ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. (Sept. 30, 2007) – Team Reelin captained by Marc Pincus of Hilton Head Island, S.C., caught a kingfish weighing 28 pounds, four ounces Sunday to win $40,000 in the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event presented by Raymarine in Atlantic Beach with a two day total of two king mackerel weighing 64-6.
Teams fished under mostly sunny skies, but heavy winds brought 6- to 8-foot seas. Fortunately, Pincus chose a plan that spared his team an offshore beating. “It was pretty nasty out there, but we fished on the beach so we had a little protection.”
Joined by Shawn Brantley, Eric Moore and Zack Lynam – all of Hilton Head Island – Pincus ran north of Beaufort inlet and fished in 30 feet of water about a mile off the beach of Shackleford Banks. The team slow trolled live menhaden around schools of threadfin herring (“greenies”).
“We targeted structure during practice, but only caught small fish, so we decided to spend most of our time on the beach,” Pincus said. “Back home in Hilton Head, the big fish come from the beach and when we saw all those greenies, it was hard for us to resist. There were actually small kings skyrocketing through them.”
The team’s final round kingfish struck early and ate a menhaden rigged with 44-pound wire and No. 4 treble hooks on a downrigger line set 20 feet deep and 70 feet behind the boat. Lynam handled the rod and Pincus gaffed the fish 20 minutes later.
“We had the lines in for maybe five minutes when we caught that fish,” Pincus said. “That took a lot of pressure off of us early today. Did we think that fish was big enough (to win)? No, we didn’t but it’s a great feeling to have a fish in the boat early.”
Team Reelin caught a 36-pound, 6-ounce kingfish day two on a live menhaden to qualify for the final round of five teams in fifth place. Team McNeill and Team Hard Way – the leaders from day one and two – caught no kingfish Sunday and settled for fifth and fourth place, respectively.
Rounding out the top five teams were Team Predator captained by Jack Wood of Wake Forest, N.C. (two kingfish, 57-12, $13,090 plus $9,000 Wellcraft bonus and $9,000 Yamaha bonus); Team Logan’s Run captained by D Logan of Bellville, N.C (two kingfish, 50-15, $7,700 plus $5,250 Yamaha bonus); Team Hard Way captained by C. Todd Korker of Jupiter, Fla. (one kingfish, 41-7, $6,160 plus $4,250 Hydra-Sports bonus and $4,250 Yamaha bonus); and Team McNeill captained by Ellis Phillips of Richmond Hill, Ga. (one kingfish, 38-10, $5,390 plus $3,750 Hydra-Sports bonus and $3,750 Yamaha bonus).
FLW Kingfish Tour qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competed Friday and Saturday, and the top five teams based on the heaviest kingfish from either day competed Sunday.
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