Wrightsville Beach KMT 2005
The Wrightsville Beach King Mackerel Tournament, postponed once again this year, was held on the make-up dates of Oct. 28-29. The weather on the make-up date wasn’t very friendly, and the 106 boats fishing the tournament put out two days of hard fishing.
In addition to the weather, the kings also didn’t cooperate. There were only 16 kings weighed in on Friday and about 40 weighed in on Saturday.
The “Gambler,” a 25′ Hydra Sport out of Oak Island, took first place with a 28.30 lb. king. Capt./Angler D. Allen Kinney and Shane Berry caught the king on Saturday at 12:00 noon. They were fishing Lighthouse Rocks using a bluefish on the top set on a medium distance line. The king took one big run and then was in the boat within 10 minutes.
Larry McDuffie, Bill Welborn, and his two sons Brent and Steven took second place. They fish on the “2nd Mortgage,” a 26′ Hydra Sport out of Pittsboro. Their 24.15 lb. king also came from Lighthouse Rocks on Saturday. They were fishing a little less than one mile inshore of Lighthouse Rocks when the king struck at 11:00. It hit a dead spanish on the downrigger.
In third place was “Bothers In Law,” a 21′ Sea Hunt out of Wilmington. Capt. Ted Hammonds, Angler Herb Walker, and Tim Wayt caught a 23.75 lb. king on Friday at 9:30 in the morning. They were fishing the Southport river channel using a double cigar minnow rig set on the long line. They were leading the tournament at the end of Friday, the first of two days of fishing.
The crew of Capt. Richard Edwards, Lance Lomax, and Brett Wheatley took fourth place. They were fishing on the “Abigail,” a 23′ Regulator out of Southport. Fourth through sixth place were aggregate awards. The “Abigail” landed a 19.80 lb. king on Friday and a 22.85 lb. king on Saturday for a total weight of 42.65 lbs. Both fish came from the Southport river channel.
“Live Line” took fifth place with a two fish aggregate of 39.85 lbs. Capt. Mike Jackson, David Jackson, and David Joyner landed a 20.80 lb. king on Friday and a 19.05 lb. king on Saturday. Both fish came from the Southport river channel. David Jackson also took the tournament’s Junior Angler Award.
The 23 and Under Award went to Team Wild Wing Café. Dane Waggett, Herb Kimrey, and Jonathon Kimrey, fishing on the 23′ Yellowfin “Wild Wing” out of Carolina Beach, caught a 20.68 lb. king at the Jungle on Saturday. The king hit a pogy on top at about 10:30. They also landed several other kings at the Jungle, including a triple and a double hookup.
Tonya Gilley won the Lady Angler Award. She landed a 21.50 lb. king at Lighthouse Rocks on Saturday using a pogy on the top. Gilley was fishing with Capt. Chris Pardue and Steve Isley on the “Liquid Asset” out of Oak Island.
Karen Pennington, the tournament’s Executive Director, thanked the tournament’s platinum sponsors, Budweiser & Jackson Beverage, Carolina First Bank, and Bob King Automotive.
Karen also added, “Next year is the 25th anniversary of the WBKMT and we’ve got big plans for growing the tournament.”
The tournament was also able to raise an additional $2500 for their beneficiaries, UNCW Seahawk Club, the Onslow Bay Artificial Reef Association, and the WB Lions Club, through a concert by the group Meet in the Middle out of Nashville, TN.
For a complete list of the leader board, you can visit www.wbkmt.com.
