At the captain's meeting for the Thanksgiving Kingfish Shootout Fishing Tournament, organizers postponed the competition for one day due to forecasts calling for 30-knot winds and seven- to nine-foot seas the day of the tourney. The tournament was moved back one day to Sunday. Though conditions improved somewhat, seas were rough and the water was dirty for the nine teams.
But that didn't seem to bother team King Slayer featuring Johnny Wood, Holly Wood and Levi Barrett. The trio battled the rough seas and high winds and made it back to the dock with a 7.9-pound kingfish. It was the only fish weighed out of all the teams, so King Slayer won the tournament. King Slayer won this tournament last year, with Barrett catching the winning fish both years. "Last year we won it with a 34-pounder, and it was the only fished weighed, too," Barrett said.
The strategy was finding clean water. "We started at (Treasure Island Reef), but it was too muddy, and then we went to King Alley, which was too muddy. Then we started out until we found clear water," skipper Johnny Wood said. "Once we found clear water we threw down and started dragging. We only had two bluerunners for bait and only one bite the whole day."
- Rick Frazier runs Lucky Dawg Charters out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at 727 510-4376 or by e-mail at captrick@luckydawg.com
