OIFC.com King Mackerel Tournament 2008
- Rube McMullan, Brant McMullan, and Michael Kennedy with the 31.75 lb. king mackerel they caught on the first day of the OIFC.com King Mackerel Tournament out of Hatteras. Paired with the 21.60 lb. king they caught on the last day of competition, their 53.25 lb. aggregate weight earned them first place.
Early each winter, the waters off the southern end of the Outer Banks from Cape Hatteras down to Cape Lookout host a legendary big king mackerel bite, as the fish feed along temperature breaks created when the Gulf Stream forces warm water onto the continental shelf. Unfortunately, the bite goes off just after the NC king tournament season ends, and Brant McMullan of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center wanted to change that.
After some consultation with fellow tournament anglers, McMullan created the OIFC.com King Mackerel Tournament, a weeklong, pick two fishing days event with weigh-in locations at Morehead City and Cape Hatteras.
The event attracted 12 boats in its inaugural year, and the bite was on, although the class of fish was a bit smaller than usual.
“It was a red hot bite, just like it’s supposed to be, but it was mostly 15-20 lb. fish instead of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s that we’re used to seeing,” explained McMullan.
McMullan and the “OIFC” team fished on the two Saturdays bookending the tournament, November 29 and December 6, and managed to come away with the win by just over one pound, pairing a 31.75 lb. king they caught the first day with a 21.60 lb. fish for a 53.35 lb. aggregate weight.
On the tournament’s opening day, Brant McMullan set out from Hatteras with his father Rube McMullan and friend Mike Kennedy, and the anglers had little trouble locating the bite.
Stacy Wester and the “Big Bad Wolf” fishing team pose with the 35 lb. king mackerel that was the largest weighed in the OIFC.com King Mackerel Tournament out of Hatteras, topping the event’s big fish TWT.
“The charter fleet is really good at finding the fish up there,” McMullan said, “and there were a few charter boats working the area.”
Reaching a spot in 100′ of water between the Smell Wreck and Diamond Shoals Light Tower, the anglers put their boat in neutral and had immediate action.
“We caught some peanut pogies right on the beach,” McMullan explained, “and I took a whole netful and threw them overboard. Immediately there were fish boiling on top and skying through the baits. We just sat there and free-lined baits and caught fish for the next few hours.”
Brant McMullan landed the team’s 31.75 lb. big fish, giving the crew the lead after the event’s first fishing day.
On the tournament’s final Saturday, Barrett McMullan replaced Kennedy on the crew, and Brant, Rube, and Barrett set out again from Hatteras, and once more they found the king bite with little difficulty.
“We got into them on a 66-70 degree temperature edge about three miles southeast of the Bad Bottoms,” McMullan recalled.
The bite was going off again, but the anglers didn’t have the bait surplus they’d had a week before and were unable to repeat the live chumming.
They were still able, however, to catch plenty of kings, with the largest being the 21.60 lb. fish that propelled them to victory.
Stacy Wester’s “Big Bad Wolf” fishing team, from Wilmington, came in a close second in the event with a pair of kings weighing 52.25 lbs. The 35.0 lb. big king the crew caught Wednesday topped the event’s big fish TWT, and it briefly gave them the lead in the event. Also fishing the final Saturday, they added a 17.25 lb. fish to earn second.
Henry Moore and the “Bobcat” crew weighed in near identical 22.40 and 22.50 lb. kings to make up the 44.9 lb. aggregate weight that earned them third. The “Mak Hunter” team, captained by Larry Barnes, was right on their heels with a pair of fish weighing 44.7 lbs. The “Dig It” earned fifth with a 30.5 lb. aggregate weight.
“We started this tournament because we love fishing up there, and we wanted to have some great competition while we were doing it,” McMullan said. “We didn’t get that many boats, but we definitely accomplished what we were personally after. Winning’s just a bonus.”
