Traverse City Record-Eagle

Outdoors

September 3, 2011

Showtime Extreme wins at the end

Ladies tourney decided by less than a point

By DENNIS CHASE dchase@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Patience paid off for Showtime Extreme.

Captained by Sam Worden, Showtime Extreme won the Ladies Tournament on Friday, the opening day of the three-day Salmon Classic on Grand Traverse Bay.

Showtime Extreme edged Sally Ann 121.55 points to 120.85 points for the title and the $1,500 first prize.

Each team received one point per pound and 10 points per fish — with a five-fish limit.

“The last fish we caught, in the last 10 to 15 minutes, is what put us at the top,” Jill Clark said. “It was the second biggest fish we caught. That was the difference.”

Beth Courey landed what turned out to be the winner.

“They were hauling lines out just as we were reeling the fish in,” Clark said. “It was great.”

Clark, Courey and Brooke McMullen were the three women aboard Showtime Extreme.

Altogether, 20 boats were entered in the tournament. The women fished for nearly six hours.

Steve Joslin, a board member of the Grand Traverse Area Sports Fishing Association, which sponsors the event, said fishing was “a little slow” Friday.

“Only five or six boats weighed in five fish,” he said. “I was out on Wednesday and I had a tough time getting five myself.

“So I’m not surprised. That’s about average — a quarter of the boats got their limit.”

Showtime Extreme was one of those boats. Worden called fishing “phenomenal.”

“We went seven for eight on big kings,” he said. “That’s pretty hard to beat. It was good fishing today.”

Those kings ranged from 19.1 pounds to about 12.

“A lot of boats had nine to 10 hits, but they only caught a couple,” Worden said. “You can’t control that. We actually caught what we got our bites on. That’s what’s important. To go out there and virtually be almost 100 percent like we were is huge.”

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