Team Hard Way goes all the way

Wire-to-wire win for Hard Way

BEAUFORT, S.C. – Strong thunderstorms and rough weather took their toll Saturday on the top five teams fishing the final day of the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event out of Beaufort, S.C.

Today, only two teams caught kingfish, turning the final weigh-in into a two-team shootout between the tournament leaders, Team Hard Way and Team Cat Daddy, each trying to make FLW Outdoors history by being the first kingfish team to be repeat winners on the FLW Kingfish Tour.

In the end, Team Hard Way, captained by C. Todd Korker of Jupiter, Fla., with crew members Joshua Denton, Jeshua Koehler, Marty Koehler and Jaison Fisher, came out on top for the winner’s check worth $70,000.

Some might claim that Team Hard Way simply rode out a 44-pound, 15-ounce kingfish all week for the win. But given the brutal conditions on the Atlantic Ocean today, the team proved its mettle by weighing in the biggest kingfish of the day – 17 pounds, 4 ounces – to stave off a hard charge from Team Cat Daddy, which registered the day’s only other catch at 16 pounds, 8 ounces.

Indeed, Team Hard Way lived up to its name, earning the win the hard way with a two-day total of 62 pounds, 3 ounces.

“This was the hardest fishing day of my life,” said Denton. “At one point, we had three big fish on and they all broke off. I have a feeling they were all sharks, but you never know. Despite the nasty weather, we ended up boating three kings and that 17-pounder was the biggest.”

“This win means everything to me,” he said. “I just joined this team recently, and this is really going to help us gel.”

For the team’s youngest member, 13-year old Jeshua Koehler, the thrill of winning was momentous.

“This has been the greatest day I’ve ever had,” Jeshua Koehler said with a beaming smile. “The weather was terrible, and it rained on us a lot. When we came in with that fish, I didn’t think we had won, but we did.

“I can’t wait to put this trophy in my room,” he added, admiring his own Kingfish Tour winner’s trophy.

“We’ve got nothing but respect for those guys right there,” said Korker, pointing to Team Cat Daddy. “Those are the guys we fear when we step in the boat out here. Just to stand up here onstage with them is an honor.”

Today, the team’s winning king came on a ribbonfish trolled in about 45 feet of water near the Edisto Live Bottom area.

“We actually got our winning bait (ribbonfish) from Team Lured Away, who gave us their leftover bait yesterday,” Denton said. “So we’ve got to say thanks to those guys.”

Team Cat Daddy takes runner-up

Team Cat Daddy, captained by Danny Mathis of Gonzales, La., missed its second FLW Kingfish Tour win by about 9 pounds. Their two-day total came to 53 pounds, worth $35,000.

“It was tough out there today,” Mathis said. “That king was the only one we boated, and it hit in the middle of the nastiest squall of the day.”

Cat Daddy took the king near the Betsy Ross Reef, where the water breaks from 44 feet to 88 feet, on a ribbonfish rigged on the long line.

“Given the weather, our plan was just to get a fish in the boat first,” Mathis said. “On days like this, there’s no telling what can happen. So we wanted to secure one fish first and then upgrade, but we never got that opportunity.”

Heartbreak for Salty Dog

Team Salty Dog, captained by Jeff Osborne out of St. Augustine, Fla., finished third, worth $20,500, on the strength of a 38-pound, 3-ounce fish they caught Thursday.

“With about an hour to go today, a nasty storm blew up, and I moved in close to the beach to finish out the day,” Osborne recounted. “And with just minutes to go, we got a good fish on – about a 30-pounder. We got it about 20 feet from the gaff when it made its last run and pulled off.

“It was a tough way to end the week, but we’ve had a great time,” he added. “This finish just moved us up to eighth in the points, so we’re pretty happy right now.”

Rest of the best

Teams Castrol-Royal Flush and Wild Ride finished the tournament in fourth and fifth, respectively, based on their day-one catches.

Neither team boated a fish today, but Castrol-Royal Flush took home a check for $16,500, and Wild Ride pocketed $14,500.