Onslow Bay Open 2005
The 2006 Onslow Bay Open KMT was held over the weekend of September 23-25, with a weigh-in at Caspers Dry Stack Marina in Swansboro. Even though the Crystal Coast area was still recovering from some after effects of Hurricane Ophelia (damaged homes, boats, docks, etc.), the tournament was a success raising money for their charities, with the main charity as the Eckerd Youth Alternative Camp, Camp Emahenwu. The early numbers (estimates) show about $3,500 going to the Onslow Bay SW Fishing Club Reef Fund and about $15,000 to their kids’ charities.
“Sea Drag’N,” a team that over the past few years has logged several tournament victories, took top honors in the OBO KMT with a 32.93 lb. king. Capt. Al Morris Jr. and Co-Capt. Al Morris Sr., out of Wilmington, were joined this weekend by Nick Taylor and Steve (two guys that had never been king fishing with live bait).
The team found plenty of bait Saturday morning at Harkers Island, and then had an easy trip across the shoals.
They first started fishing off of Drum Inlet in about 60′ of water. The area got crowded with boats, so they left at about 10:00.
There next spot was an area they like to fish that’s about 6 miles inshore of the D Wreck.
It was here that their big king finally hit-a 32.93 lb. king that took a ribbonfish on the downrigger. They were in about 60′ of water and had the downrigger set to approximately 40′ down.
The king took a nice run, peeling off several yards of line. After about a 40-minute fight, the king came over the rails at 2:00. It had been hooked under the side of its head.
Morris Jr. said, “It was a beautiful day on the water with a light wind out of the west.”
The “Sea Drag’N” is a 28′ center console Privateer with twin 225 Mercuries. Morris Jr. thanked Mercury, Sea Striker Inc., Coastal Carolina Marine, and Star Rods for their support.
Second place went to “Sittin Pretty,” a 27′ Contender. Capt. Eric Swain and Timmy, Nolan, and Harold Midgette, all from Swansboro, caught the 32.67 lb. king on the east side of Cape Lookout in 77′ of water. They had a ribbonfish about 60′ deep on the downrigger. The ribbonfish was rigged with a Captain Brown’s Hookup Lure Head with a Turbo Rattler in front.
The king hit about 3:00, and it took about 30 minutes to get him in the boat. Prior to the 32 lb. king, they had only caught a 12 lb. king. When the big king hit, they were discussing packing up and heading in to weigh in the 12 lb. fish.
Swain said, “I’d like to thank Power Marine Outfitters and Dudley’s Marine for taking care of us.”
“Rock Steady,” out of Selma, NC, took third place with a 30.86 lb. king. Capt. Frankie Holloman, Todd Casey, Kevin Lancaster, and Kristie Holloman were on board the 23′ Sea Fox when the king hit at the 1700.
The hit came at 10:00 with a ribbonfish 40′ down in 80′ of water. Holloman said, “As soon as the king hit the bottom of the boat, the hook fell out of his mouth.”
In addition to overall third place, Kristie (age 12) took the Junior Angler Award.
Capt. Mark Yokeley, of Raleigh, and Jerry Gibson and Lee Ball, of Ayden, landed a 29.50 lb. king to take fourth. They were fishing on the “Materhead,” a 34′ Mercury-powered Yellowfin.
The king hit a naked pogy on the top on the east side of the cape.
Yokeley said, “We fished there all day and only had one small king.” Their big king was in the boat at 3:45. This left them 1 hour and 20 minutes to run 60-ish miles to weigh-in. Yokeley added, “I probably burned about 90 gallons of gas making that run.”
The top five was rounded out by “Dig It,” a 36′ Contender. Capt. Greg Carroll, Tony Carroll, and junior anglers Daniel and Bryant Carroll, out of Raleigh, landed the 26.02 lb. king in Beaufort Inlet at 2:30.
The king hit a single naked pogy on the top middle line. The king took off into the inlet, made a u-turn, and then headed offshore. Greg Carroll commented, “He probably took 300 yards of line, but we had him in the boat in 15 minutes.”
The Lady Angler Award went to Dale Cone, from Richlands. She was fishing on the “Three of a Kind” with Christopher and Charles Cone. They caught a 22.78 lb. king at the 1700 with a single naked pogy on top in 78′ of water. They also landed a 52.77 lb. wahoo.
Tournament Director Stan Jarusinski thanked all the tournament’s sponsors, especially their major sponsors-TowBoat US and Yamaha Motors.
Jarusinski also thanked the 77 boats that participated, his wife Barbara, and all of the great volunteers for their help.
For more information on the tournament, you can visit www.obokmt.us.
