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Meet Our Fishing Team
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Fishing For Pier Rats?
So you wanna know....what is a Pier Rat? Well, that's easy. I got the nickname years
back when the old Juno Beach fishing pier was still standing. I'm talking back in
the early 1970's. My Mom would take me up to the pier and drop me off for practically
the entire weekend, that was as long as my homework was done.
Well, by the time night fell on the Juno Pier, most of the fisherman had all gone
home. Except for all the die hards and of course little ole' me. Yep, just me and
the huge "Pier" rats that crawled out from under the old wooden structure late at
night to hunt for their dinner. I'm talking huge, hairy, black and scary rats! Scurrying
about, feeding on small dead fish and old dried up bait that was left behind on
the wooden planks of the pier by some ill mannered fishermen. Just me and those
little pesty "Pier Rats" hunh? Yep.....
Hence forth; this is how I became known as the Pier Rat. That was thirty years ago
now, and the nickname has stayed with me to this day. Now I fish the newly built
Juno Beach Pier and I hang out with all new Pier Rats. Oh and of course, all new
rodents as well. (LOL)
{Definition} PierRat \'rat\ n : A scaly-tailed destructive
Rodent larger than the mouse; also is known as a"psychotic rodent", who is obsessed
with fishing on the Pier.
I hope you enjoy my web site. I know you'll enjoy the fishing stories as well as
the fish pictures. These stories are all true to life and are from occurrences that
I have witnessed with my own eyes. It's all true I promise you that! I couldn't
make up stories like these, they all really happened. Like I said before. Only the
names have been changed to protect the innocent. Enjoy…….
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Captain (Nice Guy) Billy Wummer
Age: 32-years old
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
Misc: Five years serious tournament fishing
Member Of: SKA (Southern Kingfish Assoc) and FLW (Walmart FLW Kingfish Tour)
Nickname: “Nice-Guy Bill”
“He always finds the fish....Running and gunning!!!”
Captain Billy Wummer is one of the hardest working fishing boat captains on the
tournament circuit today. I’m not just saying this because he is my brother; I have
never seen a captain with more determination to winning then Captain Bill.
His preparations for each and every fishing tournament are endless. He never stops
trying, even up until the last minute of “lines out” he always keeps a positive
attitude that we will hook up at any minute. And then it’s lines in, hammer down
to get back to the dock for weigh in. He’s pulled us out on many last minute wins
with his non-stop perseverance and win-win attitude.
I really believe that Captain Billy has a permanent cell phone attached to his ear.
Sometimes I can hear that damn thing ringing in my sleep! He is always on that cell
phone gathering updated intelligence and trying to network on where the fish are
and where they aren’t. And this, although we continually kid him about being on
the phone, has won us many a tournament.
Billy has been fishing since he was knee high to a grasshopper. I know this because
I taught him. When he was old enough and strong enough to hold onto a rod and reel,
it was too late, he had caught the fever. Billy was hooked and there was no turning
back. Here's a picture of young Billy fighting a blacktip shark off a local beach
some years back.
Billy is thirty-two years old and continues to strive to be the best fishing boat
captain around the south Florida, West Palm Beach area. He has been serious tournament
fishing for the past five years and has taken us two years in a row to fish the
SKA nationals, which is a tremendous feat in itself.
Captain Billy will run and gun if that what it takes to win a tournament. By this
I mean, he will fish a spot giving it ample enough time to catch a weigher, and
if it doesn't happen then he's hammer down to the next good spot. This technique
can either make you or break you when fishing heavy competition. The more you run,
the less time the baits are in the water. But, on the other hand, if there are no
fish around or they just aren’t turned on, then you have to make a decision quick.
Do you move…or stick it out? That's where we trust in our captain to do the right
thing, and make that crucial decision. That's why he gets paid the big bucks!
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Bobby (Pier Rat) Wummer
Age: 43-years old
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Misc: Fishing Offshore Tournaments Since 1981
Member Of: SKA (Southern Kingfish Assoc)
Nickname: “The Pier Rat”
“Fishing With Us Is Always Mass Chaos @t High Volume !”
I began fishing when I was old enough to hold onto a rod and reel. Born in New Jersey,
but moved to south Florida when I was four. My Dad bought a boat when we moved to
Florida and I was hooked on offshore big game fishing from the get-go.
My father upgraded to a 31' Pacemaker sportfish in 1970 and I caught my first sailfish
when I was 10-years old. Hooked, fought, and landed my first white marlin while
standing up on my dad's fishbox when I was 15.
As a young teenager, I would fish the pier on weekends when I couldn’t go offshore.
I’d fish the entire weekend on the old Juno beach fishing pier, hence the nickname
Pier Rat. Pier Rat \'rat\ n : A scaly-tailed destructive rodent larger than the
mouse; better known by my friends as a "psychotic rodent," who is obsessed with
fishing on the Juno Beach Pier.
I am also the web master of my own fishing site www.pierrats.com.
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Kevin (Big Kev) Uumphrey
Age: 41-years old
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Misc: Five years fishing with Team Spiced Rum
Nickname: 1-Way, “RT” or Rod Thief, Big Kev
“Get out of my corner!”
Yes folks, Big Kev is a fishing fool and takes this tournament stuff pretty darn
serious. If a fish hits any one of his usual “three” rods you’d better just step
out of the way! And if you happen to abandon your rod while fishing, maybe go to
grab a sandwich, and your reels starts to scream. Well don’t even run for it, because
chances are it’s already in Kevin’s greedy paws and he’s already fighting the fish
on your rod. You snooze you lose! But seriously, tournament fishing is a “team”
sport and it’s a boat win, so it doesn’t matter to us who catches the fish…just
get it in the boat.
Kevin has put us on the leader board numerous times, and has managed to bring home
the trophies to prove that once again, Team Spiced Rum II is not a force to be reckoned
with. He is an extremely experienced angler and a thoroughly dangerous man when
it comes to catching fish, and I am proud to say that he’s on our fishing team.
Just remember Big Kev...there is no “I” in team.
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Howie (Tuminator) Tuman
Age: Old Enough to know better
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Misc: Five years fishing with Team Spiced Rum
Nickname: “Sam Scott” & “Chum-Master”
“Bomb em’ Boys...Bomb em’!!!”
Howie Tuman just happens to be my step father and we have been fishing together
since he married my mom back in the early 1970’s. He first took me fishing for huge
jack crevelle's along the old seawall down in West Palm Beach and we've been fishing
together ever since.
Howie is a crucial part of our fishing team, and a darn good fisherman. He brings
aboard his lucky “Sam Scott” bridge rod on almost every trip. Howie is from the
old school and also brings along the experience from his teenage days, when he fished
aboard the Rocket II out of SheepsHead Bay, NY with Captain Laddie Martin. Ah yes,
those good ole' Captain Laddie Martin moments.
It wouldn’t be the same if Howie wasn’t there reminding us of our previous fishing
trips. He continues to live in the past and that’s what makes him special. He is
an ace mechanic and keeps the boat running smooth. Nobody can put out a chum-line
like Howie can!!! Howie's second love besides fishing is diving and spear fishing,
this page is dedicated to him.
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Freddie (Turtle) Joseph
Age: 13-years old
Misc: Four years serious tournament fishing
Member Of: SKA (Southern Kingfish Assoc)
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Nickname:
“If he moved any slower...He’d be in reverse!”
Little Freddie or Turtle as we like to call him has been part of our fishing team
aboard the Spiced Rum for about four years now. And he lives by the nickname of
turtle.
But all that aside, he is one really great little fisherman! He has pulled out many
wins over his past “junior angler” career which is now all but gone due to him turning
13 years old very soon.
Freddie loves to drift fish and puts down a feather with a sardine triple hook rig.
He’s pulled up many kingfish and nice snappers on that rig. His two most memorable
catches were a sailfish on a bait runner spinning outfit with twenty pound test
line, and a 35 pound cobia.
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