Topsail KMT 2006
With 109 boats entered in the Topsail Offshore Fishing Club King Mackerel Tournament on Oct. 14, competitors knew they’d need a hefty king mackerel to take first place. Entrants found a number of impressive fish, but none quite as big as the 45.50 lb. king that the “Ocean Isle Fishing Center” crew brought to the scales at Surf City Soundside Park that Saturday afternoon to win first place and $16,870.
The winning king was something of an accident for the family team of Capt. Brant McMullan, his brother Barrett, and his father Rube, who were all aboard the 36′ Contender powered by three 225 four-stroke Yamahas.
The McMullans had caught pogies prior to the tournament, and then they penned them overnight anticipating an early start to the fishing day. However, when they picked up the bait pen early Saturday morning, nearly all the pogies had died. Hearing of bait-sized bluefish on the beach near Drum Inlet, the team headed there, finding a big school of blues and a cloud of birds working just north of the inlet. While casting plugs at the blues, the crew deployed one double pogy rig to see if any kings were in the area as well. There were, and a big king inhaled the pogies around 10:00.
Barrett McMullan took the rod, and the king “smoked it down.” The long, hard run tired the king out though, and after the crew chased it down with Rube at the helm of the big Contender, Brant gaffed the fish around 5 minutes after it bit.
Brant McMullan noted the irony in a pen full of dead pogies leading the team to the first place king. “If our bait hadn’t died, we wouldn’t have gone looking for the blues and wouldn’t have caught that fish,” he said.
Although other boats fishing Saturday reported somewhat snotty sea conditions, the NW winds kept the ocean fairly calm just off the beach in 18′ of water where the McMullans caught their king.
The “Ocean Isle Fishing Center” team would like to thank their sponsors Ocean Isle Fishing Center, Yamaha, Magic-Tilt, Penn, and Berkley.
Second place went to the “Rawhide” team, from Wilmington, who weighed a 43.80 lb fish. Teammates Terry Goodwin, Bill Thomas, and Alexis Gorton earned a check for $8,826, and Gorton took an additional $250 as the event’s top junior angler.
The “Rawhide” king bit around 7:45 Saturday morning as their 28′ Evinrude-powered Hydra-Sports trolled the Topsail Inshore Ledge off Jolly Roger Pier. A naked bluefish, about 2 lbs. in size, fooled the king into striking, and the king immediately made a huge run, tearing off around 400 yards of line. When the “Rawhide” caught up to the king, it went down and stubbornly refused to come within gaffing range for Goodwin.
“I like using an eight foot gaff, but I had to break out the twelve footer for this fish,” Goodwin said. With the long gaff in hand, he was finally able to get the fish in the boat, putting an end to the 30 minute fight.
A 39.60 lb. king earned the Newport, NC-based team “Rugman” third place and a check for $4804. Jamie Wallace, Renee Wallace, Craig Stanfield, and Mark Springfield were all aboard for Saturday’s tournament, and Renee Wallace was the first place lady angler, receiving an additional check for $500.
A 10 inch bluefish trolled naked accounted for the third place king. The “Rugman” was trolling with quite a few other boats from both the Topsail and Rumble in the Jungle tournaments at the Summerland Reef just east of Lookout Shoals. On the king’s first run, it took nearly 3/4 of the spool from Stanfield, who took the rod. However, the big first run wore the king out, and when the team neared the tired king, Jamie Wallace was able to gaff and boat it only 10 minutes after the bite.
The “Rugman” team reported world class fishing at the Summerland Reef, with fish free jumping all around them.
The “Nail It” team, out of Smithfield, NC, caught the fourth place 35.30 lb. kingfish. Teammates Tim Casey, Sterling Casey, and Todd Casey won $1080 fishing aboard their Mercury-powered 234 Mako. In addition, Sterling was the second place junior angler.
The Casey’s fish ate a 2 lb. bluefish around 1:00 as the team trolled around the Summerland Reef. They also caught a 63 lb. wahoo on Saturday, and according to Tim Casey, “The king burned the reel more than the wahoo did.” With Todd on the rod, the “Nail It” pursued their king, and after nearly catching up to it, the king made another run, shorter than the blistering first one. The vigorous fight did not last long, however, and Tim was able to gaff the fish shortly after the second run.
Tim Casey wished to express gratitude to the team’s sponsors AW Rhodes Plumbing Company and Bay Racer Marine of Havelock, NC.
Wilmington’s “Knockin’ Fire” fishing team captured fifth place, hauling a 30.95 lb. king aboard their 31′ Mercury-powered Fountain. John Gertz and Adam Herring were the anglers, and they brought home $945 for fifth place.
The “Knockin’ Fire” crew spent the tournament trolling south of most of the tournament boats at the Cabbage Patch, closer to Carolina Beach than Topsail. Their king bit a ribbonfish rigged with 4 hooks set 35′ deep on the downrigger. Herring grabbed the rod, and the king took off on a very long run, staying deep. When the team chased the fish down, it held deep in the water for a few minutes before coming to the boat, where Gertz sank a gaff in it.
Topping the Class of 23, the 20′ Yamaha-powered “Onslow Bay 1” caught a 20.55 lb. king, winning $540. Keith Thompson, Jeff Atkinson, and Shaw Fuchs make up the Hampstead, NC-based team.
They caught the 20 lb. king in the Cape Fear Shipping Channel on a naked pogy. The fish bit around 11:30, and angler Keith Thompson fought the king to the boat, where Atkinson gaffed it in around 15 minutes
Proceeds from this tournament benefit the Sloop Point Volunteer Department and the Topsail Offshore Fishing Club. The TOFC is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving and furthering offshore fishing in the area. Much of the money generated by this event goes to the DMF for local reef enhancement.
This tournament could not be put on without the help of its sponsors, including East Coast Sports, Tex’s Tackle, Onslow Bay Boatworks, and builder David Greer.
