Added on Thursday, September 11, 2008  Fish Post

Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic King Mackerel Division 2008

For most tournament fishing teams, putting a 25 lb. king mackerel in the boat during a competition means it was a good event. A 30 lb. fish? Even better. A 35? Definitely time to celebrate. And with a 40+ lb. fish on deck, a crew is coming to the scales with grins and expectations.How about an event where a team catches 25, 30, 35 and 41 lb. kings on the same day? Not many teams can explain what that feels like, but Drew Stephenson and the crew of Raleigh’s “Money Shot” can, after winning the Gregory Poole Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic with a 41.15 lb. king and 90 lbs. of backup in the fish box.

“We hooked that first fish at 9:30 Saturday morning,” said Stephenson, who fished the tournament with Jody Yarbrough, Derek Savage, and Jon Patterson aboard his Yamaha-powered 23′ Contender. After boating the 25 lb. king, the anglers continued trolling around the 1700 Rock, east of Cape Lookout Shoals, getting another big strike just after 10:00.

With Patterson fighting a clearly sizeable king from the Contender, the anglers left another live bluefish bait in the water on a light-line and got a second strike almost immediately.

“We didn’t know what it was,” Stephenson explained. “We thought it might be a wahoo, but we tried to get that 35 [Patterson’s fish] in the boat quick.”

With Yarbrough fighting the second fish, the anglers were unable to give chase without losing line on the 35 pounder. Soon, however, the first fish neared the gunnel, and Savage was able to plant the gaff and boat it.

With the first fish in the boat, the anglers were finally able to head off after the big fish, and when it finally appeared near the boat, it was an even bigger king. Again, Savage grabbed the gaff.

“It was a perfect gaff shot,” Stephenson said. “Right in the head. That fish didn’t lose a drop of blood.”

While most teams with mid-20’s, mid-30’s, and a 41 lb. fish in the bag would head for the scales immediately, the “Money Shot” crew decided to continue fishing.

“That morning ‘Miss Kayley’ came on the radio with a big fish about 7:00, and we thought they had the tournament won,” Stephenson recalled.

Continuing to troll around 1700 Rock for a short while longer, the anglers landed their 30 lb. king at 11:30, finally deciding to head for Beaufort.

“We knew it was a 40,” said Stephenson. “We figured we had at least a top-5 fish and were hoping for top-3. I had a little problem with my port engine, so we just decided to head in and hoped for the best.”

After fishing the Beaufort Inlet shipping channel for a few minutes on the way in, the “Money Shot” anglers headed for the scales, weighing in just 5 minutes after the “Miss Kayley.” Although the near-39 lb. king “Miss Kayley” had was impressive, their 41.15 topped it handily, earning the team a first place check for $13,060.

Missing out on the first place check may have hurt a bit for “Miss Kayley,” but the 38.75 lb. fish that earned them second took first in the TWT, earning the crew over $15,500 when added to the second place money. Heading up the Morehead City-based team was Frank Eastman, fishing with sons J.R. and Holton Eastman, as well as Gary Norris, aboard a 34′ Yellowfin. J.R. and Holton shared the event’s Top Junior Angler title.

Also fishing the east side of Lookout Shoals, the “Miss Kayley” anglers were pleasantly surprised by their money-winner early on Saturday morning.

“It was an early bite,” Frank Eastman said. “We’d just gotten started, and that fish bit about 6:30.”

A live bluefish trolled on top fooled the second place king at the East Rock, also on the east side of Lookout Shoals. Holton Eastman grabbed the rod as the fish took its initial run.

“That fish ate so hard the rig went right through his gill plate,” Eastman continued.

After they caught up to the king, it took another long run. However, the second run exhausted the fish, and Holton was able to bring it to the boat shortly after.

With a 38.75 lb. fish in the boat before 7:00 tournament morning, the anglers were ecstatic, but they fished the remainder of the day out at East Rock, intentionally pulling the hooks on two smaller kings.

“We finally finished up around 2:00 and headed for the scales,” Eastman explained.

The “Miss Kayley” anglers would like to thank Eastman Carpet, Radio Island Marina, and Blue Water Candy Lures for supporting the team.

A 35.90 lb. king mackerel secured third place in the tournament and $9,025 for Jamie Wallace and the Newport, NC-based “Rugman” team. Wallace and his wife Renee (the event’s Top Lady Angler) fished with Mark Springfield, Todd Matthews, and Craig Stanfield on their new 31′ Contender, and they also found their fish on the east side of the shoals, though they had to wait until the afternoon for the big bite.

Just when the fleet at the 1700 Rock began to thin out for the afternoon, the “Rugman” crew got a double strike at around 3:15. The larger of the fish bit first, and Jamie Wallace picked up the rod while the king ran.

The fight went pretty typically for a large king mackerel, and after a few surface runs it went deep, playing tug-of-war with Wallace in the depths while completing several death circles before surfacing for a gaff shot.

With the fish in the boat and time winding down at the scales, the anglers immediately headed for Beaufort.

“We threw him in the boat, we celebrated a little, and we went in,” Wallace explained.

The team wished to express their gratitude to Garmin, Contender, and Yamaha for their support.

Barrett and Rube McMullan, of the “Ocean Isle Fishing Center” team, took home fourth place and $5,651 for a 34.40 lb. king. The Fayetteville-based “Blue Chips” crew reeled in fifth place with a 34.20 lb. king.

Ashley Jones and the “Miss Teny” crew, from Walstonburg, NC, caught a 30.20 lb. king to earn seventh overall, but the event’s top 23′ and Under prize.

Featuring three nights of catered food, an open bar, and live music under the big tent at Beaufort’s Front Street Village, the inaugural Gregory Poole Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic attracted 92 boats in the king mackerel division. The payout change from the essentially winner-take-all Gregory Poole Strike It Rich king mackerel tournament was well received, with the event attracting more boats than last year in a year when many tournaments are struggling.

The Strike It Rich event served as a fundraiser for the United Way of Coastal Carolina, and the Celebrity Classic maintained the organization as a beneficiary. They also added the Carteret Community Foundation this year.