U.S. Open KMT 2008
Buck Smith, Darin Smith, John Wrenn, and the 40.20 lb. king mackerel that earned them first place and over $42,000 in the 30th annual US Open. They caught the winning fish on a naked pogy trolled on top at Lighthouse Rocks.
Created 30 years ago by the Southport Chamber of Commerce to highlight the area’s great fall king fishing, the US Open King Mackerel Tournament has been a success ever since, generally attracting 350+ boats. This year it was great weather over the event’s two fishing days combined with a phenomenal king mackerel bite just offshore that produced another great Open for the 437 competing boats, particularly for the local “Second Time Around” crew, who scaled a 40.20 lb. king to take home the guaranteed $25,000 first prize and the top spot in the TWT, earning them total winnings of $42,640.
The “Second Time Around” team, composed of father/son Buck and Darin Smith and John Wrenn, have fished nearly every US Open, finishing third in 1993, but this was their first trip to the winner’s circle in the event. Fishing on a 31′ Suzuki-powered Cape Horn, the anglers caught 17 kings on Friday, October 2, the event’s first fishing day, but none that would have earned them a spot on the leaderboard.
After catching a livewell full of pogies on Saturday near Fort Caswell, the anglers targeted the old Cape Fear Shipping Channel along with many of the other boats in the event. Trolling between the old sea buoy and Lighthouse Rocks, the crew caught several fish early on.
They got another strike at 9:00 that morning on a naked pogy while trolling in 45′ of water just off Lighthouse Rocks, and Wrenn took the rod as the fish ran towards another boat.
“We were in a wad of boats,” Darin Smith reported. Fortunately, the closest boat, “Sarah Jo,” was within earshot.
“We were close enough to tell them to turn off because we were hooked up,” Smith explained. “I knew one of the guys on the boat, and they told us not to worry because they had their downrigger up.”
Though they were able to work past the “Sarah Jo” without problems, the king showed no signs of slowing down, and the anglers were forced to give chase.
“He almost ran the whole spool off that reel,” said Smith, “before we could catch up to him.”
With Wrenn cranking furiously and Buck Smith at the Cape Horn’s controls, they were able to catch up to their fish fairly quickly as its initial run slowed down.
“Usually on a big fish we try not to waste any time,” Darin Smith continued, “especially when there are a lot of boats around like that.”
Once the anglers approached their fish, it was fairly cooperative, staying close to the surface long enough for Smith to lean over the gunnel and plant a gaff in its flank.
Boating the fish less than 10 minutes after the bite, the anglers celebrated for a moment, deciding to continue fishing until the scales opened.
“We fished until about 10:30,” said Smith, “because we knew the weigh-in opened at 11:00. We got there a couple minutes before it got started and were the second boat to weigh.”
Although the tournament allows anglers to weigh a fish and then head out and continue fishing, the anglers decided that a 40-pounder was enough to keep them on land for the rest of the day. And as the scales closed, it was enough to secure their victory.
Turning off to let the winners fight their fish must have earned the “Sarah Jo” crew some karma points, as they hooked the 39.40 lb. king that earned them second place and $20,584 soon afterwards. Hampstead, NC-based anglers Chris Edens, Sr., Chris Edens, Jr., Andy Ickes, Corey Ickes, and Matt Markley, fishing aboard a 26′ Triton center console, had a similar experience on Friday to the winners, catching good numbers of fish, but none worthy of taking to the scales.
Matt Markley, Chris Edens, Sr., Chris Edens, Jr., and Corey Ickes with the 39.40 lb. king mackerel that took second place in the 2008 US Open. Their big king fell for a ribbonfish 30' deep on the downrigger near Lighthouse Rocks.
On Saturday morning they caught bait in the dark just off Oak Island and headed for the Lighthouse Rocks, arriving before any of the other boats fishing the event.
After trolling for a short time, the anglers got a solid strike, but soon realized they had something other than a king, and released a 22 lb. red drum shortly afterward.
“There were big reds all over the surface out there boiling on bait,” Edens, Jr. recalled, “8 miles offshore in 45′-that was weird.”
The anglers next strike came on a ribbonfish trolled 30′ deep on the downrigger, and it was more promising, taking a hard run offshore at first. Edens, Jr. was on the rod, and, like the winners, the “Sarah Jo” crew got some courteous treatment at the hands of their fellow tournament anglers as the boat “Burnin’ Money” altered course to avoid interfering with their hookup.
The crew caught up to the fish fairly quickly, but the battle was far from over.
“He hit a ribbonfish rig and only had the last treble hook in his mouth,” Edens, Jr. said. “Somehow the lead hook came around and got him in the tail.”
Although the anglers could get within 20′ of their big king, bringing it to gaff was another story.
“Every time I pulled on him, his head just leaned forward and he’d go down,” Edens continued. “We tried one time to gaff him about 45 minutes into the fight. Matt had every inch of a 12′ gaff into the water, but still just couldn’t quite reach him.”
As the frustrating battle wore on, the anglers were able to watch the fish nearly the entire time, but they could not break the threshold to bring it to gaff.
“We were just at the mercy of the fish,” said Edens, Jr. “Finally we got him doing death circles beneath the boat and he was just exhausted. I brought him up tail first just by that nose hook and Matt stuck him.”
The arduous battle had taken over 1 hour and 20 minutes, and the anglers finally boated their fish around 10:30, deciding to head for the scales immediately.
The “Sarah Jo” crew would like to thank sponsors Blue Water Candy Lures and Key Largo Rods for their roles in the team’s success.
Another Southport team, “Wonbyland,” weighed in a 38.20 lb. king mackerel to take the tournament lead Friday night and ultimately finish third, cashing a check for $12,060.
Bryan Rowley, Don Grass, and Keith Phillips, fishing aboard a 26′ Parker center console, also found their money-winning fish at Lighthouse Rocks.
“That was a late fish,” Phillips explained. “He bit at 4:00 Friday, and he skied higher than the T-top when he bit.”
A double pogy rig trolled in the propwash fooled the third place mackerel, and Phillips fought it while Grass ran the boat. After around 25 minutes, the king was within range, and Grass left the helm and sank home the gaff.
Wilmington’s “Reel Music” fishing team weighed in a 37.50 lb. king mackerel to earn fourth place and $2500. The “Steel Fishing” crew scaled a 37.00 lb. fish to take fifth and $1500 home.
Aside from the area’s excellent fall king mackerel fishing, a prize structure that guarantees payouts to the top 55 boats, along with dozens of special weight prizes, serves to attract the hordes of boats that annually fish the tournament. This year’s event also managed to land on one of the few recent weekends blessed by beautiful marine weather with light winds and calm seas both Friday and Saturday.
