Rebecca Ann rules fleet

Georgia team emerges from FLW Kingfish field with 34-pounder, leads championship

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – There weren’t a whole lot of secrets kept about where to fish on day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship, as close to three-quarters of the field ended up fishing the same community hole. Emerging from the pack was Team Rebecca Ann, which caught a 34-pound king and led all challengers in Thursday’s first half of the opening round.

“It better be a top-10 fish after the way the fishing’s been this week,” said Rebecca Ann Capt. Frank Strickland of Valdosta, Ga. “We fished the same place we’ve been all week. It’s the same place everybody else is fishing. There were probably 20 or 30 boats in there today. When you get offshore, I’m sure it’s pretty sloppy out there.”

The area, known as Dead Tree Hole, has been a favorite for kingfish competitors throughout the week because it’s a protected, productive area inside the shoals that few have dared to cross. The wind did shift around to the north Thursday, a more favorable direction for fishing here, but still the swells offshore, outside the protection of what’s known as “The Hook,” weren’t exactly inviting. Dead Tree Hole sits about five miles off the beach.

It was there, fishing among the fleet, that Rebecca Ann landed its first and biggest keeper, a king weighing exactly 34 pounds, at roughly 9:30 a.m.

“It was our first fish of the morning. It took about 15 minutes to get her in. She took one good little long run, then she came in and we gaffed her,” Strickland said. “Later, we caught another one about 12 pounds, but then we went fishing for bluefish bait.”

The team caught the leading king on a ribbonfish, but decided to go after bait knowing they had a 30-pound-plus fish in the locker. A number of teams reported having a little trouble catching bait early this morning, thanks to overcast conditions, and some spent a lot of time fishing for it. Rebecca Ann, which also trolled pogies and bluefish Thursday, went after some insurance bait after they had their king.

“Tomorrow, we’re probably going to go ahead and try a few more areas,” Strickland said.

Rebecca Ann was a top contender in the yearly standings in the FLW Kingfish Tour’s inaugural season. They came into the qualifier at the beginning of the week ranked first, but ultimately finished the season ranked third.

My Turn for second

Three kingfish broke the 30-pound barrier Thursday – equaling the total number of over-30s caught Monday and Tuesday in the qualifying tournament here.

One of those was caught by Team My Turn, captained by Steve Venable of Rural Hall, N.C., which weighed in a 31-pound, 10-ounce kingfish and placed second.

“We went straight offshore about eight miles, and this one hit our first bait in the water,” Venable said. “We were hooked up all day long. We had a 24, a 26, and this one turned out to be the largest fish.”

My Turn, which caught its keeper on a bluefish, worked a line of temperature breaks in the offshore waters.

“This fish came off about a 1- or 2-degree temperature break that went from about 74 to 76 degrees,” Venable said. “There was a little rip there, and we just worked that little area on the temperature change. Actually, all the fish we hooked up came on that temperature change.”

Double Shot third

Though it, too, had trouble finding bait, Team Double Shot, captained by Gerald Wagner III of Richmond Hill, Ga., landed the third position with the other over-30-pound fish. Its catch weighed in at 30 pounds, 12 ounces.

“We will go looking for bigger fish tomorrow,” crew member Rusty Rogers Jr. said. “We’re not going to catch them, but we’ll definitely go looking for bigger fish.”

Double Shot trolled pogies and ribbonfish Thursday, catching its keeper on a pogy. Wagner said they only had about 50 baits to start fishing, which made them nervous.

“That’s not nearly enough,” he said. “Keeping the bait fresh is key.”

Sea Rat fourth

Winston-Salem, N.C., Capt. Mitch Yates’ Team Sea Rat earned the fourth spot after weighing in a king worth 29 pounds, 15 ounces.

“We started out having a hard time getting bait this morning,” said Yates, who added that Sea Rat caught just two kings Thursday. “The wind has got it scattered. We like to use fresh menhaden around here, and that was just a lucky fish.”

Yates said they caught their keeper on a long-line pogy around 10 a.m. at a spot outside the inlet about four miles off the beach.

Chevy fifth

Team Chevy, captained by Larry Fowler of Little River, S.C., grabbed the fifth slot with a king weighing in at 27 pounds even.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 teams on day one at the Morehead City FLW Kingfish Championship:

6th: Team Snickers, Capt. Alex Leva of Tampa, Fla., 24-10

7th: No Limit, Capt. Van Fletcher of Jacksonville, Fla., 24-6

8th: Team Kellogg’s, Capt. Bryan Edwards of Little River, S.C., 23-13

9th: Alan Vester Automotive, Capt. Mike Webb of Atlantic Beach, N.C., 23-10

10th: Streaker, Capt. Roger Walker of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., 21-10

The second half of the opening-round of the championship at Morehead City begins Friday as the full field takes off at 7:30 a.m. Teams are fishing for heaviest fish over the first two days to determine the top 10 to advance to Saturday’s finals.