Jolly Mon 2008
[Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, a rapidly developing, extremely strong thunderstorm whipped off the Cape Fear coast on Saturday morning during this year’s Jolly Mon, affecting most of the boats participating and tragically claiming the life of Captain Scott Hewett. This article represents our somewhat normal coverage of the tournament despite the tragedy. Please view Tidelines for more details on Hewett’s untimely passing.]
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Electing to fish Sunday with just 43 of the 293 boats fishing the Jolly Mon King Classic, held June 20-22 out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, Cameron Bowers and the “Takin It Easy” Fishing Team, of Raleigh, weighed in a 39.75 lb. king mackerel, topping the 36.65 lb. fish that the “Logan’s Love” crew weighed in to take the tournament’s lead on Saturday.
Fishing on one of the smaller boats in the event, a 22′ bay boat, the “Takin It Easy” topped not only the overall section of the leaderboard, but won the 23′ and under category, the regular TWT, 23′ and under TWT, and the High Roller’s TWT. In addition, the 39 pounder won Cody Davis the Top Junior Angler title. Though they didn’t make it to the awards ceremony to collect the check in person, all told the “Takin It Easy” anglers pocketed $31, 785.
Fishing on Saturday, the Longs, SC-based “Logan’s Love” crew of Keith Logan and Tracy Holmes weighed in the 36.65 lb. king that earned them second place and a total of $7,000. The anglers fished the event aboard Logan’s 21′ Mercury powered Kenner Bay boat, and set their sights on the General Sherman area off Little River in their search for a big king.
“He bit at 7:15,” Logan explained after collecting his trophy and check. “We got the first line out, the long line, and we were putting the second one out when he hit.”
The “Logan’s Love” anglers had headed out to the Sherman with some live bluefish, Boston mackerel, and ballyhoo on Saturday morning, and it was a horse ballyhoo under a purple/silver skirt that fooled the second place fish. Logan took the rod after the strike, and the king fought it out deep.
After around 15 minutes, Logan had pressured the king to the surface and passed the rod off to Holmes. “Tracy saw the fish and said ‘Heck no, I’ll grab the rod and you gaff him’,” said Logan.
After Logan sank the gaff, the anglers swung the fish aboard. While a 36 lb. king during a major tournament would be enough to send most anglers whooping to the scales, catching the big fish early just made Logan and Holmes suspect that there was an even larger fish in the area. However, further trolling produced no other fish, but their fish held the lead until the “Takin It Easy” arrived at the scales on Sunday.
The first boat to weigh in Saturday was David Henderson and the “Ain’t Life Grand” crew, from Charlotte. They enjoyed a brief stint at the top of the leaderboard with a 36.50 lb. king, but were eventually knocked down to third by “Logan’s Love” and “Takin It Easy.” Barry Kirkman and Tommy Oliver joined Henderson aboard the crew’s 21′ Yamaha-powered Kencraft on Saturday.
Third didn’t turn out to be a bad place for “Ain’t Life Grand,” however, as the crew entered and finished second in the TWT and 23′ and under TWT and Kirkman took Top Senior Angler, earning the anglers over $12,000.
Fishing near the Shark Hole in 65′ of water, the anglers got a strike on a live pogy fished long about 9:30 Saturday morning. Kirkman grabbed the rod after the bite, and settled in for the battle.
“It was a pretty long fight,” Henderson explained. “He was side hooked in the head, and we chased him around for a while.” As the fight neared the half hour mark, Kirkman worked the fish alongside the boat, and like the “Logan’s Love,” the angler ended up gaffing the fish.
The “Reel Action” team, from Hope Mills, NC, also fished Saturday, and they scaled a 34.95 lb. king to take fourth place overall and $3000. Teammates Jeremy Harrelson, Ron Harrelson, Ricky Long, and Tim Bell were aboard the 27′ Sea Pro for the event, and found their fish near some uneven bottom two miles offshore of the Jungle.
Waiting until after the morning storm passed, the “Reel Action” headed out with a box of cigar minnows at 11:00 and hooked their fish on a red/black skirted cigar 40′ deep on the downrigger just 10 minutes after starting to troll. Bell picked up the rod after the downrigger clip popped, and he hung on as the king took a huge run.
“He took probably 300 yards, a good first run,” Jeremy Harrelson recalled. “He made four good runs, then Tim fought him up and down for a while. I had a 12′ gaff, and it was like we could only get him 13′ from the boat.”
Finally the fish popped up in front of the bow, and Harrelson was able to gaff and boat the king.
Jared Floyd and the “Keepin It Reel” team, out of Murrell’s Inlet, SC, finished fifth and earned $2000, weighing in a 33.35 lb. kingfish on Sunday.
After fishing on another boat Saturday, Floyd headed offshore Sunday with Jeff Page, Harry Evans, and Tim Strickland aboard his 31′ Yamaha-powered Yellowfin. The anglers hooked their big king at around 12:30 on a Mylar-skirted blue runner 40′ down while fishing a ledge near the Jungle.
Page took the rod after the king bit and fought it for about 20 minutes before the anglers caught up to it and Floyd sank the gaff.
Floyd wished to thank Yellowfin, Yamaha, and C.K. Blanton for their roles in the team’s success, and Brant McMullan and the OIFC for hosting the event.
Vicki Greene, fishing aboard the “Rawhide,” was the Jolly Mon’s Top Lady Angler, weighing in a 27.55 lb. king to take home $500.
