Key West - March 16, 2007 > Read article on Mid Current website
The second annual March Merkin Permit Tournament concluded today out of Hurricane
Hole Marina in Key West. Twenty four anglers and guides battled wind and cloudy
skies and eleven teams were victorious at landing at least one permit, with
the grand champion angler and guide landing six fish during the three day event.
Congratulations to Warren Hinrichs of Jacksonville and Captain Kris Suplee for their continued team effort. The team landed six fish for a total of 561 points. The second place winners were Mark Hoskin of Denver, CO and his guide, Captain Bob Paulson. The team caught three fish total.
Largest fish was awarded to David Dalu of Charleston, SC who was fishing with Captain Scott Collins. An identical sized fish was caught by angler Captain Peter Heydon of Key West while fishing with the oldest "guide" in the tournament, Bill Heindll of Matlacha.
Congratulations to all. The March Merkin raised money during this charity event to donate to the Don Hawley Foundation which helps Florida Keys fishing guides in need. Visit the Hawley website for more information on the cause.
Angler/Guide |
Fish Caught |
Total Points |
Warren Hinrichs/Captain Kris Suplee |
6 Fish |
561 Points |
Mark Hoskin/Captain Bob Paulson |
3 Fish |
281 Points |
David Dalu/Captain Scott Collins |
2 Fish |
237 Points |
Peter Heydon/Bill Heindl |
1 Fish |
122 Points |
Loran Rea/Captain Edward Michaels |
1 fish |
115 Points |
Chuck Moos/Captain Andy Thompson |
1 Fish |
108 Points |
David Seetapun/Captain John O'Hearn |
1 Fish |
106 Points |
Michael O'Brien/Captain Bill Houze |
1 Fish |
96 Points |
Tom Levandoski/Captain Chris McCreedy |
1 Fish |
93 Points |
Doug Mayer/Captain Carter Bates |
1 Fish |
93 Points |
Brian Byerly/Captain Justin Rea |
1 Fish |
84 Points |
There were two identical "big fish" caught. The winner on time caught was David Dalu/Captain Scott Collins. The same size fish was caught by Peter Heydon/Bill Heindl but later in the day. Both fish measured in at 30.5 inches and were each worth 122. points.
KEY WEST - March 17, 2006
The first annual March Merkin Permit Tournament concluded a three day run out of Hurricane Hole Marina this evening.
23 Anglers and guides competed in the first of what promises to be one of the more popular fly fishing events in the lower keys.
The tournament, which is a charity event for the Don Hawley Foundation, raised in excess of 13,000 dollars through donations, an auction of fishing gear donated by the industry and a Calcutta .
The Grand Champion was Jon Ain of Sugarloaf Key guided by prominent keys guide Captain Doug Kilpatrick. They also won the Big Fish title with a 28 pound Permit. Second place went to Moe Slayton guided by Mike Guerin both of Helena Mt.
Great March weather with sunshine, light breezes and temps in the 80's made this a terrific event.

Dates:
March 11th Captain's & Angler's Meeting and Dinner
- 6:00 p.m.
March 12th, 13th & 14th
Fishing 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
March 14th - Awards Dinner: 7:00 p.m.
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