| USA. Team Hooligan wins Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event in Southport |
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| Tuesday, 26 September 2006 | |
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FLW Outdoors: Team Hooligan, captained by Joe Winslow of Sunset Beach, N.C. caught a two-kingfish total weighing 57 pounds, 4 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour event Powered by Tyson in Southport. The top prize of $70,000 cash included a $30,000 bonus from Yamaha. Joined by teammates Alan Ambrose and Fred Coyne, Winslow overcame significant obstacles, including an 11-pound late check-in penalty that reduced his Saturday catch from 32 pounds, 6 ounces to 21-6. Entering the final round in third place, Team Hooligan needed 18 pounds, 3 ounces to take the lead, so they survived the penalty loss. Fishing the east side of Cape Lookout, off Morehead City, N.C., Team Hooligan caught the winning kingfish on a live menhaden in the long flat line position. Saturday's 3 p.m. check-in was two hours earlier than the previous two qualifying days, and Winslow had all but given up on his chances when the big kingfish hit. Needing more than two hours to reach the check-in point, Winslow said he actually stretched his fishing time past the reasonable limit. "We caught that fish after we should have left. We had to change the way we run home. "In tournament fishing, there comes a time when you have to accept that it's over. You know the fat lady is singing, but there's a reluctant acceptance of your destiny. That's about the frame of mind that we were in. We were kind of delaying taking down our rods and at the very last second, all of a sudden the long line starts screaming. For a split second you're not really sure what that sound is because it's been so long since you heard it." Contributing to their tardiness, Team Hooligan ran out of gas in one of their twin engines about 300 yards from the check-in point. Notably, the winning team reached the final round with a last-minute strike on Friday and also coasted into the day-two weigh-ins with empty fuel tanks. "There's not really words to describe being able to overcome so many obstacles that get thrown in your way. We just hung in there and persevered." Winslow fought the winning kingfish and Ambrose gaffed it. The anglers were not sure if their fish was big enough to win the tournament. "We had no clue what the other boats had done. This was the only bite we got today. It was such a blur -- all we did is throw him in the boat and gun it." Anglers fished in extremely rough water with Atlantic waves reaching 8- to 10-feet. Several crews were unable to reach their intended fishing locations due to challenging sea conditions. Rounding out the top five teams are Team Nailhead captained by Johnny Walker of Gainesville, GA. (two kingfish, 54 pounds, 8 ounces, $17,000 plus $9,000 Wellcraft bonus and $9,000 Evinrude bonus); Team Kellogg's captained by Bryan Edwards of Little River, S.C. (two kingfish, 54 pounds, $10,000 plus $5,250 Wellcraft bonus and $5,250 Yamaha bonus); Team Fish Meister captained by Dean Spatholt of Calabash, N.C. (two kingfish, 43 pounds, 1 ounce, $8,000 plus $4,250 Yamaha bonus); and Team Lured Away captained by Robert Schoenfeld of Conroe, Texas (one kingfish, 28 pounds, 14 ounces). Teams caught 4 kingfish Saturday weighing 53 pounds, 7 ounces. FLW Kingfish Tour qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes Thursday and Friday and the top five teams compete Saturday. The winning team is determined based on the heaviest kingfish from Thursday or Friday plus the heaviest kingfish from Saturday. The Southport tournament was the final stop on the $1.82 million Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour consisting of four regular-season events. The top 50 teams compete in the three-day, no-entry-fee $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship to be held in Mount Pleasant, S.C., Nov. 9-11. The championship team will take home as much as $150,000. FLW Outdoors |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 September 2006 ) |
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