Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament 2006
The Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel / Blue Water Tournament was another spring tournament that had to deal with high winds and seas, but their tournament committee made the most of the situation.
The king mackerel one day of fishing was scheduled for Saturday, but the Friday buoy report was showing high seas Saturday morning and flat seas all day long on Sunday. The committee pushed the one fishing day to Sunday.
“We had more entries then we’ve had in the last 5 years,” said Tournament Director Stukie Payne, “and the key that made it successful was the switch to Sunday. We had substantial sign ups all day long on Saturday.”
A regular top finisher on the king mackerel circuit brought in a 43.65 lb. king and the guaranteed $25,000 first place prize money. Brett and Alan Barnes, fishing on the “Hot Rod” out of Wilmington, caught the winning king around the Tower. They started their day going out of Carolina Beach Inlet, and by 8:00 they were hooked up with the 43 pound king.
The king hit a naked pogy on the top. It took about 15 minutes to bring him in. Then the run from the Tower to the weigh-in at Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro took about 4 hours.
Earlier they had seen one small king sky and had released a 10 pounder. Alan Barnes said, “The place we were fishing we were by ourselves.”
“Hot Rod” is a 25’ Contender with twin hppi Yamahas, and the team is sponsored by Terminator Wire.
“Whats Fa Suppa,” out of Pine Knoll Shores, took second place with a 30.10 lb. king. Colin and Keith McDuffy, Chuck Wiley, and Craig Lewis fish on a 26’ Sailfish.
They found their king at the Topsail Ledges using a naked pogy on the top. The hookup came around 1:00.
This is the team’s second tournament in a row finishing in second place. The other second place finish had come at the 2005 CCSA KMT.
On the Swansboro win, Colin said, “Anybody can get lucky.” He went on to thank Coral Bay Marina and Yamaha for their support.
The winners of last year’s Swansboro KMT finished in third place this year. “Hooligan,” with Joe Winslow and Alan Ambrose, landed a 25.50 lb. king. The team is out of Sunset Beach.
“Bear Cat II,” a local boat out of Swansboro, took overall fourth place, and they also took first place in the 23’ and Under Division. The team of Barrington Page, Catherine Page, and Pam Dopkins landed a 23.15 lb. king at Jessie’s Ledge. The king hit a double pogy rig on the top. Page added, “Everything we had was on the top.”
In fifth place was “Reel Culture” out of Advance, NC. Their king weighed in at 18.95 lbs.
The rest of the top ten is as follows: “IBIS” in sixth with a 18.90 lb. king; “Release” in seventh with a 18.90 lb. king; “Miss Mercy” in eighth with a 15.80 lb. king; “Pure Pleasure” in ninth with a 15.55 lb. king; and “Miss Teny” in tenth with a 14.70 lb. king.
The Swansboro Rotary Club uses the tournament as a fundraiser for their scholarship program. To date they have raised over $470,000. The scholarship program helps high school graduates that have a financial need, have high gpa’s, and our recommended by their teachers.
About three weeks ago the Rotary scholarship program awarded 4-year scholarships to 11 local kids.
The tournament enjoys great support from the community, and among this year’s top sponsors were Safrit’s Building Supply, Bay Rider and KenCraft Boats, and Chevrolet.
For more info on the tournament, you can visit www.swansbororotary.com.
