Tournament Report – Rumble in the Jungle KMT
Chad Barnes and John Lewis–Morehead City’s “Second Chance” Fishing Team–with the 44.54 lb. king mackerel that earned them the tournament’s top prize. Their big fish struck a live bluefish a short distance off the beach at Oak Island.
Using the tournament’s first day to pre-fish proved to be a smart move for Morehead City’s “Second Chanze” fishing team, as the 44.54 lb. king they caught the second day earned the event’s guaranteed $35,000 first place prize in the 2014 Rumble in the Jungle KMT, held Sept. 26-28 out of Harbourgate Marina in Little River.
Lewis, fishing with Chad Barnes aboard a 23’ Contender, had some intel about a king bite going on off Oak Island, and they took Saturday see what they could find.
“We had heard about some fish in front of the (Ocean Crest) pier,” team captain John Lewis explained, “so we decided to check it out on Saturday. We saw that 41 get caught and figured we’d fish there.”
They’d already landed a 24 lb. king that morning when the crew got a strong bite on a live bluefish trolled long around 11:00.
“He ran out about 100 yards and kept going,” Lewis explained. “We had to put the boat on plane, and he was still screaming out line so I figured it was a nice fish.”
With Lewis on the rod and Barnes at the controls, the anglers kept pursuing their fish, but didn’t think it was a potential winner when they got their first look at it.
“The water was real dirty that day,” he continued, “and all we could see was the fish’s tail and a little bit of the back. I figured it was a 30-pounder.”
After another brief run, the anglers got a second look at their fish and realized it was substantially bigger than they’d first thought.
“He came back beside the boat about a foot under the water,” Lewis said, “and we realized then he was a big one.”
After a few tense moments while the fish circled the boat, the anglers finally got the chance they were looking for.
“He made one more turn and came back to the boat,” Lewis said, “and we got him.”
Barnes planted a gaff in the big king when it came within range, and the anglers hauled their prize aboard. Taking measurements of their fish, they realized it should top the 41-pounder atop the leaderboard from the first day.
“The 41 was 54×21 inches,” Lewis said. “And ours was 55×23, so I figured we had it.”
With several hours to go before the scales opened up, the anglers ran inshore, caught some fresh bait, and fished a bit more before making the run to Little River. They landed another 28 lb. king before deciding it was time to head for the weigh-in.
Jeff Crouch and the “Strictly Business” crew out of Oak Island landed the 41.38 lb. fish that secured second place, and Neill Newton and “High Cotton” rounded out the top three with a 40.98 lb. king.
More information on the Rumble in the Jungle and a full leaderboard can be found www.rumblekmt.com.
