Yamaha is just hedging their bet, in case the FLW doesn't make it or Wal-Mart who has indicated once that they didn't want to be involved in King fishing bails. I believe that it has nothing to do with the SKA. Yamaha owes it to their customers who have supported SKA and it's trails and they did the right thing. I don't believe the competition influenced anything but payouts. We've always put on a good show and will continue to do so. What most people have to understand, we're just the guardians of the sport. We protect the playing field, but it was the fishermen of the SKA who has crafted what we do. They've set the rules, we must just enforce them. For years we had a Board of Directors who set the policy we use today. Now the board has changed, but all the safe guards are still in place. And I might add that our board, who is now made up of our owners, graciously gave of their money to insure the longevity of the association. To date not one single member has received any dividends. They are really heroes in my book.
Along with the SKA, who else stepped up and helped to increase tournament payouts?
None other yet in the Pros. On the Mercury Tournament Trail side were still working on a couple of sponsors. We work on Corporate Partners from September thru March. This is the toughest part of our business and it really never ends. My life would be a lot easier if some of our membership would realize who our sponsors are and what they give us. Support them!
The SKA prizes for 2nd through 15th places are superior to the FLW. Is it your goal to continue increasing payouts for those runner up finishes?
They will be increased as we add to our sponsor roles. But make no mistake, we have a hundred Pros and we will continue doing our best for them, but we have thousands who fish the Mercury trail and they must come first. When
you talk to a sponsor and you tell them about the pro ranks vs. the trail, it's a no brainer where they want to put their sponsor dollars. We've reached that half million dollar payout in the Nationals but my goal is to double that. We'll never raise that sponsorship level in the marine industry, so our efforts now must be from non endemic. At our last board meeting it was approved to hire a full time person to work just on outside sponsors.
This year the Golden Isles Tournament was not included in the Professional line-up. Are there any plans in the future to include this tournament again?
On the Yamaha Pro Circuit side, the sponsors have a say as to where we go. Obviously they want the best bang for their dollar so we constantly argue back and forth as to where we go. As with Golden Isles, Yamaha already sponsors the event so do we really need to be there? Tough question. My plans now are to do Savannah this year; Golden Isles next, just rotate them every two years. That should satisfy everyone.
Will you ever consider making teams commit early to the professional division like FLW is doing, so all of the anglers know how many teams they will be competing against?

Well now that they're there, maybe we'll have to consider it.
Do you have any plans to change the points system in Pros, so that small fish tournaments like Savannah are as important as Fourchon?
None whatsoever. Savannah is already as important as Fourchon. Remember last year, Fish Meister's most important fish caught was in Golden Isles. You can't give the pros all great places to catch just huge fish. The mark of a true champion is one that can catch fish everywhere. The SKA pro division’s "Angler of the Year" is steeped in tradition. Why would we change that? Every pro knows going in that they need a 240 to 260 pound seven fish aggregate to win sport fishing's most coveted honor. Plus even if they can't quite get there, there are National rankings that mean a lot to their sponsors. On this years trail, they must catch a good fish in Ft. Pierce, two fish in Fourchon, and one in October in North Carolina. The other four fish must come from Jacksonville and Savannah. Nobody said this was easy!
In other types of fishing tournaments and other series they have a championship for just the top few Pro teams. Will the SKA ever have a Pro Championship?
Don't think so. We did it for three years and the fishermen really didn't like increasing the schedule by another event. If they wanted it we would consider it but I don't know of anyone who's in favor of it. Besides, doesn't it really dilute the "Angler of the Year" honor. By the way, a Championship for the Pros was not our idea, it came from a sponsor.
Are there any other changes to the Pro division this year, besides the huge increase in payouts? If so, why were these changes made?
Not really. We will be adding some more glitz to the overall show, just like we do every year. Each year we try to put more effort into the show and I think the participants appreciate it. We do the same thing for the Nationals.
Will the destinations stay very similar, as they have in the past, or will the SKA consider adding some new destinations to the mix?
I try and make the mix, One in Florida, One in the upper Gulf, One in Georgia, South Carolina, and end in North Carolina. We also have to consider sponsor obligations, sites, lodging, etc. It doesn't always work that way but we try. I would like to see an event in Charleston or Myrtle Beach but we have limited access to the waterfront. But we're trying.
Will the SKA add more tournaments to the series? Moving from 5 tournaments to maybe 6, 7, or more in the Pro series?
No. Remember we went from fishing as many events in the Pros as you like with your best seven fish counting, then at the request of the fishermen we changes to ten events, still counting your best seven, one per event. Then we went to five, and for most fishermen it still means five weeks out of your yearly schedule. This has been the one that's worked best so far and the one I've had the least complaints about. The Pros would hang me if I suggested one or two more events. We're good to go right where we're at.
Do you see both the SKA Pro and FLW Pro having a place in kingfishing in the future? Is there enough room in kingfishing for two Pro circuits?
I like to think that there is room for both but only time will tell. I do know that they are reaching for our fishermen pretty hard. Do they have the ability to recruit on there own? I don't think so. Do you really believe that there are fishermen out there just waiting to go kingfishing because of the FLW? Absolutely not. Does SKA have disgruntled fishermen wanting to move? Probably so. But does that make them a pro? Where did they pay their dues? It amazes me that every time I'm shown some fisherman spouting off against our membership on some chat room, I just chuckle. The vast majority of these people have never seen what a winners circle looks like or what it takes to be considered among your peers as a good fisherman. Yes, they'll get some of those but until you fish against the best and leave a mark, everyone knows what they are. I do know that a motor company exec is doing his best to cajole our members with his brand to go over there and fish. He's even offering incentives. Is that fair or morally right? Absolutely not. But remember when KMA came along, or the USAA. Man we were the scourge of the earth according to them, but where are they now? We'll take the high road and when all the hoopla is over we'll still be doing our thing and continuing to grow.
Do you think that in the near future more non endemic sponsors will enter the sport?
Absolutely! If you look at BASS, how many non endemics do they have? Not many. The only way FLW got theirs is thru Wal-Mart. They twist the arms of their vendors to pay their tab. When you're Wal-Mart it works very easily. I remember back in the 90's we had a great cooler company as a Corporate Partner. Great people and we did, by their own admission, a great job for them. Wal-Mart put the arm on them and we got a call. "Doing the FLW Bass tour will take every penny we have in our promotional budget," was their message. "We got the message, do this or we'll find another cooler company." We lost a good sponsor. I often wonder what would happen if Wal-Mart said good bye to FLW, how many of those non endemics would stay onboard? Very interesting! But do I want to see that happen, not on your life. Because of them, both BASS, us, and all the rest of the fishing trails have an opportunity to help themselves. FLW has definitely helped the sport raise the bar.
We ask all of our guests this, and none would have a more valuable opinion then you. Where do you see the sport in 10 years?
Boy am I the wrong person to ask this question! I worry about our sport because it is expensive but then so is any kind of tournament fishing. I do see young anglers in BASS and that's encouraging, but I think that our sport is graying. Will our Class of 23 do what it is intended to do, bring new blood into our sport? Will the junior anglers go to college, graduate, get married and keep fishing. Who knows? So far I've seen very positive signs. We've certainly gained stature as far as a sport is concerned, and that awareness is beginning to awaken sponsor dollars. Every day I see more and more people come into the sport and most are for the right reasons. Camaraderie, family, the great outdoors, and let's not forget, recognition. Money is a motivator for some, but not the majority of who fishes with us. It's just the icing on the cake. If we stay the course, not forget what the SKA stands for, strengthen our sanctioned events, increase pro payouts, continue to promote our family values, ten years from now we could be the biggest thing since sliced bread. That's not just my dream; I hear it every day from the rank and file of the organization.
Lastly, everyone wants to be on TV. Will there be any changes to the SKA's show? Will the Pro division be featured more?
Now that we've gotten the first year under our belt, and boy did I learn a lot, we will begin fine tuning the show. Randy Crabtree, Ronda Abshire, and Matt Pitman will be joining the broadcast team. We will expand offshore coverage from two days to three to insure better action footage and coverage at the dock will be much faster paced. It is my obligation as producer of the show to get as many faces on the show as possible. Due to contractual obligations, Yamaha will be the sponsor of the five Pro events, and Mercury will get the remaining 8, two of those the Nationals.
What is happening on the conservation front?
We are happy to announce the SKA has entered into an agreement with The University of South Florida -Marine Science Department, St. Petersburg for $ 100,000 ($ 20,000 per year) over the next five years. The purpose of this grant is to support graduate students and their research in the marine science program. The SKA is a tournament organization but without the science we will never know the condition of our fish stocks. This also is paramount to other species as well. Once science is accurately in place we will know what we can take from the resource without long term effects. The value of our fish stocks is invaluable if we keep expanding our sport. This program will help all fisher people enjoy sport fishing for years to come. We will be announcing more plans on this in the very near future both on our web site and in the pages of Angler Magazine.
Thank you Mr. Holmes for stopping by!