It was a Friday night in late April of the year 2000. At the captain's
party for a kingfish tournament that was being held the next two days out of
Stuart, Fla., I ran into angler Jim Midelis.

Midelis could barely contain his excitement. He told me a story about a
close encounter with a kingfish he had had earlier that day while catching
bait for the tournament.

"Ed, I couldn't believe it!" he said. "We were catching blue runners and
as I'm lifting my sabiki rig out of the water, here comes this smoker that's
every bit of 45 pounds. She busts out of the water right between my motors,
takes the blue runner right off the sabiki rig, and bounces off the lower
unit on her way back into the water!"

Now dowon here on the Treasure Coast, we've got some guys that can tell
some fish stories. But knowing Jim, and seeing some of the things he's been
through in his life, I knew he wasn't exaggerating. The story was certainly
encouraging to all those that had signed up to fish during the Southern
Kingfish Association's first visit to the sailfish capital of the world.

What was even more encouraging was the leader board following the first
day of action. It took 40 pounds just to be in the top 10. Anglers reported
a strong bite on the beaches from Jupiter to Sebastian with the bulk of the
action off St. Lucie county. Although live baits worked well, this weekend
proved to be the day of the ribbonfish, as the kings had been feeding
heavily on greenies all week long.

Towards the end of the first day's weigh-in, one boat comes into the
scale with a very excited Jim Midelis. Teammates Mike Doyle and Bobby
Hamilton were equally excited and all three eagerly worked together to lift
the coffin bag off the deck of their Hydra Sport, Peeled Back.

As the murmur spread through the crowd, everyone piled in close to scale
to get a good look at what was rumored to be a big one. The gasp when the
bag was unzipped was all you needed to hear, but seeing Midelis' vertical
leap when the slab bottomed out the scale was worth the price of admission.
64.2 pounds!

Not an SKA record, since Midelis, Doyle, and Hamilton were not SKA
members, but impressive nonetheless. And worth a boat-motor-trailer.
Here it is four years later and Stuart sees a return of the SKA angler
as well as a few locals that will come out of the woods for this one. Again,
a boat-motor-trailer is at stake as well as several thousands more in cash.
It's a safe bet that the Stuart Kingfish Brawl will see a pretty good
fish story of its own unfold.

Late April and early May brings the baitfish to the beaches of the
Treasure Coast. The arrival of the baitfish brings in the migratory spawning
schools of king mackerel. The arrival of the kingfish brings out the
migratory roving fleet of prize-seeking kingfish tournament anglers.
The next two weekends, two large kingfish tournaments based in Fort
Pierce and Stuart will fish the local nearshore waters between Jupiter and
Sebastian. By the time the last deep vee hull, go-fast kingfish boat
trailers onto I-95's northbound on ramp, nearly a quarter million dollars in
boats, outboard motors, trailers, and cash will be doled out to winners.
Over the past decade, the rising popularity of the kingfish tournament
has justly raised respect for the long discounted king - always a worthy
fish whether it be for sport or food.

"There used to be a day when you'd run on out to 90 feet of water just
to get away from all the kingfish," said Sandy Smith, a longtime tournament
competitor from the Fort Pierce boat Gatorbait. "Two Saturdays ago, as I
left the inlet, all I could see were boats to the north and south live
baiting for kings."

Smith said that in this area, it seems as though kingfish are the main
fish people target. The exciting strike, drag-screaming first run, and size
of the king has renewed interest in the species by sportfishermen. The
commercial fishery has always considered king mackerel a main staple of its
industry.

The tournament culture has conditioned the recreational angler to target
large kings while smaller mackerel are targeted for the food supply. It
should be noted that the State of Florida Department of Health has issued a
health advisory recommending that no king mackerel over 39 inches (fork
length) should be consumed due to potential levels of methyl mercury found
in the meat. The state also say that people should limit their consumption
of kings between 33 and 39 inches.

Successful kingfish anglers use a variety of baits deployed on light
tackle - typically 20 to 30-pound conventional gear. Dead baits such as
ribbonfish and even rigged Spanish mackerel are also frequently used by
tournament anglers seeking larger kings.

Kingfish will aggressively strike a wide variety of drifted or
slow-trolled live baits. Everything from threadfin herring (greenies) to
lizard fish are used to catch kings. Rat Pak, winners of last year's
Yellowfin Kingfish Classic held out of Fort Pierce, employed a large live
bluefish to land the 62.65-pound slab that won the tournament.
"Big baits, big fish," was how Rat Pak team member Derrick Blanton
described the philosophy.

"I like to use the biggest blue runner I can find in the live well,"
said Port St. Lucie's Ron Mitchell of the tournament fishing team Bandit.
"Big kingfish will eat anything - even Spanish mackerel and smaller
kingfish. Sometimes, the Kingfish Hole is a good place to catch a big king
because they'll be cruising around the outside of the large school of
smaller kings and Spanish that hold there."

"Ninety-percent of the equation to finding kings is to find bait,"
Mitchell added. "Kings have to have bait to hold on. If there's no bait,
there's no fish."

Joey Casson, a member of Fort Pierce's Getcha Some, and whose family
owns Inlet Fisheries fish house agrees.

"We always look for a couple of things when we're targeting kingfish,"
he said. "We look for clean water - something we call 'kingfish green', we
look for structure on the bottom - and in those places, we'll usually find
the bait."

Casson said that this spring's weather patterns have set off the typical
patterns of the king mackerel migration.

"Usually we have more southeast winds by now and higher water
temperatures up to 75 or 80 degrees. If the winds stay out of the east, it
will dirty the water on the beach, and the bait an kingfish will move off
the beach and into deeper water."

The typical kingfish outfit consists of a seven foot rod with stout
backbone, but light tip with a conventional reel that holds lots of line and
has a smooth drag. Most experienced kingfish anglers like in our area like
to use 15 to 20-pound test line, but fish with very little drag - as low as
four pounds.

Terminal tackle will vary based on bait, but often will include a barrel
swivel, light wire leader, and a single J-hook through the lip of a live
bait. Connected to that will be one or more short strands of wire with
treble hooks or "stinger hooks." A rigged dead ribbonfish may be two feet
long and have as many as five stinger hooks and up to 16 hook points in
position to snag a hungry king mackerel.

The need for a stinger hook evolved from one method employed by the
kingfish during its strike. On occasion, a large kingfish will dive deep
below its prey and swim quickly upward ambushing it from underneath. Often,
when the bait is located or trolled near the surface of the water, this
method sends the kingfish literally "skyrocketing" into the air - sometimes
as much as 20 feet. It was this wild drama of the kingfish that lent itself
to be targeted by tournament anglers.

Locally on the Treasure Coast, large king mackerel have consistently
graced the leader boards during tournaments held from April through
September and even during events held in December, like the Southern
Kingfish Association's National Championship tournaments. During the late
1980's however, king mackerel stocks suffered statewide due to increasing
fishing pressure. Actions by the National Marine Fisheries Service and South
Atlantic Fisheries Management Council helped avoid a total collapse in the
region's mackerel stocks.

Three times Fort Pierce hosted the SKA"s lucrative year-end finale -
once during the spring of 1995 to recognize their tour's best from 1994 -
and twice more, in Decembers of 1998 and 2001. The SKA National Championship
was slated for a return visit this year, but instead will remain in Biloxi,
Miss. where hotel and convention space better serves the 10,000-member
organization's needs.

"It's really become a great year-round fishery for us here, partially
due to conservation efforts and partially due to the advancement in fishing
techniques," said Smith, who is the chairman of this week's Yellowfin
Kingfish Classic and was one of the area's first participants on the SKA
circuit. "I'd expect to see some quality fish caught this week - a winning
fish in the 50's, and a few fish in the 40's."

Kingfish fans are encouraged to come out and support both events this
week. The Yellowfin Kingfish Classic will hold its weigh-ins Friday and
Saturday at Moore's Creek Boat Ramp north of the Fort Pierce City Marina on
Indian River Dr. The Captain's Meeting will be there Thursday night at 7
p.m. Refreshments, including smoked kingfish, will be supplied by the Royal
Palms and Learn to Read. Partial proceeds from the tournament will benefit
Learn to Read and the National Coalition for Marine Conservation.
The Stuart Kingfish Brawl will be held at Wahoo's on the Waterfront and
Northside Marina in Stuart. The Captain's Meeting will be Friday night,
April 30 at 6 p.m. at Wahoo's. The weigh-ins will be Saturday May 1, and
Sunday May 2 from 3-5 p.m.

Smith will fish this week with Anthony Guettler aboard Gatorbait, a
Mercury-powered Yellowfin boat. Mitchell will fish this week with Ted
Elliott, Tom Hayden, Jeff Lafferty, and Joe Dobbins aboard Bandit, a
Yamaha-powered Contender boat. Casson will fish with Rob Yancy, Jimmy
Casson, and Missy Blandford aboard Getcha Some, a Mercury-powered Contender.
Blanton will fish with Darren Ratley and Chris Blanton aboard Rat Pak, a
Mercury-powered Fountain.

Follow the events of both tournaments daily at www.tcpalm.com.

Recent Treasure Coast area kingfish tournament winners

April 2003, Fort Pierce: 62.65-pounder, Darren Ratley, Rat Pak, Myrtle
Beach, SC

April 2000, Stuart: 64.2-pounder, Mike Doyle, Peeled Back, Fort Pierce

May 2002, Fort Pierce: 51.4-pounder, Clayton Kirby, Fountain Vengeance,
Jacksonville

May 1999, Fort Pierce: 50.3 pounds, Pete Pearson, Klondike, Vero Beach

May 2000, Fort Pierce: 45.6-pounder, Andy Colson, Deuces Wild, St. Simons
Island, Ga.

April 2003, Fort Pierce: Five kings over 50 pounds weighed, 44 fish over 30
pounds

April 2000, Stuart: Eight fish over 40 pounds

Florida record: 90 pounds, Norton Thomton, Key West, Feb. 1976

SKA record: 71.89 pounds, Mike Delph, Delph Fishing Team, Key West, March
2004

Two Events in 10 days

April 22-24: 2004 Yellowfin Kingfish Classic, Fort Pierce. Eligible species:
King mackerel. Entry fee: $400 per boat. Payout: Heaviest kingfish overall
wins a 23-foot Yellowfin center console fishing boat with a 250 h.p. Mercury
outboard motor and Loadmaster aluminum trailer (approx. retail $60,000).
Pays to fifth place overall. For boats under 23 feet in length, the heaviest
kingfish will win a 17-foot Yellowfin flats boat, 60 h.p. Mercury outboard
and Loadmaster trailer (worth $25,000). Also, highest aggregate weight for
two fish will win a John Deere gator all-terrain vehicle. Yamaha
Professional Kingfish Tour teams will compete for additional $25,000 cash
prize. Site of Captain's Meeting and weigh-in: Fort Pierce Riverwalk (next
to Manatee Center) on Indian River Dr. at Moore's Creek. For more info: call
772-979-4939, visit www.fishska.com, or pick up entry form at most area
tackle shops.

April 30- May 2. Stuart Kingfish Brawl. Eligible species: King mackerel.
Heaviest king mackerel wins a 2004 20-foot Shearwater boat, 115 h.p. Mercury
motor, and Loadmaster trailer package worth $27,500. Pays to 15th place
(based on 125 entries) and prizes for 23 and under division. Entry fee: $345
per boat until April 22, $395 thereafter. Captain's meeting: April 30 at
Wahoo's on the Waterfront. Weigh-in at Northside Marina, Stuart. For more
info: call Jim Sharfschwerdt 904-669-8353, www.fishingtourneys.com, and
www.fishska.com.

UPDATE :4-25-04

Click HERE for the tournament winner article