Captain Ron Mitchell and Team Bandit have done it again. They have been crowned the 2009 Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) “Angler of the Year” for the second time in four years – the first team to bring home the chrome for a second time under the new SKA tournament schedule.
Captain Ron Mitchell and teammates Will Geraghty, Carl Carder, David Butler and Brad Butler have been traveling all over the southeastern US in search of large kingfish, competing in a total of X tournaments this season.
“This has been an awesome year and the competition has been fierce,’ said Ron Mitchell, team captain. “Every time we turned around, there was another team on our heels.”
Team Bandit ended the season with a seven fish aggregate weight of 270.24 lbs., finishing just 3.15 pounds ahead of the nearest competitor. “Our biggest fish was just shy of 47 lbs, but we were able to weigh fish every tournament, and consistency is the name of the game,” Mitchell explained.
Team Bandit campaigns aboard a 33-foot Contender center console powered by triple Suzuki 300 horsepower 4-stroke outboards. This powerful combination has literally taken them very far, very fast – all the way to the top. “I owe a big thank you to Suzuki Marine. We are the only Pro SKA team running Suzuki and their awesome performance and reliability week after week gave us a huge advantage.”
SKA kingfish tournaments are some of the world’s toughest fishing competitions, often involving long runs at high speeds across open water. It’s a sport where going faster and farther than the competition often separates winners from also-rans. It’s an endurance test of both men and machine, which is why Mitchell counts on his Suzuki-powered Contender. With 900 horsepower and Contender’s state-of-the-art high performance hull, this rig flies across the waves at more than 70 mph while providing a safe, comfortable and quiet ride. At the same time, Suzuki’s fuel-efficient 4.0-liter V6 outboards help the team go the extra mile for victory.
Team Bandit will face the top teams from the SKA Kingfish Tournaments Series in Biloxi Mississippi, November 19 – 22, 2009. An estimated field of 400 boats will compete during the four-day tournament to determine who will be crowned the 2009 SKA Kingfish Series National Champion.
“With the Angler of the Year award under our belt, we will continue to work hard and fish hard with the best of the best. Our sights are set on the National Championship in Biloxi. These teams are really competitive, so we can’t let our guard down for even one minute,” Mitchell continued.
For more information about Suzuki Marine’s complete line of high-performance 4-stroke outboards from 2.5 to 300 horsepower, contact American Suzuki Motor Corporation, 3251 E. Imperial Highway, Brea, CA 92821 o Telephone: (714) 996-7040. Boaters can also learn about all of Suzuki’s 4-stroke outboards online at www.suzuki.com.
