North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue’s scientific advisory panel on offshore energy met for the first time on January 26, 2010 in Raleigh to discuss the pros and cons of tapping into North Carolina’s offshore energy resources. 

Be sure to visit the forum to discuss and stay on top of this exciting and controversial issue facing our east coast economic and angling communities.

Fountain Powerboats came out of bankruptcy yesterday after a judge approved their reorganization plan.  According to several sources, management will remain largely unchanged, including Reggie Fountain who will continue to act as president and CEO.

According to an article on WITN.com, Fountain Powerboats will greatly phase down their involvement in competitive boat racing.  In the past, the company spent approximately $3 million per year on racing.

According to an article on WITN.com:

(Reggie) Fountain said while the company is on firm financial footing, the economy is still tough. He’ll know more about what the future holds after this month’s Miami boat show, which he says is the biggest boat show in the world and often provides 20 to 25% of the company’s sales.

Today’s ruling "will keep us going for another 30 years," (Reggie) Fountain said. "God willing of course."

To read the full article, click here.

Here’s a video of the Young Guns team fishing the Key West Harbour Tournament.  Make sure you check out the 65 pound wahoo at the 43 second mark.

With the most recent schedule changes, August is going to be a busy month for tournament anglers here in North Carolina with the Raleigh tournament on August 7th, the Onslow Bay Open’s new date of August 14th, Snead’s Ferry on August 21st and Brunswick Islands (Division 9) on August 28th. 

Traditionally, August is a good month for weather, but the fishing can be somewhat spotty and inconsistent.  It will be interesting to see if/how this new schedule will affect tournament participation during the 2010 season.

Stay tuned as the schedule continues to progress.

Originally scheduled to be the Division 4 opener, the Sapelo Open King Mackerel Tournament will now be hosted July 30 – 31 in Shellman Bluff, Georgia.  To discuss this date change, check out this topic on our forum.

For the full 2010 schedule of king mackerel tournaments check out the Schedule portion of Kingfish Connection here.

Check out this article on ESPN Outdoors, written by David Brown, featuring some kingfish tournament anglers.  This feature tags along with Kevin Farner, Ryan Farner, Dan Hayes, and Jerry Solovskoy from team Native on a great mid-winter bottom fishing trip. 

We had been trying to plan this trip for over three months, so imagine my delight when longtime friend Dan Hayes sent this email on Jan. 17: "Are you available this coming Tuesday the 19th? It looks like we will get a window between fronts. I have a feeling the fish will be stacked up and chewing hard on the deep pieces of relief."

To read the full article at ESPN Outdoors, click here.

A big thanks to Murray Marine for providing the final results:

Overall:

1. Skin Deep – 54.78
2. Constant Chaos – 54.64
3. Bar South – 49.09
4. Miller Tyme – 47.40
5. Lightly – 46.89
6. Native Premonitions – 45.77
7. Getcha Some – 45.53
8. Xtended Play – 44.90
9. Promarine USA / Kingpin – 43.98
10. Caliente – 42.53