Seapath Spanish Mackerel Tournament
Richard, Grace, Bill, and Rick Stafford won the 2010 Seapath Marina Clarkspoon Invitational Spanish Mackerel Tournament with a 3.44 lb. fish they hooked near the Masonboro jetties on a pink flash Clarkspoon behind a #1 planer.
Earning first place in the 2010 Seapath Marina Clarkspoon Invitational Spanish Mackerel Tournament, Bill Stafford and the Greensboro-based team aboard the “Full Moon” weighed in a healthy 3.44 lb. spaniard to take home first place by more than 1 pound.
Stafford, fishing with his brother Rick, nephew Richard, and niece Grace, went spanish fishing the Monday and Tuesday before the event, but the intel he gained didn’t help the crew on Saturday.
“I caught fish pretty well, but they were out in a little deeper water near the sea buoy,” Stafford reported.
The “Full Moon” anglers didn’t have to wait long after heading out Masonboro Inlet on tournament morning before putting their big fish in the boat.
“That was the first fish we caught,” the winning captain continued. “We’d actually just put the lines out and hooked that fish just off the south jetty on our first pass.”
A pink flash size 0 Clarkspoon behind a #1 planer fooled the fat spaniard, but the Staffords didn’t realize how big their fish was until they leadered it to the boat.
“When we got him up to the boat, I was surprised,” Stafford said. “I thought that fish was smaller. We had to look closely at the lateral line to make sure it wasn’t a small king.”
When they determined they indeed had a spanish mackerel, the crew grew excited.
“We knew that would be a contender,” Stafford reported.
The winning crew continued to troll near Masonboro Inlet for a short while before heading to Mason’s Inlet to look for an even larger fish.
“It was actually kind of a slow day other than the big fish,” Stafford finished. “I caught a lot more fish Monday and Tuesday.”
A 2.02 lb. spanish earned second place in the Clarkspoon Invitational for Carl Allen on the “Moody Blues.” Tom Ronner, fishing on the “Ella C,” secured third with a 1.56 lb. fish.
