MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – Lines have been respooled, rigs have been meticulously tied and game plans have been analyzed and reanalyzed all through the night. This is it. When 100 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour teams sent in their entry fees for the Fort Pierce, Fla., opener in April, this is what they had in mind: to make the top-10 of the Tour Championship where the best of the best are fishing today for a potential $150,000.
This morning, the top 10 teams were greeted with something they haven’t seen in over a week: sunshine. Certainly, going from 10 days of solid clouds to a sudden brilliant blue sky with beaming sun will have some impact on the Atlantic’s wily kingfish, and the top teams will have to adapt.
Though the sun is shining, the wind has not subsided. Forecasted winds for the day are from the northwest at 10 to 20 mph.
Unlike other FLW Outdoors fishing events, which usually zero out the weight in the final round, the top 10 teams are carrying the weight of their biggest kingfish from round one over into today’s final round.
Therefore, Team Early Riser, the tournament leaders, enter the day with a 4-pound lead over second place and a 14-pound lead over 10th place.
The Early Risers were on fire yesterday. Not only did they bring in the biggest fish of the tournament, a king just over 38 pounds, they also weighed in another fish that topped the 30-pound mark and released several in the 25-pound range.
“That’s what we’re hoping for today,” said Robert Daugherty, a member of the leading team. “I think if we can get one of those 25-pounders to add to our 38, we’ll be in good shape to win this thing.”
Other teams aren’t so fast to concede, however. Team Captain Dan, in seventh place with 27 pounds, 7 ounces, doesn’t see his 11-pound deficit as such a steep hill to climb.
“I saw some big ones skying yesterday,” Capt. Dan Gourley said. “A couple looked to be around the 40-pound mark. If we get one of those to hit and some of the guys up top stub their toe, anything can happen. I’m real excited. This is what you fish for all year.”
Kingfish teams are renowned for talking with each other on the radio during tournaments to help each other locate fish. With $150,000 up for grabs, and a championship trophy to boot, there probably won’t be as much “help” on the radio today.
“We have asked the teams not to talk with each other about the size of the fish they’ve caught today,” tournament director Dan Grimes explained. “That is mostly in an effort to keep some suspense in the equation when the top 10 teams weigh in at Wal-Mart this afternoon.”
Today’s final weigh-in will start at 5 p.m. Eastern time at the Wal-Mart located at 300 Highway 24 in Morehead City.
Saturday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:13 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 63 degrees
Expected high temperature: 79 degrees
Inshore water temperature: 75-79 degrees
Seas: 4-8 feet
Wind: NW 10 to 20
Maximum humidity: 50 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny