Greater Wilmington KMT 2005
The 2005 Greater Wilmington Hydra-Sports King Mackerel Tournament was held this past weekend with one day of fishing on Saturday, June 30. The tournament, originally scheduled for June 24-26, had to be rescheduled due to a small craft advisory.
Fishermen were greeted this time with rain showers and thunderstorms in the morning, but the seas were fishable and several boats found quality kings. There were 205 boats participating this year, and 101 weighed in a fish.
The Kellogg’s Fishing Team aboard the “Reel Krazy” took home the trophy and over $26,000 for their 46.74 lb. king. The team of Capt. Bryan Edwards, Michael Glover, and Joan Meyers trailered their brand new 35′ Yamaha-powered Wellcraft up from North Myrtle Beach, SC, and waited out the early morning thunderstorms before taking off to fish.
They caught bait in the river with one cast, ran up to Carolina Beach Inlet, and had the winning king eat a naked pogy in the prop wash not too long after. Bryan Edwards said, “Everything went perfect. It was the easiest day of tournament fishing we’ve ever had.” In addition to the overall first place, Joan Meyers took home the Lady Angler Award.
The second place king mackerel weighed in at 40.44 lbs. and was caught by the father and son team of Charlie and Craig Hughes aboard the “Reel Time” out of Leland.
They caught their fish in the middle of a thunderstorm in the old river channel around 8:30 on a live menhaden. The fish hit the short line, which was the second in the water, and not too long after they also landed a 32 lb. king. The Hughes took home over $11,000 in prize money.
The team of Jeff York, Lynn Fox, Kevin Betty, and Thad Harris brought in a 40.12 lb. king riding on the Mercury-powered Donzi, the “Trick Z.” Their fish was caught at Lighthouse Rocks around 1:00 pm on a naked, dead cigar minnow. The team from Burlington, NC, won $6,611.
The fourth largest king and winner of the 23′ and under division went to Daniel Mason of Supply, NC, fishing on the “Gone Again.” Their 38.52 lb. king won them a little over $4,000.
Fifth place went to Wilmington’s Grady Gordon and “My Hooker.” Gordon’s 38.22 lb. king earned him $1,152.
John Batis, of Kure Beach and fishing on the “Miss Emily,” was paid well for his sixth place king mackerel weighing 37.54 lbs. Their big payout came from winning the High Roller TWT, bringing them almost $6,000.
The Junior Angler award went to Hunter Bolick, of Stoneville, NC, fishing off the “Cruise Control II,” which placed seventh overall. The 10-year-old caught the 35.90 lb. fish at the Cabbage Patch in a lightning storm. The fish ate a live pogy and took around 20 minutes to land. The team also caught a 31 lb. king that was hooked while reeling in a small spanish that had taken one of their menhaden.
Tournament Director Tom Aberle wanted to thank Hydra-Sports, Vector Marine and their staff, Jackson Beverage Co., and John Schmidt for providing food and services. The proceeds of the tournament go towards the Take A Kid Fishing Program, which recently took over 100 kids fishing. Most of the kids had never been on the ocean or fishing before.
