Tournament Report – S.H.A.R.E. King Mackerel Tournament
When the scales came to a close at the 2017 S.H.A.R.E. King Mackerel Tournament, the top prize was won by Team Beeracuda, taking home the guaranteed $25,000 in first place prize money.
The winning team consisted of Tim Gray, Courtney Gray, Tyler Lancaster, Joey Worrells, and Lauren Liles. Tim Gray stated that they fish 10-12 tournaments a year, and most of the tournaments they fish take place in North Carolina.
The team, like every other team in the event, had to battle challenging weather conditions on the opening day.
“On the first day of the tournament, the weather was not cooperating,” Tim stated. “It was rough. We were trying to get out to clearer water, but there was 5-6 foot swells every 6 seconds which makes it difficult to target fish.”
Due to the rough conditions, Team Beeracuda didn’t have much luck on day one, but on day two things came together.
“Day two was very different. We found bait easily and headed straight offshore to the location we were planning on fishing,” explained Tim. “Five minutes after arriving, we had a fish in the boat.”
Tim Gray, Courtney Gray, Tyler Lancaster, Joey Worrells, and Lauren Liles, who make up Team Beeracuda, with their first place winning king mackerel in the 2017 S.H.A.R.E. KMT.
The first fish was a smaller class fish than they were looking for, but the team was relieved to already have a fish in the baits after a rough first day. The spot continued to produce and improve, with four more king mackerel being boated within the first hour of fishing.
“We were fishing some rocky bottom in 100’ of water. The numbers aren’t really known for kings, and if anyone else fishes them, it would probably be for grouper. We did not see another boat offshore the entire time we were fishing. It’s just a location I have picked up over the years,” added Tim.
The team caught a few more kings, and then while reeling in a king that felt a little larger than the previous few, another fish started ripping line off a second reel.
“We were just about to gaff a nice-sized king, and we were moving some rods out of the way just as one of them started screaming. Both fish ended up being landed, and that last fish was our largest of the event.”
The team started heading back in around 12:00 noon, making it to the scales close to 3:00 pm with their winning fish.
Team Beeracuda had the heaviest two-fish aggregate at 60.84 lbs., with the heaviest of the two kings weighing 33.10 lbs.
Second place was won by Lights Out/AM with a two-king aggregate weight of 60.46 lbs. (heaviest single fish was 31.72 lbs.), and third place went to King Carnivore with a total of 56.90 lbs. (heaviest single fish was 28.72 lbs.).
More information on the SHARE KMT can be found on their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SHAREKingMackerelTournament.
