Rumble In The Jungle
Jonathan Birdsall, Michelle Stroud, and Kevin O'Neale won the Rumble in the Jungle and over $14,000 with a 34.77 lb. king mackerel they hooked on a live pogie at a live bottom in 75' of water 60 miles south of Little River.
“We thought that fish was only about 32,” Kevin O’Neale said of the 34.77 lb. king mackerel that won his “In 2 Deep” crew the guaranteed $10,000 first prize in the Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament, held October 9 out of Little River’s Harbourgate Marina. “Boy, were we surprised when that fish hit the scales.”
Fortune smiled on the team, as two other teams weighed 34+ lb. king mackerel that fell just short of besting the Charleston, SC team’s winning fish.
Fishing with his fiancé, Michelle Stroud (who captured the tournament’s Top Lady Angler honors), and friend Jonathan Birdsall aboard his 23’ Sailfish center console, O’Neale tried pre-fishing the day before the event, but was shut down by the weather.
“We tried to pre-fish,” the winning captain explained, “but it was so nasty we found bait and came on in. We already knew where we were going anyway.”
Where they went was a live bottom spot 90 miles SE of Little River in 110’, and fortune soon smiled on the team, as they put a 30 lb. king in the box before 10:00 that morning. Apparently unsatisfied, however, the team headed a little closer to the scales, stopping at another spot 60 miles from Little River.
“We ran about 25 miles closer to the scales,” O’Neale continued, “to a live bottom hole I’ve got in 75’.”
Shortly after 2:00 that afternoon, something pounced on a naked ribbonfish the team was pulling 47’ deep on the downrigger. Stroud was first to the rod, and, at first, the fish didn’t follow the typical king mackerel playbook.
“That fish actually didn’t run much at all,” said O’Neale. “He swam a little bit beside us, went in between the downriggers, we untangled him, and he came back the other way.”
The fish continued circling beneath the Sailfish, not tearing off much line, but refusing to give up, either.
“We spent about 15-20 minutes on that fish,” O’Neale reported. “It was just straight up and down, circling, pretty much the whole time.”
When the anglers finally got a glimpse of their fish, they confirmed it was a king mackerel, but didn’t think it gave them any more reason to celebrate than their first fish.
“We knew it was a king after we saw it,” O’Neale said, “but we didn’t know it was any bigger than the 30 until we stuck it and put it in the boat.”
After Stroud worked the stubborn mackerel to the surface, O’Neale planted the gaff and the anglers wasted little time in punching the numbers for Little River in and hitting the throttles.
The “In 2 Deep” crew would like to thank their primary sponsor, Sailfish Boats, for their support.
A 34.35 lb. fish earned second place and over $8,000 in the Rumble in the Jungle for Jeff Page and the “Keeping it Reel” crew, who couldn’t be reached for an interview.
Jeff Page, from Norwood, NC, aboard the “Keepin’ It Reel,” took home second place and over $8,000 in the Rumble in the Jungle for his 34.35 lb. king mackerel.
Chad Morris and “The Sea Horse” fishing team, from Oak Island, took third place with a 34.29 lb. king, pocketing over $5,000. With his wife Amy, daughter Madison (the event’s Top Junior Angler), and friends Scott Buff and George Metzgar, Jr., aboard the team’s 36’ Yellowfin, the anglers pre-fished Friday but found nothing but dirty water.
“The water looked dirty all the way from the Cape Fear River to Myrtle Beach,” Amy Morris said, “but we heard of some fish south of Georgetown, so that’s where we went Saturday.”
After checking out at Little River Inlet, the anglers headed to a spot in around 75’ of water off Georgetown, SC, and found a solid bite of fat kings, along with 15-20 other boats.
“We actually had another one close to 30,” Morris continued. “We caught six fish between 25-30 lbs. down there.”
Around 11:30, their big fish bit a blue runner on the medium line, and Chad Morris was first to the rod.
“He made a good strong first run,” Amy Morris said.
After clearing the lines, the team took off in pursuit of their fish.
“We like to get on top of them, stay on top of them, and get them in the boat as fast as we can,” Morris continued.
The crew stayed with the king until finally, around 20 minutes after the bite, Buff was able to plant a gaff in it and haul it over the Yellowfin’s gunnel.
The crew continued fishing for another hour, deciding to take off early for the scales around 1:00 that afternoon to ensure they had plenty of time to make it to the scales.
“The Sea Horse” team wishes to express their gratitude to sponsors Yellowfin Boats, Cape Fear Sportswear, and Blackbarry Marine.
Terry Grantham and the “My Three Sons” fishing team, from Florence, SC, hauled in the 33.40 lb. king mackerel that earned third place in the event. Ponte Vedra Beach, FL’s Alden Thornton and the “A-Team” rounded out the top five with a 32.38 lb. fish.
