NewBridge Bank Wild King Classic
John Perkins, Sam Brown, Steve Swain, and Layton Perkins with the 34.10 lb. king mackerel that won them the NewBridge Bank Wild King Classic. The fish bit a red/black-skirted menhaden in the old Cape Fear River Channel.
Scaling a 34.10 lb. king mackerel, John Perkins and the “Double Deuce” fishing team, out of Sanford, NC, took home the top prize at the second annual NewBridge Bank Wild King Classic, held September 23-26 out of Wrightsville Beach’s Wild Wing Café and Seapath Yacht Club.
Fishing with his son Layton, Sam Brown, and Steve Swain aboard his 22’ McKee Craft center console, Perkins wasn’t able to do any pre-fishing for the event.
“We went out Friday and caught some bluefish and spots for bait,” he explained.
Heading out on Saturday morning, the anglers added some menhaden to their bait well near the Hot Hole off Oak Island, then made their way offshore.
“The plan was to fish the Horseshoe area,” Perkins said, “but it was rough and rainy out there so we moved inshore to the Raritan wreck.”
Finding little to give them confidence at the Raritan, the crew made another move inshore, this time pulling back in the Cape Fear River Channel.
“We stopped at the last buoy for the river channel,” Perkins continued, “and put out the baits.”
Finally around 2:30 that afternoon, the anglers got a strike on a red/black-skirted bluefish as they slow-trolled in 45’ of water.
“I’d put that blue out on my side of the boat,” the winning captain continued, “and I grabbed the rod out of the T-top when it bit.”
Running straight to the boat after it bit, the fish darted under the hull and kept going.
“He went straight under the boat,” Perkins said. “I stuck the rod underwater to keep the line off the hull, and we got the motor up and got loose and the fish was still going. That’s when I thought it might be a kingfish.”
Working the fish back near the boat several times, the anglers were unable to get a look at it for some time.
“The water was kind of dirty and the fish stayed down, so we really never saw it until it came up,” Perkins explained.
Several shortened runs later, the king finally surfaced and the anglers were able to plant a gaff in it and haul it aboard.
“We were very excited,” Perkins added. “We’d had a long day, and the mood went from a low to a high pretty quickly.”
Securing the fish and their gear, the “Double Deuce” crew headed back into the Cape Fear River mouth and north to Wrightsville and the scales.
Stan Hollingsworth and the "Bug N A Rug Exterminators" fishing team earned second place in the Wild King Classic with this 20.10 lb. king mackerel.
When the numbers settled, the “Double Deuce” fish went over 34 lbs.—the largest king mackerel of Perkins’ angling career.
“I’ve caught some 20 pounders,” Perkins explained, “but that was the biggest king I’ve ever caught. We were going to fish that day out until the end, and I’m glad we did.”
After the scales closed on Sunday of the captains’ choice, one fishing day event, the “Double Deuce” fish held the top spot on the leader board by an even 14 lbs.
Stan Hollingsworth and Wilmington’s “Bug N A Rug Exterminators” fishing team secured second place in the event with a 20.10 lb. king mackerel. A 20.00 lb. fish earned third for David Timpy and the “Wave Length” crew, also out of Wilmington.
More information on the event and a full leader board can be found at www.fishermanspost.com.
