Gregory Poole Strike It Rich KMT 2007
The members of the Morehead City-based “Jackpot” crew couldn’t have come up with a more appropriate name for their fishing team regarding this year’s Gregory Poole Strike It Rich King Mackerel Tournament. After catching the 37.75 lb. king that earned them the guaranteed $50,000 first place prize money in the event, held August 24-25 on the Beaufort Waterfront, the anglers can truly say they’ve hit the “Jackpot.”
The team is no stranger to large tournament prize checks, having won nearly $50,000 in the Atlantic Beach King Mackerel Tournament several years ago in addition to many other high finishes. The team’s usual boat, a 35’ Yamaha-powered Wellcraft, was off fishing another tournament, so “Jackpot” crew members Johnny Hudson and Robert Parrot fished the Strike It Rich aboard Hudson’s 23’ Contender powered by twin 140 Suzuki Four Strokes.
The crew caught bait easily on the Saturday of the event near Harker’s Island. “We pulled up to Harkers with about six boats already there, one pogy flipped 5 feet in front of the boat, and I dropped the net on it and caught 60 of them,” Hudson said.
With bait covered, the “Jackpot” anglers (along with most of the boats in the tournament) headed for the east side of Lookout Shoals, an area that has produced the top fish in the past several Crystal Coast KMT’s.
Ignoring the crowds who chose to fish the east side hotspots at 30 Minute Rock, 1700 Rock, and the Atlas Tanker, Parrot and Hudson headed a bit further offshore to Chicken Rock, a location 16 miles off the beach in around 120’ of water.
As they were the only boat targeting kings in the area, the pair felt their chances were good but, at first, all they hooked were amberjacks. “There were two boats grouper fishing out there,” Hudson revealed. “We saw one of them anchored up, and were headed for him when we both saw a big king sky 8 feet into the air. We headed right at it, and the grouper boat called us on the radio and asked, ‘Are y’all king fishing? Did you see that fish?’ Right when we came over where he skied, right then, he hit it.”
The winning king fell for a naked ribbonfish 35’ deep on the downrigger, and Parrot grabbed the rod after the release clip popped. “He came across the back of the boat, and then ran off a couple hundred yards,” Hudson recalled.
With Parrot on the rod, Hudson took the Contender’s helm, and the crew chased their king down. The king made two more solid runs before it seemed things were under control. “After that, he came back to the boat,” said Hudson. When the fish returned, Hudson was ready with the gaff, and sank it home around 20 minutes after the king bit.
With a near 40 lb. fish in the boat, Hudson and Parrot continued fishing around Chicken Rock, hoping for another big fish. However, according to Hudson, “It was mostly just a matter of killing time until the weigh-in started.”
The “Jackpot” anglers used up the time by continuing to troll around Chicken Rock for most of the morning, and then headed to Drum Inlet, fished for a while, and finished their day trolling the Beaufort Inlet shipping channel. The 37.75 lb. winning fish was their only king mackerel of the day, although they had plenty of action with amberjacks while fishing Chicken Rock.
Despite only killing time while waiting for the weigh-in, the “Jackpot” anglers were far from the first boat in line at the scales. When they weighed in their 37.75 lb. mackerel, it bumped the 37.50 lb. fished already weighed in by Skip Conklin’s “Ocean Athlete” team to second place. “Skip did the exact same thing to us in the 2001 CCSA tournament,” Hudson said, “so I don’t feel too bad about doing it to him.”
This was the first year the “Jackpot” crew fished the Gregory Poole tournament, but it won’t be the last, Hudson assured. “When we were walking out of the captain’s meeting, we looked at each other and said, ‘This is one of the best run tournaments we’ve ever seen. We’re going to fish it every year.’ That was before we even caught the winning king, so you know we’ve got to come back now.”
Hudson wished to thank Calcutta, the “Jackpot” crew’s primary sponsor, for their contributions to the team’s success.
Although last year the tournament’s only primary prize was the $50,000 first place money, this year the event organizers decided to present $1,000 checks for the second through sixth heaviest kings brought to the scales.
The “Ocean Athlete” crew of Skip Conklin, Sandy Conklin, and Jay Russell caught the aforementioned 37.50 lb. king that took second place and earned Sandy the Top Lady Angler honors in the event. The Morehead City team fished the tournament aboard the “Ocean Athlete,” a 28’ Mercury-powered Privateer, and they also chose to fish the east side of the shoals.
A naked pogy trolled on top fooled the “Ocean Athlete” king around 6:45 Saturday morning, just 15 minutes after the 6:30 lines-in time. The crew was trolling at 30 Minute Rock when the king struck, and in accordance with their usual routine, Russell fought the fish.
“He buzzed it off real hard at first,” Skip Conklin said about the king’s initial run. “That was an aggravating fish. It took a while to get him in.” After around half an hour of wrangling with the mackerel, the team had it boatside, and Skip Conklin sank the gaff and boated the fish.
After hooking a king in the high 30’s during the first 15 minutes of fishing time, the “Ocean Athlete” teammates fished the rest of the day at 30 Minute Rock. The rock produced a half dozen smaller kings and a number of sharks, but no bigger kings. The crew caught their baits before the tournament in the ICW near Emerald Isle, and they kept them penned up overnight behind the Conklins’ home.
Skip Conklin would like to thank their sponsors Mercury and Outback Marine of Morehead City.
The “Ocean Athlete” fish wasn’t the only 37.50 lb. fish caught in the event, as the Emerald Marine crew also weighed in a king of the exact same weight, but took third based on time. Chesson O’Briant, Rob Koraly, and Jay Wisenstein made up the “Emerald Marine” crew for this tournament, fishing aboard a 29’ Yamaha-powered Century.
The Swansboro-based team found their king at the 1700 Rock, also on the east side. The fish inhaled a naked pogy in the shotgun position around 7:15 Saturday morning, and O’Briant was the angler. After chasing the fish down following several long runs, the crew gaffed and boated the king.
Aside from the third place king, the “Emerald Marine” anglers caught several dolphin and sharks. They’d like to thank sponsor Emerald Marine of Swansboro.
Odell Williamson’s “El Patron” team, from Ocean Isle, caught the fourth place king, a 35.50 pounder. Fifth went to last year’s Strike It Rich champions, the Walstonburg, NC “Southern Bale,” for a 33.40 lb. fish. The “Purrfect” team weighed in a 31.35 lb. king good for sixth place and the last $1,000 check.
The second annual Gregory Poole Strike It Rich King Mackerel Tournament attracted 89 boats, over 20 more than its inaugural turnout. Calm seas and sunny skies dominated the marine weather the day of the event, allowing participants in small and large boats alike to fish where they’d planned.
The Gregory Poole Strike It Rich benefits the United Way of Coastal Carolina, and money generated by the event goes to benefit a wide variety of causes in Carteret, Jones, Craven, and Pamlico counties. Tournament Director Brig Harris wished to express his gratitude to the event’s many sponsors, participants, and staff/volunteers for making it the success it has become.
