Westward once more

Kingfish Tour finalists set to dodge storms in search of Delta smokers

VENICE, La. – With a final day of Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour action out of Venice Marina, four teams are looking to repeat, while one seeks their first big win.

Raleigh, N.C. based Team Chevy/Miss Micki 2 holds the lead they set early on day one with a 51-pound, 15-ounce kingfish – thus far the event’s only 50-pounder. Completing a three day sweep would mark their first Kingfish Tour victory, but they’ll have to hold off a quartet of past Tour winners to do so.

Realizing their chances of catching a better fish were low, the leaders elected to stay at port during the second day of qualifying. Their decision proved wise, as the closest threat to their lead came from a 45-11 weighed by David Kingery’s Team Folgers.

Leading Team Chevy/Miss Micki 2, Ricky Rowland said his team will catch blue runners for the traditional live bait presentation, but their day one smoker ate a dead ribbonfish on a downrigger, so they’re hoping for an encore by the skinny guys.

Rowland said his team often enhances ribbonfish by running fluorescent white skirts on the bait’s nose. They also plan on running four lines – one downrigger, a long (“shotgun”) line, a medium flat line and a short line in the prop wash.

“We don’t run as many lines as some people do – we’ll probably run four (today),” Rowland said. “We try to stay on top of our baits and if you have a lot of lines out, it’s really hard to concentrate on the (baitfish schools). We just try to get our baits through the bait and get as much as we can.”

Teams launched under threatening skies with another day of Gulf storms in the forecast. On days one and two, teams reported frequent and frustrating encroachments by fast moving squalls – some yielding intense wind, rain and lightning.

In fourth place, Terry Grantham of My Three Sons said that weather will remain a dynamic element of his game plan – especially since he had to borrow a boat when his developed a mechanical issue.

“There will be storms and rain in and out all day,” Grantham said. “We generally keep a good eye on the weather and run when we need to run, move when we need to move. Sometimes, we have to just beat it out right there where we are, but a lot of times we just move, watch the weather and come back to the spot.”

Kingery, who won the Kingfish Tour event at Fort Pierce, Fla. in June, 2006 said that securing his second victory depends on consistency. “We have to keep up what we’re doing. If we can go out and get another fish like we got yesterday, we can win it. But there are four other good teams out there and everyone is on their A-game, so it’s going to take everything we’ve got to win this.”

The West Delta, where all teams are fishing, has a well-documented reputation for producing 50-pound kings. However, Kingery said he thinks a strong fish in the mid- to upper-40’s will seal the deal. “I think there will be some 40’s and whoever gets the biggest one today will win this tournament. Anything under 30, we’re going to be in bad trouble because I think people are going to pull out some good stuff today.”

Third place Team M&M’s, will start a little closer than they fished on day two, but keep their deeper spots as backups. Team member Jack Wood of Wake Forest, N.C. said his team is prepared to offer the fish a variety of meals. “We’ll be using blue runners, as well as ribbonfish, but we also have some Spanish mackerel and some mullet.”

Father/son team Ed and Shawn Mecchella of the fifth place Team Fish Fever/Strike Zone Melbourne will run about 65 miles west and return to the area in which they bagged their 43-7 on day two. “There’s a lot of bait and the water’s really clean,” Shawn said. “Bait is a little tough to catch out there, but we have a few tricks that we use. We try different size sabikis and different types of jigs.”

Logistics

Teams will take off from Venice Marina located at 237 Sports Marina Road in Venice at 7:00 a.m. Scales open at 5 p.m. and all teams must check-in by 6 p.m. Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at Venice Marina. The weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The full field competes Friday and Saturday with the top five teams advancing to Sunday’s final round. Winners are determined based upon the heaviest kingfish from Friday or Saturday plus the heaviest kingfish from Sunday.

Teams will fish for a top award of up to $100,000 cash. The teams will also be vying for valuable points that could earn them a berth into the no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship in Biloxi, Miss., Nov. 14-16 for a shot at winning as much as $150,000.

Sunday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:28 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 79 degrees

Expected high temperature: 85 degrees

Water temperature: 80 degrees

Wind: from the west at 5 mph

Humidity: 72 percent

Day’s outlook: Isolated thunderstorms