SKA Nationals
Caroline, Amy, and Capt. Barrett McMullan with the 56.28 lb. king mackerel that anchored their winning 105.10 lb. weight at SKA Nationals in Biloxi Mississippi, earning the “OIFC” fishing team their third Nationals victory in five years.
As they do nearly every year, Capt. Brant McMullan and his family, the “OIFC” fishing team, packed up, shrugged off Brunswick County, and headed to south Mississippi in early November for SKA Nationals, the big show in the world of tournament king mackerel fishing.
And as they’ve done three out of the past five years, the Ocean Isle Fishing Center crew—McMullan, his brother Barrett, father Rube, wife Amy, and children Caroline and Brayden—came out on top when the scales closed, weighing a 105.1 lb. pair of king mackerel to secure victory by over 10 lbs.
“It’s been each of the odd years,” McMullan explained. “We won in 2009, 2011, and 2013.”
The most recent victory makes the “OIFC” crew the only fishing team in history to have a trio of SKA National victories, and McMullan was quick to credit good fortune, but also his experience on his home waters for their unprecedented success.
“I think the North Carolina fishing style has a lot to do with it,” he explained. “My heritage is in commercial live bait king mackerel fishing and that fast, efficient handling of large numbers of fish plays well down there.”
A look at the history of the event confirms McMullan’s theory, as NC teams have taken first place in either the Small Boat Class, Open Class, or both in every year since 2008. This year, the top three teams in the Open Class all hailed from coastal NC and all had a connection to the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. Corey Bellamy and the “Choice of Two” crew are sponsored teammates of the winners and earned second place with 94.82 lbs. of king mackerel. And Steele Park, a charter captain at the Fishing Center, joined up with Henry Tillett and Beaufort’s “Windy Conditions” team to scale a 91.86 lb. pair of kings and round out the top three.
“Choice of Two” also weighed the event’s largest king at 58.44 lbs., a smoker by anyone’s scale, but substantially smaller than the 74.10 lb. SKA record king that the “OIFC” anglers scaled during the 2009 Nationals.
This year’s trip to the winner’s circle didn’t come without some complications. After a week of cold fronts, strong winds, and rough seas, the normally two fishing day event was shortened to a single day. Warmer-than-normal water temperatures also meant the kings hadn’t made a big showing at the spots where they’re traditionally caught in the tournament, so dialing in on the bite was challenging.
By the Saturday of competition, the seas had calmed a bit, and the cold fronts turned the expected bite on at the Salt Dome, with red-hot king mackerel action that’s become legendary among the anglers who fish the tournament.
The McMullans followed their usual formula of trying to catch as many kings as quickly as possible in order to take the largest pair they could muster to the scales. Mackerel weighing 48.82 and 56.28 lbs. were the result, but getting them to the scales proved a challenge.
After getting their port engine’s fuel pump replaced in the weeks leading up to the tournament, the “OIFC” crew’s starboard fuel pump failed with a weigh-in cutoff looming and 37 miles between the team’s 32’ Yellowfin and the scales. Not willing to admit defeat, Amy and Barrett McMullan took turns pumping the fuel line primer bulb by hand, allowing the crew to run just fast enough to make the scales with 10 minutes to go.
As soon as they weighed their smaller fish, the anglers knew they’d top the “Choice of Two” crew’s 94 lb. weight, and the anglers earned their third grand prize at the event, a 21’ Contender boat and Mercury outboard.
More details on the event, the Ocean Isle Fishing Center crew, and a full story of their road to victory are available at www.oifc.com.
