ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – With the effects of Hurricane Ike battering the Gulf Coast from western Florida to southeastern Texas, FLW Outdoors officials have decided to delay the start of the Walmart FLW Kingfish Tour event at Orange Beach until Saturday.
Although the event was scheduled to take place Sept. 12-14, FLW Outdoors officials now say the tournament will be scaled down from three days to two in an effort to minimize the risk to anglers.
“When the storm cleared Cuba and got into the Gulf, it slowed way down,” said FLW Kingfish Tour Director Dan Grimes. “We had thought that the storm would have moved through the area by Thursday, but that really didn’t happen. So we’ve decided to postpone the start of the tournament until Saturday. We all want to get this tournament started as soon as possible. But we want to do it safely.”
With the telltale double-red hazard flags dotting the Gulf Coast shoreline for miles on end, and beaches closed to the general public for a third consecutive day, it was fairly obvious to everyone involved that the Orange Beach event would have to be amended in some form or another.
However, Grimes said that despite the weather setbacks, tournament officials will continue to do everything possible to maximize fishing time for the field for the remainder of the event.
“Right now, we’re going to start on Saturday and allow teams to fish extended hours – 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” said Grimes. “According to our information, the seas could be a little rough in the morning hours on Saturday, but conditions should get better throughout the day. After Saturday’s weigh-in, we’ll make our top-five cut. As scheduled, we’ll fish the finals on Sunday – which should turn out to be a really nice day.”
The competition
As many as 100 teams will compete in the FLW Kingfish Tour event at Orange Beach, which features a total cash purse of $300,000. Teams will be competing for a first-place prize of $100,000.
Teams are allowed to weigh in one kingfish per day as long as it meets the minimum 30-inch requirements. After Saturday’s competition, the top-five teams that have recorded the heaviest catches will advance to Sunday’s finals. The top-five finalist that has the largest combined weight from Saturday and Sunday will be declared the champion at the Orange Beach event.
In addition to lucrative cash awards, teams fishing the FLW Kingfish Tour are also vying for valuable points that could translate into a berth into the no-entry-fee $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship in Biloxi, Miss., Nov. 14-16. There, teams will have a shot at winning as much as $150,000.
Saturday’s takeoff begins at 7 a.m., at The Wharf marina, located at 4550 Main Street Intracoastal Waterway between mile markers 158 and 159 in Orange Beach, Ala.