Sneads Ferry KMT
Skip and Sandy Conklin and Jay Russell--Morehead City's "Ocean Athlete" fishing team--won the Sneads Ferry King Mackerel Tournament with a 46.49 lb. fish they hooked on a live menhaden in 50' of water just off Cape Lookout.
In their second win of the 2011 king mackerel season, Skip Conklin and the “Ocean Athlete” fishing team scaled a 46.49 lb. king mackerel to take home the top honors in the Sneads Ferry Rotary King Mackerel Tournament, held August 20-21 out of New River Marina.
Unlike the 60 lb. fish that earned them victory in the Raleigh KMT several weeks prior, the “Ocean Athlete” anglers had to put in some time before they got their big bite.
Conklin, his wife Sandy (who took home the Top Lady Angler honors), and regular teammate Jay Russell all fish aboard a 28’ Mercury-powered Privateer and set their sights on the Atlas Tanker on the morning of the event, the spot that gave up their monster mackerel in the Raleigh tournament.
“We watched the boats out there catch fish all day,” Conklin reported. “I think most of the leader board fish came from there, and there were six or so 50 lb. wahoo caught. But we just couldn’t get a bite. It was like we were bejinxed.”
After trolling the Atlas for the entirety of the morning, the “Ocean Athlete” had only a 12 lb. king mackerel, their sole bite, to show for it.
“We decided to go give it another try where there weren’t 40 boats fishing,” Conklin continued. “I figured there might be one more money fish caught there, but out of 40 boats, those just aren’t very good odds. So we headed back to the beach where we were one boat out of one.”
Scrapping the Atlas Tanker plan around 1:00 that afternoon, the winning anglers set lines back out in around 50’ of water off the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
“It’s a spot where we’ve caught fish before,” Conklin said, “but usually more of a fall spot.”
Just before 2:00, something attacked a naked menhaden on the short top line behind the “Ocean Athlete” and took off running. Playing his usual role as team angler, Russell grabbed the rod and began the fight.
The fish immediately went deep and stayed there for most of the fight, creating a little confusion about what was on the other end of the line.
“I was thinking barracuda,” Conklin explained. “The water was a little dirty and we never saw the fish, and we’d seen a ‘cuda there when we started fishing. You never know, though, so you have to keep fighting it like it’s a king.”
Russell kept up his end, fighting the fish for half an hour before it finally showed itself.
Conklin planted the gaff soon after the anglers got a look at the big king, and he swung the smoker over the gunnel.
“We had about 30 minutes to spare to make it to the scales,” he said, “but we were 60 miles away. You never know what could happen in 60 miles. The wind could be a lot different and any number of things could happen, so we decided to head on to the scales.”
Mike McDufffie and the crew of the "Black Gold," from Pittsboro, NC, took home second place in the Sneads Ferry Rotary King Mackerel Tournament with a 45.00 lb. king mackerel.
The long run was uneventful, and the anglers made it to Sneads Ferry in plenty of time to weigh their fish and take control of a very competitive leader board (the competition mustered 15 kings over the 30 lb. mark). Skip Conklin wished to express his gratitude to Privateer Boats, Mercury Outboards, and the service department at Crow’s Nest Yacht Club.
Weighing another massive mackerel, Mike McDuffie and Pittsboro, NC’s Black Gold fishing team took home second place in Sneads Ferry for a 45.00 lb. king. Jackson David, of Wilmington, scaled a 43.67 lb. fish to earn third place for the “Intracoastal Angler” team.
Mark Henderson and the “Liquid Fire” crew, out of Cape Carteret, NC, secured fourth place (and Top Junior Angler for Crockett Henderson) with a 42.51 lb. king, and Randall Edens, of team “East Coast Sports,” rounded out the top five with a 42.46 lb. fish.
More information and a full rundown of the tournament’s leader board are available at www.sneadsferryrotary.com.
