FLW Southport #2 2006
The “Ole” Fishing Team, captained by Eddie Cameron of Morehead City, NC, caught a kingfish weighing 38 lbs. 2 oz. to win the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series North Carolina Division event in Southport. The top prize of $21,000 included a $9,000 Hydra-Sports boat bonus.
Fishing with his wife Michelle, Cameron focused his efforts in the Cape fear River Channel.
“It started out pretty slow,” Cameron said. “We hooked into a fish at 8:15 this morning on a double-pogy rig.”
Cameron said he battled the hard-fighting kingfish through several long runs and boat traffic before he was able to get it to the boat.
“We knew we had a good fish, but we didn’t know how good,” he said. “Fortunately it held up, because it was the only fish we caught today.”
Cameron and his wife have fished together since 1985 and welcomed the introduction of the FLW Kingfish Series.
“I’m self employed, so work has to come first,” he said. “I’m glad FLW Outdoors has given us an opportunity to compete in tournaments close to home.”
Cameron hopes to qualify for the Kingfish Series Championship and possibly the Kingfish Tour.
“We have a seven-year-old son, who isn’t quite used to the ocean yet,” he said. “But if we can get him onboard, we’ll go for it. It shouldn’t be too hard, because he went crazy when he saw that big trophy today. And he’s all about trophies.”
Rounding out the top five teams were “The Right One Baby” captained by Todd Matthews of Swansboro, NC, in second with a 37 lb. 3 oz. king ($6,000, plus $4,500 Yamaha bonus); “Open Wide” captained by Benson Ybanez of Emerald Isle, NC, in third with a 32 lb. 14 oz. king ($4,000); “Cruise Control” captained by John Cruise of Stoneville, NC, in fourth with a 31 lb. 9 oz. king ($3,000); and “Second Chanze” captained by John Lewis of Morehead City, NC, in fifth with a 30 lb. 1 oz. king ($2,000, plus $1,500 Yamaha bonus).
FLW Kingfish Series qualifying tournaments are one-day events. The field competes Saturday, and the winning team is determined based on the one heaviest kingfish.
The final regular-season Carolina Division event event will be held Sept. 16 at Atlantic Beach, NC.
For more information on the FLW Kingfish Series, you can visit www.FLWOutdoors.com.
