South Brunswick Islands KMT 2007
The four SKA Divisions that North Carolina anglers compete in are some of the most competitive on the entire king mackerel circuit, and local teams generally dominate the leaderboards. However, this was not the case in the 2007 Brunswick Islands King Classic, where the Fernandina Beach, FL-based “Game Day” crew weighed in the 39.03 lb. winning king mackerel to take home the top prize, a $30,000+ GMC truck and nearly $20,000 in cash.
The tournament was held August 31-September 1 out of Holden Beach Marina.
“This is only our second tournament up here,” team captain W.D. Rodeffer said. “This bunch of anglers are great fishermen. It’s really intimidating to come up here and fish against them.” Rodeffer fished with his brother Ryan, and father Dave aboard the “Game Day,” a 31’ Contender powered by twin Yamaha 250 Four Strokes.
The “Game Day” crew trailered the Contender from Florida to Georgetown, SC, where they put the boat in the water. On Saturday morning they searched for bait in the ICW and received a little assistance from some area watermen. “We talked to some local crabbers, and they told us exactly where the pogies were,” Rodeffer related.
With bait taken care of, the crew headed out to an area off Georgetown in 50’ of water where some friends had found big kings earlier in the week. “It was a little hard bottom area holding a lot of live bait,” Rodeffer said. At first the action was a little slow, but around 9:00 in the morning a solid bite developed.
“It was pretty good from 9:00 to 11:00,” recalled Rodeffer. The team’s winning fish bit a naked pogy trolled on top at 10:30 Saturday morning, and Ryan Rodeffer took the rod.
“We both saw that fish hit and splash,” W.D. Rodeffer said, “and we felt like it was a pretty good one. We did the right thing, just let him go and took our time.” After letting the fish tire itself, the team chased it down. W.D. gaffed the fish when the crew caught up to it, and was surprised at how easily the team boated the near-40 lb. king. “We had some smaller ones that fought harder than that.”
With the big king in the box, the anglers continued fishing, hoping to land an even larger fish. “We knew that fish was over 35,” W.D. Rodeffer explained, “but we didn’t know exactly how big. It was rough enough that the scales we had on board were bouncing all the way from 36-44 lbs.”
The spot surrendered several more fish before the bite slowed, but none were larger than the one already in the box. With 80 miles to travel in order to weigh their fish, Rodeffer said the “Game Day” team decided to head for Holden Beach around noon. “We took it easy coming in. It was a good fish, and we had plenty of time to make it. We cruised about 30.”
It took around 2.5 hours to close in on Holden Beach, and the anglers arrived with plenty of time before the weigh-in cut-off. They finished their fishing day by spending a short time trolling the beachfront before heading in to Lockwood Folly Inlet and the scales.
At the weigh-in, their fish topped the “Fish Meister” second place king by less than a tenth of a pound. The “Game Day” crew’s next largest fish was a 32 lb. king that would have kept them in the top five.
W.D. Rodeffer wished to thank the team’s sponsors and friends at Loadmaster Trailers. “If you want to travel and fish like this, you’ve got to have a good trailer, and they’ve got us covered,” he said.
The “Game Day” fish narrowly edged out last year’s South Brunswick Islands champions, the “Fish Meister” team, who weighed in a 38.96 lb. king to take second. The Calabash, NC-based crew included team captain Dean Spatholt, his son Russell, and Dennis Watson, fishing aboard a 36’ Yamaha-powered Yellowfin.
In an ironic turn, the Yamaha-sponsored trio won their second 225 hp Mercury Optimax outboard in two years, as the outboard was part of last year’s first prize package. In addition to the motor, the crew took home a check for nearly $10,000.
The “Fish Meister” crew also had a long run to make to weigh their fish, as they hooked it on the east side of Cape Lookout Shoals on Saturday morning, the same area they found last year’s winning fish.
“He hit a live, naked pogy on the long line,” Watson recalled of the second place king. The fish bit around 10:00 while many of the nearby boats were on the radio complaining about the slow bite.
Russell Spatholt was the angler, but he didn’t have to fight the fish for too long. “It was a 15 minute fight at the most,” he said. While Russell cranked on the fish, his father followed its movements from the helm. When the king was finally close enough, Watson reached over the gunnel and sank the gaff.
The team continued trolling for a short time after boating their fish, but they decided to head towards the scales at 11:00.
Locating bait was a challenge for the “Fish Meister” anglers, and it took the team nearly two hours of searching at Harkers Island on Saturday morning to fill the Yellowfin’s wells.
The team would like to thank their sponsors Yamaha and Yellowfin for their valuable assistance.
Third place went to the “Dig It” team, from Willow Springs, NC, for a 33.16 lb. king mackerel. The team took home a complete Raymarine electronics package along with nearly $4,000 in cash.
The Laurinburg, NC-team “Toes Up” weighed in the 31.80 lb. fourth place king. Richard Bowles, Kurt Cross, and Doug Robeson were fishing their first tournament aboard a 21’ Johnson-powered Sea Pro.
The “Toes Up” crew found their king at the Jungle, a live bottom area around 20 miles off Holden Beach. “We got out there, started fishing at 8:00, and had that fish in the boat at 8:15,” Bowles reported.
The fourth place king fell for a pogy trolled on top beneath a blue/white skirt. Bowles was closest to the rod and picked it up as the king began a very long run. “When she hit, she screamed half the spool off,” he said. “She stayed deep, and that’s how we knew she was a good fish. We finally had to take the boat towards her, she came up, and we got her in the boat.”
When the fish surfaced, Robeson gaffed and boated it. The anglers trolled unsuccessfully for another hour before deciding to head in due to the rough seas around 9:15.
The crew wished to thank God, the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, and the team’s sponsors Richard Bowles Funeral Service and Custom Machine and Fabrication, both of Laurinburg.
The “Trouble Maker” fishing team landed the fifth place fish, a 27.24 lb. king.
This year’s Brunswick Islands King Classic attracted 120 boats despite a less than favorable forecast. Proceeds generated by the event go to benefit the Rotary Club of Brunswick County and Lower Cape Fear Hospice.
Tournament director Terry Adkins wished to thank all the event’s sponsors and participants.
