Fall Brawl King Classic
The “Final Approach” crew–James Demyan, Donald Johnson, Jason Tierney, and Mike Williams–with the 51.25 lb. king mackerel that earned them victory in the Yellowfin/Yamaha Fall Brawl. The monster mackerel struck a skirted bluefish near the Cabbage Patch on the first morning of the event.
Putting over 12 lbs. between themselves and their nearest competition, James Demyan and the “Final Approach” crew scaled a 51.25 lb. king mackerel to add an exclamation point to their victory at the 2013 Yellowfin/Yamaha Fall Brawl King Classic, held October 12-13 out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center.
Demyan, fishing with Donald Johnson, Jason Tierney, and Mike Williams, chose Saturday, the event’s first fishing day, and headed to the east side of Frying Pan Shoals in their search for a big king.
After a slow morning with only a shark strike, the anglers heard of some nearby action on the radio and headed for a group of nearby boats.
“We pointed the boat in that direction and kept trolling,” Tierney explained. “We freshened our baits before we got to them.”
As they closed in on the fleet, fishing an area in 50’ of water known as the Cabbage Patch, the anglers came across a water color change. Just short of the GPS coordinates for the spot, the crew got a big bite on a skirted bluefish the anglers had caught the day before.
“The line started screaming like never before,” Tierney continued.
Demyan grabbed the rod as the fish ran while Tierney and Johnson cleared lines. With their spread in, Demyan passed the rod off to Williams and immediately had to leap on the helm.
“James handed the rod off and put both engines in gear at 15 mph because the fish ran back at the boat and Mike couldn’t keep up.”
When the crew got the boat on top of the fish, it began a series of circles, getting uncomfortably close to the boat’s motors.
“Once we saw the fish we knew it was a possible winner,” Tierney said.
After one near-miss with the gaff, Tierney was able to plant home the steel as the fish came beside the boat, and he and Demyan hauled the massive king over the gunnel.
The 50 lb. king was enough for the “Final Approach” anglers to call it a day.
“We put the fish on ice in the bag and ran for the scales,” Tierney reported. “We checked it in around 10:00 and were already getting phone calls from other boats and our friends.”
The “Final Approach” king was the first fish weighed in the event, and it stayed atop the leaderboard until the scales closed Sunday evening.
Hauling a 38.60 lb. king to the scales secured second place in the event for Wilmington’s David Smith and “Team Onslow Bay.” Taylor Henkel on the “Total Chaos” brought home third place with a 36.55 lb. fish.
More information on the event and a full leaderboard are available at www.oifc.com.
