Fall Brawl 2006
The final tournament in 2006 SKA Division 9 competition, the Ocean Isle, NC-based Fall Brawl King Mackerel Tournament, was postponed one week due to rough, windy forecasts. The following weekend also had a sloppy forecast, but Ocean Isle Fishing Center, the hosts of the Fall Brawl, went ahead with the event on November 3-6.
With seas approaching 6′ on both fishing days, fishing conditions were tough; however, many of the 152 participating teams really showed their mettle, persevering through the rough weather to catch and weigh nice kings.
Saturday proved to be the nastier of the two, but the 5-8′ seas driven by 15-25 knot NE winds did not stop Charlie Faasen’s “Reel Pursuit” team from catching the tournament winning 24.75 lb. king mackerel. Fishing aboard the 34′ Yamaha-powered Pursuit, Faasen and teammates John Webster and Sonny Spaurn didn’t have to wait long for a bite Saturday morning.
Trolling at Christina’s Ledge, about 12 miles offshore in 65′ of water, the “Reel Pursuit” crew got a solid strike on the downrigger bait around 7:30 on Saturday morning. After eating the yellow-skirted mullet set 35′ deep, the fish took off on a solid run, staying down in the water. Webster picked up the rod as the king ran. Each time he was able to crank the fish near the boat, it would make another run, staying deep and out of sight.
Though they had high hopes, the crew wasn’t sure whether they had a king mackerel or something else for much of the battle. It wasn’t until Webster had the fish tired enough for the gaff that the “Reel Pursuit” saw that, in fact, they did have a sizeable king. Just after seeing it for the first time, Spaurn was able to gaff the fish and boat it at 7:45.
Knowing that the majority of tournament boats would be fishing the following day, the “Reel Pursuit” continued trolling Christina’s Ledge after boating the near-25 lb. king, looking for a bigger fish to hold them over through Sunday’s competition. Though they caught plenty of smaller kings and sharks, the 24.75 lb. fish was the largest they could come up with. Fortunately for the “Reel Pursuit,” the fish held the top spot on the leader board through Sunday, and the “Reel Pursuit” took home the first place check, beating the second place fish by just 0.15 lbs.
Holden Beach, NC’s “Twister” team brought a 24.60 lb. fish to the scales on Sunday to finish second. Patrick Bryant and teammates Alex Bryant and Derek Savage pushed their 25′ Yamaha-powered Contender through bumpy seas stacked up by a 15-20 knot NE wind to catch the fish.
The “Twister” left Shallotte Inlet Sunday morning headed to one of Patrick Bryant’s favorite fishing spots, the Horseshoe. Upon arriving, the crew laid out a spread of bluefish and began to troll around the area. Not long after they arrived, a fish hit a naked bluefish 40′ deep on the downrigger.
Savage grabbed the rod immediately after the bite, and the king made a good run. As the run ended, though, Savage brought him right to the boat. Bryant was ready with the gaff, and he brought the fish aboard less than 5 minutes after it bit. “It was a pretty easy fight,” Bryant said.
With a mid 20’s king in the boat and knowing that the previous day’s leading fish was only 24.75 lbs., the “Twister” crew relaxed their efforts a bit, anchoring up on the Horseshoe to ride the rough seas more comfortably. While anchored up, they managed to catch several more kings up to 18 lbs., gag grouper, and amberjacks.
Around 1:30 the team left the Horseshoe to make the weigh-in, which ended at 4:00. They were one of the last teams to weigh fish, finally making the scales around 3:45. “It was a real sloppy trip back,” Bryant commented.
Some boats reported that the ocean calmed a bit Saturday afternoon, but not according to Bryant. “I didn’t see that; it didn’t lay down at all for us,” he said. Though the seas were ugly, the Twister fished under sunny skies all day.
Patrick Bryant wished to express his thanks to friends Randy Robinson, Dwight McCormick, and Braden Gardner. “I had to work Saturday, and they took time out Saturday afternoon to go catch bait for me,” he said appreciatively. The trio caught bluefish and pinfish around Lockwood’s Folly Inlet and penned them for Bryant.
Third place went to the “Final Approach” team, of Southern Pines, NC, for a 24.30 lb. king mackerel. James Demyan, his twin sons James III and John Demyan, and teammate Dr. Don Johnson caught the fish Saturday aboard the “Final Approach,” a 33′ Yamaha-powered Pursuit.
James Demyan knew he’d have to do something to separate the “Final Approach” strategy from the other 50 boats that fished Saturday. “I had it in my mind that we’d need to find some warm water to catch a good fish,” he said. “I also believe strongly in the solunar tables. All the fish we’ve done well in tournaments on this year have hit during the major periods.”
The “Final Approach” found warm, 73 degree water at the Gary Enis Numbers, and began to troll. Reaching the E 45 number as the major solunar period began at 11:30, a fish bit a naked pogy 45′ deep on the downrigger. John Demyan took the rod, and the fish stayed deep, not making a blistering, king mackerel signature run. As John became convinced it was a shark or amberjack, the fish came up around four waves from the boat, and James Demyan could see it was a nice king. Fighting the fish with new enthusiasm, it took around 20 minutes for John to get the mackerel to the boat, where James sank a gaff in it.
Georgetown, SC’s “Bank On It” fishing team caught the fourth place, 23.45 lb. king. Craig and Ricky Rabon, and Don Wright caught the fish Sunday on the 32′ Mercury-powered Donzi.
The “Bank On It” was trolling around an area of live bottom off the SC coast when their king bit a footlong bluefish around 12:30 Sunday. The boat was around 25 miles north of Georgetown in 60′ of water when the king hit and Wright grabbed the rod. The fish took a long run just after striking, but with Craig Rabon at the helm, the team ran the king down. The tired fish was next to the boat around 10 minutes after it bit, and Ricky Rabon gaffed it and brought it aboard.
After fishing for little while longer, the Bank On It headed back into Georgetown Inlet and began to run the waterway North to the scales at Ocean Isle Fishing Center. Just after crossing into North Carolina, however, the Bank On it was held up by the Sunset Beach Bridge. With only 15 minutes before the weigh-in ended, the crew ran full throttle out of Little River Inlet, up the beach to Shallotte Inlet, and made it to the Fishing Center just in time to weigh their king.
Tournament Organizer Capt. Brant McMullan wished to express great gratitude to the Fall Brawl’s title sponsor Yamaha, and to sponsors Sea Tow, Magic Tilt, Ocean Isle Fishing Center, Marine Max, The Sign Station, Elite Homes, R and R Allstate, and Chatlee Marine.
