OIFC Jolly Mon King Classic 2005
The 2005 Jolly Mon King Classic, held out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, had another year of great weather, a large turnout of boats, and a great king bite. There were 336 boats in this year’s event, and the smallest boat on the leader board won the tournament. In fact, two of the top three overall finishers were in the 23 and Under class, and all of the fish in the top ten were in the 30 lb. class.
The format for this year’s event gave participants the option of choosing either Saturday or Sunday as their one day of fishing. Saturday had 291 boats fishing, and well over 100 kings were weighed in by the end of the day. The heaviest three kings weighed in on Saturday would end up being the top three kings of the tournament.
Winning the tournament was Ricky and Laura Hobbs, from Carolina Beach, with a 38.65 lb. king, and their 21′ Bay Rider, “She’s All That,” was one of the smallest boats in the tournament.
They caught the king in Carolina Beach Inlet near the sea buoy on a live pogey. The king was hooked (foul-hooked in the belly) at 1:55, and it took 35 minutes to reel him in. Then at 2:30 the 21′ flat bottom boat, powered by a Suzuki 115, started the 2.5 hour trip to weigh-in, where they one of the last boats to get in line before the cutoff.
The Hobbs traveled down the Cape Fear River following Mike Jones’ “Half Lit,” a 34′ Fountain, to take the edge off of the chop, and then went through the ICW to get to weigh-in. “She’s All That” has a fuel capacity of 24 gallons, and they had only one gallon left by the time they arrived at Ocean Isle Fishing Center.
Laura and Ricky Hobbs didn’t even decide to fish the tournament until the night before registration, and they walked away with over $34,000 in prize money. In addition to the overall winner, they also took the Lady Angler Award and three different TWT’s.
In second place was “Team Black Cat,” with Jamey, Carlette, and Vernon Stewart, all from Georgetown, SC, and fishing on their 35′ Fountain They caught their 38.15 lb. king off of Georgetown in 25′ of water. The king hit a ribbonfish on the downrigger at 8:30, and it took 40 minutes to boat the fish.
Jamey Stewart explained that all he usually ever catches on ribbonfish are sharks, and this second place king was only the second king he’s ever caught on the ribbonfish rig. Stewart noted, “I like how the pogeys act when you put a ribbonfish under them.”
This was the best finish for the Stewarts, and Jamey Stewart thanked his employer, Tidelands Ford, for help making the win possible. “Team Black Cat” was the highest finishing SKA member, and Vernon Stewart also won the Senior Angler Award.
Jason and Dianne Bass, and Jaime Reynolds, all from Myrtle Beach, took third place with a 36.85 lb. king caught while fishing on “American Made,” a 23′ Sea Ray. Their king was caught off of the Georgetown tideline on a menhaden at 9:00. Jaime Reynolds said, “The morning bite was astounding. We had sky rockets going on left and right.”
Fourth place went to Stuart Ballard and the “Tailwalker” for a 34.45 lb. king caught off of Georgetown. The fifth heaviest king was also the heaviest fish caught on Sunday. “Reel Greedy” and Randell Edens weighed in a 33.10 lb. king.
The sixth place overall finisher was also the winner of the Junior Angler. “Rambunctious” and Brandon Craven (age 11), from Wilmington, landed a 32.85 lb. king at the Navy Wreck on a pogey. Brandon was fishing with his father, Andy Craven, and their king was the second heaviest fish caught on Sunday.
Robby Brown and the “Miss La” came in seventh with a 31.90 lb. king caught off of Topsail. In eighth place was “Wild Ride” with a 31.0 lb. king. William Kenyon and “Water Fountain” came in ninth with a 30.25 lb. king. Finishing out the top ten was “Team Offshore Carolina” with a 30.10 lb. king.
Tournament Director Brant McMullan thanked his tournament sponsors, especially Sea Tow, BB&T, Boater’s World, Guy C. Lee, and the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. McMullan added, “I’d also like to thank my family. This is a family run tournament, and this is the ninth year we’ve been putting it on. Each year we try to stay innovative and provide more ways for people to win.”
For a complete list of top finishers, you can visit www.oifishingcenter.com.
