Rumble in the Jungle KMT 2005
The 2005 Rumble in the Jungle, a king mackerel tournament sponsored by the Little River Inlet Saltwater Fishing Club, was just held on their rain date of Oct. 22. They had 117 entrants, 52 fish brought to the scales, and paid out $45,916.00.
The overall winner was “2nd Mortgage,” a 26′ Hydra Sport out of Pittsboro, NC. Mike McDuffie, Bill Welburn, and his sons Brent and Steven caught the winning 34.58 lb. king about 22 miles out of Little River Inlet at the “Bunky Bear.”
The king hit a naked pogy on the longline in about 50′ of water. The strike came at 2:00, and it took an hour to get the king in the boat. McDuffie said, “The king pulled us a little over a mile from where we hooked up.” On the king’s first run, it spooled about 300 yards of line. The king’s second run took almost as much.
The team just stayed on top of the king and chased it around. McDuffie thanked Dean Spatholt, of “Fish Meister,” who helped them out with information on where the bite would probably be happening that day.
Second place went to Team GPS Store out of Ocean Isle Beach. Phillip Hooks, Scott Heffernan, and Kristen Hooks fish on a Mercury-powered 29′ Sea Vee.
Their 30.45 lb. king came at 3:15 at Shallotte Inlet. They had fished earlier in the day around the Jungle. It was offshore of the Jungle that they jigged up the blue runner that would be the bait to catch their big king of the day.
They had the blue runner out when a shark one of the other baits. While they were reeling in the blue runner to preserve the bait, the king hit it about 10′ behind the boat.
The king skied on the bait and then went under the boat and the shark. After about a 150 yard run, the king stopped and they came up on him with the gaff. The hook fell out of the king when it hit the boat.
Kristen Hooks also took home the Lady Angler Award. The team thanked Drew at the GPS Store, Mercury Marine Power, and the Marine Service Center of Little River.
The rest of the top five are as follows: “Hot Rod” and Capt. Brett Barnes in third with a 29.30 lb. king; “Liquid Asset” and Capt. Chris Pardue in fourth with a 29.28 lb. king; and “Reel Justice” and Capt. Ralph Justice in fifth with a 28.64 lb. king.
Alan Barnes, fishing on the “Hot Rod” out of Wilmington, took the Junior Angler Award.
Little River Inlet Saltwater Fishing Club President Patrick Bellamy said, “Thank you to everyone who participated and came to our area to fish and took all our cash. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and the food and entertainment.”
Bellamy also thanked his club’s Board of Directors, Outback Steakhouse, Key West Boats, Carolina Boat and Yacht, Marine Service Center, Harbourgate Marina, and TowBoat US. He added a special thanks to Duffy Street Grill for “the fantastic shrimp and grits and tuna bite on Friday night.”
You can get more information on the Rumble in the Jungle by visiting www.littleriverfishingclub.com.
