LAKE FORK, Texas, 6/20/05 - The action was non-stop at the 12th annual Skeeter Boats Owner's Tournament this past weekend. No lake record was broken, but during the two-days of competition the tournament committee had quite a time keeping track of all of the winning fish.
With a lot of money on the line it came down to the final weigh-in on Sunday before the winners were announced. Tournament Chairman and Marketing Manager for Skeeter Boats Daren Cole said it was pretty suspenseful.
"With so many new divisions and different ways to win, no one knew until the very end," said Cole.
The awards ceremony began Sunday afternoon with guest emcee, Fish Fishburne announcing Tony Rogers of Arlington, TX as the winner of the brand new Skeeter SX200, valued at $25,000. Rogers' catch of a 10.52 pound bass gave him the win over Byran Reid of Longview, Texas, who came in at second place with a 9.52 pound bass. With all of the added value categories that Rogers signed up for, he collected an additional $2,000. Fishburne went on to announce winners in over twenty categories and gave away more than $100,000 in cash and prizes.
The tournament fielded 766 Skeeter boats ranging from early 1960 models to the newest 2005 model ZX250 bass boats used in the drive through weigh-in. More than 1,545 anglers cast a line for their chance at the big bass prizes.
The land side had plenty of action too. Daily demonstrations of Skeeter bass boats, trolling motors and the latest technology in electronics were shown for draw prizes. The Sky Ranch Kids Pond and display aquarium kept people entertained as they bid on items in the silent auction to benefit numerous local and national charities.
"Our owners really came through, helping us raise almost $10,000 toward youth and marine enhancements initiatives," Cole said. "We also collected more than 200 individual toys in our first Boat Load of Toys program. We plan to make a lot of East Texas Children very happy this Christmas."
For more complete tournament standings and a list of winners please visit www.skeeterboats.com.