MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – After raining for basically a week straight, the clouds parted and graced Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour anglers with the prospect of a beautiful day of fishing as the second half of qualifying action began on the North Carolina coast Tuesday morning.
“I think the weather’s going to be a little bit more in our favor today,” Team No Doubt crew member W.D. Roddeffer said.
The storms have subsided, but the wind has not, however. While it was relatively calm in the inlet at dawn, the steady east wind that has bedeviled boats trying to fish past the shoals persists. Like day one, big swells could make things tricky again for anglers on day two, but at least the sun’s shining.
Whether or not that translates into bigger fish coming to the scale Tuesday remains to be seen. Team Marcia-D set the mark to beat at 35 pounds, 3 ounces Monday, but with more favorable weather, that weight could easily be topped.
At stake in the final qualifier is a $300,000 purse, with a potential $100,000 going to the winning team.
Also at stake are championship berths. A bevy of teams on the bubble – near 50th place in the yearly standings – need to catch a solid kingfish today in order to qualify and fish for even bigger championship money here the rest of the week.
The scales open at 3 p.m. Eastern time at Sea Water Marina, located at 400 Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach, N.C.
The top 50 teams in the season standings following the conclusion of qualifying action Tuesday will advance to the three-day, no-entry-fee championship to be held here in Morehead City Thursday through Saturday. The championship winner has the potential to take home $150,000.
For the qualifier, teams may weigh one kingfish per day, and the winner is determined by the heaviest fish of the event.
In the championship, the winner is determined by the heaviest kingfish from the opening two days plus the heaviest fish from the final day.
Tuesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:10 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 71 degrees
Expected high temperature: 79 degrees
Seas: 5-8 feet
Wind: NE at 13 mph, gusting to 18 mph
Maximum humidity: 80 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly cloudy