Quick Bites: FLW Kingfish Tour Championship, Day 3
A special rising, and kingfish camaraderie.
Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship
Morehead City, N.C.
Saturday, final round
Special win … Team Early Riser‘s win is especially endearing to Marilyn Bunce and her late husband, James Bunce. The Bunces enjoyed fishing mackerel tournaments together for years. Five years ago, they sought the help of Capt. John Parks to captain their boat and help them find fish. Just as the team began to gel and do well in local events, James was suddenly stricken with cancer. He died in March of 2004, and Marilyn decided his spirit and love of fishing would live on in the form of Team Early Riser. “The first tournament we fished after my husband died, John captained us to our first big win at the Yellow Fin Tournament in Fort Pierce, and we knew James was on the T-top with us the whole time,” a tearful Bunce said just after Team Early Riser took top honors today. “And this win feels the same way – it’s very, very special to us all.”
Doing Well… Wellcraft teams finished first and second at the FLW Kingfish Tour Championship. “Wellcraft does so much for this sport, and they have not been in the winner’s circle yet this year,” said James “Big Chief” Hammonds of Team Reel Culture, which finished second. “It’s great that Team Early Riser got the win in a Wellcraft and we finished second – it’s a one-two for a boat company that deserves it, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
King spectators…The Wal-Mart parking lot in Morehead City had a full kingfish crowd
on the final day of the FLW Kingfish Tour Championship. With the Morehead City-Atlantic Beach area of North Carolina being considered the epicenter of kingfishing, throngs of families, friends and spectators turned out in full force to support their favorite kingfish teams.
What competition…As each team weighed in today, some of the biggest cheers came from the weigh-in line. Ironically, many of the teams’ biggest fans are their own competitors. “Kingfish tournaments are a lot different than other types of tournaments,” Captain Mitch Yates of Team Sea Rat explained. “Since kingfishing is such a team oriented sport, we’re all like a big family out here. We all work together to find fish, and when any of the teams do well, we are all happy for them. We are our own biggest fans.”
Biggest king of the day…Team Chevy, captained by Larry Fowler, brought in the biggest kingfish on the final day weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces. The fish moved Team Chevy from ninth to fifth.
Mackerel marathon…With the last FLW Kingfish Tour qualifier being moved to the same week as the championship due to hurricanes, many of the top 10 teams have been fishing the bumpy waters of the Atlantic Ocean for some five to eight days in a row. “I’m beat,” said Capt. Alex Leva of Team Snickers who finished 10th. “Between fishing, taking care of the boat and catching bait, we’ve been averaging four to five hours of sleep per night. Then you get out there in those sloppy waves and fish all day – it can take it out of you, and you become numb and dumb. Today, I spent five minutes looking for my pliers before I realized they were in my hand.”
Quote of the day… “You like apples? How about them apples?” – James “Big Chief” Hammonds while holding up Team Reel Culture’s king mackerel.