South Brunswick Islands KMT 2004
The Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce sponsored its annual South Brunswick Islands King Classic over October 22 and 23 at Holden Beach Marina. About 40 fish were weighed in by 110 registered boats with 30.34 lbs. taking first place. Anglers found themselves fighting the clock and working to find bait early on Saturday, when the biggest fish were caught. The tourney’s 7th place finisher, Capt. Jeff Crouch of “Strickly Business,” said, “It was a nice afternoon, but the fishing was not nice.”
The crew of “Wet ‘N Sassy” found over 11,000 reasons to disagree when they pulled in a winning 30.34 lb. king. Capt. Scott Powers said, “It’s nerve wrenching to wait and see if anybody is bigger than you.” Scott Powers, Leon Messer, and angler Wesley Register were just happy to have been able to fish.
Powers said, “If it wasn’t for Fisher’s Marine, we couldn’t have fished.” The crew spent all of Friday night repairing an outboard motor on their 30′ Scarab to find the engine would only start when in drive. Securing the drive gear with a bungee cord, the team left on time and headed out for bait. They, along with several other boats, finally found pogies running big and fast off Bald Head Island. They took their hunt to the River Channel.
The previous weekend they had been using seven strand and missing a lot of strikes. They switched to solid wire leaders this weekend, and the change worked. They landed all three fish that hit on Saturday, which included two sharks (heaviest weighing 57 lbs.) and the winning king.
Capt. Allen Sasser and Robert Hutchens, of “Smokin ‘Em,” a 21′ Grady White, had boat trouble as well, but they managed to take second with a 28.7 lb. king.
Said Sasser, “At 4:00 a.m. we were changing a bilge pump in Wal-Mart’s parking lot. Then we got the boat in the water, turned on the pump and it sucked up a loose wire and burned up.”
Hutchens added, “It’s typical for us to have problems, but we catch a lot of fish.”
They got underway, soon to find the bait pump had quit as well. Persistent, they fished for spot on hook and line, finally catching several by cast net in Lockwood. Trolling outside the buoy, Sasser cast out a short line in the middle of the spread with a fresh spot. The second place king hit it immediately and missed the hook. The 28.7 lb. mack then hit the long line and “hooked up.”
Capt. Jeff York, Tommy Lewis, and tournament Lady Angler Sherry Jones took third with a 26.54 lb. king aboard “Trick Z.” Anticipating a bait issue, the crew pinned bait the day before and found big pogies later at the sea buoy. At 7:40 a.m. they hooked the king just a few feet from the transom in the prop wash on a double pogy rig.
“It was a miracle we even caught the fish,” said Lewis. “He was barely hooked through the skin of his side.” The third place team, fishing on their 33′ Donzi, brought four fish aboard, including a 22 lb. king that was longer but much thinner than their winner.
Joel Milan ,on “Benzach,” took the 23′ and under class with a 21.6 lb. king. J.D. Coble won the Senior Angler award.
Capt. Ashley McLamb, on “Far Out,” took fourth place with a 25.76 lb. king. Leaving from Little River Inlet, he found bait near 6th Street off North Myrtle Beach, as well as a big school of pogies at Cherry Grove Pier. Nothing bit except a pelican (which was humanely handled and safely released) until 2:00 p.m. when the king bit a long line, single pogy rig at the River Channel.
Capt. Trey Styron, on “Got It Bad,” took 5th place with a 25.12 lb. king. Capt. Robert Bishops, of “Fish Buster,” and crew members Kristen Bishop, John Peiffer, and Robert Bishop, all out of Jacksonville, FL, took 6th. The king weighed 24.78 lbs.
Capt. Jeff Crouch and Jeremy Ridenhour took 7th place on “Strickly Business.” They pinned bait the day before but refreshed at 10:00 a.m. with 18 pogies. They caught four kings at the sea buoy, the fourth and heaviest weighing 24.02 lbs.
Capt. Terry Godwin, on “Rawhide,” of Wilmington, took 8th with the help of Junior Angler, 12-year-old Jake Godwin. Patrick Scott and Justin Shepard also helped bring in the 23.76 lb. king caught at Yaupon Reef on a pogy rig.
“Hot Water” took 9th place with a 23.62 lb. king. “Miller Time” rounded out 10th place with a 23.56 lb. king. Capt Randy Gainey and Clint Hines caught the 10th place mack in the River Channel on a live greenie at about 11:00. Gainey said, “It was not a pretty day.”
Pretty or otherwise, the Brunswick County COC put on a great tournament. They would like to thank all of their sponsors and anglers, with a special thanks to Greg Brinkley and Waste Industries, Holden Beach Marina, and Bart’s Barbecue.
