Jolly Mon KMT 2004
The Jolly Mon King Classic continues to be one of the biggest king mackerel tournaments in our region. Brant McMullan and the Ocean Isle Fishing center attracted 337 boats for the one-day king tournament held every year on the first Saturday of July. The leader board was very strong. They had four fish over 40 lbs., and even the 25th place fish weighed over 30 lbs. The majority of the placing fish came from the 30/30, the Jungle, and the Georgetown tideline.
This year’s winner was Mike Edwards and the boat “Talking Trash.” Edwards brought in a 46.65 lb. king from the 30/30. Their first place check was $25,000.
The calcutta pot went to the second place finisher. Capt. Jot Owens III and the boat “Saltwater Insanity” found a 43.0 lb. king in the Dallas Rock area. The king was caught on a live pogey on a short outrigger and on top. Dean Nye was the angler, and the fish fought for about 20 minutes. Second place prize money, not including the calcutta, paid $20,000. “Saltwater Insanity” is hot right now, coming off of a 9th place finish in the Greater Wilmington.
Mike Wells, and the boat “Intimidator,” took third with a 40.6 lb. king. The third place king is reported to have come in from “The Jungle.” “Second Chanze,” and John Lewis, finished in fourth with a 40.3 lb. king. It’s not often that you catch a 40 lb. king in our area and finish in fourth. Fifth place went to Greg Carroll fishing on the “Dig It.” His fish weighed 38.5 lbs.
The following is a list of the rest of the top ten finishers: “No Vacan Sea,” Wade Long, 38.0 lbs.; “Reveler,” Ray Revels, 37.0 lbs.; “Reel Salty,” Mike Simpson, 36.65 lbs.; “Roofing Contender,” Randy Wallace, 36.45 lbs.; “One Shot,” Dana Mauldin, 36.15 lbs.
In the Junior Angler Division of the Jolly Mon, Bryan Carroll and Daniel Carroll took first with the 38.5 lb. king brought in by “Dig It.” Second place in Junior Angler went to John John Pugh on the “Roofing Contender.” Cas Dickerson took third place with a 35.75 lb. king brought in on the “Reelality.”
Every Junior Angler that weighed in a fish was eligible for the Magic Tilt Trailer Junior Angler Scholarship Award. This year the tournament had 19 Junior Anglers that weighed in fish and made it to the awards ceremony. From the 19, they then narrowed the pack to three juniors that could draw from 100 envelopes, with one of the envelopes containing a check for a $10,000 scholarship. Alan Barnes (age 14) was one of the three, and he drew the winning envelope. The Ocean Isle Fishing Center has been hosting the Magic Tilt Trailer Junior Scholarship Award with most of their tournaments for about 5 years now, and Alan Barnes is the first to ever win the scholarship.
The Lady Angler was won by Fernia Simpson fishing on the “Reel Salty.” Her king weighed 36.65 lbs. Ashley Nifong took second with a 35.0 lb. king brought in on the “Reel Buzz.” Carmen Hinchey, and the boat “Miss Elaineous,” took third with a 32.05 lb. king.
The largest cobia of the day weighed 43.55 lbs. It was brought in by Gaston Hughes and the “Reel Music.” The second heaviest cobia was 39.45 lbs. caught by Frank Holt on “The Bonny Boys.”
The winner of the dolphin category was John Bird. Bird, fishing on the “Living Water,” weighed in a 15.75 lb. dolphin. The second place dolphin weighed one pound lighter. Anthony Queen caught a 14.75 lb. dolphin on the “Palmetto Pirates.”
A new record was set in the pogey bobbing contest. Alexis Pugh (age 8) bobbed her pogey in 4 seconds and won $100 for finishing the fastest. In the cast net competition, Austin Heine finished first in the Junior bracket, Brian Sealy finished first in the Adult bracket, and Doug Rochelle finished first in the Senior bracket.
The Jolly Mon has been in existence since 1992 when it attracted 42 boats. The tournament supports the Teaching Youth To Fish Foundation and the Ocean Isle Beach Police and Fire Departments. For a complete list of the tournament results, you can visit www.oifishingcenter.com.
