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Black Cat is Top
SKA Boat in 336 Boat Field at the Jolly Mon King Classic
by Capt. Barrett McMullan |
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Capt. Brant’s 2005 Jolly Mon King Classic
held out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center was one of the most
highly anticipated kingfish tournaments in Division 9 history.
A perfect weather forecast, a traditionally large and fun
event, and the fact this would be the first kingfish tournament
local anglers have fished in 2005 made for a lot of excitement
and eager fishermen. Capt. Brant has become known for his
innovative structuring of tournaments and events within his
tournaments and this year’s Jolly Mon was no exception.
This year fishermen were given the opportunity to choose which
day they would fish. Fishermen could choose to fish either
Saturday or Sunday but must declare by 5:30 a.m. of that day.
The majority of the field chose to fish Saturday with only
45 teams opting for a Sunday fish day. In hindsight either
Saturday or Sunday was a good choice as the weather was cooperative
both days, and both days big fish were caught. The biggest
fish however, amongst SKA participants came from none other
than Jamey Stewart’s Black Cat on Saturday morning.
Jamey Stewart picked up his brand new 35’
triple Mercury powered Triton just a month prior to the Jolly
Mon. The boat’s first tournament was the Tailwalker
out of Georgetown, SC where Jamey and crew took home 12th.
Keeping on the winning track Jamey, his father Vernon and
wife Carlette landed a stud 38.15 kingfish to take second
place in the Jolly Mon in the boat’s second ever tournament.
The Black Cat departed Little River inlet in South Carolina
early Saturday morning and made the run south to the Georgetown
tideline. On the way the crew swooped up enough pogies for
a day of fishing and thus were ready to go at 9:00 a.m. when
they arrived. When the first bait hit the water it was on.
After catching a 20+ on the first bait, the spread was deployed
again only to miss a quality fish. Once again the cockpit
was cleared and re-organized as the baits were placed back
into position. With a full spread in the water 20 minutes
passed before the next bite came. The downrigger set up with
a ribbonfish snapped free and Carlette took her familiar position
behind the rod. Convinced this was some sort of mutated bionic
kingfish Carlette battled the smoker for more than 40 minutes
taking on all sorts of battle wounds. She stuck with the fish
and patiently angled the slab just close enough for Jamey
to seal the deal with a gory but effective gaff job. Knowing
they had a good fish in the boat, the Stewarts fished for
a few more hours and then made their way back to the scales
at the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. 38.15 was the weighmaster’s
call which would be good enough for second in the tournament
overall, first in the SKA overall, first SKA Lady Angler,
first Senior angler, and the team’s best finish to date.
The Murrells Inlet based American Made team
composed of Jason Bass, wife Diane Bass and Jamie Reynolds
took second place overall SKA honors, third overall in the
tournament, and first in the 23’ and under division
for the SKA. Jason steered his 23’ Mercury powered Sea
Ray south out of Murrells Inlet heading for the Georgetown
tideline on Saturday morning. Just before arriving at the
tideline pogies were located, captured and stored in the livewell
for what the team thought would be a long day of fishing.
Little did they know it wouldn’t take but a few short
minutes to secure the fish they were looking for. At 8:30
a.m. the lines hit the water. The first fish of the day was
the tournament winner according to Jason, but unfortunately
that fish escaped the American Made crew. Down but not distracted,
the crew redeployed the lines and were rewarded with the next
fish that would go 30 pounds. Pleased with the results the
crew stayed active and boated a 25- and 23-pound fish in the
next few minutes. At 9:40 a.m. a second shot at a big fish
came and this time the fish was not so lucky. A single pogy
on the surface was the last meal for the 36.85 kingfish. Diane
angled the smoker to the boat for 15 to 20 minutes and Jason
did the gaffing. The fish bit right on the breaking tideline
where the water still had a little color change left. Content
with this fish, the American Made crew made the call to fish
a little while longer and then head for the scales.
Stuart Ballard a.k.a. Tailwalker a.k.a. kingfish
guru of South Carolina did his normal deal in the Jolly Mon
by weighing a 30+ and taking home fourth in the tournament
and third amongst SKA participants. Rumor has it the Jolly
Mon staff is considering renaming the tournament “The
Annual Tailwalker Beneficiary Kingfish Tournament”.
Just kidding Stuart. Though Stuart was not available for interview,
his 34.45 kingfish was said to come from his home waters off
of Georgetown where he captured several fish over 30 pounds
on his chosen fish day of Saturday. Stuart fishes a 31’
Contender and is owner of the Tailwalker boat dealership in
Georgetown, SC where he sells Contender boats and numerous
others.
Jay Robertson’s Play’n Hookie team
guided Aaron Conyers to a first place SKA Junior Angler finish
with a 29.70-pound kingfish. Jay and Aaron fish a 31’
Fountain powered by Mercury. This team also fished Saturday
and like many of the top finishers, they found their prize
waiting for them at the Georgetown tideline.
Though the top four places on the leaderboard
did not change from Saturday to Sunday, four fish over 30
pounds were weighed on Sunday. Most of the large fish came
from the Georgetown tideline, but Carolina Beach inlet, Topsail
Beach, and the Jungle also produced leaderboard fish.
Now for the real news: The annual pogy bobbing
contest held prior to the Jolly Mon each year was one to remember
in 2005. With pelican-like precision 10 year old Alexis Carter
broke the all time pogy bobbing world record by snatching
a pogy from the bobbing tank with nothing but her teeth in
1.5 seconds. Alexis topped a field of 37 contestants from
age 4 to 45. In additional tournament news, the Junior Jolly
Mon held on Friday prior to the main tournament was another
huge success. 54 juniors signed up to fish and prizes were
given to each contestant. Special recognition was given to
the juniors who weighed the largest king mackerel, dolphin,
cobia, grunt and sea bass.
Year after year the Jolly Mon King Classic
held out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center is a favorite amongst
the family fisherman and the competitive fisherman alike.
This year was no exception evidenced by the impressive 336
entrants. There is no exact formula for running a successful
tournament, but certainly some events have historically left
fishermen and spectators with a good impression of the sport.
Capt. Brant McMullan, Jolly Mon tournament operator, credits
the success of his two kingfish events, the Jolly Mon and
the Fall Brawl, to a few key elements that separates his tournaments
from others. “First you have to be lucky. If the weather
is not right I don’t care what kind of payout or extra
curricular activities you have the turnout will be negatively
impacted. Second, it takes a fishermen’s perspective
to run a fishermen friendly event, and fortunately I am a
fisherman. Third, you must have a good team around you with
a clear understanding of operations and expectations. Fourth,
you must operate from a venue that when combined with a tournament
creates a unique synergy. Fifth, innovation is key to growth.
Numerous other factors come into play when running a kingfish
tournament, but above all hard work, dedication and clear
logical thinking will keep a tournament headed in the right
direction.” The Jolly Mon staff would like to thank
all the fishermen and spectators that make the Jolly Mon part
of their 4th of July celebration and in turn help to create
one of the most enjoyable family fishing events on the trail.
Also to be recognized are the event’s sponsors including
BB&T, Sea Tow, Boater’s World, Magic Tilt, Guy C.
Lee, The GPS Store, Chatlee Marine, and the Ocean Isle Fishing
Center. See www.oifishingcenter.com for more details about
the Jolly Mon King Classic.
Jolly Mon Final Standings
1. SHE’S ALL THAT 38.65
Yellowfin/Suzuki
Ricky Hobbs
2. BLACK CAT 38.15
Triton/Mercury
Jamey Stewart
Carlette Stewart
Vernon Stewart
3. AMERICAN MADE 36.85
Sea Ray/Mercury
Jason Bass
Diane Bass
Jaime Reynolds
4. TAILWALKER 34.45
Contender/Mercury
Stuart Ballard
Don Mussman
Mark Ballard
5. REEL GREEDY 33.10
Contender/Yamaha
Randall Edens
George Edens
6. Rambunctious 32.85
7. MISS LA 31.90
Fountain/Mercury
Robby Brown
Bob Brown
Dewayne Fox
8. WILD RIDE 31.00
Wellcraft/Yamaha
Randy Griffin
Shayna Griffin
Ronnie Miller
Richard Williams
9. WATER FOUNTAIN 30.75
Fountain/Mercury
Charles Bowden
James Jones
William Kenyon
Robbie Kennedy
10. TEAM OFFSHORE CAROLINA 30.10
Sea Craft/Mercury
Mike Bailey
G. Lineberger ????
C. Osbahr
11. PLAY’N HOOKIE 29.70
Fountain/Mercury
Jay Robertson
Eddie Fisher
Aaron Conyers
12. TRIPLE GOBBLE 29.65
Contender/Mercury
Jeff Weathers
Greg Weathers
13. MAKO WARRIOR 29.50
Mako/Mercury
Larry L. Deal
Eric L. Deal
Richard Elkins
Donnie Elkins
14. FISHIN’ PHYSICIAN 27.00
Contender/Yamaha
Dr. Kendall Suh
Jim Aikens
15. CASUAL WATER 26.70
Yellowfin/Mercury
Scott Quaintance
Bryan Snow
Michael Norton
Chris Gravatte
Class of 23’
1. SHE’S ALL THAT 38.65
2. AMERICAN MADE 36.85
3. FISH STICKS 24.40
Hydra Sports/Johnson
Trip Yost
Kevin Jones
Scott Hardee
Top Lady Angler
Carlette Stewart Black Cat
Top Junior Anglers
1st Aaron Conyers Play’N Hookie
2nd Alex Myers Tool Time
3rd Cy Garber L’ Dawg
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