Swansboro Rotary KMT 2007
Many teams have put years, if not decades, into tournament king mackerel fishing before seeing their name atop a leader board. Not so for Willow Spring, NC’s “Tailwalker” crew, who weighed in a 25.88 lb. king to win the 27th Annual Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel-Bluewater Tournament, the first king tournament the team has ever entered.
“Shoot, this was the third time I’ve had it in the ocean,” team Capt. Dale Walker said of the “Tailwalker,” a 25 Grady White center console powered by twin 150 hp Mercury Optimax engines. Walker fished the event, held May 25-27 out of Hammock’s Beach State Park, with friends Rick Roark, Chuck Brown, and Jerry Lassiter. While Roark and Lassiter have fished a few tournaments, this was Brown and Walker’s first experience with competitive king fishing.
The “Tailwalker” crew started fishing Saturday morning at Jesse’s Ledge. Finding no big kings there or at Cripple Rock, they moved offshore. Their winning fish came from a grouper ledge 55 miles southeast of New River Inlet in 120’ of water.
“We started out at Jesse’s Ledge, caught a small king and a ladyfish, went to Cripple Rock, caught three kings, then went to where we went,” Walker said. “When we got to the old grouper hole, we caught three dolphin, then we got the big fish around 2:00.”
The tournament’s heaviest king ate a foot long pogie the “Tailwalker” was trolling 55’ deep on the downrigger.
Roark took the rod after the king struck, and he fought the fish for around half an hour before getting it close enough to the boat for Lassiter to plant the gaff. With the fish in the boat at 2:00 and 55 miles from New River Inlet, the “Tailwalker” crew knew they’d have to cover some water in a hurry to make it to the weigh-in by 4:00.
“We ran that boat as hard as it would run back to the inlet,” Walker explained. “It took us right at two hours to make it to Swansboro.”
At the scales, the “Tailwalker” king weighed just over half a pound more than the 25.34 lb. second place king. That half-pound earned the Tailwalker crew a first place check for a guaranteed $25,000, not a bad return on the team’s first KMT entry fee investment.
When asked if the team would continue to compete on the king mackerel tournament circuit, Walker laughingly replied, “Oh, Lord Yes. We’re addicted now.”
“I have to thank Rick’s father Charles Roark,” Walker acknowledged. “He gave me the number we caught the fish at, and sold me the boat and all his fishing gear.”
The “Germinator” team, from Wilmington, took second place in the tournament with a 25.34 lb. king. Team Capt. Wayne Hewitt fished the tournament with Chris Cooper, Ted Barnes, and Charles Blackenbeckler aboard the “Germinator,” a 32’ Scarab center console powered by twin Yamaha 300 HPDI’s.
A naked double pogy rig trolled long fooled the second place king as the “Germinator” trolled a spot near the Navy Wreck. The strike came at 10:30 on Saturday morning. Cooper was the first one to get to the rod, and the king sounded immediately. The fish stayed deep for the duration of the 20 minute fight, and when Cooper finally brought it to the surface, Hewitt was ready with the gaff.
Staying near the Navy Wreck, the “Germinator” crew caught kings all day, ending up with another fish over 20 lbs., a 19 lb. king, and many smaller ones. They caught menhaden in the dark Saturday morning in the Carolina Beach Boat Basin and in the ocean off Bald Head Island before heading out to their spot.
The “Germinator” crew took home a brand new Bay Rider 2060 boat with a 115 Yamaha Four Stroke, as well as $5,317 in the King Mackerel TWT. Hewitt wished to thank Team “Germinator” sponsors Sherwin-Williams Paint, Evergreen Forest Products, and Landscape Solutions.
A 22.22 lb. king mackerel put Mike Williams’ “Release” team, from Clayton, in third place. Third was worth $8,254.
Fourth place and $4,952 went to Philip Parks aboard the “Stressless II,” from Goldsboro. Parks weighed a 21.98 lb. king, which also gave angler Megan Bright the tournament’s top Lady Angler spot.
Raleigh’s “On the Fly” fishing team caught the fifth heaviest king mackerel, a 21.04 lb. fish that was also the largest weighed by a boat under 23’. McLamb fished the event aboard his 23’ Pathfinder with son Jon McLamb and friends Al Davis and Troy Simmons.
The “On the Fly” king hit a double pogy rig around 12:00 noon as the crew trolled near the 200/200. After skying on the baits and missing the hooks, the king came down on the rig and was foul-hooked.
Jon McLamb took the rod and fought the king for approximately 35 minutes before the team could gaff it.
First place in the 23’ and Under Division and the 23’ and Under TWT earned McLamb’s team $4,568.
Brandon Beasley, aboard the “Hi-Speed Wobble” from Maysville, was the event’s top Junior Angler, weighing in a 21.82 lb. cobia. Bright won a trophy and a rod and reel combo.
The 212 boats registered in this year’s king mackerel competition were met with pleasant weather on Saturday, the king mackerel event’s only fishing day. “The weather was fantastic,” Tournament Director Stukie Payne said. “It’s the best weather we’ve had in five years.”
The Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel-Bluewater Tournament benefits the Rotary Club’s scholarship fund for local high school students. “We’ve given out $510,000 to date, and the tournament specifically benefits the scholarship program,” Payne explained.
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