SOUTHPORT, N.C. — July 15 wasn’t a pretty day and by usual standards this wasn’t a winning fish, but the 27 pound, 8 ounce king they landed late in the day was good enough to seal the inaugural win in the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series North Carolina Division for Capt. Welsh Carson, of Holden Beach, and Team Blue By U. For their efforts, Team Blue By U received the top prize of $12,000 plus a $9,000 bonus for being aboard a Wellcraft boat and a $9,000 bonus for using Yamaha Outboards, for a total winnings of $30,000.
In addition to Carson, the crew of the Blue By U, a 35-foot Wellcraft center console with triple 300-hp Yamaha outboards, included Aaron Price, of Augusta, Ga., plus Cory Jones and Allen Williams, both of Holden Beach.
Carson and crew said they were undecided as to where to fish and the rough water conditions made the decision even tougher. They decided they would work cautiously through the rough water and head for the 30/30, an area with several ledges and natural live bottom about 20 miles out of Carolina Beach Inlet.
“We had heard that a fish that won a recent tournament was caught there and some other good fish had come from that spot during the week,” Carson said. “We were undecided this morning as to where we’d fish, so we caught bait and then made up our minds to run to that spot.”
As it was everywhere else, their fishing was slow. In the rough conditions and with the slow bite, the team considered moving back inshore to the tide line at Carolina Beach Inlet, but decided they had endured the ride to what they thought was the best spot and decided to ride the day out there.
Making this decision even more difficult was a little radio talk of several kings in the high teen and low twenties being caught around the inlet. Their decision to stay and tough it out would become a fortuitous decision.
At about 3:00 PM the winning fish ate a live menhaden on the port outrigger line. Jones fought the fish for about 30 minutes and Williams gaffed it.
Carson said there hadn’t been much radio talk of fish other than those few fish from around Carolina Beach Inlet, so he was cautiously optimistic about the fish’s potential, but didn’t really think it was large enough to win.
“We knew we had a good fish that would put us high in the points, but we didn’t know how it would do in the tournament,” Carson said. “It was good enough to do some high fives and a little dancing.”
This was the first full field (100 boats) in the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series. The North Carolina Anglers were raring to go, in fact many had traveled to other states and competed in earlier events there, but the windy weather dealt them a cruel blow. A local tournament, the East Coast Got-Em-On Classic, one week earlier had been won by a 52 pound fish with another in the 40’s and several in the 30’s. Until the wind began blowing, many fishermen were anticipating the catch in this tournament to be even more impressive.
The field of 100 boats brought 38 fish to the scales. After the Blue By U king, there were only four others heavier than 20 pounds.
The other teams in the top five were: Wild Ride Fishing Team, Capt. Randy Griffin Jr., Hampstead, 24 pounds, 2 ounces; Team Ain’t Life Grand, Capt. David Henderson, Charlotte, 22 pounds; Team National Guard, Capt. Lonnie Jones III, Clayton, 20 pounds, 4 ounces; B.A.D. Boys Fishing Team, Capt. Joe Buie, Welcome, 20 pounds, 4 ounces.
FLW Kingfish Series qualifying tournaments are one-day events. The final registration and captains meetings are on Friday and the tournaments are fished on Saturday. The FLW Kingfish Series qualifying tournaments use a single heaviest fish format.
The next FLW Kingfish Series North Carolina Division event will be held Aug. 19 in Southport, but the field is full. There will be a FLW Kingfish Series South Carolina/Georgia Division tournament in Charleston, S.C. on August 5 and there are a few spots still open in that field. Visit www.flwoutdoors.com or call 270-252-1000 for more information.
The FLW Kingfish Series consists of five divisions – East Florida, West Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina-Georgia and Gulf Coast. Each division is comprised of three events with a $100,000 purse for each event. At the end of the season, the top 20 teams from each division will qualify for the three-day, no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship to be held in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 26-28. The championship has a $300,000 purse, with up to $75,000 for the winner.
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