FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Team BP/Talkin Trash captained by Mike Edwards, of Wilmington, N.C., caught a kingfish weighing 47 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday and tied day-one leader Ricky Rowland of the Fuquay Varina, N.C. based Team Miss Micki on day two of the $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event presented by Evinrude in Fort Pierce. The nation’s top king mackerel teams are competing for a top award of as much as $100,000 cash.
Edwards, who won the Mayport, Fla. event in the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour’s 2005 inaugural season, fished with Jim Brady and Jot Owens, both of Wilmington, N.C. Driving a Yamaha-powered 33-foot Hydra-Sports, Edwards ran north of Fort Pierce to a patch of live bottom in 25 feet of water, approximately eight miles north of Sebastian Inlet.
Having scouted the area during practice days, Edwards felt comfortable committing his tournament plan to this area. “That’s where we’ve been fishing for three days. It’s been holding a lot of bait.”
Around 10:45 a.m., the tournament’s second 47-pound kingfish ate a dead ribbonfish on a downrigger set at 15 feet deep. Brady grabbed the rod and fought the fish for 30 minutes before Owens applied the gaff.
“The fish stayed down, he didn’t make a big, hard run,” Edwards said. “Usually when they stay down, you have to work them up without busting the line. We were basically pulling up 47 pounds of dead weight. Kingfish will make big circles, so what you try to do is keep easing him up to the surface.”
Edwards said he plans on sticking with his lucky spot. “We’re going to go back to the same spot and do it again (on Sunday). From the way the fish are being caught, it looks like we’re going to need at least a 30-pounder.”
Rowland fishes with his wife Shanon, Bill McLam, of Raleigh, N.C., and Mitch Yates, of Winston-Salem, N.C. The day-one leaders also ran north of Sebastian Inlet and caught their big fish on a live blue runner in 50 feet of water over live bottom. Confident with their top-five spot, Team Miss Micki ran offshore Saturday and caught live bait for Sunday’s finale.
Rowland said he’ll be hog hunting during the final round. “I think I need to run north of Sebastian Inlet and catch another fish in the 40-pound range,” he said. “There are so many big fish here I think anything around 35 will make us feel good, but a 40 is what I think we’ll need.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Team House-Autry captained by Ronald Sutton, of Carolina Beach, N.C. (46 pounds, 10 ounces); Team Wild Ride/M&Ms captained by Randy Griffin, of Hampstead, N.C. (46 pounds, 2 ounces); and Team Bounty captained by Tom Aberle, of Wilmington, N.C. (45 pounds, 9 ounces).
FLW Kingfish Tour qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes Friday and Saturday, and the top five teams compete Sunday. The winning team is determined based on the heaviest kingfish from Friday or Saturday plus the heaviest kingfish from Sunday. Teams will take off from Fort Pierce City Marina located at 1 Avenue A at 6:30 Sunday morning. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 5100 Okeechobee Road in Fort Pierce beginning at 4:30 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Fort Pierce tournament hosted by the Treasure Coast Sports Commission will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States September 9 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 service members stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The $1.7 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour consists of four regular-season events. After four events are complete, the top 50 teams will compete in the three-day, no-entry-fee $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship presented by BP in Biloxi, Miss., Nov. 2-4. The winning team at the championship will take home as much as $150,000.
The FLW Kingfish Tour will stop in Beaufort, SC., August 17-19 for its third regular-season event, presented by Yamaha Motors. The tour’s last qualifying event, presented by Raymarine, will be held in Atlantic Beach, NC, September 28-30.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.