Enlarge Photo

The Southern Kingfish Association's Mercury Tournament Trails National Championship was held Nov. 9-10 in Biloxi, Mississippi. The SKA was formed in 1991, and today draws members from all over the United States.

The Championship is the culmination of the season; with contestants qualifying for the Championship through regular season tournaments. This year's field included 123 teams in the Open Division, and 29 teams in the Small Boat Division (23 feet and under).

Winners are crowned from a two-day, two-fish aggregate total. A $100,000 bounty is available to any team who can break the Gulf record for the largest king mackerel of 74.10 pounds set in 2009.

This year's winners in the Open Class was the Pennyless, captained by Alex Burgess of Lake Worth, Florida (103.5 pounds). The Small Boat Division champion was the Reel Thrill, captained by Vaughn Ford of Youngsville, North Carolina. Their two-day tally was 97.06 pounds.

Two fully-rigged Contender boat-and-trailer packages were awarded to the first place winners. For more information on the SKA, visit their website at www.fishska.com.