FLW Southport 2007
Team “Sarah Jo,” headed by Chris Edens of Wilmington, NC, caught a 39 lb. 5 oz. kingfish Saturday to win the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series North Carolina Division event in Southport, NC, and $21,000 cash.
Edens, along with teammates Lucio Rodriguez, Matt Markley, Chris Edens Jr. and Matthew Mauldin, caught their smoker king on a Blue Water Candy skirt slow-trolled 27 miles offshore around the Horseshoe.
“It was pretty rough offshore today,” Edens said. “We got out and caught our bait early this morning and were lucky enough to get a good boat number. We were able to go straight to our spot and start fishing. We ran close to 30 miles offshore in some pretty violent seas. We had to stop about every five miles just to give ourselves a break.
“We caught probably four fish today including a nice sized dolphin. About 10:00 this morning we hooked into the big one. On its first initial run, it stripped off about 250 yards of line. It took us about 25 to 30 minutes to bring the fish in. The water temperature was just right and there was a good blue green water break to bring these big fish in.
“We have been close to winning a few tournaments before, but I was holding my breath all the way to the end. You can never know what’s going to happen. I’m just glad to get this win off my shoulders,” Edens added.
Rounding out the top five teams were Team Reel Time captained by Craig Hughes of Leland, NC (32 lbs. 1 oz. $13,650); Team Concept captained by Blake Justice of Graham, NC (31 lbs. 10 oz. $3,640); Team Wall Hanger captained by Brian Allen of Raleigh, NC (30 lbs. 1 oz. $4,208) and Team Carolina Girl captained by Gary Slaughter of Atlantic Beach, NC (29 lbs. 3 oz. $1,820).
Cole Edens, of Team East Coast Sports out of Hampstead, NC, placed 33rd with a 12 lb. 8 oz. kingfish to earn the tournament’s award for the highest finishing competitor under 16-years-old.
The award for highest finishing woman went to Robin Hollar, of Advance, NC, who placed 21st with a 15 lb. 9 oz. kingfish as a member of Team Reel Culture.
The next FLW Kingfish Series North Carolina Division event will be held Aug. 25 in Southport, NC, followed by the final regular-season event of the year for the division in Atlantic Beach, NC, on Sept. 15.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its North Carolina tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
