US Open KMT
David Holland and the "Deep End" crew, out of Raeford, NC, earned victory and over $50,000 in the 2011 U.S. Open KMT with a 43.55 lb. king mackerel they caught just off Lockwood Folly Inlet on a naked menhaden.
Hauling a 43.55 lb. king mackerel to the scales on the event’s second day, David Holland andRaeford,NC’s “Deep End” fishing team earned first place and over $50,000 in the 2011 U.S. Open, held Sept. 29-Oct. 1 out of Southport Marina.
Holland and teammates Chris McDuffie, Brian Daniels, and James Joines, fishing aboard a 26’ Sailfish center console, were in doubt as to whether they’d even fish the tournament after some engine difficulty the evening before competition started.
“When we got down there on Thursday,” Holland explained, “one of the motors had a bad idle controller. We got that switched out, but the engine was still having some problems.”
Technical difficulties aside, the anglers fished Friday, but they only got one strike.
“We only had the one strike, but we felt like it was a good one,”Hollandsaid. “There was a lot of bait where we went, and based on that good bite, we decided to go back to the same place.”
The place was a group of ledges off Lockwood Folly Inlet. The anglers returned on Saturday, but they spent the morning trolling with only sharks to show for it.
Finally, around 1:30 Saturday afternoon, something grabbed a naked pogy 20’ deep on the downrigger, and the “Deep End” crew were fast to something more promising than a small shark.
Joines was first to the rod after the bite, and he held on while the fish made a hard run.
“He probably took three-quarters of our line on that first run,” saidHolland, “so we had to chase him.”
With Holland behind the wheel and the rest of the team clearing lines, the anglers were soon in pursuit of the big fish and managed to put some valuable line back on the reel.
“He ran about four more times after that,”Hollandcontinued.
Continuing to follow what they were suspecting was a king mackerel, the anglers finally got confirmation, catching a glimpse of the fish as it took off on another run.
“We saw it about on that fourth run,” the winning captain explained. “It looked like a pretty big king, so it definitely had out hearts beating when it took off again.”
A few tense moments played out while their fish ran again, but the crew closed the distance on the fish and soon had it close to the boat.
McDuffie was able to plant a gaff in the king moments later, and he hauled the smoker over the Sailfish’s gunwale.
“As soon as we had it in the boat, we knew it was a pretty good fish,”Hollandexplained. “We were guessing high-30’s. You always want to guess a little low.”
With the big mackerel in the boat and an engine still acting up, the anglers made the call to head for the scales with a solid time cushion should something go wrong.
“We came on back in Lockwood then,” Holland said. “We were still getting only 3500 RPM out of that motor, so we weren’t able to go full speed. I kept getting scared it was just going to quit entirely.”
The outboard held up, and the anglers arrived at the scales to find their fish was heavier than they thought, handily taking over the top spot on the leader board.
“We were very excited,” Holland concluded. “I still can’t quite believe it.”
A 38.75 lb. king mackerel secured second place for Samuel Rees and the local “Reel Time” fishing team. Larry Deal on the “Mako Warrior,” out of Oak Island, earned third with a 32.85 lb. fish. Patrick Overstreet and the “Service Call” crew finished fourth with a 32.15 lb. king, and Michael Gandy on the “Ellie Grace” rounded out the top five with a 31.70.
More information on the event and a full rundown of the fish weighed is available at www.usopenkmt.com.
