VENICE, La. – What was initially designed as a two-day competition on the kingfish-rich waters of the Gulf of Mexico quickly turned into a one-day slugfest thanks to the pending arrival of Tropical Storm Arlene.
The field of 103 boats survived rough seas on Friday with some anglers reporting waves up to 10 feet in height. Despite the turbulent waters, which limited long runs, most teams found the kingfish willing and able to bite as 93 boats brought a fish to the scale. Team Slip N Side, led by Captain Tom Aberle, emerged from the pack with a 56-pound, 9-ounce king mackerel that earned them a $100,000 paycheck.
Team Slip N Slide fished an oil rig located about 55 miles from the Venice Marina in approximately 180 feet of water. Aberle, a Wilmington, N.C., native, described his encounter with the giant king mackerel.
“It was our second fish of the day; we caught a shark and then this one hit,” said Aberle. “It stayed down deep the whole time, and we thought it might be a tuna. “I couldn’t have done it without my son, Adam, and my best friend, Andy.”
Aberle went on to describe his team’s preparation for the event. “We got down here on Monday night, and we prefished all day Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said. “We used yesterday to get our blue runners, which is what we got it on.”
Megabyte happy to finish second
Team Megabyte finished in second place by boating one kingfish that weighed 53 pounds, 15 ounces. The father-and-son team from Theodore, Ala., finished 2 pounds, 10 ounces behind the winner, and they were thrilled with their performance.
“We’ve never caught anything like this big before, so we’re real excited,” said Ben Olensky, son of Captain Steve Olensky. “We were running a hardtail in about 30 feet of water when the fish bit. There was a lot of bait around the oil rig we were fishing, so we decided to stay for a while.”
Team Megabyte’s strategy earned them a check for $17,750.
Cat Daddy continues early success, places third
In third place was Team Cat Daddy, led by Captain Danny Mathis. The team, which took first place in the inaugural FLW Kingfish Tour event, brought one king to the scale that weighed 50 pounds, 2 ounces. Cat Daddy’s back-to-back top-10 finishes have nearly guaranteed them a spot in the FLW Kingfish Tour Championship.
Cat Daddy’s efforts earned them $15,750.
Captain Dan fourth
Following a pattern from the previous FLW Kingfish Tour event held in Fort Pierce, Fla., Team Captain Dan, led by Daniel Gourley of Hardeeville, S.C., once again finished one place behind Team Cat Daddy. Captain Dan’s kingfish weighed 49 pounds, 11 ounces, only 7 ounces behind their new archrival.
Captain Dan’s fourth-place finish netted them $8,200.
Hannon’s Cannon fifth
Team Hannon’s Cannon of Seminole, Fla., earned $7,200 and finished in fifth place with a weight of 49 pounds, 1 ounce.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 teams at the FLW Kingfish Tour event:
6th: Team Crawgator of Venice, La., 48-10
7th: Team BFGoodrich of Neptune Beach, Fla., 48-1
8th: Team Snickers of Tampa, Fla., 47-4
9th: Team Early Riser of Jacksonville, N.C., 46-15
10th: Team Big Bad Wolf of Wilmington, N.C., 46-11
FLW Kingfish Tour competition resumes July 8-9 in Mayport, Fla.