ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. (Sept. 29, 2007) – Team Hard Way captained by Todd Korker of Jupiter, Fla., caught a kingfish weighing 41 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to capture the lead in the $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event presented by Raymarine in Atlantic Beach, where the nation’s top king mackerel teams are competing for a top award of as much as $100,000 cash.
Joined by Marty Koehler of Hopewell Junction, N.Y. and Josh Denton of Melbourne, Fla., Korker fished in 21 feet of water north of the Beaufort Inlet. With seas running 6-8 feet, crossing the shallow water around Cape Lookout proved challenging. “The seas were big – especially when you crossed the shoals,” Korker said. “You had to have plenty of nerve.”
Returning to a spot they had identified during practice, the leading team targeted baitfish schools during day two. The top kingfish hit a jumbo bluefish on a break-away rig around 3:50 in the afternoon. Korker fought the fish and Denton gaffed it after a 10-minute battle. Korker said the strike was the most violent he has ever witnessed.
“That fish hit the bait with a vengeance,” he said. “I’ve never seen a rod explode like that one did. That fish hit and screamed off 400 yards of line in a matter of seconds.”
Fishing a brand new 33-foot Hydra-Sports center console with triple 250-hp Yamaha outboards, Korker said he’ll probably need every inch of his rugged boat on day three. “It depends on how rough it is, but I’ll try to beat the shoals and head north again. I’ll get up tomorrow morning and see how it looks.”
Rounding out the top five teams are Team McNeill captained by Ellis Phillips of Richmond Hill, Ga. (38 pounds, 10 ounces); Team Logan’s Run captained by D Logan of Bellville, N.C. (36 pounds, 6 ounces); Team Predator captained by Jack Wood of Wake Forest, N.C. (36 pounds, 6 ounces); and Team Reelin captained by Marc Pincus of Hilton Head, S.C. (36 pounds, 2 ounces).
When the scales finally closed, 43 teams had landed kingfish weighing more than 900 pounds.
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 Seawater Marina located at 400 Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach at 6:30 Sunday morning. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 300 Highway 24 in Morehead City beginning at 4:30 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Atlantic Beach tournament hosted by the Crystal Coast Tourism Authority will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States Nov. 25 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 servicemembers 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.
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