The arrival of early fall, began the annual Kingfish run on the west central coast of Florida. The annual King of The Beach tournament was held out of Madeira Beach, FL on 11/7. There were over 220 boats entered with a top prize around $15,000 dollars. I had the opportunity to fish with three SaltyWorld members. Makoch, Category5, and JJx2 joined me this year.

The winds were predicted 15-20 out of the east-northeast. They did not fail to blow on Saturday. Per tournament rules, lines were allowed to be in by 6 AM. We left the dock at 4:45 AM with our boat loaded with Blue Runners, bags of tackle, and eight fishing poles. We decided to head about 10 miles offshore to spot with some good natural bottom and high relief. Running through five to six foot swells took about an hour to make it to our destination. Anchoring the boat was our best option as it was very difficult to troll our baits in the winds and waves.

Dropping in our home made chum, we deployed our spread of baits.

With no action, and the wind beginning to gust, we decided to head east to calmer waters.

We stopped about 2 miles off the beach, and began to troll.  This only produced three sharks that were a nuisance. 

Next stop was small structure about 600 yards off the beach.  Same strategy, anchor and chum.  About an hour of doing this, and with three hours until the weigh in, we hooked our only fish of the day.  I fought the fish, as the others cleared the lines and pulled the anchor. 

The fish turned out to be 18.7 lbs.  This was not sufficient enough to place in the tournament, but we sure had fun.

Tight Lines,

SaltyWorld