How a Florida husband and wife duo secured kingfish tournament victory

With 396 boats competing at last weekend’s 32nd annual Old Salts Spring King of the Beach, it was always going to be a close contest for the biggest single kingfish with nearly perfect kingfishing conditions.

Before competing for one of the most prestigious crowns and biggest prize pools, some fishing teams spent countless hours preparing for the tournament, planning every move, catching as much bait as possible and having all their options covered.

And then there was the husband-and-wife team Don Vining and Jenn Privalle.

“The Tuesday before the tournament, I put my boat in the water for the first time since February. I wanted to get bait, make sure the boat was working and get any electrical gremlins out before the tournament,” said Vining, who runs a Fire Safety business and fishes under team name Seaside Fire Protection. “Tournament day was the first time we went fishing in months and didn’t prefish at all.”

“But I’ve been fishing here as long as I can remember, since moving in 1990. I have an idea where you could potentially catch the fish needed. Last year, we doubled up on two big kingfish at the same time during spring, so I had that spot to fall back on if needed. Using bigger baits all day, we knew we wouldn’t get many bites but stayed hopeful for the one.”

Starting their fishing day off Clearwater Beach, the pair trolled all morning without much action. They moved south throughout the day, still not seeing bent rods or hearing screaming drags. They ventured to the shipping channel, well known for its kingfish migration, only to keep wondering if a big fish would find their hooks.

“We were approaching the bite window that I like,” explained Vining, who remained positive. “Absolutely beautiful conditions. A high sun, clear king looking waters. I think it reflects light off your baits. I thought for sure we’d hook up out there but another couple hours and no bites.”

Using his experience, Vining ran back to the area where they had the big fish doubleheader last year. They caught a Spanish mackerel to break the ice. Then Jenn noticed one of the rods with a blue runner got hit.

“She said, ‘It hit our bait, but it’s not there anymore.’ I free-spool the line and I see the kingfish hit the bait on top of the water, letting me know how large and fast it was. All of the sudden, it is on and dumping line off the spool. We had other rods out and I’m telling my wife to reel them up as nicely as possible.”

Over the next 43 minutes, the pair dealt with an angry giant kingfish nearly spooling their LD40 multiple times, a long untangling of a crab trap, tense relationship-testing communication, light line and small hooks that Vining feared could come loose at any moment. But they persevered, and when the giant was close by, the end was euphoric.

“I’m slowly lifting up and not sure how well we had it hooked. We finally see color and we get really excited seeing how big this thing really is, by far the biggest we’ve ever had on. Jenn leans over, gaffs this thing and in one motion swings it in the boat in a split second. We see it on the deck of the boat and just lose it. We knew right away we were in contention!”

With fishing time coming to an end, they still needed to get to the weigh-in. With minutes to spare, the couple pulled up, and Jenn jumped in line. Their fish bag was 30 inches long and their kingfish was more than 50 inches, leaving nowhere for them to hide the massive tail that stuck out.

At the scale, 39.91 pounds was the weight to beat. Their fish would come in at 43.19, eventually winning as the biggest kingfish with only a few fish left behind them. For their victory and entering a pair of the bonus TWT’s, they would bring home a total of $69,587. The winning moment is one Vining will never forget.

“Looking at that crowd, that community, they were genuinely excited for you and for winning. I hear someone saying, ‘Put the fish up above your head!’ It’s hard to describe the crowd in front of you going crazy and how much energy is in that crowd,” Vining said. “An experience I will never forget. This is the only tournament we do and one we will always do.”