Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament
Brett Barnes, of Wilmington, and Larry Allen, of Raleigh, with the 47.12 lb. king mackerel that earned them first place in the Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament, held October 19-20. The big king bit a naked menhaden on the surface in 60′ of water east of Cape Lookout Shoals. Photo by Rosalita McCloud.
“They decided to allow boats to enter twice this year,” Brett Barnes, of Wilmington, explained, “so theoretically you could enter twice and take first and second place.”
The hypothetical turned into a reality at the 2012 Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament, as Barnes and partner Larry Allen—the “Hot Rod” fishing team—turned paying double entry fees into a high-risk, high-reward investment, scaling a 46.88 lb. kingfish to take the lead on day one of the tournament, then topping themselves with a 47.12 lb. fish on the event’s second day.
The victory with an exclamation point isn’t the first taste of success Barnes and the “Hot Rod” have had in the Swansboro tournament, as he and his son took first place in the event in 2006 and 2008.
For this year’s tournament he teamed up with Allen, of Raleigh, aboard the “Hot Rod,” a 25’, Yamaha-powered Contender. The anglers didn’t do any pre-fishing prior to the competition, but they headed to Morehead City armed with years of tournament experience to guide their decision on where to head on Saturday, October 20, the event’s first fishing day.
“We headed for a spot east of Lookout Shoals,” Barnes explained. “It’s a place I’ve fished in the past in 60’ of water.”
With a livewell full of menhaden, the anglers headed for their fishing grounds on Saturday morning, and scored their first bite around 9:00 am on a live menhaden pinned to their long line.
Allen took the rod as the fish began its initial run and then continued tearing line off the reel until the team took off in pursuit.
“That fish literally dumped the line,” Barnes said. “There was 30 or so yards of line left, and we could see the spool. We had to chase it running 15 mph. I’ve never had to chase a fish like that before.”
The chase continued until the king made an abrupt change of course, running back at the boat and forcing Allen to reel quickly to keep up.
Around 25 minutes after the bite, Barnes sank a gaff in the big mackerel and hauled it over the Contender’s gunnel. The near-47 pounder turned out to be their first money fish of the event.
“We were ecstatic with that fish,” Barnes reported.
After scaling the leading fish on day one, the anglers eagerly returned to the same spot to fish out their second entry, and it turned into another good move as fate again pulled the “Hot Rod” crew’s number.
“The first-place, second day fish bit our medium line,” Barnes recalled.
Another naked menhaden fooled their second massive mackerel of the event, and Allen was again the angler.
“That fish was more normal,” Barnes said. “It made a good initial run, maybe 250 yards.”
After the first burst, Allen was able to put enough line back on the reel to avoid chasing the fish, and it made a few more runs before entering a death spiral below the boat. Like their first king, Barnes estimated Allen battled it for around 25 minutes before the pair was able to get it aboard the Contender.
“We weren’t actually sure it was bigger than our first one,” Barnes explained. “The day one fish was 54 inches and fat, and this one was 56 inches long. It wasn’t skinny but was more a normal king mackerel shape.”
Back at the weigh-in in Swansboro, the scales told the tale, and the anglers’ day two fish proved to be a quarter-pound heavier than their first.
Nipping at the “Hot Rod” team’s heels, Alan Ambrose and Sunset Beach’s “Hooligan” fishing team scaled a 46.46 lb. king mackerel good for third place.
James Martin’s 41.52 lb. fish secured fourth in the event, and Mark Henderson and the “Liquid Fire” crew rounded out the top five with a 41.32 lb. king.
More information on the Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel and Blue Water Tournaments and a full leaderboard are available at www.kingbluewater.com.
