MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – The 50 qualifying teams for the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship welcomed the sight of pleasant weather Thursday morning as they took off onto Charleston Harbor for opening day of the $500,000 season finale.
Colder, windier conditions over the weekend kept many teams from taking full advantage of their practice period in the offshore waters off the South Carolina coast, but milder weather over the next three days should give competitors ample opportunity to hunt down big kings and the sport’s biggest payday.
“It’s been blowing so hard that there wasn’t much point in doing very much. So bait’s been scarce,” said Capt. Nick Parrish of Team Castrol, the 2006 Team of the Year. “And it’s been a little bit chilly, but it’s supposed to be really nice for the tournament.”
While Team Castrol spent just a few hours on the water in a fruitless effort to scrounge up some bait in practice, many teams opted to forego the big sea swells and chilly air of the pre-tournament period. However, it’s crunch time now, and the sun and calm seas couldn’t have arrived at a more fortuitous moment. The forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies and seas in the 2- to 3-foot range for the duration of the championship.
For Team Castrol, which landed two top-10 finishes and never placed worse than 22nd place this season, they hope it’s a recipe for big-time success. Parrish estimated that contending teams will probably need to catch at least one 30-pound king, plus a 50-pound or more aggregate weight to push for victory.
“I think we’re more relaxed for this one than we were for the last two. I’d say that we’re comfortably confident,” Parrish said. “Because you’re team of year, nobody expects you to win this tournament. So that takes the pressure off. We’re laid back, and we’re going to have a good time. We’re not overly confident, but at same time we feel good about it.”
At stake in the championship is a potential $150,000 payday for the winning team.
The 50 teams will compete the first two days, Thursday and Friday, in order to make the top-five cut into the final round Saturday. Teams can weigh in one kingfish per day in the opening round; the top five heaviest single fish from the first two days will advance. The winner Saturday will be determined by combined weight: the heaviest weight determined by adding the team’s kingfish from the first two days to its fish on the final day.
Thursday and Friday, the scales open at 3 p.m. at Charleston Harbor Marina located at 24 Patriot’s Point Rd. in Mount Pleasant, 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 1481 U.S. Highway 17 North in Mount Pleasant beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:44 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 57 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Inshore water temperature: 62 degrees
Tides: 4:08 a.m. low, 10:33 a.m. high, 5:02 p.m. low
Seas: 2-3 feet
Wind: WNW at 9 mph
Maximum humidity: 64 percent
Day’s outlook: abundant sunshine