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Tournament Seasons » 2011  » Tournament Trail  » Division 1

Team Pro Build Earned Top Slot at Onslow Bay!

Swansboro, North Carolina—Seventy-one teams showed up to register on Friday night for the eleventh annual Onslow Bay Open King Mackerel Tournament sponsored by The Reel Outdoors and Bone Suckin' Sauce, amid rain and wind.

Despite three- to five-foot seas, seventy-one teams left port on Saturday morning each with the desire to win this year's edition of the Tournament. At the end of the day the team with the largest king was Team Pro Build with Roy Jarman, Jodie Gay, and Jessica McLean. Fishing a Yamaha powered Cape Horn, the trio beat a path to the east side where they started at the Atlas Tanker with little success then moved to the D Wreck with the same results.

"Jessica put out a big blue fish with a Bluewater Candy skirt on a flat line which was the ticket," explained Jarman. "At 2:45 our king couldn't afford the temptations and struck. Jessica went to work and as she came close to the boat we thought we had a shot at the number one slot. We were really excited after she succumbed to my waiting gaff."

The Jacksonville, North Carolina Probation Officer and SKA member finally got a great win with a nice 46.53. Certainly helps toward qualification into the Nationals also.

"Jessica caught that fish in forty-one feet of water and was awarded Top Lady honors, and I couldn't be happier for her," Jarman added.

This was another good fish to kick start the North Carolina season.

It should be noted that Jodie Gay was part of the 2009 National Champions team in the Class of 23. Rick Croson Jr. was the Captain. Jessica McLean is Jodie's daughter and manages Bluewater Candy Lures. They have models for all types of offshore fishing but their kingfish rigs and lures are tournament tested and win events.

They took in over $11,000 for their win.

The Yamaha powered Yellowfin team named Logan's Run put a nice 44.03 on the scale to earn second place. D. and David Logan made a thirty-eight mile run to the east side where they worked an area in thirty-five feet of water.

"It was the only king we saw all day but she was a nice one," said Logan. "She hit a bluefish off a medium line and David did the honors."

This gives the Logan's Run two nice fish in as many events in Division 1. They had a 36.42 at Raleigh.

They won over $6,500.

Captain Thomas Justice, fishing the Justified, ended the trio of forties caught this Saturday scaling a 42.48. "I've been fishing the SKA Divisions now for two years and this is my best finish to date," Justice told me. "I went to the east side and fished in eighty feet of water, about forty-six miles from the scale. She ate a pogy on the surface about 10:45. The Yamaha powered Nautic Star team has the fish that should kick start their rise to the top in Division 1.

The Nancy Rae team got their second king in as many events, scaling a 33.38 good for fourth place. Ted Conner III, David Mallard, and Jeremy Rodamaker, fished the Mercury powered Hydra Sports on the east side twenty-five miles from the Swansboro's tournament site.

"She didn't hit till 2:30 and was our only fish of the day," explained Conner. "She ate a pogy drag on a medium line and Jeremy got her to the boat in average time."

The team wanted to thank Royale Yacht Finishing for their help.

Fifth place went to Henry and Wendy Tillett, Clint Richardson, and Gage Bass on the Suzuki powered Hydra Sports, Windy Conditions. "We got our fifth place 24.28 at the Atlas Tanker in one hundred ten feet of water," explained Tillett. "She ate a pogy on the surface and Clint got her to the boat. We finally got a fish on the scale this season."

Gage Bass was the event's Top Junior Angler. Good job Gage!

The Triple Trouble, led by Phil Mitchell, picked up sixth place thanks to a 21.89 caught at the 1700 Rock at 12:30. "She ate a pogy fifty-seven feet down and Phil Jr. did the honors." Brandon Mitchell was second place SKA Junior plus picked up the $500 Mercury Scholarship money.

The final fish in the event was caught by Skip and Sandy Conklin on the Ocean Athlete, yes the ones who bagged the 60-pound king at the season opener, Raleigh. They caught a 20.36.

Everyone thought Division 1 was over after the Conklin's sixty in the season opener, but wait a minute. After two events the Ocean Athlete is still in the lead with a two fish aggregate of 80.66 but thanks to Logan's Run's 44.03 added to their 36.42 from Raleigh and we have a quarter of a pound difference between these two teams. This is one race we'll keep our eye on!

Thanks to the Onslow Bay tournament promoters, there are a lot of kids who will enjoy a very happy Christmas. On another note, the same group gave the Recreational Fishing Alliance $10 from every entry. God knows they need the money to help keep our oceans open. They're the only ones who aren't giving in to the radical environmental movement that are doing everything to close our resource down.