(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)
South
Brunswick Isles Classic turns into feeding Frenzy!
By
Judy Lewis
September 12, 2001
SOUTH
BRUNSWICK, NORTH CAROLINA--The South Brunswick Island
King Classic had 134 boats this year, despite a menacing
forecast of small craft warnings in the days prior
to the event. The tournament was down about 40 boats
from last year, especially in the Class of 23 due
to the weather.
It
seemed like deja’ vu as to what happened at the
Got-Em-On tournament at Carolina Beach, as a terrible
forecast turned out to be a false alarm. The seas
were said to be very calm on the first day and slick
the next day during the morning. Thirty-five boats
weighed in the first day with the largest king being
a 33.90 pound caught on the Feeding Frenzy.
Eddie
Jones and Ricky Babson are co-captains on the 24-foot
Mako, powered by a pair of 225 horse Mercury outboard
motors. The pair caught their fish in the river channel
just eight miles offshore between the red and green
sea buoys. To their surprise, the fish held up throughout
the second day for the tournament win.
They
were really relieved their luck had changed from the
previous tournament, when they had a really nice king
bitten in half by a marauding barracuda. Babson and
Jones have placed in many tournaments, but this was
their first win.
Several sponsors helped to make this possible: MAC
Construction Asphalt Company, owned by W.J. McLamb,
J.L. Powell Hardwood Floors out of Whiteville, Steve
Hardin Construction from Ocean Isle, and McArthurConstruction.Second
place went to the Never Ready, captained by Shane
Hollar. This team must still feel like the bridesmaid
but never the bride, with their third second place
finish in three tournaments, but I am sure a win is
in their near future.
The
Never Ready team caught their 33.10 pound king mackerel
at 10:00 AM out in the river channel off Southport.
Hollar reported that the boat was "really ready"
this time, and securing live bait for the tournament
wasn't a problem for a change. They caught fish all
day and also had a couple of 20 pounders, but just
couldn’t seem to best their 33 pound king from
that morning. “After the first day, we had to
regroup,” Hollar reported. “The
next day, we had one good hit but the fish never was
hooked. I told the guys, ‘Just wait, because
that fish will be back,’ and about five minutes
later it hit again. I think it was the same one.”
Once the king was aboard, Hollar weighed it on his
trusty set of hand scales and thought it was going
to be close to the weight of the Day One leader, so
the team kept fishing until later in the afternoon
in hopes of finding a bigger fish. But Lady Luck only
smiled briefly on the team, and they would have to
settle for yet another second place finish. This is
one very consistent team to watch out for in tournament
competition.
The
third place fish was caught by The Law. Jeff Drake
felt it was time for Dan-O (Danny Wallen) to be back
in action , and it paid off because they caught a
32.35 king the first day. The fish turned the tables
on a small shark because it had swallowed it whole.
Wallen and his Hook Em Dan-O team were involved in
a terrible accident earlier this season, totaling
both their tow vehicle and boat. Luckily, everyone
survived with minor injuries, although Wallen’s
son Travis had to be cut out of the truck at the scene.
He’s expected to recover but will be out of action
for most of the year with a broken arm and other injuries.
Brant, Barrett and Rube McMullan rounded out the top
five aboard the Carolina Contender with a 29.25 pound
king. This is another team that’s been on a roll
so far this year in southeastern North Carolina.
The
lady angler for the tournament was Cathy Dineen on
the Tenacity with a 22.20 pound king mackerel that
she caught on the second day. The fish made a good
strong run, but they had it in the box by 10:00 AM.
The Tenacity was fishing 20 miles offshore of Lockwood
Folly Inlet. This was Cathy's first win this year,
but she was the Top Lady Angler for Division One last
year. The Tenacity is a Yamaha-powered Contender captained
by Cathy’s husband Ed Dineen.
About
20 junior anglers braved a supposedly bad forecast
to fish. The top junior anglers for the SKA were Trey
Carroll on Dig It III with a 28.15 kingfish, Austin
Somers on Somers Salt III with a 19.15 king, and Ian
Jones on the Wave Runner with a 18.40 pound fish.
Our junior anglers are the future of the sport of
tournament king mackerel fishing, and they deserve
all the recognition possible for their efforts during
the South Brunswick event.
The
South Brunswick Isles King Mackerel Classic tournament
is put on by the South Brunswick Isles Chamber of
Commerce. They had other volunteers, but hope to really
increase their supporters by next year, and they ask
all SKA
fishermen to please help out. This is certainly one
of the best events in southeastern North Carolina,
and they deserve our support!
Final
Standings
1.
FEEDING FRENZY.............33.90
Mako 24/Mercury
Eddie Jones
Ricky Babson
Mike Byrd
Aaron Goins
2. NEVER READY..........33.10
HydraSports 23/Johnson
Shane Hollar
3. THE LAW..............32.25
Century 32/Yamaha
Jeff Drake
John Wilkins
Danny Wallen
Brett Holland
4. Black Gold...............31.55
5. CAROLINA CONTENDER............29.25
Contender 27/Yamaha
Brant McMullan
Barrett McMullan
Rube McMullan
|
6.
DIG IT III......................28.15
Contender 31/Yamaha
Greg Carroll
Tony Carroll
Trey Carroll
7. PISTOL...............25.95
Fountain 31/Mercury
Wayne Barnhill Jr.
8. SOLID SURFACE.............25.60
Palmetto 36/Mercury
Andy Nettles
Mike Rumph
David Yates, Jr.
9. TOP CHOICE...............25.30
Grady White/Mercury
David Gore
10. SEA DANCER..............23.85
HydraSports 28/Evinrude
Robert Patterson
Joe Doyle
Gilbert DuBois |
Shallotte
Win goes to Fish Master
By
Sam White
November 9, 2001
SHALLOTTE
INLET, NC--There are few family fishing teams in southern
North Carolina that are as competitive as the Spatholt
clan from Calabash, NC. Dean regularly fishes with
his wife Laura. Their sons Greg and Russell have collected
enough Junior Angler plaques from the SKA over the
years to cover their bedroom walls, but the big win
has eluded the Fish Meister team for some time.
Until
this year’s Shallotte Inlet King Mackerel Tournament,
that is. “This year, we’ve gone back to
fishing with just our family,” Dean reported.
“It’s a lot morefun for us, and we also
seem to be doing better as well. I’ve started
letting the boys angle the fish in tournaments, since
both are developing a good touch with the drag, knowing
how to put just enough pressure on the fish.”
The
team had prefished at the Jungle on Thursday prior
to the start of the tournament, releasing a fish they
estimated at 28 pounds, so they headed right back
to the popular live bottom during the first day of
the two day event. After waiting for the fish to turn
on, the Fish Meister finally had the strike they were
looking for shortly after 2PM. “The fish hit
a pogy down 55 feet, right off the bottom,” Dean
said.
“Greg
grabbed the rod but the fish only ran about 20 yards
ahead of the boat, so told him to put some pressure
on that shark and get him to the boat.” Their
‘shark’ proceeded to burn off about 150
yards of mono once it felt the hooks, so Greg quickly
backed off the drag and let the fish go. A short while
later, the fish rolled up alongside the gray Yamaha-powered
Contender, where Dean applied the gaff.
The
team also learned a bit of Portuguese during their
trip back from the Jungle. “We had Caua’
Going on the boat with us,” Dean reported. “He’s
a foreign exchange student from Brazil that’s
staying with us for a couple months. When we put the
king in the boat, he kept hollering ‘Big fish!’
in Portuguese. It was really a lot of fun to share
that experience with him.” Congratulations to
this top family team for their big win!
Shane Hollar’s Never Ready team placed second
in the Shallotte tournament, topping the SKA’s
Class of 23 as well. Hollar reported that bait was
relatively easy to find, so the team was off and running
for the shoals surrounding Frying Pan Tower at first
light. “We only had three or four teenagers in
the morning,” Hollar said. “There were a
couple other boats out there fishing with us, then
they moved off the spot after a while. Fifteen minutes
later, that fish hit.”
The
Never Ready had moved into shallow water when they
finally hooked up with their biggest king of the weekend.
“Craig [Hamilton] fought him for only about 15
minutes, while Steve [Powell] drove the boat and I
gaffed,” Hollar reported. At the scales, their
fish would weigh 35.80 pounds, giving the Never Ready
some valuable points in the Class of 23.
Ten
boats from the Class will go on to the SKA’s
National Championship at the end of the season to
compete for their own prize structure and the right
to crown their own National Champion in the Class
of 23. The Never Ready headed right back to the same
area on Day Two but were goose-egged. “The fish
had moved,” Hollar said simply.
Randall, George and Sally Edens, fresh off their win
at Snead’s Ferry, placed third in Shallotte on
Reel Greedy. We’ve seen this happen many times
this season, once a team gets on a roll with their
fishing, they keep doing well. This is certainly the
case with the Reel Greedy team, who has been overdue
for a good season. Randall’s wife Sonya continues
to cheer on the team from dockside, since she is expecting
the couple’s first child later this year.
Bob
and Luke Sutphen, fishing from a new Yamaha-powered
Island Runner, rounded out the top five in the Shallotte
event on the Outlaw. The Sutphens are both experienced
tournament anglers, and their top finish came as no
surprise to anyone familiar with this father and son
team. Their 30.60 would also add to their divisional
point total, and would be the last fish over thirty
pounds weighed in during the tournament.
Final
Standings
1.
FISH MEISTER....................40.25
Contender/Yamaha
Dean Spatholt
Greg Spatholt
Russell Spatholt
Laura Spatholt
2. * NEVER READY..................35.80
HydraSport/Johnson
Shane Hollar
3. REEL GREEDY...................31.45
Contender/Yamaha
Randall Edens
George Edens
Sally Edens
4. Miss Sherry.....................31.30
5. OUTLAW.....................30.60
Island Runner/Yamaha
Bob Sutphen
Luke Sutphen
|
6.
* MUCH 2 REEL......................28.60
Regulator/Yamaha
Brian Cheshire
Michael Baker
7. MAIN EVENT......................27.40
Contender/Yamaha
Chris Register
Jonathan Arnette
8. OL’ SEAHORSE..................27.10
Contender/Yamaha
Clyde Honeycutt
Jonathan Lane
Randy Lane
9. EAGLE I......................27.00
Contender/Yamaha
Derek Edwards
Eddie Edwards
Frank Niblock
10. * STEALTH FIGHTER................26.75
Contender/Yamaha
Randy Crews
Benson Ybanez
|
The
Jolly Mon Gets Some "Reel Therapy"
by
Steve Baker, Carolinas Field Reporter
August 7, 2001
SHALLOTE
POINT, NC -- With sloppy seas and a less than favorable
forecast, the annual Jolly Mon King Classic, held
at Shallote Point, NC on July 6-7 went on as planned
this year. 328 boats competed against members from
across the southeast. Although the seas were less
uncooperative, numerous fish still made it to the
scales.
One of the first to weigh-in, the Trade Mark, a 22'
Aquasport with Yamaha power, hoisted a solid fish
at 32.6 lbs. up on the tournament scales. A fish that
would stay in the lead up until the last few minutes.
Trade Mark's captain Mark McKeithan , teammates Brian
McGuire and Stan Gurganus, hit the docks shortly after
2 p.m. and had high hopes right up until the end.
Their fish nailed a menhadden near the Sherman around
10:30 in the morning. With seas 4-5', landing the
smoker was a little difficult but well worth the effort.
The Trade Mark's first real scare came just an hour
away from closing the scales, when the Squeeze Play,
a nonmember team, carried a fish that looked awfully
close in size and weight to the Trade Mark's. The
scales jumped around a bit and finally settled at
32.5 lbs., just one-tenth of a pound behind the leaders.
The Trade Mark crew gave a sigh of relief, however
the scales were still open with a long line of boats
waiting to weigh-in. But with less than an hour to
go, the Trade Mark had high hopes.
Thirty minutes later, the roar of the crowd indicated
the Trade Mark's fish might finally have a true contender.
As Robert Blackwell of team Reel Therapy approached
the scales, speculation ran high. Although the fish
didn't appear to be much larger than those previously
weighed, the scales would be the final arbitrator.
After a few tense moments, the readout finally settled
at 37.7, plenty enough for the Reel Therapy to take
top spot on the leaderboard for the remainder of the
tournament. The Reel Therapy team, fishing a Yamaha
powered Pursuit, fished an undisclosed location and
caught their fish late in the day, but with plenty
of time to make it to the scales.
Although the Trade Mark's luck didn't hold for first
place, it was still good enough to take top honors
for the SKA 23' and under class. Following close behind
in second was a 23' Yamaha powered Contender, the
Stealth Fighter, fished by Randy Crews and Benson
Ybanez. Their fish, a 30.65 hit at 1:30 on a double
pogy top line inside of the Jungle. The fish would
also put them in 4th overall in the tournament.
A few boats elected to run as far south as Myrtle
Beach and Georgetown. Others choose to stay a little
closer to tournament headquarters. Rounding out the
top ten, there were plenty of school 20's and low
30's in close on the beach, well within range of the
entire fleet. The Jungle was hot, along with Lockwood
Folly Inlet. A few fish were also holding on offshore
rocks out of Shallotte Inlet. Taking third place overall
for junior angler onboard the Wild Bill, Ahsley Brown
and teammates fished the 10/10 Ledge to find a 22.45
lb. king. Meanwhile, "Cool Hand" Luke Sutphen
onboard the Outlaw, would land a fish good enough
for 1st place junior angler, while fishing the Jungle.
Their fish, a 25 lb. hit a live cigar minnow, early
in the morning.
Along with the usual tournament activities, Capt.
Brant also sweetened the pot for all by providing
numerous other ways to finish in the money. The pogy
bobbing contest held after the Captain's meeting for
the junior anglers, was a hilarious event that gave
the kids a chance to win some extra cash. A clear
15 gallon container was filled with water and several
live pogys were released inside. The kids each had
60 seconds to see who could be the fastest to catch
one with their teeth to win the $100 prize. The junior
with the quickest chompers, William Lambeth, chased
one down in 4 seconds flat. Adding to the entertainment,
seven "Jolly Jugs", were set adrift the
day before in anticipation of being found by the tournament
fleet. Several jugs were turned in worth anywhere
from $100 - $200 a piece. And to round out the unusual
quick cash prizes, 10 tagged pogys were released as
well as $100 prize for the biggest menhadden weighed.
Adding the finishing touches, Century Contractors
provided a delicious frogmore stew and shrimp dinner
at the captain's meeting.
The Jolly Mon was a fun way to start off Division
2 and Capt. Brant McMullen puts on a fine tournament,
providing numerous ways to win. For information on
next years event, visit http://www.captainbrant.com.
Next stop on the Division 2 trail is the Shallotte
Inlet Classic, August 16-18. Visit the SKA Mercury
Tournament Trails website at http://www.fishska.com.
Final
Standings
1.
REEL THERAPY..........37.7
28' Pursuit/Yamaha
Bob Blackman
Landy Blackwell
2. TRADEMARK..........32.6
22' Aquasport/Yamaha
Mark McKeithan
Brian McGuire
Stan Gurganus
3. Squeeze Play..........32.5
4. STEALTH FIGHTER..........30.65
23' Contender/Yamaha
Randy Crews
Benson Ybanez
5. SOLID SURFACE..........30.4
36' Palmetto/Mercury
Andy Nettles
Mike Rumph
Ben Albrecht
|
6.
Offsides..........28.9
7. B&C..........28.45
31' Fountain/Mercury
Clay Walker
John Hout
8. REEL GREEDY..........27.75
27' Contender/Yamaha
Randall Edens
George Edens
Sonya Edens
Sally Edens
9. MAIN EVENT..........25.1
25' Contender/Yamaha
Chris Register
10. OUTLAW..........25.0
26' Island Runner/Yamaha
Robert Causey
Bob Sutphen
Luke Sutphen
|
Top SKA Junior
Angler
OUTLAW, Luke Sutphen.....25.0 |
Top SKA Lady Angler
REEL GREEDY, Sally Edens.....27.75 |
