FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Save a hurricane, the weather along Florida’s east coast couldn’t have been more dismal for the opening day of Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour competition at Fort Pierce. Still, the top teams found the conditions perfect for spending the day at the beach.
Team Miss Micki 2, captained by Ricky Rowland of Fuquay Varina, N.C., led all comers with a kingfish weighing 47 pounds, 1 ounce Friday. It was a big day at Fort Pierce, fishing-wise. While no fish broke the vaunted 50-pound barrier, new fewer than nine of them came in at over 40 pounds, and countless over-30-pounders crossed the scale.
That suggests that a big cut weight is on the horizon after tomorrow’s action, with many anglers predicting 46 or 47 pounds as the weight to reach to make the top-five cut.
Clouds, rain, thunder and just a little wind dominated the proceedings Friday, which, ironically, spelled out perfect conditions for most of the 86 teams to go to the beach. For the last three weeks, a stiff wind and inclement weather has blown off the coast. In the last few days, the wind has lightened up and the baitfish have made a run for the beach. On a favorable migration pattern, the kingfish followed and, following them, of course, were the anglers.
Most teams, including Miss Micki 2 made the left turn out of Fort Pierce Inlet Friday morning and ran north up the coast. But like the leaders, few ran far. They didn’t have to. The best kings were sitting just a few miles up and in close to the beach.
“It seems like the fishing’s been really hot the last couple days,” Rowland said. “The bait and everything’s come in, and I think it’s the whole migration of the kings.”
Fishing among a group of boats past Sebastian Inlet on a live bottom, Miss Micki 2 caught their leading king at about 11 a.m. on a big blue runner.
“We were in the right place at the right time,” Rowland said. “We had a little flurry there, and we caught four fish, total. We lost a really nice fish about an hour before that one.”
Miss Micki 2, it seems, were also the beneficiaries of some advance work by “Big Chief” James Hammonds and Team Play N Hookie, who clued them in on the spot where they caught their leading fish.
“We’re going to buy Chief a big steak. I think that’ll make him happier than anything else we can do for him,” Rowland said. “This place produces a lot of big fish, and I think there’s going to be a lot of big fish caught tomorrow. We’re just going to put out big baits, stay close by and take it easy.”
House-Autry second
Team House-Autry, captained by Ronald Sutton of Carolina Beach, N.C., earned the second spot with a king weighing 46 pounds, 10 ounces.
“Everything’s on the beach,” Sutton said. “We caught our fish by 8 a.m.”
Bounty catches two 40s, takes third
Team Bounty, led by Capt. Tom Aberle of Wilmington, N.C., grabbed the third slot with a fish weighing 45 pounds, 9 ounces.
“We were basically on the beach because there’s a lot of bait on the beach,” crewmember Adam Aberle said. “We could see the storm coming up, and it was about a half-hour away right before (the keeper fish) hit. We had on another nice fish in the 40s, too.”
East Coast Sports fourth
Fourth place went to another beach-fishing team, East Coast Sports and Capt. Randall Edens of Hampstead, N.C., for a kingfish weighing 43 pounds, 8 ounces.
In light of today’s high gas prices, Friday was an especially profitable day for them.
“We took off at 6:30 and we caught our first fish at 6:45. That’s a great feeling,” crewmember Chris Getty said. “It’s really good fishing, and they’re right on the beach. We could see the rock jetty (at Fort Pierce Inlet) all day, and we didn’t have to burn any fuel.”
East Coast Sports said they caught their fish on a big blue runner and also caught a couple more fish over 25 pounds.
Kat’s Rival fifth
Team Kat’s Rival, captained by Frank Langdon of Boca Raton, Fla., earned fifth place for a king weighing 43 pounds, 4 ounces.
“We turned left (out of the inlet), went about two miles and stopped,” Langdon said. “We caught it in about 12 feet of water, right on the beach.”
Kat’s Rival’s money bait Friday was a mullet.
Opening round continues Saturday
The second half of opening-round competition in the FLW Kingfish Tour at Fort Pierce begins Saturday as the full field of boats takes off from Fort Pierce Inlet at 6:30 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.