Seagate KMT 2008
Hauling a 25 lb. king mackerel to the scales at Mott’s Channel Seafood, Jamie Milam and the “Prime Time” crew, from Burgaw, NC, took the first place prize in the 12th annual Seagate King Mackerel Tournament, held August 4, 2008, out of Wrightsville Beach.
Milam fished the event with bother-in-law Mike Bullard aboard a 23T Onslow Bay center console, and the experienced anglers actually chose to try a brand new spot for the tournament.
“We’d never fished there before,” Milam explained, “but I heard some things, some friends gave me the numbers, and I had a hunch, so that’s where we headed.”
Heading for a ledge area 25 miles off Carolina Beach in 80-100′ on tournament morning, the anglers found lots of activity, hooking sharks and a smaller, 15 lb. class king before their big fish bit around 10:30. A large pogy underneath a white skirt trolled on top fooled the fish, and Milam grabbed the rod as it began its initial run.
“He took off on top,” the team captain related, “and I held the rod and the boat while Mark cleared the lines. Then we chased him down.”
With Bullard at the Onslow Bay’s helm, the anglers caught up to their fish in short order. The fish went down at the end, giving a few circles of the boat before popping up inside of gaff range. Bullard planted home the gaff when the fish was close enough and swung the 25-pounder aboard.
The anglers continued trolling the ledge area in the search for a larger fish and had a lot of short strikes, but there were no more solid king bites. They did manage to raise four sailfish in the same area later in the day, but were unable to get and keep them hooked long enough for an official release.
As the morning turned to afternoon, the anglers eventually decided to head for the scales, stopping to fish at the Dredge Wreck for a short time (without much action) on their way inshore.
Jamie Milam wished to express his gratitude to Brad at Onslow Bay Boatworks and Michael at Milam Hardware for their support of the team.
Chris Edens, of the Hampstead-based “East Coast Sports” fishing team, took second place in the tournament with a 23.28 lb. fish. Edens usually fishes aboard a 27′ Triton, but since the Seagate tournament is only for 23′ and under boats, he fished aboard a 19′ Carolina Skiff with friend Corey Ickes.
Heading out of Masonboro Inlet with pogies and bluefish in the livewell, the anglers original plan was to fish the Dredge Wreck.
“We’ve only got 18 gallons of fuel on the skiff boat,” Edens explained, “so that makes it a little more challenging. The Dredge was dead, so we decided to go further off, which made me a little nervous about the fuel.”
Pulling up to the Schoolhouse at 10:00, the anglers found plenty of cigar minnows and sardines circling the buoy, jigged some up, and then began trolling the area. Around 11:15, something struck a ribbonfish under a Blue Water Candy skirt 50′ deep on the downrigger.
With Edens on the rod, the anglers got the king to the boat fairly quickly, and Ickes planted the gaff.
With the winds rising and a long run ahead of the 19′ flat bottom, the anglers decided to head inshore around noon, stopping to fish just off the inlet before they headed inshore and killed time until the weigh-in started at 3:00.
Third place went to Owen and Brent Sewell, of Cape Fear Coastal Charters, for a 20.56 lb. king mackerel. They fished the event aboard a 21′ Mako center console, and found their fish offshore of the 10 Mile Boxcars.
The king fell for a live pogy trolled long, and Brent Sewell took the rod after the bite, fighting the fish for around 20 minutes before working it close to the boat.
“He stayed up top,” Owen Sewell recalled, “until we got him close, then he went down and did a suicide circle four times before I could gaff him.”
Clint Richardson, aboard the “Finatic,” took fourth place in the tournament with a 21.74 lb. kingfish, and Mike Musselwhite rounded out the top 5 with a 17.23 lb. fish.
This year marks the Seagate’s 12th consecutive running, and the event attracted 57 boats, a new tournament record. The event designated the “Our Friend’s Fund” as its beneficiary, a fund benefitting a 24-year-old lady who was recently raped and stabbed in downtown Wilmington two weeks ago, and is a friend to many involved in the tournament.
The fund will help her reduce the burden of hospital bills and the myriad of other expenses while she recovers from the terrible crime. The record turnout at the tournament enabled the event to raise $920 for the fund, according to Todd Byrd, of the Triangle Lounge, who is overseeing the money collection.
“I feel like that’s just fantastic,” Byrd said. “That is a really good number to get out of this event.”
Anyone interested in donating to the fund, which has already collected $2650 in just over a week, can mail donations to P.O. Box 81, Wrightsville Beach, NC, 28480, or call Byrd at (910) 452-3292 for more information.
Tournament organizer Capt. Jamie Rushing wished to thank all the anglers who made the event a success, and the tournament’s sponsors and volunteers, especially Vane Bros., Tex’s Tackle, Bayside Electric Supply, Brown’s Cleaning Supplies, Camitha of Domino’s Pizza, Dickie of the Tidal Mart, Seatow, and Shea and Dennis Rushing.
