Sneads Ferry Rotary King Mackerel Tournament
Morehead City's Al Morris, Brent Bunn, and Andy Hinton--the "Sea Drag'N" fishing team--handily earned the victory in the 2012 Snead Ferry Rotary King Mackerel Tournament with this 52.69 lb. king mackerel they hooked on a live menhaden near the 1700 Rock.
Capturing first place in the event by a massive 15+ lbs., Al Morris, Jr. and the “Sea Drag’N” fishing team hauled a 52.69 lb. king mackerel to the scales at the Sneads Ferry King Mackerel Tournament, held July 17-18 out of New River Marina, to win the event with an exclamation point.
The Sneads Ferry tournament has been good to Morris, of Morehead City, and teammates Brent Bunn and Andy Hinton, as they also won the event in 2003.
They filled the 28’ Privateer’s baitwell with menhaden on the morning of the event, and then headed out Drum Inlet to the legendary king mackerel waters east of Cape Lookout Shoals.
After first checking out a spot in 45’ of water, the anglers weren’t happy with the murky green water they saw and headed further offshore to the 1700 Rock.
Stopping short of the numbers and the 20 or so boats already trolling there, the anglers set out their spread and soon hooked their first king mackerel of the day, a mid-20’s fish that would be enough to take to the scales, but certainly not a winner.
Just after re-deploying their baits, a large fish attacked their long line, a large naked menhaden.
“Brent yelled that a 30 or 40 had just skied on the long line,” Morris explained. “The reel began screaming, and I grabbed the rod and gave it to Andy.”
As Hinton held on while the fish ran, Bunn and Morris cleared the deck and realized they’d already lost over 300 yards of line.
“I took over on the reel, Brent turned the Sea Drag’N, and the chase was on,” Morris explained.
The anglers followed the big king as it took four long runs, finally getting on top of their adversary.
“The fish was up and down under the boat,” Morris continued, “and I could feel it was a large fish.”
The battle went on in a stalemate for the next quarter-hour, however, as the king held its ground deep beneath the Privateer.
When Morris finally persuaded the king to the surface, the anglers caught a glimpse of their huge king mackerel, and Bunn readied a long gaff. Moments later it was in range, and after he sunk the gaff, Bunn and Morris hauled the monster mackerel over the gunnel.
“She hit the deck with a big thump,” Morris said, “and never moved.”
After celebrating the catch, the anglers took some measurements and agreed it was likely over 50 lbs. They iced the fish down and took a leisurely ride to Sneads Ferry and anchored up to wait for the scales to open at 3:00 that afternoon.
Their king held onto the top spot on the leaderboard from the opening to the close of the weigh in, and the anglers’ second victory in the event was secured.
Morris and the “Sea Drag’N” would like to express their gratitude to sponsors Mercury Marine, BellHart Marine, Sea Striker, and Star Rods for their roles in the crew’s success.
A 37.08 lb. king mackerel secured second place in the tournament for New Bern’s Theodore Cooper and the “Nancy Rae.” Brandon Moore on the “Lady L” earned third place with a 33.71 lb. fish. Randall Edens and “East Coast Sports” took fourth with a 30.74 lb. king, and John Lewis’s “Second Chance” rounded out the top five with a 29.64 lb. king.
More information on the event and a full leaderboard are available at the Sneads Ferry Rotary Club’s website, wwws.sneadsferryrotary.com.
