Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament
Amber King, John Theodorakis, Margaret Pennstrom, and Capt. Austin Eubank--the "Clearly Hooked" fishing team--with the 38.55 lb. king mackerel that earned them first place in the 2012 Rumble in the Jungle KMT. The big mackerel bit a naked menhaden at Yaupon Reef.
Hauling a 38.55 lb. king mackerel to the scales at Little River’s Harbourgate Marina, Capt. Austin Eubank, of Wilmington, and the “Clearly Hooked” fishing team secured the top spot on the leaderboard and the first place check in the 2012 Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament, held September 28-29.
Fishing aboard a Yamaha-powered 25’ Contender, Eubank and teammates Margaret Pennstrom, John Theodorakis, and Amber King used some local networking to figure out where they were headed on the morning of competition.
“Andy Everhart caught some nice fish in the 30’s at Yaupon the day before,” Eubank explained, “so we headed there.”
After loading up their livewell with menhaden just off the beach between Shallotte and Lockwood Folly inlets, the “Clearly Hooked” anglers headed for Yaupon Reef, a popular spot just off the mouth of the Cape Fear River and began their hunt for a money fish.
They found a slow bite in the morning, landing a few smaller king mackerel but nothing worth a trip to the scales. Knowing that some big fish had been in the area the day before, they stuck it out at the spot and were rewarded for their persistence shortly after noon.
“Around 12:30 we missed two fish around 30 or so that skied the baits,” Eubank recalled. “I was letting out another bait when one grabbed it.”
A naked menhaden had proved too much for this fish to resist, and Eubank passed the rod off to Theodorakis as the fish tore line from the reel.
“It made a 300 yard run right off the bat,” he continued. “That fish was getting it.”
The anglers followed the fish, putting a bit more line back on the reel after the initial burst, but the big run wasn’t all it had in store for the crew.
“It took two more runs about 150 yards each,” Eubank said.
Less than a quarter-hour after the bite, however, Theodrakis had the fish close to the boat, and the captain readied the gaff.
“It circled and we got it,” he added.
With the near-40 lb. king in the boat, the “Clearly Hooked” crew decided to make the run to Little River.
“We actually thought it was a little bigger than that based on the measurements,” Eubank said. “We caught a 35.5 the next weekend that didn’t look anything like that fish.”
The team was the first boat to make the weigh-in, and their fish grabbed the top spot on the leaderboard and held on until the scales closed.
Stacy Wester, also of Wilmington, and the “Big Bad Wolf” crew scaled the 35.71 lb. king that earned second place in the event. Henry Tillett and Beaufort, NC’s “Windy Conditions” team secured third place with a 35.32 lb. fish. Dave Yates on the “Yates Sea” took home fourth with a 33.60 lb. mackerel, and a 33.40 lb. king put Jack Bracewell and the “Eren’s Addiction” in fifth.
More information on the Rumble in the Jungle can be found at the Little River Fishing Club’s website, www.littleriverfishingclub.com.
