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Double Gobble grabs top 5 finish
fishermen
Richmond Hill pro fishermen (from left) Mark Gerrald, Ellis Phillips and Steve Miller (not pictured is Rodney Rogers and Michael Hodges) holding up the 38-lb. kingfish that garnered them a top five spot in this past weekend’s FLW tournament in North Carolina.

Team McNeill/Double Gobble, made up of Richmond Hill residents Mark Gerrald, Ellis, Steve Miller, Rodney Rogers and Michael Hodges, once again placed high in a pro fishing tournament this past weekend.

Their 38 lb., 10 oz. kingfish earned them a fifth place finish and $13,000 in an FLW pro tournament this past weekend in Atlantic Beach, N.C.

The team was in first place for the majority of the competition, but was knocked down near the end of the tournament. "We thought we had it in the bag," Phillips said. He also noted that the final day of the three-day event was hampered with bad weather.

Coincidentally, on their heels was another Richmond Hill team. Taking sixth place were the Richmond Hill-based team Double J, featuring Rusty Rogers, Bob Barnett, Billy Blunt and Jerry Gregory. Around 100 teams competed in the event.

The event will be featured in an upcoming episode of FLW Outdoors on FSN. Phillips said it will make for good television as a cameraman was on board their boat during the final day, when the bad weather caused tremendously high waves.

Double Gobble has gained a reputation on the pro circuit for their consistency by being one of a few select teams to place within the top 20 in each tournament they have entered in the past year. This most recent victory places them 17th nationally in the FLW league.

Double Gobble now looks to the one remaining sanctioned tournament of the year: the FLW National Championship in Biloxi, Mississippi. They have already won the right to participate and have high hopes of a top finish and possibly the rights to bring the National title to Richmond Hill, Phillips said.

The National Championship takes places on Nov. 25 and will be broadcast in 29 countries. In addition to bragging rights, up for grabs will be a purse of $175,000.

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