Double up

Georgia team leads FLW Kingfish Tour Championship with 36-8

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – For Team Double Gobble, the opening day of the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship was almost like fishing at home. Almost, but not quite.

Thursday saw a breezy, sporty morning ease into a temperate afternoon on South Carolina’s offshore waters. Capt. Ellis Phillips and Team Double Gobble capitalized on the lighter winds and a feisty late-morning bite to catch a 36-pound, 8-ounce kingfish, putting them into the lead over Team Kellogg’s by just over a pound.

“With this front moving through, the fish are turning on today,” crew member Rodney Rogers said. “The bite was very quick. We caught five fish in about 45 minutes, and after that it was all over. We caught that big one at about 10:30, and we came in at 12 o’clock.”

Many predicted that the kingfishing out of Charleston Harbor in November would be less than optimal for this tournament. In fact, most teams, like Double Gobble, were unable to practice at all prior to the event thanks to wind and rain over the weekend. Anglers spent much of their practice time trying to find and buy bait, which has been trucked in for this event by several entrepreneurial suppliers from as far away as Florida and North Carolina.

However, the top six teams all caught fish over the 30-pound mark Thursday. With conditions warming and calming down apparently for the next two days, the anglers are anxious to get after them again Friday.

With no practice fishing, Double Gobble relied on the fisherman’s best friend: local knowledge. Based out of Richmond Hill, Ga., the team ran south “about 70 or 80 miles,” according to Rogers, to fish familiar waters they had worked during previous tournaments this season.

“We fished there for the Beaufort (S.C.) tournament and also the FLW (Kingfish) Series (in the South Carolina-Georgia Division). We’ve fished that same area at probably four tournaments this year,” Rogers said. “It’s not quite our home waters, but it’s close. It’s a place that we got from a charter-boat captain a couple years ago.”

Rogers said there’s nothing particularly special about the area, just that it’s a “live-bottom area.” He said they caught their leading king on a blue runner in about 120 feet of water on the downrigger.

“It bit right away,” he said. “We never even got the bait down.”

All of Double Gobble’s catches Thursday were adventures in their own right. Normally a four-man crew, the team is short two crew members who were absent due to other obligations, leaving Ellis and Rogers to drive, reel and gaff all by themselves.

“It’s very difficult. Normally, we fish four or five rods, but we can’t handle any more than four with just the two of us,” Rogers said. “But I think we’re in really good shape.”

Still, Double Gobble doesn’t plan on letting up at all Friday. Many teams came in predicting that Friday would see an even better bite.

“We’ve got to go back out fishing tomorrow,” Ellis said. “I don’t feel comfortable at all. That Team Kellogg’s is one strong competitor.”

Kellogg’s second

Capt. Bryan Edwards and Team Kellogg’s of Little River, S.C., emerged from a bevy of about 25 boats fishing the same area with the second-heaviest kingfish of the day, which weighed 35 pounds, 9 ounces.

“When this one hit, it hit first, but then another one skied right after it,” crew member Kirk Lewellen said. “They were both about the same size, and we did everything we could to make sure we brought the bigger one in.”

While they said they fished about four different baits, crew member Mike Glover said they caught the big fish on a hard tail.

“We fished one spot all day long, and we caught six fish plus some sharks,” Lewellen said.

Koolau third

Fishing these waters for the first time, Capt. Conrad Lau and Team Koolau of Neptune Beach, Fla., placed third, also catching a 35-pound, 9-ounce kingfish.

“We caught one small one this morning – about 9 or 10 pounds – and then this one hit this afternoon,” crew member Andy Seeker said. “We figured that’s it. We didn’t think we’d catch a bigger one than that.”

Koolau also caught its keeper king in a crowd, saying they snagged it on a blue runner in “50 to 100 feet” of water, according to Seeker. They caught five kings total on the day.

“I would have sworn that fish was bigger (than 35-9),” Seeker said. “But that’s pretty strong for around here, from what I understand. Hopefully, it will hold up strong for us to make the top five.”

Hogg Heaven fourth, House-Autry fifth

Local Capt. Jason Hogg and Team Hogg Heaven of Mount Pleasant grabbed the fourth slot with a king weighing 32 pounds, 13 ounces.

“We caught it on a goggle eye on top at about 9:30,” crew member Scott Flanders said. “We caught seven kingfish today, but most of them were just teenagers. The big fish was the seventh king we caught.”

Capt. Ronald Sutton and Team House-Autry of Carolina Beach, N.C., rounded out the top five teams with a 32-pound, 12-ounce kingfish.

Opening round ends Friday

The second half of the opening round of the championship at Mount Pleasant begins Friday as the full field takes off at 7 a.m. from Charleston Harbor Marina. Teams are fishing for heaviest single fish over the first two days to determine the top five to advance to Saturday’s finals.