2007 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship
Biloxi, Miss.
Opening round, Friday
Searching for redemption … For Team M&M’s, the 2007 Kingfish Tour season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. After taking a commanding lead in the overall points championship after the third tournament of the year (as a result of a 13th-, first- and fourth-place finish during the first three events of the season), Team M&M’s looked poised to capture the Land O’Lakes Team of the Year award going away. However, in the fourth and final regular-season event of the year, Team M&M’s luck changed for the worse. “We were leading the whole thing after the third event, and then we lost a top-five fish during the last tournament of the year. That would have clinched it for us,” said Capt. Randy Griffin Jr., whose M&M’s team ultimately finished the year sixth place overall in the standings. “But if we can make the top five at the championship this year, it will definitely take the sting out of winning the points championship.” However, if today is any indication, that sting may soon dissipate entirely. Using a monster catch of 51 pounds, 10 ounces, Team M&M’s grabbed first place overall at the 2007 Kingfish Tour Championship heading into tomorrow’s second day of competition. “We’re pretty happy,” Griffin said. “We really hadn’t found any fish all week, and today we hopped around and finally landed on the right spot.”
No pain, no gain … While Team M&M’s was ecstatic to be back in first place, it did come at a cost – and a painful one at that. “We’re trying to free a 10-pound fish and get it back into the water,” said Griffin. “We went to pop the hooks out, and the hook jumped up. Suddenly, the fish had one hook in him and one hook was in me. It was a No. 3 single-nose hook, and it wound up buried in my hand all the way to the bend in the hook and then some. We cut off part of it, but it’s still in there. It isn’t pretty.” Hopefully, the excitement of heading out on day two in first place will act as a much-needed anesthetic.
Chasing the leaders … In second place, after weighing in a huge catch of 49 pounds, 3 ounces, was Team Collins. “We’re all making bets on the way in, and most of us thought our fish was either in the high 30s or low 40s (pound wise). So, I’m very happy right now,” said Mike Muhlbauer. “It was a little rough out there today in the beginning, but it turned out to be a great day. The kingfish were hitting everything – blue runners, ribbonfish, you name it. We’re fortunate to have found one spot where the fish were all bunched up. We probably caught 15 to 20 fish today.” Teammate Jeffrey Parrish agreed. “It was a great day. Everything just kind of fell into place for us today. We caught our biggest fish on our second bait about 9:30 a.m., and that really took the pressure off.”
Rig jumping is technique du jour … While anglers employ a variety a techniques throughout the year to target kingfish, there is no question what the tactic of choice is during the 2007 Kingfish Tour Championship – oil rig hopping. “We went about 110 miles to the West Delta area, and probably a quarter of the teams were there – 12 to 13 boats at the least -fishing those rigs,” said Ricky Cook of Team Pro Marine USA.com, whose team finished the day in third place overall with a 42-pound, 12-ounce catch. “Fish are usually on structure, and the structure that’s out here is those rigs. What most teams are doing is just jumping around from rig to rig, looking for those bigger fish.”
Ex-champions trying to bounce back … After winning the inaugural Kingfish Tour Championship title in 2005 and then finishing in second place (by a mere 4 pounds) in 2006, Team Raymarine is searching for the glory days once again. “We want first place again,” said Robert Daugherty. Unfortunately for Team Raymarine, after turning in a catch of 20 pounds, 14 ounces (good enough for 29th place), the crew will have a lot of catching up to do in tomorrow’s competition if they hope to qualify for the top-five cut. However, luckily for them, they are not lacking in confidence. “We’ll do a lot better tomorrow,” said Daugherty. “We always struggle on day one and find them on day two. You just go out there and try your hardest. That’s what it’s all about.”
I had a dream … As the owner of the record of the largest kingfish caught in the history of the FLW Kingfish Tour (57 pounds, 13 ounces), Team Folgers Capt. David Kingery shared another unique experience with the crowd today. “I had a dream I broke the record last night. It was a 60-pound fish,” said Kingery with a smile. However, fortune didn’t always smile on Team Folgers today. After heading out 40 miles toward their destination of the West Delta, the midsection of the boat’s motor broke, forcing the team back to the marina. “Luckily for us, we had another boat here for display purposes, and we’re able to swap boats and still have time to go fishing. We wound up fishing in the opposite direction (that we intended), but the good thing was we found some fish in some areas that we wouldn’t have even checked today, had we not broken down. So, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.” In the end, the team finished the day in sixth place with a total catch of 38 pounds, 1 ounce. And as for that dream? There’s still tomorrow.
Quick numbers:
55: Total number of teams qualifying for the 2007 FLW Kingfish Tour Championship.
38: Total number of teams that weighed in on the first day of competition.
1,039-01: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of kingfish caught during the opening day of competition.
150: Total prize money, in thousands of dollars, earmarked for the 2007 Kingfish Tour Championship winners.
57-13: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of the largest kingfish caught in the history of the FLW Kingfish Tour.
51-10: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of the largest kingfish caught during day one of the 2007 Kingfish Tour Championship.
0: Number of times Team Raymarine has finished the Kingfish Tour Championship lower than second place.
Sound bites:
“Basically, what it comes down to is a lot of luck and a lot of skill.” – FLW Kingfish Tour angler Randy Griffin Jr., whose M&M’s team currently stands in first place.
“That’s going to be our bait for tomorrow, I guess.” – Kingfish Tour pro Joel Coker, joking about the relatively small catch (23 pounds, 14 ounces) his My Three Sons team landed in today’s competition.
“From what I understand, if you’re only catching 20-pounders on a rig, it’s time to move to another rig.” – Kingfish Tour pro Shannon Rowland of Team Miss Micki2 (26 pounds, 15 ounces), talking about the intricacies of fishing oil rigs and the need to adapt quickly.
“The money is nice, but it’s really all about fishing with your buddies.” – FLW Kingfish Tour angler Randy Griffin Jr.
Day two of Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship action continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. Central at the Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel marina, located at 151 Beach Blvd. in Biloxi, Miss.