MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (Oct. 14, 2005) - Team Early Riser headed by Captain John Parks of Jacksonville caught a kingfish weighing 38 pounds, 1 ounce Friday to jump from 36th place to lead the opening round of the inaugural $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship. The top 10 teams advance to fish Saturday, and the winner will determined by the accumulated weight from the largest kingfish caught in the first round and the largest kingfish caught Saturday. The winning team will earn as much as $150,000.
Fishing conditions Friday were similar to Thursday. Skies were overcast, wind was stiff and steady, and big kings were hard to find. According to local pros, big kingfish, fish approaching or exceeding 50 pounds, are usually relatively common in mid-October in the Morehead City area. Warmer than average weather, however, has prevented many of the large fish from migrating into the area.
After an unproductive day one, Team Early Riser clearly found the right areas on day two. Not only did Team Early Riser catch the largest fish of the first round, they also caught five other kingfish that would have made the top 10, including two fish that weighed nearly 31 pounds each, one of which was caught within sight of the check-in boat.
"We caught the big one at 9 this morning," Parks said. "It hit a pogy in 50 feet of water on a long line. It only took 20 minutes to land, but it nearly spooled us twice. We were up on plane chasing it.
"We got fresh bait this morning and had lines in the water by 8:30 a.m. Fresh bait was the key, and the wind blew harder today, the harder the better. When the wind blows hard, the bigger kings will come in to the beach to feed. If we can get a 25-pounder tomorrow, I think we can win it."
Team Early Riser finished fourth earlier in the week in Morehead City at the tours final qualifying event of the year.
Rounding out the top 10 teams are Team Rebecca Ann captained by Frank Strickland of Valdosta, Ga. (34 pounds); Team Reel Culture captained by Shane Hollar of Advance (31 pounds, 10 ounces); Team MyTurn captained by Steve Venable of Rural Hall (31 pounds, 10 ounces); Team Double Shot captained by Gerald Wagner III of Richmond Hill, Ga. (30 pounds, 12 ounces); Team Sea Rat captained by Mitch Yates of Winston Salem (29 pounds, 15 ounces); Team Capt. Dan captained by Daniel Gourley of Hardeeville, S.C. (27 pounds, 7 ounces); Team East Coast Sports captained by Randall Edens of Hampstead (27 pounds, 1 ounce); Team Chevy captained by Larry Fowler of Little River, S.C. (27 pounds); and Team Snickers captained by Alex Leva of Tampa, Fla. (24 pounds, 10 ounces).
Takeoff will start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Sea Water Marina located at 400 Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 300 Highway 24 in Morehead City beginning at 5 p.m. All activities are free and open to the public.
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, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $35 million through 235 events in 2006.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
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