Daily fishing report

By DAVID BROWN
Published April 16, 2006

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Terry Grantham of Florence, S.C., and his My Three Sons fishing team won the $100,000 top prize at the FLW Kingfish Tour event Saturday in Sarasota. Their two-fish total weighed 63 pounds, 10 ounces.

Trolling live baits in 50 feet inside Boca Grande Pass, Grantham converted his only strike on Saturday into a tournament victory when a 26-pound kingfish hit a live mullet on a long flat line.

"When we found out we were going to the (final round) last night, we caught one mullet after about three hours of trying," Grantham said. "And I'll be if that kingfish didn't eat that one mullet. Kingfish have to be pretty hungry when they hit a big bait like a mullet and that's how he hit it. He had all the hooks in his mouth."

Grantham credited his team's success to its commitment to a game plan.

"A local buddy of ours gave us some good information on how to fish the pass," Grantham said. "He told us to just sit tight and on low tide, when that tide turns and starts coming in, those kingfish will go to biting. That's just what happened."

Grantham and teammates Chris Blanton and Joe Coker, both of Murrells Inlet, S.C., and Kelly Fisk of Jacksonville reached the five-boat final round by catching a 37-pound, 10-ounce kingfish in the first of two qualifying days.

Joe Winslow of Sunset Beach, N.C., edged Grantham for second place on Day 1 at 37-11. But Winslow's Team Hooligan finished the final round behind Grantham at 59-11.

Third place went to Scott Routh of Team Devocean (53 pounds, 6 ounces).

David A. Brown covers area fishing tournaments and can be reached at tightlinecomm@aol.com