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Capt. Hook Returns to Victory Lane at Got-Em-On

by Capt. Barrett McMullan

The Carolina Beach Got-Em-On king mackerel tournament runs deep with tradition as one of the older kingfish events on the Carolina coast. In the 2005 edition it took one of the “old timers” of the sport to bring home the win. Although Capt. David Hooks would not be considered an old timer by most standards, in the sport of king mackerel fishing “Capt. Hook” has been around since the early days. Through the mid and into the late 90’s the Capt. Hook team was never far from the top of the leaderboard as they posted three big tournament wins and won several SKA divisions. The year 2000 marked the last big win for the

Capt. Hook team at the Frantic Atlantic tournament and since they have checkered the leaderboard, but just couldn’t seem to get back on the center stage. That was until a 37.9-pound slab came over the rails of the Capt. Hook in this year’s Carolina Beach Got-Em-On Classic. The Capt. Hook is back!

Capt. David Hooks, a charter boat captain out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center in Ocean Isle Beach, NC, was accompanied on tournament day by saltwater fishing rookie Andy Penninger and experienced deckhand Skip Canipe. The decision was made that south was the direction they needed to head. After trailering the boat down to Murrels Inlet, SC, the Capt. Hook departed the inlet and located a school of “gator baits” immediately on the south side of the jetties. On the way south from there with the Georgetown tideline in mind they passed several boats that had anglers perched on the bows about eight miles north of the inlet on a secondary tideline. At 7:30 a.m. the first lines hit the water. No sooner did they hit the water than the baits on the other end were inhaled. Two fish in the 15- to 18-pound range were caught and released. At 8:30 a.m., amongst 15 competing boats, the long line trolling a single pogy on top was the next victim. According to David the next few minutes were dramatic to say the least. The fish made a B-line for surrounding boats and successfully entangling itself in numerous lines from the Grace May and Knot @ Work boats. Fortunately both the Grace May and Knot @ Work cut their lines to free the fish and send Capt. Hook on his way to a capture. David did his work behind the rod freeing tangled lines while keeping his line tight. The fish was full of energy making several big runs. After finally getting on top of the fish 30 minutes later the smoker was done for. She rolled up right in front of the boat and the drama was over. A quick but effective celebration ensued and then lines were put back in the water. Unsure of how big the fish was David was confident it wouldn’t go 40 so they continued to fish. After releasing two other fish in the high 20’s a line of thunderstorms began to develop prompting Capt. Hook to hit the road. At 11:00 a.m. David put his 31’ Mercury powered cuddy cabin Contender (which also happens to be for sale) in the wind for the 100-mile trip back to Carolina Beach. Taking it easy, the Capt. Hook rolled up to the scales just after 2:00 p.m. where the team scaled their 37.9-pound kingfish, which took the lead that they would not relinquish. For their work the Capt. Hook team took home just over $31,000 and now has temporary bragging rights over 188 competing teams.

Following the Capt. Hook in SKA standings and bringing home third place in the event was Brett and Alan Barnes’ Hot Rod team. Alan Barnes is in his last year of Junior Angler status, which is a good thing for the Barnes residence, as they most likely have had to build an entire new wing on the house to store all of Alan’s Junior Angler hardware. This father/son team also made the call to head to Georgetown and like the Capt. Hook they too stopped short of the main tideline and fished to the north. The early morning bite produced a couple small fish for the Hot Rod team, but at 10:15 a.m. the big girl came calling. A Murrels Inlet single pogy trolled on the surface was enough to tempt the smoker into tasting. Alan took his normal position behind the rod where he expertly angled the fish close enough for dad to get a clean gaff shot. Upon landing the fish, the Terminator wire the team uses on all their rigs could be seen stretched completely across the kingfish’s razor sharp teeth. Brett and Alan were extremely thankful they were using Terminator, which has never failed in all of the Hot Rod teams tournament wins. With a good fish on board Brett and Alan decided to go ahead and pack it up and make the haul back to Carolina Beach. A 33.60-pounder was the reward for the team’s hard work, which landed them in third place in the tournament, second among SKA teams, and for the umpteenth time a Top Junior Angler spot for Alan.

Rounding out the top three among SKA teams was the Fishin’ Physician and Dr. Kendall Suh from Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Accompanying Dr. Suh on this occasion was fishing partner Jim Aiken. Like the two ahead of the Fishin’ Physician, the 5th place 32-pounder came from the Georgetown tideline area. Kendall reported catching their fish inshore of the pack back towards the main inlet. By 7:45 a.m. the team had boated three fish including their eventual weigh-fish. The big fish of the day hit a single pogy trolled from the downrigger in 35 feet of water. After a hard long first run Kendall and Jim quickly moved the boat to the fish and the rest was history. They too joined the Capt. Hook and Hot Rod for a run back to Carolina Beach around 11:30. Arriving to the scales early and knowing they didn’t have the tournament won, Kendall decided for a last fishing effort at Carolina Beach inlet but would do no better than the 32 already in the box.

Ty Cobb and Nicole Greeson brought back the top spot for the SKA’s Class of 23’ to Carolina Beach. The Git-R-Done team of Carolina Beach fished off of Topsail Beach to find their 24.75-pound kingfish. According to Ty they had good bait and were ready to go first thing. The fish was in the boat by 7:15 a.m. Ty is actively involved with the operation of this event as well as the NC inlet dredging project. Now he has gotten himself involved in a points race for the top 23’ and under boat for Division 12.

The 2005 Carolina Beach Got-Em-On Classic was a major success with 189 competing teams taking to the water. The top 20 places were paid and special prizes were also given to top lady and junior anglers. Benefiting from the proceeds of this event were the Got-Em-On Live Bait Club, the Carolina and Kure Beach Fire Departments. Great pre-tournament entertainment and great fishing made for an enjoyable North Carolina kingfish tournament weekend.

East Coast Got-Em-On Final Standings
1. CAPT. HOOK 37.90
Contender/Mercury
David Hooks Jr.
Skip Canipe
2. Much 2 Reel 33.80
3. HOT ROD 33.60
Contender/Yamaha
Brett Barnes
Alan Barnes
4. Brief Relief 32.60
5. FISHIN’ PHYSICIAN 32.00
Contender/Yamaha
Dr. Kendall Suh
Jim Aikens
6. HOOTERS 29.80
Fountain/Mercury
Alden Thornten
Mike Collins
Frank McCargo
7. GAMBLER 28.95
Hydra-Sports/Evinrude
Allen Kinney
8. CASUAL WATER 28.85
Yellowfin/Mercury
Scott Quaintance
Michael Norton
Chris Gravette
9. CAROLINA CONTENDER 28.00
Contender/Yamaha
Brant McMullen
10. SQUEEZE PLAY 27.90
Off Shore/Evinrude
Michael Lynn Sellers Jr.
Adam Sellers
11. Y-Knot 27.90
12. Southern Sport Fishing 27.50
13. BB’s 27.45
14. NUMBER ONE CONTENDER 26.50
Contender/Yamaha
Tim Farmer
Mark Lenard
15. HOO HUNTER 26.45
Boston Whaler/Mercury
David Chang

Class of 23’
1. GIT-R-DONE 24.75
Pro-Line/Honda
Ty Cobb
2. Hit-N-Run 24.50
3. Showtime 20.70

Top Lady Anglers
Kristen Hook & Kathy Heffernan The GPS Store (20.55)
Top Junior Anglers
1st Alan Barnes Hot Rod
2nd David Jackson Live Line (23.05)
3rd Drake Phelps King Creecher (19.00)