Seapath 2008
Besting the second place fish by well over one pound, 10-year-old Alexa Teachey, of Wilmington, weighed in the 3.1 lb. spanish mackerel that took first place in the 2008 Seapath Yacht Club Spanish Mackerel Tournament, held June 7 out of Wrightsville Beach. Teachey fished the tournament with her parents, Fred and Tammy Teachey, aboard the 19′ Carolina Skiff “Myth Buster,” and earned the tournament winner’s plaque and a Penn rod and reel combo.
The Teachey’s boat actually began the day without a name, but after catching the big fish while battling a longstanding fishing superstition, “Myth Buster” suggested itself.
“We weren’t going to have a name for the boat,” Fred Teachey explained, “but Tammy and Alexa packed bananas for the trip and we still caught the fish.”
The Teacheys began the tournament day trolling near the north end of Figure Eight Island and caught fish early, but soon they decided to work their way off the beach.
“Everybody else was staying close to shore, but we followed the tideline and moved offshore about 1/2 a mile,” Teachey recalled. “We weren’t catching as many out there, but the fish were bigger.”
After landing several small king mackerel, the big spanish mackerel fell for a silver Clarkspoon behind a #2 planer at 9:00. Alexa fought the tournament-winning spanish to the boat after it tripped the planer.
Continuing to troll offshore of most of the spanish fishing boats, the “Myth Buster” caught more spanish and small kings, with the action peaking between 11-11:30. Though they caught plenty more fish, the Teachey’s next largest spanish was only about half the size of the tournament winner.
Weighing in her fish early, Alexa was a bit nervous for the rest of the weigh-in, and she didn’t actually know she’d taken the event’s number one spot until her name was announced at the awards ceremony.
A 1.72 lb. spanish mackerel secured second place in the event for Scott Hamby, and Capt. Jot Owens took third with a 1.48 lb. spanish.
