Kingfish Connection: Congrats on the big Kingbuster win with your 47.40 pounder!
Rembrandt Gray:
First Dan, we would like to thank all the staff, sponsors and promotors of the the Kingbuster 400 Junior & General tournaments for the great job they do every year with this tournament. We would also like to thank Spectre and Yamaha for getting us a boat that far exceeds our expectations for a fishing boat we hope to do more business with them in the future.
Coming into this tournament, what was your strategy?
Our strategy was to find clean water, bait and good water temperature.
Did you want to stay close or make a big run?
By all means we were hoping not to make that big run with gas prices being the way they are. We also had Hannah, our grand daughter on the boat, and we always take that in consideration when deciding whether to run or not, even though she has no problem with running. We could have made that run in this boat but didn't find it necessary. We were lucky that we found an area away from the huge boat traffic.
Every little factor matters when fishing, but to you what single variable is the most important factor to deciding on where to fish?History, bait, water temperature, structure, or something else?
All the above are important to us, to also include water clarity. We generally never single out one factor, but if we would have to it would be water temperature.
What time of day did the bite come?
We got a late start due to waiting for our bait but figured that we would probably have a better bite on the change of the tide anyway. Our second bait out was the big fish. We were using big blue runners, goggle eyes and ribbonfish. Our winning fish came on a fresh beautifully brined ribbonfish that we get from our guy (Chris) down in Canaveral. FYI - we've been using that new PRO CHUM in our spreads as well and have pulled in some good fish in the last three tournaments.
When did you know that the fish was something special?
We knew we had a good fish when Jim Jacunski yelled ''Get the gaff!'' It used to be when he said ''Oh yeah'', which threw us for a minute, but we figured it out quickly when we looked over the gunnell. Jim was the angler on the fish and probably fought the fish for about 25 minutes.
You also won the junior angler event, which is separate, this week. How does this win compare to that?
We are always very excited for our junior angler, Hannah, when she does well and especially winning this junior tournament with her favorite Captain, Captain Don. This junior tournament would not be the best that it is without Captain Don. The whole team loves him because he is truly there for the kids and the kids are our future. Now winning a Fountain Boat surely makes it fun for us grownups too. Thanks Reggie for a beautiful boat we can understand why you take such pride in building it.
You fish with several family members, including your granddaughter. Why did you decide to introduce this sport to your family? Do you think more teams should?
My wife and I met 35 years ago on a fishing boat down in Miami and we were both brought up by our parents to fish the Miami area and the Florida Keys. It was truly a great childhood and legacy to pass on. We moved up to the Lake County area to start raising our family and taught them to fish and have started teaching the grand kids, nieces, and nephews as well. Family is very important to us, our fishing team consists of myself, my wife, my daughter, my son-in law, my granddaughter, my brother-in law and Dean who is adopted family. We don't all fish on the boat at the same time but someone's always available to help us out. We fully recommend others to fish with family it made this win that more special.
How does this win compare to your other angling accomplishments?
All our wins were special in there own way. My wife's first lady angler win in Hogsbreath was special. Our daughter's first 50 pounder in our very first Nationals was very special and our granddaughter's first place junior angler at the PAL Tournament in Clearwater this year was also special. But to take the junior and the general tournament at the Kingbuster has got to be the very best (thank you Jim and Hannah).
How tempted are you to at least take a ride in your brand new 23' Fountain?
We might have to take it out to show a potential buyer to show them what a great boat they'd be getting don't we.
What other events are you planning on fishing this season?
We'll be fishing the Ancient City (another favorite), the AT&T Greater Jax, the Daytona Saltwater Classic, Salty Marine's Canaveral Mac Attack and hopefully Nationals in Biloxi. We also do as many locals as we can to fill in the time.
Does a big win like this just rejuvenate everyone on the team?
You betcha
Editor's Note: The photo was published in The Times-Union by Jim Sutton.
