ESPN Freshwater

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. — A slight misjudgment could have cost Capt. Nick Winger and his Team Angler Boats of Tampa Bay, Fla., but in the end the team made the right decisions.

It helped Team Angler Boats win the Tarpon Cup, the championship event of the Miller High Life Professional Tarpon Tournament Series presented by Century Boats this past weekend. The Top 25 teams in the Yamaha Team of the Year Race, determined over the past five weeks, competed in the five-hour event, with the winner determined by the aggregate weight of two fish.

Fishing proved to be a challenge as only three fish were landed in the first two hours, two by Team Miller's Ale House, and one by Team MyELS.com. All were leader released.

Just after 11 a.m., Team Angler Boats hooked up. After a 30-minute fight, the fish was boatside and the team decided to take it in.

"We knew we had to weigh two, and thought the fish was around 160 pounds" said Winger, proved wrong when the Tires Plus scale showed 119. "We were discouraged, but determined to go out, hook a bigger one, and bring it in."

After losing two fish, one estimated at above 170 pounds, Capt. Troy Sapp and Team Yamaha almost lost another to a large hammerhead shark but brought in the 140-pounder to take the lead.

The drama continued as Team Howard Leasing reached the Miller's Ale House weighboat with a 129-pound tarpon. It was immediately surpassed by Team Culo Majada's 130-pounder. Shortly after the bite began to taper off.

Team Angler Boats then reported another hook up.

"The fish never jumped, so we weren't sure what we had," Winger said. "After misjudging the first fish, I was nervous about making another guess, so we put it to a team vote, and the decision was made to take it to the scale."

A decision that would ultimately pay off for Winger and his crew of Capt. Lori Deaton, Rodney Taucher, and Mike Kopel. The 123-pounder gave them a total of 242 pounds. They were the only team with two fish over 100 pounds.

There was some last-minute drama as Team Yamaha radioed in a hook-up with less than 10 minutes of fishing left. Team Hendrick Roofing, which had previously weighed in 65-pound tarpon, was also headed to the scales.

"When I heard these fish were coming in, I almost threw up," Taucher said.

Ultimately neither fish was large enough for either team to take the lead from Angler Boats, but it moved Team Yamaha in to second place, sliding Team Howard Leasing to third. Hendrick Roofings' fish propelled them into the fourth with Team Culo Mojada dropping to fifth place.

With the victory, Team Angler won a new Century 2102 Inshore powered by a Yamaha F150 four stroke motor and Continental aluminum trailer, along with four, custom Tarpon Cup Championship Gold Rings. The total prize package valued at $45,000.

The Tarpon Cup Championship marks the end of the sixth season of the Miller High Life PTTS presented by Century Boats. During the seven events, 78 tarpon were weighed in for a total of 10,188 pounds, with the average fish weighing 131 pounds.

Additionaly, 258 tarpon were leader released, which translates to a fish being released every 49 seconds of competition. Other highlights include a record setting 217-pound tarpon which won Week 3, and is the largest tarpon ever to be weighed during a live release tarpon fishing event.

"This year was by far the best fishing we have ever had." said Joe Mercurio, PTTS TV host. "The competition level is the highest it's ever been and it shows by the number and size of the fish landed. Next year should be even better."

Top Five Tarpon Cup

1ST PLACE: Angler Boats, Capt. Nick Winger, Tampa Bay, Fla.: 119/123; 242 pounds

2ND PLACE: Yamaha, Capt. Troy Sapp, Odessa, Fla.: 140/85; 225 pounds

3RD PLACE: Howard Leasing, Chuck Howard, Bradenton, Fla: 129/52; 181 pounds

4TH PLACE: Hendrick Roofing, Capt.Jim Huddleston, Tarpon Springs, Fla.: 65/96; 161 pounds

5TH PLACE: Culo Majada, Steve Kocis, Thononasassa, Fla.: 130/0; 130 pounds

Tarpon Cup standings

Captain Name	Team Name	Fish#1	Fish #2	Total LBS
Winger, Nick	Angler Boat Corp.	119	123	242
Sapp, Troy		Yamaha/Fins N Tails		140	85	225
Howard, Chuck	Howard Leasing	129	52	181
Huddleson, Jim	Hendrick Roofing	65	96	161
Kocsis, Stephen	Culo Majada	130		130
Price, Artie	Miller's Ale House	116		116
Gauthier, Ron	Explorer/Gaff Magazine	108		108
Jacobson, Derrick	Famouscraft Boats	107		107
Stewart, T.J.	MyELS.com/Castaway Charters	93		93
McGuire, Bobby	Pro Marine	88		88
Crawford, Mark	FloridaDefense.com	69		69
Creek, Doug	Century/Miller Chill	65		65
Fisher, Ozzie	Yamaha F350			0
Hagaman, Jeff	Century/Odyssey			0
McLay, John	Samon Group/Out of Line			0
Kien, Ronnie	Courtside Grill			0
Mannino, Eric	Reel Time Productions			0
Chivas, Cody	Salt Rock Grille/Salt Life			0
Greene, George	MGD 64			0
Totten, Jeff	Century/Yamaha-PoonCrazy			0
Bowler, Steve	Tundra/Sun Toyota			0
Hart, Brian	Black Jack Wraps			0
Johnston, Doug	Johnston Jewelers/Reactor Watches		0
Dupper, Steve	Lake and Bay			0
Burbach, William	CaptainWillBurbach.com			0