SARASOTA, Fla. – Capt. Tom Aberle and Team Slip N’ Slide took the early lead in Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour competition at Sarasota Thursday, catching a 38-pound, 9-ounce kingfish in the offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Actually, Capt. Aberle and crew didn’t have to head too far offshore to catch their biggest king Thursday. A steady easterly breeze and a full moon meant some of the day’s biggest catches came closer to land. Teams came in raving about how the baitfish were schooling and hopping all day.
“We headed south and fished right up on the beach,” Aberle said. “We caught our fish in about 30 feet of dirty water.”
Slip N’ Slide – the team consisting of Aberle, his son, Adam, and the father-son duo of Andy and Drew Barringer, which won the 2005 FLW Kingfish Tour event in Venice, La., and placed second at the fourth qualifier at Morehead City, N.C. – hooked up to their big king around 8:30 this morning. In fact, they had a double strike going when they eventually reeled in the 38 1/2-pounder on the long line. A first fish bit the line just off the stern, and they were battling that one when the big one hit on the long line.
“While we were fighting that fish, the big one came up and just shredded the bait,” Aberle said, adding that they both bit on blue runners. “He made a really long run; it was probably a 30-minute fight. It was really a fun day of fishing.”
After that, Aberle knew they had a contending fish in the cooler, but he was cautiously optimistic about Team Slip N’ Slide’s chances.
“It’s a good start, but it’s going to take a bigger fish than that to make the top five,” he said. “It will probably take something in the 40- to mid-40s range. We just got real lucky to get a good one.”
Hooligan takes second
Coming in second just 1 ounce ahead of Team My Three Sons was Team Hooligan, which caught a 37-pound, 11-ounce kingfish Thursday.
Hooligan also caught its fish in the midst of a multiple hookup, but theirs was a triple-header. In addition to the king they weighed in, they also had another kingfish estimated at around 23 pounds plus a barracuda. Fortunately for them, they picked the right line to go after.
“This fish tried everything he could to jump off the hook,” Capt. Joe Winslow said. “He wrapped himself around a submerged crab pot in about 8 feet of water. At first, I thought it was a jellyfish. We were very lucky that we guessed the right side of the boat. He scorched the bait, and that’s the only reason we guessed right.”
Winslow said Hooligan caught its fish on a hardtail.
My Three Sons third
Capt. Terry Grantham and Team My Three Sons grabbed the third spot with a fish weighing 37 pounds, 10 ounces.
“It started early for us. We caught that one at 9:30,” crewmember Joel Coker said. “We knew it was a good fish, and we’re hoping we’ll be able to stay in contention.”
Four Suns2 fourth
Team Four Suns2, captained by William Gressette, earned fourth place with a kingfish that weighed 36 pounds, 12 ounces.
Team Castrol / Royal Flush fifth
Capt. Nick Parrish and Team Castrol / Royal Flush placed fifth with a fish weighing 36 pounds, 1 ounce.
“Man, the bait is just stacked up right now – ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, bonita, blue runners, glass minnows,” crewmember Vann Parrish said. “We caught six or seven fish today. We were trolling ribbonfish and blue runners. That big fish bit on a blue runner hardtail at about 3:15, one of the last baits of the day. The key is just finding the hard bottom and lots of bait.”
Opening round continues Friday
The second half of opening-round competition in the FLW Kingfish Tour at Sarasota begins Friday as the full field of 85 boats takes off from Marina Jack at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time. Teams are fishing for heaviest fish over the first two days to determine the top five to advance to Saturday’s finals.