Swansboro Rotary KMT
This 46.74 lb. king mackerel earned Mike Williams and the "Release" fishing team first place in the Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament. The huge king inhaled a naked pogy rig at a ledge in 50' of water east of Drum Inlet.
Scaling the heaviest of three 40+ lb. fish weighed in the tournament, Clayton, NC’s Mike Williams and the “Release” fishing team took home the top spot in the 2010 Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament, held October 9 out of Hammock’s Beach State Park, with a huge 46.74 lb. king mackerel.
Williams, fishing with Greenville’s Gordon Dunn aboard a Yamaha-powered 33T Contender, pre-fished for the event the Friday before the tournament and was able to identify an area to come back to during the competition.
“We fished the Lookout rock jetty and caught a 15 pounder,” Williams said, “and then we headed up towards Drum Inlet. We knew the usual east side spots had dirty water and there hadn’t been much going on.”
After landing a pair of quality fish at the second ledge they went to, the anglers decided to return the next morning.
Within 15 minutes of their 8:00 arrival at the spot, just off Drum Inlet in 50’ of water, they landed a 25 lb. fish, and then got a big strike on a naked pogie they were pulling on a medium line up top.
Dunn took the rod after the fish bit, and he tried to keep up as it ran at the anglers.
“He came back towards the boat,” Williams explained. “Then he went offshore and made three good long runs.”
Dunn continued fighting the fish while Williams ran towards it, and though the anglers knew they had a decent king mackerel, they still hadn’t seen it until Dunn had worked it nearly into gaff range.
“We saw the leader before we saw that fish,” Williams said. “That water wasn’t clear by any means.”
Moments after making visual contact, the captain sank a gaff in the fish and brought it aboard.
While a 45 lb. king mackerel would send most teams packing for the scales, the “Release” anglers stuck it out at their spot.
“We thought that fish was a good one and took measurements on him,” Williams reported, “and called him between 45-47. I know there was a bigger fish than that there that day. I just don’t know if he ate or not.”
Over the course of the morning, word of the bite off Drum spread through the tournament fleet, and by the afternoon, Williams counted 23 boats in the area that he and another boat had had to themselves in the morning, and several of the event’s top-10 fish were caught there.
Though they didn’t land a larger king, the “Release” crew put a 35 pounder and several more between 20-30 lbs. in the boat before heading to the scales around 2:15.
Williams wished to express the crew’s gratitude to Contender boats, Yamaha Outboards, and Power Marine Outfitters for their roles in the crew’s success.
Walstonburg, NC’s “Southern Bale” crew took home second place in the tournament with a 43.78 lb. fish. Matt Gay, Travis Rouse, and Bryan and Vernon Jones rounded out the crew for the event, fishing on a 25’ Contender, and they pre-fished the Friday before the tournament, finding some action but not exactly what they were looking for on tournament day.
Rube McMullan with the 41.96 lb. king mackerel that earned the "OIFC" fishing team third place in the Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament. The king skied on a naked bluefish offshore of Drum Inlet.
However, after a slow morning of fishing on the day of competition, the anglers returned to their pre-fishing area, not far from where the winners caught their fish, and arrived around 2:20, with just an hour to fish before they had to head for the scales.
Their big fish fell for a pogie beneath a green/gold skirt around 3:20, and the anglers were able to put it in the boat in around 20 minutes.
They hurriedly stowed the gear and ran into Drum Inlet and towards the scales, making it to Swansboro with only 12 minutes to spare.
Barrett and Rube McMullan, of the Ocean Isle-based team “OIFC,” scaled the 41.96 lb. king mackerel good for third place. Fishing aboard a 32’ Yellowfin, the anglers caught bait the day before the event, electing not to pre-fish.
On tournament morning, they headed for Drum Inlet as well.
“We caught that big fish around noon,” Barrett McMullan explained. “We were off from the pack of boats a little bit.”
Their 40-pounder fell for a live bluefish on top, skying on the bait.
“We knew it was a good one at that point,” McMullan said. “That fish didn’t run too much, just kind of hung around the boat and dogged it, but wouldn’t let us get close. That was one of the most difficult kings we’ve ever caught.”
Rube was on the rod for the arduous battle, and finally, around 25 minutes after they hooked up, Barrett was able to plant the steel and boat the fish.
The “OIFC” crew would like to thank the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, Yellowfin, Yamaha, Star Rods, and Shimano for their contributions to the team’s success.
Posting a 38.54 lb. fish, Calabash, NC’s Dean Spatholt, on the “Fish Meister,” finished fourth in the event. The “Reel Motivator” crew, out of Sneads Ferry, rounded out the top five with a 37.78 lb. king.
Full results are available at www.kingbluewater.com.
