Greater Wilmington KMT 2007
It wasn’t a marlin, but the 34.00 lb. king mackerel that took first place in the Greater Wilmington King Mackerel Tournament must have seemed mighty enchanting to the members of the Raleigh-based “Magic Marlin” fishing team. Daniel Lee, his daughter Katie, Ricky White, and Tony Fincher made up the crew, and they took home the winner’s check for over $20,000 in the event, held July 27-28 out of Wrightsville Beach’s Dockside Marina.
The team fished the tournament aboard Lee’s 32’ Jarrett Bay center console powered by twin 275 Mercury Verados. After buying pogies from Capt. Stacy’s Fishing Center (to avoid wasting time catching bait), they left Beaufort Inlet and headed for the famous king mackerel grounds that are east of Lookout Shoals.
“We figured we could at least get a 20-30 lb. king on the East Side,” Daniel Lee said. Despite an abundance of bait and perfect water color, their first spot produced only a few sharks after two hours trolling.
The team’s game plan was to fish the East Side early, then run south, hitting more hotspots while getting closer to the weigh-in site.
“We decided to hit Jerry’s Reef next,” Fincher recalled. Again they were greeted with ideal conditions but no king activity. “Then we started heading to Christmas Rock. We saw a little Hydra-Sport hooked up on the right side of us, and it looked like their fish was pulling good, so we decided to stop and fish there at the Southeast Bottoms.”
Just after Lee deployed the downrigger bait, a pogy behind a pink/white Blue Water Candy skirt, the reel began to sing a familiar tune much loved by king mackerel anglers, and Fincher pulled the rod from its holder.
“It sounded good to start with, but then it died out real quick,” said Fincher. “But he’d just turned around and headed back towards us. So I cranked and cranked, finally caught up to him, then he decided to smoke it down.”
“We had him on a Trinidad 30 with 500 yards of line, and over half the spool was gone in just a minute,” Lee remembered.
During the massive run, Katie Lee turned the boat towards the king, and White took over the helm, chasing the fish down.
According to Fincher, the run exhausted the king, and the fight was easy from then on. “He made one last turn, went under the boat, and we loosened up on him, let him go, and took the rod to the other side of the boat. He rolled right back over on top, and Daniel gaffed him.”
The winning king hit the deck around 1:30, and the crew decided to run for the scales immediately.
At the weigh-in, the team’s only king of the day held on to first place by over one pound. In addition to the overall win, the king earned Katie Lee first place in Junior Angler competition and $250.
The “Magic Marlin” crew wished to dedicate their win to Matthew Lee. “Matt couldn’t make it to this tournament, but he was with us in spirit, so we want to dedicate this one to him,” Daniel Lee said. They’d also like to express their gratitude to sponsor Lee’s Hardwood Floors.
Second place in the tournament went to the Wilmington-based Living Waters Guide Service boat “Bloodworm” for a 32.88 lb. king. Jody Gay, of Blue Water Candy Lures, and Russell Weaver fished the tournament aboard the 20’ Yamaha-powered Onslow Bay, and they took home nearly $10,000. Rick Croson, the usual team captain, was unable to make it to this event.
Weaver and Gay were trolling a live bottom 14.5 miles off New Topsail Inlet when their king bit around 11:00 on Saturday. A pink Blue Water Candy skirted pogy trolled 22’ deep on the downrigger fooled the fish, and Weaver was first to the rod.
“It only took us about 10 minutes to get him in,” Gay said. “He didn’t fight like a king at all.”
Gay ended the quick fight by planting a gaff in the near-33 lb. king, and both anglers were pleased to see its size. “We were surprised at how big the fish was. I think the 20 lb. king we caught earlier fought much harder than that one,” Gay revealed.
With thunderstorms looming when they boated the king, the pair decided to head back in to the beach and fish a bit more. Catching one shark after a half-hour’s fishing, they headed to the weigh-in.
Gay wished to thank Chris Edens, of the “Sarah Jo” team, for leading them to their fishing grounds. “He gave us some really good intel, and put us right on that spot,” said Gay.
The crew would also like to express their gratitude to Living Waters Guide Service sponsors Blue Water Candy, Onslow Bay Boatworks, Tex’s Tackle, Penn, and Owner Hooks.
A 31.96 lb. king mackerel earned third place for the “Sic-Em” crew, from Fayetteville. Steve Ford, Colin Ford, Jamie Morris, and Dane Butler were all aboard the 23’ Sea Pro for the tournament and won over $9,000. The near-32 lb. fish also earned Colin Ford the $100 second place Junior Angler prize.
The “Sic-Em” king bit a naked pogy as the crew trolled an area east of Lookout Shoals. The strike came around 11:00 Saturday morning, and Colin Ford took the rod after the king bit. With Morris at the helm, the crew followed their fish for 10 minutes before Steve Ford could gaff it.
Other than the third place fish, the crew caught two more kings and a number of sharks during the tournament. They found their pogy baits near Harker’s Island on Saturday morning.
The Greater Wilmington KMT’s top 23’ and Under team was the “Reel Music,” who weighed in a 29.34 lb. king. Brothers Gaston and Tolly Hughes made up the Wilmington-based team, and they were fishing the event aboard their 23T Contender.
The Hughes found their king while trolling a ledge near the Cabbage Patch. A naked pogy fooled the fish into striking at 10:00, and Gaston picked up the rod.
“I’ve never had a king fight like that before,” he said. “We went through a bunch of grass, and the fish got hooked into a big clump of it. He never really ran. The biggest run he made was about 70’ straight down. I’d get him to come up, and he’d just go straight back down there.”
The up-and-down battle continued for almost a half hour before Gaston was able to battle the fish into gaff range. As soon as the fish was close, Tolly sank the gaff and boated the king.
The “Reel Music” searched for pogies at the Carolina Beach Boat Basin and Williams Landing before finally locating them just north of Snow’s Cut in the Cape Fear River.
The “Fujimo” team, from Carolina Beach, took fourth place overall in the tournament, weighing a 30.10 lb. fish. Fifth went to the Oak Island boat “Marcia D” for a 28.84 lb. king.
The event’s Top Lady Angler was Amy Jordan, aboard the Lumberton boat “Captain’s Choice.”
In 2007, the event’s seventh year, the Greater Wilmington King Mackerel Tournament attracted 160 boats. The tournament benefits the Take A Kid Fishing Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to giving disadvantaged youth the opportunity to experience fishing trips.
Despite a few thunderstorms Saturday afternoon, Tournament Director Tom Aberle was pleased with the overall weather during the event. “It’s the best forecast we’ve had in a while, mostly 2-3’ seas,” he commented. Aberle also wished to express his thanks to the event’s many sponsors.
