TIERRA VERDE, FL.—Team Chevy, headed by Captain Larry
Fowler of Little River, S.C. caught a kingfish weighing 37 pounds, 8 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Florida West Coast Division event, held April 29 in Tierra Verde, Fla. and pocket $30,000 cash for their efforts. Team Chevy’s win also assured them of moving high enough in the divisional points race to receive an invitation to the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship, to be held October 26 to 28 in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Fowler, along with teammates Earl Blake of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. and Ty Cobb of Carolina Beach, N.C. were fishing a 33-foot Hydra-Sports Center Console powered by triple Yamaha outboards.
The winning king was caught in 50 feet of water on the south side of the Egmont Ship Channel. The fish hit an 18-inch ribbonfish 23 feet down on a downrigger. The ribbonfish was rigged with a ¼-ounce green jig head and size 4 treble hooks.
Strong winds and large seas limited where the teams could go and may have actually helped Team Chevy catch their winning fish. Several competitors were heard remarking the weather favored the Carolina fishermen, as they were comfortable fishing in the harsh conditions.
“The reason we fished in the channel was because of the weather,” Fowler said. “If it hadn’t been blowing like it was, I had already made up my mind that we were going to run south to Boca Grande Pass.”
Boca Grande Pass was where many of the larger kings were caught during the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event over Easter weekend. Sarasota is just across Tampa Bay and a few miles to the south from Tierra Verde.
Team Chevy caught a smaller kingfish around 9:30 A.M. and were putting the lines back out when the big fish hit.
“We got in some clean water and we were dropping the downrigger, Fowler said. “By the time we got it stopped, the fish was on it and gone. He hit the bait on the way down.”
After landing the king and icing it down, Fowler and crew weren’t real interested in continuing fishing in the nasty sea conditions. “We came in early because we already had the fish,” Fowler said. “There was no sense staying out there and getting kicked around.”
With seas swelling to eight feet, Fowler and crew docked their boat at 1:00 P.M. and waited two hours until the weigh-in opened. It was a good decision. Even with quitting early, Team Chevy’s king outweighed its closest competitor by 8 pounds and 3 ounces.
Team Sudden Impact, captained by Harold Conger of Englewood, FL., finished in second place with a king that weighed 29 pounds and 5 ounces. They collected $3,121. Capt. Ronald Stewart of Tampa, FL. captained the Team Fish Attack to a third place finish with a 28 pounds and 12 ounces king and garnered $2,080.
Two more local boats rounded out the top five places. Team Wise Guys, captained by Richard Fabrizi of St. Petersburg, FL., claimed fourth place and $1,560 with a 27 pounds and 4 ounce king. Team Hydra-Sports, captained by Alex Leva of Tampa, Fl., caught a 24 pounds and 10 ounce king to finish in fifth place and collect a check for $2,600.
Other Carolina teams that fared well included the Sea Bandit, Capt. Dennis Stark, Pine Bluff, N.C., 6th Place, 23-03, $1,326 and Team Marcia D, Capt. Perry Johnson, Southport, N.C., 29th place, 10-02.
All of the N.C. and S.C. teams qualified for the championship tournament.
The FLW Kingfish Series consists of five divisions – Florida East Coast, Florida West Coast, North Carolina, South Carolina/Georgia and Gulf Coast. Each division is comprised of three events with a $100,000 purse for each event. The top 100 teams – 20 from each division after three qualifying events – will qualify for the three-day, no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship to be held in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 26-28. The championship winner could win up to $75,000.
The next FLW Kingfish Series event will be a Florida East Coast Event, May 20
in Fernandina Beach, Fla.
The N.C. FLW Kingfish Series events are July 15 and August 19 in Southport and September 16 in Atlantic Beach.
The S.C./GA. FLW Kingfish Series events are June 24 in Beaufort, S.C., August 5 in Charleston, S.C. and August 26 in Brunswick, GA.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit www.flwoutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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