During the inaugural Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour in Ft. Pierce on April 1-2, over 100 teams fought the elements and each other for as much as $100,000 in first place prize money.
Both Yamaha and Genmar have teamed up to sweeten the pot this year with incentive awards for top qualifiers. At Ft. Pierce and three other qualifying tournaments, the winning team earns $40,000 cash. If the team captain is the registered owner of a Yamaha outboard that is used during the tournament, the team receives a $30,000 bonus. In addition, if the winning team fishes out of an Aquasport, Hydra-Sports, Seaswirl or Wellcraft boat during the tournament, the team receives another $30,000 bonus for a total award of $100,000 cash.
With that kind of money on the line in Ft. Pierce, anglers headed offshore into high winds and rain squalls on the first day of the tournament. Hard work and perseverance paid off for Team Cat Daddy who boated a 56 pound, 5 ounce kingfish to take first place in the event. In addition to the $40,000 first place money, Captain Danny Mathis of Gonzales, La., and his crew pocketed an additional $60,000 in bonus money thanks to their Yamaha-powered Hydra-Sport.
The incentive payout from Yamaha and Genmar is generous with bonus money awarded down to 40th place. At the Ft. Pierce event there was a total of 107 boats in the tournament field. Yamaha paid out $64,000 in bonus money to 80 teams, while Genmar incentives totaled $56,000 to 56 teams.
“Even with the bad weather, this was a great tournament that attracted some talented anglers,” says Dale Barnes, marketing division manager. “We were happy to reward our Yamaha anglers for their efforts, but there was still a lot of money left on the table. This should provide anglers an even greater incentive to fish with Yamaha and Genmar at the next tournament in Venice, La.”
By: Walker Agency
