Tournament Report: Sneads Ferry King Mackerel Tournament
The 31st annual Sneads Ferry King Mackerel Tournament was held August 19-20. Tournament festivities began on Friday, with Registration followed by a shrimp dinner that was sponsored by the Sneads Ferry Rotary Club.
Anglers awoke early on Saturday to catch bait and have lines in the water at their favorite spots starting at 6:00 a.m. All 122 vessels and their teams were due back at the scales at the Pelagic Hunter Fishing Center at 5:00 p.m. where they would be sharing over $97,000 in prize money.
Unfortunately, the ride out would not be easy that morning, with east winds and storm cells kicking up choppy swells on the trip out. Luckily, conditions got better as the morning progressed, allowing for some decent fishing for all out on the water.
The overall winner was Team Real Chaos, captained by Travis Pope, with a smoker king weighing in at 55.73 lbs. Pope, along with RJ Blackmon and Michael Smith, began the morning with a run out of Beaufort Inlet and then started the day experiencing a slow bite, much like everyone else.
Michael Smith, Travis Pope, and RJ Blackmon (left to right), of Team Real Chaos, won the 2022 Sneads Ferry KMT with this 55.73 lb. king mackerel caught slow-trolling a live pogie on the west side of the shoals.
Around lunch time, the team made a switch, jumping back across the shoals to the west side, where they pulled live pogies and were able to pick up the 55 lb. king mackerel, the largest of the tournament, along with another fish in the 20 lb. range.
The team also took first place in the Small Boat TWT.
The second-place team was Hoo Hunter and Hunter Sanders with an impressive 46.24 lb. king, and the 40+ king also earned them the top spot in the High Roller TWT. Hunter Sanders fished the tournament with his father, Chip Sanders, along with friends Vann Parish and Ridge Bailey.
The pair started the morning like most, battling choppy seas out of Beaufort Inlet under the power of their Mercury-sponsored center console until they reached the shoals. They found a non-existent bite, as did everyone else, as the crowd grew in the morning.
With pressure from other anglers in full swing, Sanders and the team made the switch to some secret ledges that have often produced. This is where their bites came rapidly off of two bluefish, first a high 20’s class fish, followed by the 46.24 lb. king that put them near the top of the leaderboard.
Third place went to Jeff Webb and Team No Patience with a 45.22 lb. king. In the single engine division, Team RB2 took home first with a 21.22 lb. king. Finally, the dolphin division was won by Team Thanks Dad with an 8.60 lb. fish.
This year’s Lady Angler was Catherine Williams, of No Patience, with her 45.22 lb. king. Hoo Hunter’s Van Parrish won Senior Angler with the 46.24 lb. fish, and the Junior Angler title went to Owen Lowdermilk, fishing aboard Horse Play, weighing in a 30.04 lb. king mackerel.
Hoo Hunter, made up of Vann Parrish, Chip Sanders, Ridge Bailey, and Hunter Sanders, finished in second place in the Sneads Ferry KMT with a 46.24 lb. king that hit a bluefish trolled over a ledge.
The beneficiary and host of the tournament, the Sneads Ferry Rotary Club, was able to raise around $70,000 at this year’s tournament, which will go to helping local schools and parks, along with providing resources for those in need within the community.
