Wrightsville Beach KMT 2004
Bolivia native Jeff Crouch lands record king to win the Wrightsville Beach KMT.
October 28, 2004, marked the make-up date for the 23rd annual Wrightsville Beach KMT. At 7:15 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, 162 boats left Wrightsville Beach Marina. Several teams hauled their boats north to put out in Morehead, and several more headed south to fish off of Georgetown. Everyone seemed to be catching fish.
Dane Waggett, a captain fishing in the tourney and President of “The Big Mack” KMT in Snow’s Cut, said, “It was like fishing in a bream pond full of really big bream. Like nothing I’d ever seen.” Officials weighed 90 fish on Friday and 45 on Saturday. Water temperature and well-defined thermal currents helped guide most anglers to their fish over the weekend.
“Strickly Business,” the 27′ Contender captained by Jeff Crouch, brought in a 60.0 lb. king before 11:00 on Saturday, shattering Carolina Beach Mayor Dennis Barber’s 18-year-old standing record of 58 lbs. Driving to put in at Sneads Ferry, the team ran straight from the New River Inlet to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. With a total of 18 blues and mullet caught with jigs and a cast net, they pulled their spread 15 miles east of the shoals. Crouch described it as “our spot.”
They hooked a 50 lb. cobia immediately. Five minutes later, in 55 feet of water, the winning king hit a bluefish on a downrigger. “We thought it was a shark,” said Crouch. “It didn’t run and we had it in sight within ten minutes.” The king sounded again, and twenty minutes later mate Boice Broadwell, the tourney’s Sr. Angler winner, gaffed the monster king with Bill Pate assisting. A short celebration ensued, yielding a unique dance from the captain, and they decided to bring the hog to weigh.
Capt. Chris Edens, Sr. was in sight of the first place finisher when he hooked up with the tourney’s second place fish on “Sarah Jo,” a 29′ Triton. The king bit a large pogy at 45 feet on a downrigger in 110 feet of water. Edens, Sr. angled the 47.2 lb. king to the boat, handing off the rod to mate Sterling Moore while he gaffed. Mate Chris Edens, Jr. said, “It didn’t run like a king. We thought it was a shark or amberjack.” The team caught their bait early and easily in the waterway.
Third place went to Dieter Cardwell on “Tide Line” from Winston Salem. Based on a report that the fish were biting at the Atlas Tankers, the captain and crew of Mike Lundy, Kevin Allen, and Dwayne Wood motored the 35′ Wellcraft offshore. “We bought bait, which we never do, from the bait barge,” said Cardwell. He added that the ribbonfish drew hits all day, calling them a “secret weapon.” They boated a 33 lb. king early, and hooked the 46.85 lb. king around 2:00 while moving closer to shore after venturing out to check water temperatures. The fish bit a double pogy rig on a downrigger at the tankers.
Capt. Stacy Wester took 4th aboard “Big Bad Wolf,” a local team from Wilmington, and Capt. Jason Wheatley aboard “Grace May” took 5th. “My Hooker” and Capt. George A Davis of Bellmont took 6th place. Michael L. Sellers, Jr., and tournament Lady Angler Holly Sellers, took 7th aboard “Squeeze Play” out of Bolivia. Capt. Wes Hamilton of Supply took 8th on “Reel Commission,” and Capt. Daniel Erwin of Raleigh took 9th aboard “Miss Elaineous” with a 37.65 lb. king. Capt. D. Allen Kinney on “Gambler” rounded out 10th with a king weighing just over 35 lbs.
In the 23′ and under division, Capt. Matthew T. DeCeilio aboard “Hit-N-Run” took 1st place with a 29.85 lb. king. He was followed by “Frequent Flyer” Charters out of Hillsboro with a 27.8 lb. king. Third went to Capt. David Henderson on “Ain’t Life Grand” who weighed in a 27.05 lb. king.
