MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – The 50 boats competing in Friday’s second half of opening-round competition at the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship took off under leaden, breezy skies yet again, but spirits remained high for a big day on the water.
Yesterday, the field brought in as many 30-pound kingfish – three – as they caught during the entire qualifying tournament here Monday and Tuesday. Competitors expect a few more 30-pounders to come in today as well, and some are predicting the top-10 cut weight into Saturday’s finals will settle in around 26 or 27 pounds.
To that end, a number of boats made an obvious tactical change this morning. Yesterday, more than a few competitors remarked on the difficulty they had catching bait before actually fishing. All week, opportunistic local venders have been setting up bait boats along the inlet in an attempt to sell pogies, bluefish and ribbonfish to tournament boats heading out for the day. Until this morning, the bait boats haven’t seen a whole lot of business from FLW anglers, who’ve mainly been catching their own bait. But prior to Friday’s takeoff, tournament boats were lined up at bait vendors, presumably in an effort to shorten their own bait-fishing time and maximize their kingfishing time.
In short, it’s crunch time, and messing around with bait is the last thing these championship anglers want to do.
The 50-boat competition ends after today’s fishing. The field will be cut to the top 10, based on the heaviest single fish over the first two days, and will advance to Saturday’s final round.
At stake in the championship is a potential $150,000 payday for the winning team. The total purse for the event is $500,000.
The scales open at 3 p.m. Eastern time Friday at Sea Water Marina, located at 400 Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach, N.C., with official check-in time at 5 p.m. The final championship weigh-in Saturday will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 300 Highway 24 in Morehead City beginning at 5 p.m.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:12 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 64 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Inshore water temperature: 75-79 degrees
Seas: 4-7 feet
Wind: NNW at 16 mph
Maximum humidity: 75 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly cloudy