Ep 353| Southern Kingfish Association

Rob Lipolla and Cody join us in the Brown Water Studio to break down everything about the Southern Kingfish Association — a tournament series that's been running since the late nineties across the entire Southeast coast from Texas to North Carolina.

🎣 Rob has been fishing SKA tournaments for roughly 25 years and shares the history of how the organization grew into a major competitive circuit with divisions broken into regions across the Gulf, South Florida, and the Carolinas

🏆 Cody is heading into his third year fishing the SKA and won the small boat division nationals last year after traveling to the East Coast of Florida — that's when the bug really hit

🐟 The tournament format is a two-day event with one fish per day and an aggregate weight of the two fish determining the winner

📍 Biloxi used to host the national championship every year in November because the king mackerel fishery was so strong — tournaments drew several hundred boats with shotgun starts that rivaled the Billfish Classic

📉 The conversation digs into why the Gulf Coast kingfish population has declined — water temperatures rising, salinity changes from Louisiana rain runoff, the lasting effects of the oil spill, overfishing, and better technology putting more pressure on the resource

🤝 Cody talks about what makes the SKA culture different from other tournament circuits — the camaraderie, the family atmosphere, and a community that keeps anglers coming back

👋 Shoutouts to Bobby Carter, Jack Holmes, and the early figures who helped bring SKA tournaments to the Mississippi Gulf Coast before the Billfish Classic even existed

Also big thanks to Southern Magnolia Smiles, Forever Young Men's and Women Health, Taylor and Cox Law Firm, and Cedar Lake Power Equipment for the support! 

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