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Team Offshore Carolina Gets Big Win at the Fall Brawl King Classic

by Barrett McMullan

Soaring fuel prices, tough weather conditions and a scarce supply of large king mackerel have put a lot of North Carolina tournament fishermen into deep tournament depression. The fuel situation needs no further comment. The weather since the first of October up and down the North Carolina coast has been awful. Despite the common belief by outsiders that October in North Carolina means rough seas, the opposite is typically true. Usually if the wind is blowing hard this time of year it is out of the north creating calm conditions near the beach. However, this October so far the wind has stayed more from the east making for rough seas for the majority of the month and stirring up the already silt-filled water. The weather conditions can probably be blamed for the slow fishing this month also. Classically October in North Carolina means big fish and big numbers of fish. This has not been the case so far this October. For these reasons the 2005 Fall Brawl King Classic was even that much more of an enjoyable event. Tournament director Captain Brant McMullan sarcastically stated at the awards ceremony, "we try to do a lot for our fishermen but this year we really concentrated on giving everyone an enjoyable tournament experience. We were able to part the skies, flatten the seas and bring the mass of king mackerel to within two miles from the scales to help conserve fuel." Captain Brant's words were met with a chuckle from the crowd and pretty much summed up the event.

With over 75% of the leaderboard-worthy kingfish weighed having been caught at nearby Shallotte inlet, you can imagine the crowd of boats that dotted the horizon off Ocean Isle Beach. On Saturday one boat counted more than 90 boats of a possible 127 fishing in the Shallotte inlet area. With all those pogies being dragged through the same piece of water by North Carolina's top fishermen it would be a crap shoot to see who would pull the stud out of the crowd. An old Carolina kingfish tournament guru once said when accepting his first place prize money, "I'd rather be lucky than good any day." The 2005 Fall Brawl King Classic champion is no rookie on the kingfish tournament trail. This team has proven all year they are good; add a little luck into the equation and look what happens. Team Carolina Offshore, Captained by Mike Bailey and crewed by Carol Lineberger, Jr., Troy Reynolds and Claus Osbahr, captured a 34.90-pound kingfish on day two to take home the Fall Brawl crown.

After waiting until the second day of the optional Saturday or Sunday fish days, Team Carolina Offshore knew the big bite of kingfish was at Shallotte inlet. They also knew they would be amongst a crowd of boats so they opted to concentrate on securing the best baits possible to try and gain an advantage against the other competitors. On Sunday morning the team departed Shallotte inlet and began the pogy search only to find an abundance of peanut pogies near the inlet. Instead of settling for the small pogies Mike Bailey and crew opted to head further south in search of larger baits. Near the Cherry Grove pier off of North Myrtle Beach a school of veteran sized pogies were located and now confident in their baits Team Offshore Carolina was ready to return to the pack at Shallotte inlet and go to work. At 8:45 a.m. the lines hit the water and just as they did a 15-pounder jumped on a single pogy to end its day. For the next few hours they trolled offshore of the Shallotte inlet sea buoy between the inlet and the artificial reef 360 located 3 miles offshore. Around 11:00 they began trolling back inshore of the pack after hearing a teammate had caught a mid-twenties fish. At 11:30 a.m. just as they crossed the 34-foot ledge in true Fall Carolina kingfish style the mossy back skied on a single pogy on the long line. The fish then proceeded to dump more than 300 yards of line off the reel as angler Carol Lineberger, Jr. did his best to stay calm. As the fish made his first run in the direction of the pack of boats offshore, Mike aggressively put the boat on plane to quickly get on top of the track star kingfish. A short battle followed before the sprinter had given out and rolled to surface for a clean gaff shot by Claus Osbahr. When asked to describe the day Mike Bailey simply said, "it was beautiful." Between the flat seas, bluebird skies and a nearly 35-pound kingfish flying through the air with your pogy between its teeth Mike's explanation was easily understood. At 3:00 p.m. Team Offshore Carolina pulled up to the scales and nervously watched as their kingfish pushed down 34.90 pounds on the official scales. The weight was good enough to take the lead by one pound and it was a lead they would not relinquish. A first place overall finish and first place SKA honors were the reward for the Sea Craft sponsored Team Carolina Offshore. In addition to Sea Craft the team would also like to recognize Mercury, King of the Road RV Sales, Domestic Sealand and Cast Wireless Lanyards for their continued support.

Stuart Ballard of Tailwalker Marine is a major sponsor of both of Captain Brant's tournaments the Fall Brawl King Classic and the Jolly Mon King Classic. Though Tailwalker Marine has provided these tournaments an abundance of products and support, there is no doubt that Stuart's fishing team Tailwalker has won back nearly as much as they have given for their performances in these events. No team has consistently been at the top of the leaderboard in the Fall Brawl or Jolly Mon more than the Tailwalker. In their latest domination of the Fall Brawl Stuart had longtime crewman Don Mussman and Dean Cain helping out to find a smoker kingfish. Stuart reported a very slow bite in his native waters off of Georgetown, SC. Around noon the team decided to change tactics and anchor the boat and begin heavy chumming. With a spread of pogies fished beneath balloons and a kite behind the boat the team waited for the big bite. Fishing near the Georgetown sea buoy the bite came just a short time after changing tactics. A pogy underneath a balloon fished close to the boat was taken by the hungry kingfish. The much-accomplished veteran team operated like a finely oiled piece of machinery and was able to put the 28.90-pounder in the box. This fish would earn the team a seventh place overall finish and second in the SKA.

Rounding out the SKA's top three was Team Dawggone with the Monko family. John Monko, son John Monko, Jr and daughter Jennifer opted for a Saturday fish day aboard their 26' Regulator. The game plan for Saturday morning was to fish the beach and be there early. Friday evening the team left out of Shallotte inlet and floated the cast net full of pogies, which they penned up for the next day's fishing. Early Saturday morning the Dawggone departed the dock in the dark, but a short run later had them checking oil pumps as alarms rang out from the engine. Determined to get their fishing day in the Monko's opted to fill the oil reservoir on the engine and take it easy to the fishing grounds at Shallotte inlet. Despite the brief delay the Dawggone team was still one of the first boats to the fishing grounds. At 8:00 a.m. they already had their first fish on board. The second bite was a swing and a miss and then at 9:00 the biggest and last fish of the day visited the team. A single pogy on top mid-way back was the bait of choice for the big girl. John Jr. was on the rod while John Sr. drove the boat and Jennifer cleared the deck. Once the fish was brought into view the crew could see that the only thing holding it was one hook stuck in the back. For this reason John Sr. did a full extension with a long gaff to get the fish out of the water and in the boat as quickly as possible. The 27.65-pounder was swung on board with an additional gaff and put to rest on ice. With this fish the Monko's earned their best finish to date and also qualified for the National Championships.

The Ashley D team finished first among SKA contestants for the second event this year in the Class of 23'. John McLaurin and Bryan Richard fished on Saturday and found their 21.25-pounder at Shallotte inlet around 9:30 a.m. The kingfish took a single pogy trolled on the surface.

The SKA's top Junior Angler for the Fall Brawl was Michael Jones, Jr. aboard the ½ Lit. This fish was also caught at Shallotte inlet. The ½ Lit is a 34' Mercury powered Fountain that also competes on the SKA Pro trail. Leading the way for the SKA women was Amanda Tennant. Amanda is wife and fishing partner to Ocean Isle Fishing Center charter Captain John Tennant. Amanda and John fish aboard the Amanda J and captured a 23.05-pounder.

Some 215 boats registered to fish the 2005 Fall Brawl King Classic with 128 to fish on Saturday and 87 to fish on Sunday. The new format for this year's event was a Captain's Choice tournament with fishing either Saturday or Sunday. At the Captain's meeting a full meal was served with Frogmore stew and fresh Brunswick county shrimp. Also for the kids, and as it turned out the adults, the spot races were a highlight. A four-lane track was built and filled with water where contestants would pick out the fish of their liking, take a lane and race their spot against the other competitors. Captain Brant McMullan continued with his reputation of being an innovator in tournament directing by adding an on-the-water and on-land boat show for tournament sponsors Yamaha and Contender and also served hot dogs to each team weighing a fish as soon as they hit the dock. The mass of Junior Anglers present at the Captain's meeting and awards spoke well for Captain Brant's goal of getting more and more family participation in this event. For more details about the Fall Brawl and Jolly Mon King Classics go to www.oifishingcenter.com