King of the Cape KMT 2004
The King of the Cape Classic, held this year at the future home of the Shrimp House 2 in Southport, attracted 185 boats over the weekend of July 23 and 24. The weather forecast was more agreeable this year (remember threats of a tropical depression last year) and the fishing action produced a large number of kings from a majority of the tournament participants.
The tournament was won by “Mr. Good Hands,” a 29′ Century out of Shallotte. Capt. Toby Russ, Angler Andy Russ, and Steven Lanier brought in a 42.30 lb. king, and it would prove to be the only king to go over 40 lbs. They found their winning fish at the 390/390. It bit a single pogey that was on the long line. The fight lasted approximately 20 minutes.
“Mr. Good Hands” was the second boat to weigh-in, and the king brought a payout of $17,215. They caught their bait at 6:15, were fishing at 6:45, and caught the big king at 7:45. Toby Russ, an SKA and a USAA member, commented, “Jerry does a good job with this tournament every year.” He also added, “I’d like to thank my sponsors Emerald Marine out of Swansboro, Yamaha Outboards, Century boats, and Magic Tilt trailers.”
Capt. Hall Wells, Angler Norman Sneeden, and the boat “Remedy” took second place. Their king came in at 39.35 lbs. After a couple of hours of looking for big baits in the ocean, they quickly hooked the king at about 7:30 a.m. on a naked menhaden about 20 miles south of Carolina Beach. Second place paid $9,574 to the “Remedy” team out of Wilmington.
The “Reel Commocean” took third place with a 38.95 lb. king. Capt. Jeremy Calhoun and Angler Joey Penfield, both of Fayetteville, caught their king at the 410 line on a purple skirted menhaden. Their third place fish brought them $3,200 in prize money.
Ty Cobb and Frank Hassell, both from Carolina Beach, won both the 23 and Under Division and the overall fourth place. The combined payout came in at $6,791. They caught their 37.25 lb. king at the Cabbage Patch on a naked pogey on the middle line. Their boat, the “Git R Done,” is a 20′ Bayliner.
Fifth place went to the “Strickly Business” out of Oak Island. Capt. Jeff Crouch and Angler Gus Benito went to the Jungle and caught the 35.15 lb. king on a pogey off of a single top long line. The king took almost an hour to get to the boat. Fifth place paid $5,062.50.
The rest of the top 10 overall are as follows: 6th place-“Miss Linda” and Larry Fink out of Concord, NC, with a 32.00 lb. king; 7th place-“On A Mission” and Chris Bryan and Randy Stephens, out of Ocean Isle, with a 30.75 lb. king; 8th place-“Slip N Slide” and Tom Aberle, out of Wilmington, with a 30.35 lb. king; 9th place-“Fat Boy” and Orlando Watson, out of Conway, SC, with a 29.65 lb. king; and 10th place-“Carolina Contender” and Brant McMullan, out of Ocean Isle, with a 27.90 lb. king.
The Junior Angler award, sponsored by Shrimp House 2, went to Austin Eubank, of Wilmington. This is Austin’s second Junior Angler award in a row (Got-Em-On). He was fishing on the “Clearly Hooked” and found a 21.00 lb. king at the Jungle on a menhaden.
The Lady Angler award, sponsored by Cape Fear Realty, went to Jackie Sganbati fishing on the “Hooligan.” Sganbati caught a 27.15 lb. king fishing with Capt. Joe Winslow from Little River, SC.
The Senior Angler award, sponsored by the Provision Co., went to Marcus Bradsher. Bradsher, fishing on the “Slip N Slide,” caught a 30.35 lb. king at the 30/30. The king bit a naked pogey on a short line in the prop wash.
In second place in the 23′ and Under Division was Orlando Watson, out of Conway, SC. His boat “Fat Boy” brought in a 29.65 lb. king. Watson was fishing with Duncan McInnis and Doug Edwards. Third place went to “Abigail,” a 23′ Regulator. Richard Lewis and Clint Richardson, both of North Myrtle Beach, caught their 27.80 lb. king off of Murrell’s Inlet on a naked pogey.
Of the 185 boats, 111 weighed in fish for a total weight of a little over 2200 lbs. Sale of the fish and tournament proceeds go to the Long Bay Artificial Reef Association. Tournament Director Jerry Dilsaver said, “Our beneficiary, the LBARA, is a great organization that works hard to make the eight artificial reefs off Brunswick County the best they can be, and they are some of the best off the Atlantic coast. I can promise the fishermen that the proceeds from this tournament will be used to create more fish habitat in the local waters.”
