(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

Teach's Lair Win Falls to Hooligan
Winslow, Haynes and Brooks Top Division Nine Standings
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
interviews and photos by Shae Lewis
October 30, 2000

Hatteras, NC—For the second year in a row, the Hooligan team of Joe Winslow and David Haynes have won Division Nine, proving just how dangerous this team can be in their home waters off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This season, they added veteran lady angler Dianne Brooks to the team and kept on winning. The Hooligan topped the final tournament of the year at Teach’s Lair, nailing a nice 42.35 pound king mackerel for the win and sealing the divisional victory for Yamaha and Contender two years running.

Bad weather forced postponing the first day of the tournament, as the seas were running an Everest-ian 12 to 14 feet by a strong northeast wind. However, by Saturday afternoon the seas had calmed to half that size while the wind continued to howl from the northeast. The captains all met again and deemed it fishable for Sunday, so the tournament was on.

The Hooligan cleared Ocracoke Inlet with plans for heading north in search of a good fish. Contrary to popular belief, Winslow doesn’t have a “honey hole” that consistently produces tournament winners. “I like to fish several different spots during the day,” he said. “We look for fish along a certain depth contour, running and gunning to different ledges and humps that hold bait and that have the right water temperature.” During the Teach’s Lair tournament, for example, they found good water but no fish, so the team was off and running again to a different spot.

The first bait in the water is nailed on the dropback, and the fish proceeds to streak off several hundred yards of line within the time it takes to spin the Yamaha-powered Contender to follow. After 90 minutes and four miles, an 80-pound yellowfin tuna comes to the gaff. Back to the spot, the next bait in the water is hit by a skyrocketing kingfish that leapt ten feet out of the water for its dinner. Fifteen minutes later and they bag the fish, estimated in the high thirties. It would be the last king strike of the day, but to their surprise the fish goes over 42 pounds on the scales. It would seal the win both for the tournament and the division for the team.

Allen Sasser, Herb Snead and Andy Holloway teamed up to put the Tiger into second place at Teach’s Lair. “We got a late start because the boat had a small leak in the fuel lines,” Holloway reported to Lewis at the dock. “We fished the Pier first, then went off to the Bad Bottom around 9 or 9:30, but still couldn’t find the fish. So then we went looking for a temperature break offshore.” The team finally found a good break between the 925 and 975 Line in 90 feet of water and redeployed the spread. Snead was looking aft when he saw the fish swirl on the medium flatline. He immediately yelled at his teammates just as the fish skyrocketed twice on the bait before finding the hooks.

“It was really amazing,” Snead said. “It’s not very often that all three people on the boat were looking at the fish when he skied.” Holloway fought the fish from the bow with Sasser holding onto him at times to keep the angler in the boat in the wildly pitching six-foot seas while Snead drove the boat after the king. “Herb did a great job keeping us on the fish,” Sasser said. A short while later the 38.40 pounder was safely aboard the Mercury-powered KenCraft. “It was just a great team effort,” Sasser said. “We all worked well together to get the fish aboard. I’d also like to thank Tat Fearing on the Jackpot. He left his gillnet out for us so we could use it to pick up bait, and that was a big help. Cast netting those pogies was really hard, so we were glad to be able to use Tat’s net.”

Kirk Whorf’s Reel Time placed third at Teach’s Lair with a fat 36.55 pound kingfish. The team fished Ocracoke Inlet before departing for Drum Inlet but they never even made it that far. “We were heading that way when we ran across a good temp break from 77.9 to 76.4 degrees about ten miles south of Ocracoke in 30 feet of water. We put the baits out and got nailed right away,” Whorf told Lewis. The fish ate a big pogy on the medium flat before smoking 200 yards straight offshore. Van Parrish was on the rod while Whorf piloted the 27-foot Contender after the king. A short while later the fish came within gaffing distance for Tim Schrock, and the Reel Time was heading back to Teach’s Lair with their prize aboard.

Tom Jones and Willie Humphries also had to modify their game plans during the day in order to find the fish. They began the day at the Hook ten miles east of Hatteras Inlet before moving south to Ocracoke around 8 AM. After going fishless, they elected to pick up and run to AR 250. Five minutes later, their baits were covered up with dink kingfish and small sharks, so they were off and running again, this time heading due south. Seven short miles later, they found a temperature break from 71.9 degrees to 69.8 where they redeployed the spread. Their 36.20 pound king hit a jumbo pogy on the way-back line. Humphries grabbed the rod as the king ran about 50 yards, stopped, then ran another hundred yards before circling back deep below the Mercury-powered Ranger. Fifty minutes later, Jones was able to gaff the fish and put the smoker on ice before heading to the scales at 2:20 in the afternoon.

Merwin Marshburn and Shawn Howard were able to put the Doin’ Nuthin into fifth place as well as in the top spot for the SKA Class of 23 in the Mercury-powered Regulator. They decided to head for the Bad Bottom where they located a promising tideline in the area in 69 degree water. A fifteen pounder was boated right off the bat, but the pair would have to wait until 1 PM before their biggest fish of the day decided to chew. Howard battled the fish as it made one long run before coming to the boat. A short while later they released a fish estimated in the twenty pound class before heading to the scales at 2:30.

The Outer Banks leg of Division Nine is known for two things--big fish and high seas. Both proved to be true at some point during the last two tournaments of the season, but if this is any precursor to the SKA National Championships then the fishermen are in for one heck of a good tournament. Historically, the bigger kings continue to stack up over the offshore bottoms well within range of the Morehead fleet. Now, it’s just a matter of hoping for good weather and a shot at catching them.

Final Standings

1. HOOLIGAN.........................42.35 Contender/Yamaha Joe Winslow David Haynes Dianne Brooks 2. TIGER..............................38.40 KenCraft/Mercury Allen Sasser Herb Snead Andy Holloway 3. REEL TIME...............................36.55 Contender/Evinrude Kirk Whorf Tim Schrock Van Parrish 4. COOLING IT..............................36.20 Ranger/Mercury Tom Jones Willie Humphries 5. * DOIN’ NUTHIN...........................35.55 Regulator/Mercury Merwin Marshburn Shawn Howard	6. CAROLINA GIRL..............................35.50 Donzi/Mercury Glenn Slaughter Gary Slaughter Steven Smith 7. SEA RAT......................................33.80 KenCraft/Evinrude Mitch Yates Mike Yates J.R. Yates 8. CRYSTAL TE................................31.70 Grady-White/Evinrude Kevin Barbee John Parks Keith Overman 9. DEAL KING.....................................30.70 Privateer/Mariner Tim Newton Jerry Jackson Dave Woodward Debbie Woodward 10. TENACIOUS.......................30.55 HydraSports/Evinrude Tommy Allen Steve Allen

Outer Banks King Mackerel Festival is Second Nature
Ballard, Caldwell and Johnson Top the Tournament and the SKA Small-Boat Class
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
interviews and photos by Shae Lewis

Hatteras, NC—The Second Nature team of Jerry Ballard, Eddie Caldwell and David Johnson bested the record field at the Outer Banks King Mackerel Festival, landing a 43.25 pound kingfish to win the tournament by more than six pounds over their nearest competitor. And they did it all from a 21-foot Yamaha-powered Sea Ray, proving that when the conditions allow, small boats can be just as competitive as their larger brethren.

“We decided to fish the East Side at the 1700 Rock,” Ballard reported to Shae Lewis at dockside. “The 43 was the first bite of the day, right about a quarter after seven in the morning.” Caldwell grabbed the rod as the fish made a quick run on the strike, followed by another short run a few minutes later. He fought the fish for only about 10 minutes before the big king came to the boat. Ballard was able to cleanly gaff the fish and bring it aboard. “We decided to keep on fishing, because we didn’t think it would hold up to win,” he told Lewis.

The Second Nature continued fishing over their spot but were plagued by smaller fish before moving on over to Drum Inlet. At 2 PM, the Second Nature team decided that it was time to head for the scales. “We just didn’t imagine that ours would be the biggest fish of the tournament, since there were all those other boats fishing off Hatteras and the East Side. But I’m sure glad it did!” Ballard said. That fish moved the team into third place in the Division Nine standings in the Class of 23 with just two fish and one more event to go. Depending on their performance in next week’s Teach’s Lair tournament, they have a real shot at winning their division and going to the Nationals on us.

Joe Winslow’s motto of late has been, “Don’t ever give up, and don’t quit.” After blowing a lower unit in his Contender, he had to fall back into his back-up ride. Winslow, David Haynes and Diane Brooks ended up competing from a 19-year old Grady-White with a 35 gallon auxiliary fuel tank and a homemade livewell. Winslow even resorted to using electrical tape to fashion a crude “Hooligan Jr.” name on the gunwale for the weekend. “We saw the fleet offshore and it looked like a real parking lot, so we decided to hit a piece of bad bottom a few miles inshore of the pack. The fish were chewing there, too, and seemed to be larger than the ones biting offshore,” he said. The team boated three fish over 35 pounds, releasing several more just under that size, all before 1 PM. “We had a monster king in the baits, just playing with a propwash bait for about 5 minutes,” he reported. “We kept trying to tease the fish into striking, but he just hung back and wouldn’t bite. I’m just happy that the 37.05 held up for second place, which was great considering all the problems we had during the weekend.” When Haynes refueled the tank, he learned that they burned 31 gallons. “If the fuel gauge had been working, we would have worried about running out of gas,” he said.

Third place in the event fell to Jimmy Butts on the Jimmy Mack, a Suzuki-powered Privateer 28. Butts also fished the 1700 Rock on the East Side. “We caught two smaller fish before the 37.0 nailed a bluefish around 11:30,” Butts reported. The water temperature on the 1700 was 71 degrees. After a short fight the fish was brought aboard. The Jimmy Mack kept fishing for a larger king, but were taken by surprise when a 47 pound wahoo came calling next. They left after boating the nice fish and finished out the day over the Bad Bottom without catching a larger king.

Brian Bracey’s Chain Smoker finished fifth behind nonmembers. They decided to fish the Bad Bottom, landing a nice tuna right off the bat. “Our 34.35 hit a medium toplined pogy around 9 AM,” Bracey reported. “Bob [Walde] fought the fish for just a little while before Patrick [Herle] was able to gaff it--the fish pretty much came right in.” The Chain Smokers stayed at the Bad Bottom catching and releasing smaller fish until it was time to head to the scales.

The weather off Hatteras has a history of being unpredictable during the fall season, but this year’s Outer Banks tournament was rewarded with flat-calm seas and light winds. And the fishing was outstanding by all accounts, so everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for the remainder of the season.

Final Standings

1. * SECOND NATURE....................................43.25 Sea Ray/Yamaha Jerry Ballard Eddie Caldwell David Johnson 2. HOOLIGAN.......................................37.05 Contender/Yamaha Joe Winslow David Haynes Diane Brooks 3. JIMMY MACK...................................37.00 Privateer/Suzuki Jimmy Butts 4. Reel Fun...................................35.65 5. CHAIN SMOKER..................................34.35 Privateer/Mercury Brian Bracey Patrick Herle Bob Walde 6. *NO PATIENCE..........................................33.25 KenCraft/Johnson Jeff Webb Laurie Webb	7. RAWHIDE.................................................32.60 HydraSport/Evinrude Terry Godwin Jack Wood Jake Godwin 8. SEA DRAG’N.....................................................32.45 Privateer/Mercury Al Morris Kim Morris Lauren Morris Brent Bunn 9. *TEAM BADFISH...................................................32.20 Albemarle/Mercury John Travis Owney Johnathan Wilkins 10. CRYSTAL TE...................................................31.67 Grady-White/Evinrude John Parks Kevin Barbee Keith Overman

Coral Bay Win Falls to Country Ham
Second Nature Tops SKA Class of 23
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
interviews by Shae Lewis
October 9, 2000

Morehead City, NC—One famous tournament saying in North Carolina is that “Even in a small-fish tournament, the biggest small fish still wins.” That seemed to be the case recently at the Coral Bay Open, held in Morehead City, NC. The kingfish bite was red-hot, the only problem was that most fish were on the small side.

Harry Ivey and Joe Squires aboard the Country Ham, however, nailed the tournament’s “biggest small fish” for the win and top prize money. This pair of old salts are living proof that experience and patience will pay off in tournament kingfishing.

"We started off fishing at the 13 Buoy around 8:30," according to Ivey. "By 9, we had only a shark and about a 12 pound king." The Country Ham team then decided it was time to change locations, so they picked up and ran to a productive-looking tideline off New River Inlet. Just before noon, their winning 32.40 pound kingfish nailed a rigged ribbonfish on the downrigger set at 20 feet deep. Harry immediately grabbed the rod as the fish ran off more than 300 yards on its initial run. Since the team fishes from a Carolina Classic, Squires angled after the fish in order for Ivey to begin regaining line. The king made another shorter run as the boat neared before Squires was able to sink the gaff and bring the fish aboard.

"We kept fishing the tideline until about 3 PM, hoping for one a little better," Ivey reported. "But we didn't have another strike for the rest of the day, so it was time to head for the scales." Their fish would hold up as the eventual tournament winner.

Mike Webb, fishing with his wife Pam and David Tucker, found the second place king mackerel aboard Webb's Fiberglass. Their 30.70 pound king would be the second of the only two fish weighing over thirty pounds landed during the tournament. Mike elected to run to the popular East Rock, where the team found both bait pods and 74 degree water. The team began making a series of power drifts over the rocks, hooking up around noon on a live pogy fished short and flat behind the KenCraft center console.

"The king only made one long run, about 300 yards," Webb said. He was able to fight the fish to the boat in relatively short order before Tucker could gaff the prized fish. The team continued to fish the East Rock for most of the afternoon, but could only manage a smaller king around 1:30. At 3 PM, they decided to head for the rock jetty to finish out the day before running to the scales at Coral Bay.

Jay Ballard and Eddie Caldwell put the Second Nature, a Mercury-powered Sea Ray, into third place overall as well as tops in the SKA Class of 23. The pair decided to look for a winner in the Dead Tree Hole just off Beaufort Inlet during the tournament. "We hooked up right off the bat at 7:30 in the morning," Ballard reported. "Eddie was letting out a pogy when the fish nailed it!" Caldwell battled the nice kingfish as it made several dogged runs in a futile effort to escape before coming aboard. The team kept working the area in search of a larger king, but ended up releasing a total of ten fish all weighing between 15 and 20 pounds during the remainder of the day.

Tat Fearing, Mullet Johnson and Benjie Doughtie put the Yamaha-powered Contender Jackpot in the money, finishing fourth overall. They fished on the beach at New River Inlet, hooking up with their 29 pounder around 10 AM on a toplined pogy. Fearing reported that the water temperature was 74 degrees there. Mullet fought the foul-hooked fish as it ran over 300 yards offshore before coming to the surface, where Fearing was able to gaff it. The Jackpot team nailed a 25 pounder shortly afterward before finally heading in to weigh their larger king.

James and Marilyn Bunce rounded out the top five with a 28.80 on the Early Riser, a Mercury-powered Wellcraft Scarab. "We thought there would be some good fish holding around the rock jetty off Beaufort, so that's where we started," Bunce reported. Their fish came calling around 9 AM, nailing a pogy on the wayback topline. "He ran about 350 yards pretty fast, then started circling the boat," angler Marilyn said. "We had caught about a 17 pounder first thing in the morning before that one hit." They fished the rest of the morning without another bite, then decided to head to the scales shortly after noon. "A line had gotten in one of the props, so we thought it would be best to head on in," James said later.

By all accounts, the Coral Bay Open was a great tournament. Most everyone caught fish and had a great time during the event.

Final Standings

1. COUNTRY HAM.....................................32.40 Carolina Classic/Volvo Harry Ivey Joe Squires 2. WEBB’S FIBERGLASS AND SPORTS..................30.70 KenCraft/Evinrude Mike Webb Pam Webb David Tucker 3. *SECOND NATURE...........................29.50 Sea Ray/Yamaha Jay Ballard Eddie Caldwell 4. JACKPOT..........................29.00 Contender/Mercury Tat Fearing Gary Johnson Benjie Doughtie 5. EARLY RISER......................................28.80 Wellcraft/Mercury James Bunce Marilyn Bunce	6. *SECOND CATCH............................28.60 Contender/Mariner Burt Ferebee Margaret Ferebee 7. TIGER................................27.80 Kencraft/Mercury Allen Sasser Andy Holloway Herb Snead 8. WAVE RUNNER............................27.40 Wellcraft/Mercury Clayton Robinson Thomas Blount 9. TOP DOOR....................................26.70 Contender/Yamaha Phil Hoft Mel Broughton 10. MADNESS............................26.10 HydraSports/Mariner Mark Deans Jan Hinson

 

Drum Inlet Win Falls to Hooligan
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
interviews by George Summerlin
September 25, 2000

Beaufort, NC—Joe Winslow and the Hooligan team moved into their home waters for the Drum Inlet tournament ready to make a serious move in the Division Nine standings. With no check out required, the team decided to leave straight from their home port of Ocracoke in search of the elusive big kings.

“The night before, we put a lot of energy into catching bait,” Winslow reported. “We had about 15 nice ones, so we felt pretty good about our chances.”

Their first destination was a series of small ledges in the 75 to 90 foot depth range, but the fish weren’t there. Soon, the Hooligan was on the props again, heading offshore when the team came across a half-degree temperature break coinciding with a small ledge that happened to be loaded with bait. Two missed strikes later, the amberjacks show up and begin to systematically maul their precious baits.

“I knew the kings were there, so we just stuck it out,” Winslow said later.

The next strike proved to be the first of a pair of good kings, a 33.85 pounder. After wading through several more “reef donkeys,” the deep downrigger line gets hit, and a 37.5 pounder is quickly boated. The Hooligan team then decided that discretion was the better part of valor, beating a hasty retreat to the scales to weigh in.

After going without a king strike on Day Two, they returned to Morehead to find that their first day efforts held up for the tournament win. “It felt great to rebound after Biloxi and finally catch a couple good fish at home,” said the proud captain.

Rusty Cutshaw and Jay Ellingsworth put the Mercury-powered SeaCraft Queen Mary into second place overall at Drum Inlet. The pair also topped the SKA’s Class of 23 in the tournament with a two-fish aggregate of 64.35 pounds.

“We decided to fish the rock jetty right off the inlet since the weather was turning bad,” Cutshaw told George Summerlin at the dock. They marked the water temperature at 78 degrees before setting out their spread. Their biggest fish of the day, a 36.45 pounder, hit a pogy on the shortline before making a long run into the wind. Jay gamely fought the big king as the seas continued to build before Cutshaw could gaff the fish and bring it aboard. “We couldn’t even use our downriggers, it was so rough out there,” Cutshaw said. After boating a couple other decent fish, the team decided to head for the hill around noon as the wind picked up to over forty miles per hour.

Jack Russell and Bob Townsend placed third aboard the Big Time, a Mercury-powered Privateer 28. Russell decided to fish the popular 30 Minute Rock on the eastern side of Cape Lookout Shoals in 79 degree water. “Our biggest one hit a pogy on the downrigger,” he told Summerlin. “He went from down to up in front of the boat pretty quickly. The first run was about 150 yards, then he paused about 30 seconds and made another long run.” The rough seas forced a longer than normal fight for the pair, but the team’s persistence paid off.

Merwin Marshburn’s Doin’ Nuthin team also fished the 30 Minute Rock for their fourth place fish. Their largest, a 35.55, hit a long toplined pogy before streaking toward another tournament boat. “The line got fouled in his downrigger, but they were able to clear it pretty quick and we stayed hooked up,” Marshburn told Summerlin at the weigh in dock. “I fought him for about 20 minutes or so.” The team boated several other smaller fish and a nice wahoo in the fifty pound range before the rising wind and seas forced them to head inshore.

They were followed by the team of Michael Hilliard and Tommy Howell on the Second Nature in fifth place overall. They headed for AR 305 first thing in the morning to find their biggest fish of the day. Then the Second Nature team picked up and ran for the Cape in search of more protected water, where they boated a smaller fish that would keep them in the top five.

Final Standings
OVERALL--Two Fish Aggregate

1. HOOLIGAN...................................71.35 Contender/Yamaha Joe Winslow David Haynes David Hilton Michael Hilton 2. *QUEEN MARY...................................64.35 SeaCraft/Mercury Rusty Cutshaw Jay Ellingsworth 3. BIG TIME.................................58.80 Privateer/Mercury Jack Russell, Jr. Bob Townsend	4. *DOIN’ NUTHIN’...............................57.05 Regulator/Mercury Merwin Marshburn Shawn Howard Chuck Bely 5. SECOND NATURE............................52.10 Fountain/Mercury Michael Hilliard Tommy Howell 6. OLE’....................................30.50 HydraSports/Evinrude Eddie Cameron Michelle Cameron

Carolina Girl Makes Rescue at Sea During Tournament
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
June 19, 2000

Wilmington, NC—After putting their 35-plus pound kingfish in the boat, Glen Slaughter was contemplating making the run to more protected fishing waters during the Greater Wilmington KMT. "The seas were getting higher and higher, and the wind also continued to build throughout the morning," he said. "We already had a good fish in the boat when I turned to look offshore from the River Channel.

I thought I saw a wave runner out there bobbing up and down, so I told Gary to take a look. We didn't really know what it was, but as we got closer we saw that it was a capsized boat of about 26 feet."

Once the team had spotted the overturned vessel, one of the stranded crew members started waving frantically. Glen soon had the Donzi 32 on plane and heading for the boat. Two of the four crewmen were atop the bow portion of the boat while the other two remained in the water. After reaching the boat, Gary immediately tossed over a rescue line while Glen called in the Coast Guard. "We had to shut off the motors in order to get them over the transom," Glen said. "It was tricky because without power, we were kind of bobbing around out there.

One of the crewmen on the boat had broken several ribs earlier in the week, and was still taped up from that. He had also cut his leg on the way out of the boat and was too tired to climb aboard so Gary and I literally pulled him in the boat." After rescuing all four of the crew of the boat, which they later found out was Bruce Schmitt's Moonlighting, they waited for the Coast Guard cutter to arrive, which it did in short notice. However, the seas were too high to attempt to transfer the Moonlighting crew aboard, so they ran to a dock in Carolina Beach to off load the grateful team.

A quick radio call to the tournament committee informed them of the situation. They responded by allowing the Carolina Girl to weigh in their fish, since they already had it aboard before assisting the stricken Moonlighting. Schmitt and his team were also on hand at the tournament's awards event to lend their heartfelt thanks to the Slaughters. Apparently, the Moonlighting had taken a pair of large waves over the transom in quick succession and capsized with no apparent warning. They had no chance to even radio a quick Mayday before going in the water. Luckily, apart from minor bruises and cuts, no one was seriously injured in the incident. The Moonlighting was towed back to Carolina Beach for salvage and repair.

There is a lesson to be learned from this near tragedy. In rough fishing conditions, either don life jackets beforehand or have them instantly accessible on deck, not in a cabin or locker. At least one member of the crew should have a waterproof handheld VHF radio on their person at all times for just such an emergency. There are several manufacturers that produce waterproof VHFs that are only about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and the prices continue to fall as quality increases. Finally, it's a great idea for all offshore boats to be equipped with an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon). They can either be manually activated or set to automatically release when submerged in the water. These items don't cost much and could save the lives of yourself and your crew should this ever happen to you.

Rawhide Holds on for Greater Wilmington Tourney Win
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
June 19, 2000

Wilmington, NC— Persistence and dedication are among the keys to a successful tournament fishing team--just ask Terry Godwin and Todd Summerlin, winners of the inaugural Greater Wilmington King Mackerel Tournament. "We were skunked the first day, but had to recover and go find a good one the second day," Godwin reported. Overcoming a fishless start can prove to be an exercise in futility, as the team begins second-guessing every decision throughout the day, but the Rawhide team rebounded from zero to hero on the second day of fishing.

"We'd heard of some good fish being caught off the tideline at Carolina Beach inlet, so that was our plan," he reported. The move paid off for the team, who began to mark rough bottom and bait in the area. The medium topline went off a short while later, baited with a pogy behind a pink/white Bug-Em Bait skirt that Godwin's son Jake had dipped out of the livewell. "Jake picked out the right bait for us, and that's the one the big fish hit. Once we got him aboard, he was amazed at the size of the fish," Godwin said later. Terry fought the fish for thirty minutes on 20# Berkley Tournament Green mono before getting a look at it, at which point he knew it was indeed a good kingfish. Twenty more minutes went by before he was able to gaff the fish and bring it aboard.They were waiting in line for the scales to open, at which time the fish weighed a whopping 43.72 pounds--good enough to give them the win. "We kind of felt guilty about quitting early and coming home--it was a first for all of us. But it worked out in the end," Godwin said.

Charles Shore and teammate Dickie Warrick on the King's High placed fourth overall with a 38.11 pound kingfish. Shore decided to fish in 60 feet of water in the vicinity of the 15 Minute Rock, a well-known spot that often holds big king mackerel. Around mid-morning, a good strike on the medium flatline announced the arrival of their biggest fish of the weekend. "The fish headed straight into the seas, and that's usually the sign of a big one," Shore told George Summerlin later at the awards. "The first run was a good one, followed by several other shorter ones at the boat. I fought the fish while Dickie drove the boat."

Adam Herring and Allen Garrett teamed up aboard the Critter II to finish fifth overall and third in the SKA standings. "We fished offshore the first day, but it was so rough that we decided not to do that again," Herring told Summerlin at the dock. "Instead, we went off Carolina Beach Inlet where some of the other big fish had been caught. The seas were still rough but not nearly as bad as it was offshore. We were fishing in about 35 feet of water." Around eleven AM, their 36.63 pounder came looking for lunch. It struck a pogy fished in the middle of the spread and proceeded to make a long run offshore, characteristic of a big kingfish. Allen fought the fish while Adam piloted the boat after the big mack. Several short runs at boatside proved futile as Allen reached over, gaffed the king, and brought him aboard after a thirty minute battle.

Although the tournament fell short of their expected goal of over 500 boats, by all accounts it was still a first-class event for its' inaugural year. Several teams are off to a good start in Division Nine, with the next tournament there to be the Drum Inlet KMT September 22-24, 2000. This event will also be held out of Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, NC. For more information, contact Emmitt Pittman at 252-225-8741 or at ladyj@clis.com. And for a complete recap of this tournament, watch for it in the upcoming issue of Angler Magazine, the official publication of the SKA.

Final Standings

1. RAWHIDE.......................43.72 HydraSports/Johnson Terry Godwin Jake Godwin Todd Summerlin Richard Keck 2. On My Way................................41.16 3. Prime Time..............................40.82 4. KINGS HIGH..............................38.11 Fountain/Mercury Charles Shore Dickie Warrick Kay England 5. *CRITTER 2..............................36.63 Neptune/Johnson Alan Garrett Adam Herring 6. CAROLINA GIRL.................................35.92 Donzi/Mercury Glenn Slaughter Gary Slaughter 7. MY THREE SONS..........................34.95 Fountain/Mercury Terry Grantham David Baker Ron Enslen	8. Sweet Tea.................................34.1 9. CRITTER GITTER.................................33.98 Contender/Yamaha George Gore 10. SOUTHBOUND...............................33.82 Island Runner/Evinrude Mack Aman Ryan Aman 11. BIG BAD WOLF.....................................32.22 Contender/Yamaha Stacy Wester Ditto Wester 12. CAPT. HOOK........................................31.97 Contender/Mercury David Hooks, Jr. Preston Kendall Berry Stephens Greg Smith 13. HEY HI YEW.............................31.88 Wellcraft/Johnson Wayne Sullivan Ed Gurganious Billy Lewis 14. Never Enough................................31.85 15. Spring Run................................31.2