Tournament Report -US Open KMT
The 2016 U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament took place Sept. 30-Oct. 1 out of Southport Marina. The 464 boats entered hit the water and dodged storms to bring in hefty king mackerel throughout the two days of fishing. This year’s big money-winning fish belonged to team “Screaming Reels,” and captain Terry Efrid, whose 40.20 lb. fish earned his team $42,510.
Terry Efrid and Rusty Lockleer, of team Screaming Reels, with a 40.20 lb. king mackerel that took the top spot on the leaderboard at the 2016 U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament. The fish won the duo $42,510.
It had been about nine years since Efrid fished the Open, but he and his teammate, Rusty Lockleer, headed out on Saturday morning with a game plan in mind. And while they may have had a game plan, the weather just wouldn’t cooperate.
“I wasn’t planning on fishing close to the beach, but the storms kept us close,” explained Efrid. “We ended up only going five miles off.”
The team loaded up with live menhaden and slow-trolled at their first planned stop. The big bite didn’t take long, as they hooked up around 9:00 am.
“We weren’t sure if there was a fish on. The reel was slowly letting line off, so I asked Rusty if there was a fish on the line,” said Efrid. Lockleer confirmed that there was, although he thought it was quite a small fish, as the fish swam straight to the boat.
Efrid added, “It literally swam right up next to the boat, and I said to Rusty, ‘That’s a big fish’.”
Efrid reached out to gaff the fish, but the king took off, finally providing Lockleer with a fight. Once Lockleer had the fish close to the boat a second time, it was successfully gaffed.
“I told Rusty I thought that fish must be 35-40 lbs. We wanted to head straight in to the scales, but they didn’t open until 11:00. So we continued to fish until we were able head to in,” said Efrid.
Their fish was the third fish weighed in on Saturday, and it held the top spot throughout the day, giving team “Screaming Reels” the win.
“It’s unbelievable to win a tournament like that,” said Efrid.
For more information on the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament, visit their website at www.usopenkmt.com.
