For this year’s captains, the quest for the Kingfisher of the First Coast comes down to three words.

Friday or bust.

With a new schedule, the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament kicks off its 42nd edition Friday at Jim King Park and Boat Ramp in Sisters Creek. Registration remains open until 6 p.m. Thursday.

The big difference for 2022: a one-day schedule for the general tournament. In 2022, that means Friday — more specifically, an 11 a.m. slot of Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. — is the only time anglers can land a fish in the main competition.

Tournament chairman Mel Hammock said rising fuel costs, amid a global spike in oil and gas prices, prompted organizers to change course at the start of the year.

“People said, ‘You know what gas prices will be in July? “”, Did he declare. “We made this decision a while ago, and we said, ‘No, we don’t. [know]but I assume the same as everyone else.'”

Gasoline prices have indeed climbed, despite a recent downward trend in recent weeks. On Friday, AAA calculated the average cost of gasoline in Florida at $4.31 a gallon, after peaking at $4.89 on June 13. By comparison, in 2021, AAA had quoted average gasoline prices in Florida of $2.99 ​​per gallon during tournament week.

A new financial landscape, and now a new calendar.

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Busy schedule

The one-day program replaces the traditional two-day format used in previous years, in which anglers prepared to hit the water at the start of Thursday, possibly weighed a fish on opening day, and then had another chance to weigh in once. more Friday.

The lack of time for a general one-day tournament, Hammock said, drastically changes the captains’ strategy.

“They would like [previously] use that first day as a kind of survey day, a reconnaissance day, where they could go out and hit several places and kind of figure out where to come back [for day two]where they saw the bite or they saw the fish,” he said. “With a day they have to know where they are, so they rely on their buddies to tell them where it is, and who are really good at observing thermoclines, weather, that sort of thing.”

For the most part, he said the captains accepted the change with ease.

This is not the first time the tournament has changed format. In 2013, for example, the organizers changed from the two-day format to a single day of general fishing on Friday, followed by a shootout on Saturday for the top 10 boats only.

The shortening of the general tournament does not change plans for most other Kingfisher Week events, although several do move to different parts of a week traditionally kicked off by the July 16 Rockfish Tournament.

The Junior Angler Dock Tournament takes place on Wednesday morning at 10.30am and the Junior Angler Offshore Tournament follows on Saturday July 23rd. In 2021, the Junior Angler Offshore tournament was held on a Tuesday, two days before the main event.

Awards ceremonies remain scheduled for Saturday, following the Junior Angler competition, with multiple vendors and festivities ranging from cornholes to fireworks.

road kingfish

Could a fish out of water win the trevally crown this year?

Meet the “drive-in fish”.

This year, Hammock said, the tournament will allow anglers to transport their catch to Jim King Park by road, rather than loading it directly from the dock. Road transport using standard passenger vehicles generally results in lower fuel costs compared to water transport.

“If they’re in Ponce Inlet [near Daytona Beach] there, it can cost them a lot of money to get that boat up here, drop a fish, and then go back,” he said. “So they can put it in their vehicle and bring it back to us and we’ll check them in.”

Fish transported in this manner will be checked into a tent at the front of the park and must still undergo an inspection by a Jacksonville University marine biologist to certify the validity and location of the catch as a preventative measure. fraud.

Then from there the fish will go to the normal weigh tent along the water.

It’s unclear how many anglers will opt for road transport, and Hammock said the drive-in approach may need some tweaking.

“We don’t know what the reaction will be to that. It’s new and we’ve never done it,” he said. “We’re trying to keep everyone in the game and help them with the costs, so hopefully that might be appealing to a few people who are maybe further afield.”

Some things stay the same

Although fishing hours are reduced, Friday’s main batches remain similar to those of 2021.

The captain who lands the biggest fish receives a 25-T Contender with Twin 150 Yamaha engines, part of an estimated $160,000 prize package. The aggregate price for two fish is $12,000 in cash. Both categories award prizes to the first 20 places.

Last year, Spencer Ross and his Yulee-based crew aboard Flossy caught the award-winning fish of the week, a 42.04lb landed shortly before noon on the second day of fishing.

The traditional Lady Angler competition continues as before, and Hammock also said the tournament will bring back its prize for the biggest cobia landed on Friday. The cobia award returns for the first time since 2018.

About a week into the general tournament, Hammock said the number of entries was nearly on par with the traditional average.

As before, tournament proceeds continue to support First Coast charities. And no matter how many days, Hammock said, the tournament promises a weekend of excitement on the water.

“We also wanted people to feel festive and give them something to see and show off our city a bit,” he said.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.