Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club KMT 2005
Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club hosted their 21st annual King Mackerel Tournament over the weekend of August 5-7. The tournament’s title sponsors are Coral Bay Marina and Sailfish Boats, and this year the weigh-in and awards were held at Sea Water Maria in Atlantic Beach.
This year’s tournament winner didn’t have to go very far to find a 40 lb. class fish. The biggest king of the weekend came from no farther than the Turning Basin. It was the “Miss Karen Lake,” a 25′ Parker, that found the 42.10 lb. king. The search for the big king also didn’t take long, with a hook-up at 9:30 am.
The team of “Miss Karen Lake,” Danny and Karen Carter from Morehead City, started fishing in the inlet, but then quickly moved inside. The king hit a live pogy on the top, and it only took about 10 minutes to bring the fish in.
This was Karen’s first time tournament fishing with her husband, and she said of the win, “It was just a beautiful day, and we thank God and our friends for the day that we had.” Karen also won the tournament’s Lady Angler Award.
The second place fish came from a much longer run. “Shutter Speed,” a 23′ Parker out of Raleigh, went to Ocracoke Inlet to find a 41.40 lb. king. Jim Strickland, Jeff Becker, and Jay Sauber started the day by fishing inside the Ocracoke Inlet for a couple of hours.
Strickland said he likes to follow the solunar tables, which predicted the good bite to come around 1:00. So they moved outside the inlet at around 11:30, put out fresh bait, chummed heavy, got a good menhaden oil drip, and at 12:00 they had three fish hit at once.
One fish was lost, the other was a 30 lb. class fish, and the third was the 41.40 lb. fish that would be the overall second place king.
Third place went to “Dal Marj,” a 25′ Carolina Classic. Capt. Dallas Spruill, from Hurdle Mills, NC, took his boat to the East Side, close to the shoals in 40-50′ of water. Angler Joe Hudnell, from Garner, hooked the 39.20 lb. king using a menhaden on top.
Rick Hill, David Hill, and Charlie Neal, all from Greenville, NC, took fourth place with a 36.85 lb. king. They were fishing on “R.C. Homes,” a 38′ Fountain. Their fourth place king came at 4 Mile Rock out of Drum Inlet. It hit a single pogy on the long line.
“Shock Waves,” a 31′ Contender out of Goldsboro, took fifth place with a 31.80 lb. king. Jeff Hill, Harold Hill, and Scottie Brown went to Ocracoke Inlet to catch the king with a pogy on the top line. Scottie Brown (age 14) also won the tournament’s Junior Angler Award.
The rest of the top ten are as follows: “Proud Mary” in sixth with a 30.35 lb. king; “Sea Spark Sorry Excuse” in seventh with a 30.25 lb. king; “Plumb Crazy” in eighth with a 30.15 lb. king; “Championship” in ninth with a 28.95 lb. king; and “Logans Run” in tenth with a 28.55 lb. king.
Also of note is Mitch Yates, from Winston Salem, won the RSWSC Award with a 17.90 lb. king caught while fishing on the “Sea Rat.” This was Yates second year in a row winning the Raleigh Club Award.
Tournament Director Walter Simpkins thanked all the volunteers, participants, and the 167 boats that fished this year’s event. In addition to Coral Bay Marina and Sailfish Boats, Simpkins also thanked all of the tournament’s sponsors, including Gold Sponsors Bobby Murray Chevrolet, Chatlee Boat and Marine, Town Creek Marina, and West Marine.
For a complete list of the top finishers in the Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club’s KMT, please visit www.rswsc.org.
