Rumble In The Jungle
Jeff Lee, James Roberts, and Roger Gales, with the 35.60 lb. king that earned Shallotte's "King Hunter" fishing team $22,895 and the win in the 2009 Rumble in the Jungle. Their king fell for a live bluefish near the old Cape Fear sea buoy.
Battling choppy seas to put a 35.60 lb. king mackerel in the boat, the “King Hunter” crew, from Shallotte, topped the 151 boat field at the 2009 Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament, held October 10-11 out of North Myrtle Beach’s Harbourgate Marina. James Roberts, Robbie Roberts, Jeff Lee, and Roger Gales made up the crew for the event, and they took home a total of $22,895.
Fishing on a Mercury-powered 23’ Contender, the anglers elected to stay close to the Brunswick County beaches in their hunt for a winning fish, and they found it at Yaupon Reef on the Saturday morning of the tournament.
After catching bait at Little River Inlet on Friday, the anglers cruised out to Yaupon the following morning. They didn’t have to wait too long for action, as the winning king mackerel inhaled a naked bluefish on top at 9:05 that morning.
“That was our first bite,” Gales explained.
Gales took the rod as the king began a long run, and he held on while line melted off the spool.
“He stayed right on top,” the winning angler reported, “and smoked it out just as due south as you’ve ever seen. He took about 300 yards on that first run before we could get the boat turned.”
After the anglers were able to clear their spread and turn the boat into the wind and seas, they pursued the king but weren’t able to match its speed in the rough water.
“We turned upsea,” Gales said, “but when you’re in a 23’ boat and it’s 4-5’ and you’re trying to fight a fish, you can only go so fast.”
After around 15 minutes of chasing their king, the anglers caught up to it.
“He went down a little bit at the end,” Gales continued, “ but we were only in 30’, and I don’t think he ever got over 15’ down.”
When the angler worked the fish to the surface, Jeff Lee was waiting, gaff in hand, and sank home the big hook. Once the fish was on the deck, the crew knew they had something special.
“We were all over each other,” said Gales. “We didn’t know what to do. We knew it was a top-three fish because the wind wasn’t quitting and that tends to shut the bite down. We knew he was 35, and we’d heard about some 18-25 lb. fish on the radio, and one 31, but nothing that big.”
After putting the fish in the boat, the anglers continued fishing Yaupon for the next several hours, catching a shark but no other kings.
Around 11:00, they made the call to head inshore and slowly work their way to the scales in the ICW.
“The scales didn’t open till 3:00,” Gales concluded, “so we made a slow, beer-drinking run down the waterway.”
At the scales, their king proved to be not only a top-three king, it was the heaviest hauled in by over 4 lbs.
The “King Hunter” anglers wished to thank sponsors Bell and Bell GMC/Pontiac, Phil Cheers of Nationwide Insurance, and Steve Foster of Grade Above Realty and Construction for their support.
Howard Poe and Darien, GA’s “Kill-N-Me” crew scaled a 31.51 lb. king mackerel to earn second place and $9,189. Poe fished aboard a 36’ Invincible with his wife Donna, Chris Cathy, and Alex Todd (who took the event’s Top Junior Angler honors).
The anglers fished Friday between Lighthouse Rocks and the old Cape Fear sea buoy, and returned to the sea buoy Saturday morning. Their big fish skied on a naked bluefish bait soon after they started fishing.
He skied on the bait twice,” Poe said, “coming 8-10’ out of the water. We were praying he’d eat it a third time, and he did.”
Todd took the rod as the king ran upwind and offshore, and the anglers gave chase.
“We knew he was a pretty good fish,” Poe continued, “so we ran him down.”
Once they caught up to their fish, it stayed on top long enough to give them a chance with the gaff.
“He never really went down,” said Poe. “He made one dash under the boat, and we stuck him and put him in the box.”
Howard Poe wished to express his gratitude to Mercury Marine, Invincible Boats, Loadmaster Trailers, Accurate Reels, and Hi-Seas Line for their support.
Posting a 27.84 lb. fish to finish third, Holden Beach’s “Twister” crew, with Derek Savage at the helm, won nearly $7,500. Savage had Zach Shackleton, Brian Payne, and John Patterson aboard the 25’ Contender for the event.
“We left Lockwood Folly Inlet that morning,” Savage said, “and when we came by Shallotte Inlet, we saw fish skying so we stopped to fish.”
The anglers put baits out and hooked a pair of kings quickly, but they didn’t find their money-fish until 10:30 Saturday morning.
The 27 pounder skied on a naked pogy in the Contender’s propwash, and Patterson took the rod after the bite.
“He ran off about 200 yards,” reported Savage, “and we caught up to him. He made another run and we caught him again. The fish was about 15’ out, and I reached out with a 12’ gaff and stuck him.”
The anglers continued fishing the area for the remainder of the day, but the bite slowed down as several more boats showed up. The big king was the last fish they caught.
“We were happy to have that fish,” Savage said, “but I didn’t think it was going to be third place.”
A 26.93 lb. king mackerel secured fourth place in the tournament and $4,604 for Randall Edens and the “East Coast Sports” crew out of Hampstead, NC.
Kevin O’Neale, of Charleston, SC, took home fifth place and $2,637 with a 26.13 lb. king caught on the “In 2 Deep.”
