Kingfish crossroads

Final stop of FLW Kingfish Tour kicks off at Mecca of mackerel in North Carolina

ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. – Florida is known for tarpon and Louisiana brings redfish to mind, but when it comes to king mackerel, the North Carolina coast is where you want to be.

Coastal Carolina is steeped in a rich tradition of kingfishing, which is exactly why the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour includes the venue on its tour schedule every year.

This season, the Atlantic Beach-Morehead City stop marks the fourth and final event on the 2007 Kingfish Tour calendar. With the tour season coming to an end here over the next few days, there is a Team of the Year title and Kingfish Tour Championship slots at stake in addition to a possible $100,000 payday to the winners of the event.

Teams looking to make their move will have to strike on day one, as high winds are predicted for day two.

With gentle northwest winds of 5 to 10 mph on tap today, teams will be able to make longer runs to their best water. As a result, several team captains speculate that most of the bigger fish needed to qualify for the top-five cut will be caught today.

Local kingfish pro Joe Winslow, captain of Team Hooligan, who won this event in 2006, believes most of the kingfish are still in summer mode.

“With water temperatures in the high 70s, I’ve found fish to still be in their hot-water patterns,” Winslow said. “The large migrations of truly big fish are not quite here yet. There are plenty of small to medium-size fish to catch, but the big ones are still scattered.”

Winslow describes this area of coastal Carolina to be uniquely situated as kind of a “kingfish crossroads,” where big migrations of kingfish converge this time of year.

“There is a big north-to-south migration of kingfish that follows the bait schools down the coast as the water temperature cools. At the same time there is an offshore-to-inshore migration of kingfish that come in to take advantage of all the bait flushing out of the inlets. When all that happens here at once, it’s kingfish heaven.”

Winslow, however, does not think the kingfish convergence is in full effect just yet.

“We’re just a couple of weeks away from the classic fall buffet being served up here – when the big ones come in and eat everything on the beach,” he added. “There are going to be a lot of fish caught, but getting the bigger ones is going to be a bit more of a challenge.”

Up late catching bait

One of the critical aspects of kingfishing is obtaining the freshest bait possible. Having the liveliest pogies and blue runners and the freshest ribbonfish for trolling is top priority with all teams, especially when it comes tournament time.

Some teams prowl the inlets the night before the event, catching the freshest bait possible, while other teams prefer to buy their bait from vendors.

Local fishing guide Chris Elliott of nearby Beaufort, N.C., supplies vendors with fresh ribbonfish that he catches the night before kingfish tournaments arrive in town.

Although Elliott is not competing on the Kingfish Tour, he is a regular on the FLW Outdoors bass tours, so he fully understands the importance of having the right bait.

“Just as bass fishermen are so particular about the color and actions of their lures, kingfish anglers are the same about their bait,” Elliott says. “Ribbonfish are a prime kingfish bait. They’re usually trolled deep on the downriggers.”

Ribbonfish are normally frozen, and Elliott takes great measures to keep his ribbonfish in top condition during the catching and freezing process.

“Ribbonfish are very silvery-shiny in color, and their scales are delicate,” he explained. “No kingfish angler is going to buy dull, damaged ribbonfish, so every effort must be made to ice them down properly in a brine mixture to preserve their brilliant color.”

Chances are, Elliott’s fresh ribbonfish will be trolled around behind kingfish rigs today as FLW Kingfish Tour teams try to boat the big one.

Logistics

FLW Kingfish Tour teams will take off from Sea Water Marina located at 400 Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach at 6:30 each morning. Scales open at 3 p.m. and all teams must check-in by 5 p.m. The morning start and weigh-in are free and open to the public. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 300 Highway 24 in Morehead City beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The full field will compete Friday and Saturday then be cut to the top five teams for Sunday. Winners are determined based upon the heaviest kingfish from Friday or Saturday plus the heaviest kingfish from Sunday.

The winning team earns $40,000 cash. If the team captain is the original owner of a Hydra-Sports, Scarab, Seaswirl or Wellcraft boat that is used during the tournament, the team also receives a $30,000 bonus. Additionally, if the winning captain is the original owner of a qualifying Yamaha or Evinrude outboard that is used during the tournament, the team will receive another $30,000 bonus for a total award of $100,000.

Every team that receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine final standings. Two hundred points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 points for third, and so on. The top 50 teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the championship.

Friday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:59 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 70 degrees

Expected high temperature: 85 degrees

Water temperature: 77-80 degrees

Forecasted winds: WNW at 5 to 10 mph

Day’s outlook: warm and humid