Atlantic Beach Saltwater Classic
Mike Williams, Gordon Dunn, and Quinn Morris--the "Release" fishing team--won the Altantic Beach Saltwater Classic with this 36.80 lb. king mackerel. The big king bit a live bluefish around some ledges in 110' of water east of Cape Lookout Shoals. Photo courtesy of Blue Water Promotions.
Overcoming incessant rain, lightning scares, and several lost fish, Mike Williams and Clayton, NC’s “Release” fishing team hauled a 36.80 lb. king mackerel to the scales to take home the win in the Atlantic Beach Saltwater Classic, held September 23-25 out of Atlantic Station and McCurdy’s Restaurant.
“That was one of the hardest tournament days I’ve ever fished,” said Williams. “That was the most rain I’ve ever fished in. We looked back at one point and our lines were floating straight up towards the sky and then they started sizzling from all the electricity in the air.”
Fishing an area of ledges in 110’ of water east of Cape Lookout Shoals where they’ve had tournament success in the past, Williams and teammates Gordon Dunn and Quinn Morris had to deal with more than the weather on their bumpy road to victory.
“We caught a teenager as soon as we started fishing,” Williams explained. “Then we lost a really good fish when the leader broke around 10:30 and had one that felt even better pull the hooks under the boat ten minutes later.”
Around 12:30, a sizeable king mackerel struck a double pogy rig in the 36’ Yellowfin’s propwash, but it knocked one of the baits off the hooks and immediately skied on the hookless bait.
Seconds later, something grabbed a naked bluefish the crew was trolling long, and this time it found the hooks.
Dunn pulled the rod from the holder and held on while the fish made a solid initial run.
“After that long run,” Williams reported, “it just came right back at the boat and laid over for me to gaff it. We fought that fish for less than five minutes.”
Putting the fish in the boat, Williams was initially unimpressed with its size.
“I was a little disappointed in the fish after those two we lost,” he said. “They were big fish. But we took some measurements and found out it was bigger than I thought.”
Continuing to troll the area in the hunt for a heavier king, the anglers caught a fat blackfin tuna and another king, but nothing bigger than their lunchtime fish.
At the weigh-in, the crew was pleasantly surprised to find their king was larger even than the measurements had indicated.
“I was also happy to finally have some fish in a tournament,” Williams said. “It seems like they’ve usually been one-bite events this year, but I think everybody caught a decent number of fish in this one.”
Williams and the “Release” crew would like to express their gratitude to Yellowfin Yachts for their support.
Scaling a 36.46 lb. king to finish just behind the leaders were Raleigh’s Brian Allen and the “Wall Hanger” crew. Thomas Justice and the “Justified” anglers weren’t far behind, rounding out the top three with a 35.26 lb. fish. Mark Yokeley, on the “Mater Head,” secured fourth with a 33.54 lb. king, and the “Second Catch” anglers finished fifth with a 32.54 lb. mackerel.
A full leader board and more information about the tournament, as well as other Blue Water Promotions events, are available at www.bluewaterpromo.com.
