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Hooligan Wins it for Mom at CCSA Tourney by Barrett McMullan

It has been described by many kingfish tournament winners that a unique and somewhat unexpected sequence of events precluded their success. Perhaps this is another description of luck. Whatever the case may be, the 2005 winner of the Carteret County Sportfishing Association’s Kingfish Tournament certainly went through an unexpected sequence of events on their way to first place that began several days before the tournament.

Capt. Joe Winslow and Hooligan teammate Fred Coyne have been a dominant force on the North Carolina kingfish tournament trail for the past six years. No other team on the trail has won more tournaments in that time period. Yet after a lackluster performance in a recent tournament in Florida, Joe had decided to take a couple weeks off from tournament fishing and regroup. That was until one of those unexpected events occurred. Joe got a call from his sister that their mother had been in an accident and broke her leg and hip. All previous plans were dropped and it was off to the Outer Banks to be with mom. Realizing the severity of the situation Joe opted to run his 31’ Yellowfin up from Morehead City because it would be quicker and because he wasn’t sure how long he would be staying. Upon arrival he was greeted with the good news that mom had underwent a successful surgery and she would be good as new within a couple months. While in recovery from the hospital bed, much like the scene in Rocky II where Adrian tells Rocky to win, Momma Hooligan told Joe she had a dream the night before that he caught a big fish and won a tournament. She told him to go fish the tournament that weekend and that she would be OK. That was more than enough encouragement for Joe and off he went with the Rocky theme song playing in the back of his head.

First mission on the agenda was to convince fishing partner Fred to quit work and come fish the tournament. Knowing Fred’s enthusiasm for tournament fishing, Joe probably didn’t have to twist his arm. The evening before the tournament Joe ran the boat back down to Morehead City and picked up Fred. The next mission was now to catch pogies before it got dark and run the boat back home to Ocracoke through Core Sound. Unfortunately the notorious Harker’s Island pogies were in full effect meaning they were extremely difficult to catch. Finally the team succeeded with bait, but not before darkness had fallen. Armed with radar and two sets of eyes the Hooligan raced up the sound that Joe knows so well dodging pound nets and shallow water hazards.

Tournament morning arrived and the pogies caught the night before had not fared too well in the 84-degree water. Nevertheless, Joe and Fred headed out to fulfill mom’s vision. The four-mile rock at Drum Inlet was the location where the Hooligan team would make good on mom’s prediction. After spending most of the morning catching teenage fish and one fish just over 30 pounds the decision was made to make one more drift with their weak baits before heading back to Beaufort to re-bait. On this last drift a double pogy in the prop wash disappeared amongst a thrash of whitewater and a large swirl. A short pause followed and then, like a 12-year-old boy with a fresh pair of PF Flyer tennis shoes, the fish took off. Fred grabbed the rod and Joe steered the boat patiently in the direction of the fish. The three-hook rig the fish engulfed had caused it to be foul hooked making the angling that much more difficult for Fred. Finally after a 30-minute battle the fish surfaced for a gaff shot. Joe was able to connect and bring the abnormally long 58-inch and extremely skinny kingfish over the rails. A “moment” followed and once composure was regained it was off to the scales. Their 42.9 pounds was announced by the weigh-master and the Hooligan had taken the lead. By the tournament’s end 136 other fishing teams had failed to beat the weight Joe and Fred posted and with that the Hooligan would be crowned the 2005 CCSA winner. Like Joe said after the event of those unexpected events, “If mom didn’t have her accident we never would have caught that fish.” Congrats to the Hooligan team including Momma Hooligan who is on the fast road to recovery.

The Magic Stik team Captained by Jeremy Pate finished third in the event and was second in SKA standings. This team runs a 23’ Yamaha powered Contender and posted a 27.02-pound kingfish to also top the 23’ and under standings. The Magic Stik team was unavailable for comment, but with this fish they have taken the early lead in the Class of 23’ for SKA’s Division 2.

Bill and Teresa Hogshire’s Miss Dawn team rounded out the SKA’s top three finishers. The Hogshires reside in Tarboro, NC but Morehead City is their main fishing port making this event more about local bragging rights than anything else. This event kicked off the kingfish tournament season for Bill and wife Teresa aboard their 25’ Aquasport. On tournament morning the Miss Dawn reported for bait duty behind Harker’s Island and found plenty of large pogies. By 6:15 a.m. the lines were strategically deployed in the Beaufort Ship Channel. Just enough time passed to start making a plan for sandwich rationing for the day when at 7:00 a.m. near the second set of channel markers in the Ship Channel the short line with a single pogy trolled on the surface went into orbit. A big splash surrounded the defenseless pogy and then the reel screamed for its life. Teresa was quick to fill her role behind the rod and Bill did the driving and line clearing. For the next 30 minutes Teresa did battle with a foul hooked ill-tempered king mackerel. Teresa did a masterful job getting the fish to the boat and Bill held his end of the deal up as well and gaffed the fish with no problem. The only thing that didn’t go smooth in the whole deal was getting the fish in the bag. Apparently, being that this was the first event of the year for the Miss Dawn team, the fish bag had a corroded zipper. So, according to Bill, 30 minutes, a few choice words and a can of WD-40 later they finally got the fish in the bag and on ice. The two fished the rest of the day catching one other smaller fish before they weighed their morning catch. Their 26.5 pounds would good enough to take fourth place in the event, third place among SKA participants and Top Lady Angler for Teresa.

Top Junior Angler status for this event went to Frankie Jones aboard the Miss Teny fishing team. The Miss Teny crew experienced a rock star moment when catching their 25.04-pounder. Fishing amongst a large contingent of tournament fishermen, recreational fishermen and pleasure boaters in the Morehead City turning basin, the Miss Teny was hooked up on their smoker. Dozens of onlookers crowded around the crew as they handled the pressure and put the fish in the boat. Cheers rang out from the spectators when the catch was made. Perhaps the future of our sport?

The Carteret County Sportfishing Association’s King Mackerel Tournament is the first tournament in the SKA’s highly competitive Division 2. This event is sponsored by Boater’s World and is an event on the rise. With tournament entries up from last year and experienced tournament director Eddie Cameron at the helm, the future is bright for the CCSA kingfish tournament.