FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour anglers caught a few career-making, large fish under testy weather conditions Thursday morning. With mostly clear skies Friday, it’s going to be fun to see what they bring in on day two.
Team Folgers-Offshore Authority led all comers with a tour-heaviest 57-pound, 13-ounce king on day one, which they caught in the morning rain. As the weather clears for day two – and, hopefully, the water in some of the hot spots, as well – it’s not inconceivable for a 60-pound fish to cross the scale Friday afternoon.
While the leading fish were pretty sizable yesterday, many smaller kings also crossed the scale. One thing that seems to be hampering some teams is the lack of quality bait. More boats than usual seem to be pulling up and buying their bait from vendors in the morning, which points to a shortage of easily available bait-fishing.
Local outdoor writer Ed Killer says this is due to the onslaught of hurricanes that have raked the area over the last two summers. The storms have rearranged a lot of bait habitat and knocked down the grass. Plus, a lot of inshore water released from Lake Okeechobee into the Indian River has muddied up a number of areas along the intracoastal waterway, also diminishing the bait-fishing.
Still, there are big kings to be had, as evidenced by Thursday’s record fish. Whether they catch them today remains to be seen.
Opening round ends Friday
The 86-boat opening round ends after today’s fishing. The field will be cut to the top five, based on the heaviest single fish over the first two days, and will advance to Saturday’s final round. The winning team will be determined by heaviest two-fish weight, combining the opening and final rounds.
At stake in Fort Pierce is a potential $100,000 payday for the winning team. The total purse for the event is $330,000.
The scales open at 4 p.m. Eastern time Friday at Fort Pierce Marina, located at 1 Avenue A, with official check-in time at 6 p.m. The final, top-five weigh-in Saturday will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 5100 Okeechobee Road in Ft. Pierce beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:26 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 74 degrees
Expected high temperature: 86 degrees
Seas: 2-4 feet
Wind: SE at 11 mph
Maximum humidity: 69 percent
Day’s outlook: scattered thunderstorms