Got Em On Classic KMT 2007
The “Laid Back” fishing team, from Scotts Hill, NC, topped a field of 220 boats to take first place in the 2007 East Coast Got-Em-On Classic King Mackerel Tournament, held July 6-8 out of the Carolina Beach Municipal Docks. Gary Waters and Ted Kalven managed to bring a 40.70 lb. king to the scales on Saturday, June 7, to beat out the second place boat by nearly 5 lbs.
Waters and Kalven fished the tournament aboard Waters’ 22’ Pro Kat powered by twin 115 hp Suzuki 4-stroke motors, and the pair took home more than $27,000, including the $25,000 guaranteed first place prize.
“We were fishing offshore of the Dredge Wreck when he hit,” Waters said, “and Ted was first to the rod.”
The winning king bit a black/burgundy skirted pogy as the “Laid Back” was slow trolling at 8:23 Saturday morning. Kalven fought the big king for nearly half an hour before Waters left the helm and grabbed the gaff.
They likely would never have caught the big mackerel had they not had some difficulty catching bait Saturday morning.
“We had the boat in the water at 5:30 at Williams Landing looking for bait,” Waters explained, “and we ended up having to go down to the river channel, and still had to run a few miles to find it. We were going to fish the ledges off the 30/30, but we were running late, so I said we’ve got another nine miles to go, let’s get a line in the water. That’s where we got him.”
The Willow Spring, NC-based “Dig It” fishing team took second place in the Got-Em-On, weighing a 35.85 lb. king mackerel. Fishing aboard the “Dig It,” a 36’ Contender powered by triple 275 hp Mercury Verados, were Greg Carroll, his son Daniel, Tony Carroll, his son Bryant, and Greg’s son-in-law Jim Petty.
The family team was fishing a hard bottom area in 80’ of water about 17 miles off New River Inlet when they hooked their king. “Dig It” almost left the area just before the fish struck; however, they were convinced that big kings were about to start feeding, so they stuck around.
The fish struck a live cigar minnow on top around 10:00 Saturday morning. Greg Carroll took the rod after the king inhaled the cigar minnow. “I fought it for probably 20 minutes,” he said. “It was a pretty typical fight, nothing special.”
The “Dig It” crew left New River Inlet Saturday morning with a livewell full of pogies, then jigged up cigar minnows near the spot where they fished.
The second place king earned the “Dig It” crew over $15,000.
Third place went to the “Reel Music” team, from Wilmington, for a 34.15 lb. king. Brothers Gaston and Tolly Hughes fished the tournament together aboard their 23T Contender powered by a 225 hp Yamaha four stroke.
The Hughes found their money-winning mackerel as the team trolled around the Cabbage Patch at 11:45 on Saturday. The king ate a naked pogy 35’ deep on the downrigger, and it acted strangely in the moments following the bite.
“Tolly had her near the boat quick, but the fish turned and went under us. I thought it was a shark at first, but then she came up behind the boat, and we started chasing her,” Gaston Hughes related. “When we got up to the fish, Tolly said it was a nice one.”
Gaston left the helm to gaff the fish just 10 minutes after it bit.
Like the “Laid Back” crew, the Hughes began searching for bait early Saturday morning at Williams Landing, but they had to run south to the Cape Fear River in order to fill their livewell.
The “Long Shot,” out of Little River, SC, took fourth place in the tournament by weighing a 32.50 lb. king. Wade Long, Eric Stevens, and Ryan Thompson were aboard the 36’ Yellowfin powered by triple Yamaha F350 outboards for the event.
The “Long Shot” team was trolling the Carolina Beach Inlet tide line when their fish struck just before 9:00 Saturday morning. A naked pogy in the propwash fooled the fish, and Thompson grabbed the rod as the king took its first run.
Fifth place went to Southport’s Scott Aldridge aboard the “Bar Pirate,” who weighed in a 31.50 lb. king mackerel.
The “Reel Buzz,” a 23T Contender out of Hampstead, caught the top Class of 23’ king, a 31.60 lb. fish. Chip Nifong, Wes Hege, Brian Schoenwisener, and Morgan Lawson made up the crew for this tournament.
Their king bit a skirted pogy on top as the “Reel Buzz” was pulling baits about four miles offshore of 23 Mile Rock on Saturday. Hege was the angler, and he fought the fish for over 40 minutes, as they were hesitant to put too much pressure on the barely hooked king.
The Got-Em-On’s Top Lady Angler was Susan Kaminsky, aboard “The Chase,” with a 29.35 lb. king mackerel caught on Sunday.
Tristan Lewis, fishing on the “Footloose,” took the Top Junior Angler spot, weighing a 28.40 lb. king on Saturday.
The East Coast Got-Em-On Classic is put on each year by the Got-Em-On Live Bait Fishing Club. This year’s tournament benefited the Carolina and Kure Beach Fire Departments, and the event drew 220 boats for 2007, which was 31 more than last year.
“The weather and forecast was much better this year than last year,” Tournament Director Dennis Barbour said. “We had two very fishable days, and the fact that the tournament was won by a 23’ and Under boat shows you that anyone truly had the chance to win.”
