Morehead City August 24, 2006
The weekend of August 11-13 was a breezy one in southeast North Carolina, but 113 boats braved rough conditions to fish the 15th Annual Rotary Club of Snead’s Ferry King Mackerel Tournament, based out of New River Marina.
The overall winner of this year’s event was the 25′ Mercury-powered Hydra-Sport “Madness,” owned and captained by Mark Deans. His son Ashton Deans brought the fish to the Emerald Isle-based boat in the rough seas and also brought home the Junior Angler prize. The Deans’ 30.90 pound king mackerel earned them a total check for $28,600.
The winning king bit around 12:30 between 4 Mile Rock and Drum Inlet. It ate a naked pogy trolled 35 feet down on the downrigger. After a fight that lasted around 20 minutes, Mark was able to gaff the fish which weighed over 33 pounds on his hand held scale at the time. The “Madness” team trolled for one more hour before running back to New River Marina to weigh their fish.
The “Madness” team bought their menhaden instead of burning fishing time trying to catch some.
Mark Deans wished to thank the Raleigh Saltwater Fishing Club and specifically its president Walter Simpkins, as well as Cecil Holcomb and the Reel Destruction Fishing Team, for helping him learn to king mackerel fish many years ago. This was the “Madness” team’s first win in a long fishing career.
Second place went to the Sanford, NC-based 31′ Contender “Chevy II” and Capt. Tom Eshbach.
Eshbach was fishing aboard his boat, which is powered by twin Yamaha 300 HPDI’s, with Billy Boaz and Miles Bunn. Their 29.98 pound king brought the “Chevy II” team $10,130.
The “Chevy II” king hit a naked pogy trolled long around 11:45. The bite came at Christmas Rock, and Boaz took the rod. Following a 15-minute fight that featured three long runs in the 3 to 5 foot seas, Eshbach was able to gaff the fish.
The team caught bait over the previous three days, avoiding difficult bait-catching conditions on Sunday.
Eshbach wishes to express gratitude to sponsor Central Chevrolet of Sanford.
The Snead’s Ferry-based “Builder’s Choice” team secured third place in this year’s event with a 28.39 pound king mackerel. The fish earned a $5434 check for Capt. Joe Henderson, Elizabeth and Michael Elks, and Suzanne Nelson, who were all aboard the 31′ Yamaha-powered Contender.
Their money-winning king ate a Boston mackerel under a red/white skirt around midday on Sunday. The team was trolling along Jesse’s Ledge when the fish bit. Henderson took the rod, and after the king’s first run it took him around the boat four times. Around half an hour after the king took the bait, Michael Elks planted a gaff in it and brought it aboard.
Henderson wished to thank Power Marine Outfitters, who rigged and sold him the boat, for their assistance in the third place finish.
Team Power Marine Outfitters managed to place fourth in the tournament, weighing a 27.75 pound king. Angler Louis Hayes also captured the Senior Angler title for the team, which included Benji Dowdy, Mullet Johnson, and Capt. Rich Tudor. The Power Marine Outfitters team was aboard a Yamaha-powered 33T Contender.
Their fish bit near Drum Inlet around 9:45 on Sunday. A pogy beneath a clear Cape Lookout Smokers Only skirt trolled on the downrigger accounted for the king. After the bite, the fish smoked 100 yards of line off Hayes’ reel, then turned around and came straight back at the boat. Johnson gaffed the fish after the short, 10-minute fight.
The Power Marine Team caught bait in about half an hour Sunday morning at Harker’s Island.
Tudor wished to thank sponsors Power Marine Outfitters, Contender Boats, New River Marina, and the Snead’s Ferry Rotary Club.
Fifth place went to the “Reel Dream,” a 23′ Yamaha-powered Polar walkaround captained by Scott Erickson, for a 24.93 pound king mackerel.
The “Reel Dream” king bit a naked ribbonfish on the downrigger at Christmas Rock. After the bite, the king was taking so much line from angler Colin Rice that Erickson had to back down on the fish, not a easy thing to do in the 3 to 5 foot seas. The fight lasted around 25 minutes before Erickson left the helm to gaff the mackerel. Phil Pastino and Bob Peters were also aboard the boat on Sunday.
The Swansboro-based “Hooked Up” team won the Lady Angler division and ninth place overall with a 23.41 pound king. It bit a green-skirted cigar minnow at Christmas Rock around 10:00 on Sunday. The “Hooked Up” team consisted of angler Terri Evans, Capt. Johnny Foy, Kelly Martin, and Billy Yopp.
Top Honors in the Class of 23′ went to the “Mean C” for a 27.58 pound king.
Rounding out the top 10 overall boats were: “Git R Done” in sixth place with a 24.24 lb. king; “Gambler” in seventh place with a 23.90 lb. king; “Backlash” in eighth with a 23.64 lb. king; “Hooked Up” in ninth with a 23.41 lb. king; and “Release” in tenth with a 23.14 lb. king.
Proceeds from this event go to benefit the Rotary Club of Snead’s Ferry, an organization that works on a variety of projects to improve quality of life in the area. The tournament would not be possible with out the support of all its sponsors, particularly first place sponsors Power Marine Outfitters, Contender Boats, Yamaha Outboard Motors, Magic Tilt Trailers, and Gore’s Marine Metal Fabricators.
For more information and a complete list of top finishers, you can visit www.sneadsferrykmt.com.
