Rebel King Pier King Mackerel Tournament 2006
The Rebel Pier King Fishing Tournament, held at Ocean Crest Pier from May 5-7, enjoyed good weather, great water conditions, and that strong bond that exists among kingfish anglers on the pier, but the king mackerel didn’t cooperate. All of this year’s top prizes went to big blues.
The water was clean and 73 degrees. There was plenty of bait in the water: pogies, blues, and grass shad. However, these great conditions for the “king mackerel only” event only brought in the big blues.
The heaviest bluefish of the tournament was caught by Roger Kidd, from Pittsboro, NC. Kidd landed a 9 lb. 7 oz. blue on Friday at 5:15 pm. It hit a small live blue on his king rig.
This was Kidd’s first year fishing the Rebel Pier Tournament, and he went home with almost $1700 for his 9 lb. blue.
“I must be the luckiest guy in North Carolina,” said Kidd, “because of my fellow anglers’ cooperation and positive attitude, and their display of sportsmanship was incredible, especially considering the tight quarters on the fishing T.”
Kidd added, “As long as the good Lord’s willing, I’ll fish it (the tournament) from now on.”
“Big” John Jones, from Evergreen, NC, took second place with an 8 lb. 15 oz. bluefish caught on Friday. It also hit a small live blue on his king rig. Jones’ payout was $800.
“We had gorgeous water and everything was perfect,” said Jones. “We just weren’t lucky enough to get a king in.”
Third place went to Mitch Philmon, from Weddington, with an 8 lb. 11 oz. blue. He took home $400.
The tournament enjoys a strong popularity and a large fan base. Their youngest tournament angler was Billy Goss (15 years old), and the oldest was Clarence Robinson, (84 years young). And there were anglers from three different states in the tournament—North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Tournament Director Dave Cooper said the tournament has always been “a tournament for the anglers by the anglers.” Among the sponsors that made the event possible were Lowe’s Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Chrysler Classic PGA Golf Tournament, Coastal Federal Bank, Intracoastal Realty, Island Bait and Tackle, and Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle.
The next pier tournament is the Oak Island Open Pier Tournament (previously the US Open Pier Tournament) on June 9-11.
