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With 109 boats entered in the Topsail Offshore Fishing Club King Mackerel Tournament, competitors knew they'd need a hefty king mackerel to take first place. Many of the entrants found a number of impressive fish, but none quite as big as the 45.50-pound king that the Ocean Isle Fishing Center crew brought to the scales at Surf City, North Carolina's Soundside Park that Saturday afternoon to win $16,870.

The TOFC King Mackerel Tournament is the final event in SKA Division 1 competition, and the 45.50-pound first place fish earned the Ocean Isle Fishing Center Team a fifth place finish in the Division. It also brought Rube McMullan the Senior Angler title for the season in Division 1.

The winning king was something of an accident for the family team of Captain Brant McMullan, his brother Barrett, and his father Rube. They were all aboard the Ocean Isle Fishing Center boat, a 36' Contender powered by three 225 four-stroke Yamahas. The McMullans had caught pogies prior to the tournament and penned them overnight at Ocracoke. Their plan was to then fish Hatteras for a monster fall king on Saturday, but tournaments don’t always go as planned.

When they picked up the bait pen early Saturday morning, nearly all the pogies had died. They quickly needed a new plan. Fortunately, at the Captain’s meeting the night before the event the McMullans had run into friend John Hunt of the Direct Connect team, and he had advised them of abundant bluefish in the Drum Inlet area.

Armed with knowledge of the blues and in need of bait, the team headed towards Drum Inlet, finding a big school of blues and a cloud of birds working just north of the inlet. While casting plugs at the school of blues, the crew was looking at clear, 73 degree water, so they decided to put out a few king rigs to see if any big fish were home.

There were, and after quickly catching a 20-pound fish, the Ocean Isle Fishing Center hooked up to a double header that produced a 37-pounder as well as the winning fish. That 45-pound king skied on the bait, and seeing its size the McMullans knew which fish to focus on.

With Barrett McMullan on the rod, the bigger king “smoked it down.” The long, hard run tired the king out though, and with Rube at the helm of the big Contender, the team ran it down. Brant was able to gaff the fish a mere five minutes after it bit. With a huge king that was sure to place near the top of the leaderboard in the boat at 10:30, the McMullans headed back towards Surf City and the scales.

Brant McMullan noted the irony of a pen full of dead pogies leading the team to the first place king. “If our bait hadn't died, we wouldn't have gone looking for bluefish and wouldn't have caught that fish,” he grinned.

Although other boats fishing Saturday reported somewhat snotty sea conditions, the northwest winds kept the ocean fairly calm just off the beach in 18 feet of water where the McMullans caught their king. The Ocean Isle Fishing Center team thanked their sponsors Ocean Isle Fishing Center, Yamaha, Magic-Tilt Trailers, Penn Reels and Berkley.

Wilmington's Rawhide fishing team took second place overall with a 43.80-pound king mackerel.

A 39.60-pound king earned the Newport, North Carolina team Rugman a second place finish among the SKA boats. Their payout was $4,804. Jamie Wallace, Renee Wallace, Craig Stanfield and Mark Springfield were all aboard the 27' Fountain for Saturday's tournament, and Renee Wallace was the first place Lady Angler, receiving an additional check for $500.

The day’s 39.60-pound fish combined with an earlier 13.35-pounder gave Rugman 52.95 points in Division 1 for 2006. This put them in fourth place overall in their Division, and it also put Renee Wallace on top of the SKA Lady Angler standings for Division 1.

A ten-inch bluefish trolled naked accounted for their third place king in the TOFC KMT. The Rugman was trolling with quite a few other boats from both the Topsail and Rumble in the Jungle tournaments at the Summerland Reef, located east of Lookout Shoals. On the king's first run, it took nearly three-quarters of the spool from Stanfield, who had the rod. However, the big first run really wore the king out. When the team neared the tired king, Jamie Wallace was able to gaff and boat it only 10 minutes after the bite.

The Rugman team reported world-class fishing at the Summerland Reef, with fish jumping all around them. They caught a total of 16 kings, several citation-size spanish mackerel and a few sharks. As for bait, the crew caught bluefish and pogies in Bogue Inlet, and they had some ribbonfish that were caught earlier in the year aboard as well.

The Nail It team, out of Smithfield, North Carolina, caught the SKA third place 35.30-pound kingfish. Teammates Tim Casey, Sterling Casey and Todd Casey won $1,080 on Saturday fishing aboard their Mercury powered 234 Mako. In addition, Sterling was the SKA Top Junior Angler. That 39.30-pound king propelled Nail It to victory in the SKA Division 1 Class of 23' race. Their 57.22 total points also earned Sterling Casey first place Junior Angler in Division 1. Congratulations, guys.

The Casey's fish ate a two-pound bluefish around 1:00 as the team trolled around the Summerland Reef. They also caught a 63-pound wahoo on Saturday, and according to Tim Casey, “the king burned the reel more than the wahoo did.” Todd took the rod, and Nail It pursued their king. After nearly catching up to it, the king made another dash, this one shorter than the blistering initial run. The vigorous fight did not last long, however, and Tim was able to gaff the fish shortly after the second run.

The Nail It crew also reported stellar fishing at the Summerland Reef, catching a 25-pound king and an eight-pound spanish mackerel in addition to the fourth place king and wahoo. The team caught their bluefish baits trolling spoons in Beaufort Inlet. Tim Casey wished to express gratitude to the team's sponsors AW Rhodes Plumbing Company and Bay Racer Marine of Havelock, North Carolina.

Wilmington's Knockin' Fire fishing team captured fifth overall and fourth place SKA boat, hauling a 30.95-pound king to Surf City Soundside Park aboard their 31' Mercury powered Fountain. John Gertz and Adam Herring were the anglers aboard the Fountain on Saturday, and they brought home $945 for fifth place.

The Knockin' Fire crew spent the tournament trolling south of most of the tournament boats. Their plan was to target the Cabbage Patch, an area closer to Carolina Beach than Topsail. Their king bit a ribbonfish set 35 feet deep on the downrigger. Herring grabbed the rod, and the king took off on a very long run, staying deep. When the team chased the fish down, it held deep in the water for a few minutes before coming to the boat. Gertz sank a gaff in it when it surfaced.

Catching bait presented no trouble for the Knockin' Fire, as they filled the well with two throws of the net at the Southport waterfront. The team would like to thank their sponsors Mercury and Fountain.

The fifth place SKA boat was the Mount Maker, catching a 30.85-pound king mackerel. Chris Kimrey and Ed Moseley make up the Morehead City, North Carolina-based team. The 30.85 points they received for the fish put the Mount Maker in fourth place in the Class of 23' for SKA Division 1. The crew fishes every event possible in Divisions 1 and 2.

Their fifth place king ate a naked pogy on top. The 17' Suzuki powered Henry O was trolling in the fleet of boats at the Summerland Reef when the king struck around 12:30 on Saturday. When Moseley picked up the rod, the king made a weak run, and the crew thought they had a little fish. However, the king soon took a strong run.

“On the second run, we saw color and realized we had a decent fish,” said Kimrey. Knowing they had a good king on, the Mount Maker followed their fish and soon caught up to it. After a quick death spiral under the boat the king came up and Kimrey gaffed it.

Though they had a 30-pound fish in the boat, Kimrey and Moseley knew they'd need a much bigger one to win. So they continued fishing until around 2:00 before heading back towards Surf City to make the weigh-in.

The three-foot chop limited the speed of the small boat, and it took over an hour to get from the Summerland Reef to Beaufort Inlet. Once inside, the Mount Maker began running full throttle to make the scales before they closed at 5:00. They made it at 4:51, and were able weigh the king and ultimately make the leaderboard.

The Mount Maker crew caught bait at Harker's Island in about an hour on Saturday morning. Chris Kimrey wished to thank the team's sole sponsor CustomSaltwaterTaxidermy.com.

Proceeds from this tournament benefit the Sloop Point Volunteer Fire Department and the Topsail Offshore Fishing Club. The TOFC is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving and furthering offshore fishing in the area. Much of the money generated by this event goes to the DMF for local reef enhancement.

This tournament could not be put on without the help of its sponsors, a list that is headlined by East Coast Sports of Surf City, North Carolina; Tex's Tackle of Wilmington, North Carolina; Onslow Bay Boatworks; and builder David Greer.

Topsail Offshore Fishing Club's KMT
Final Standings

1.   CAROLINA CONTENDER/OIFC........... 45.50
      Contender/Yamaha
      Brant McMullan
      Barrett McMullan
      Rube McMullan

2.   Rawhide.............................................. 43.80

3.   RUGMAN............................................ 39.60
      Fountain/Mercury
      Jamie Wallace
      Renee Wallace
      Craig Stanfield
      Mark Springfield

4.   NAIL IT............................................. 35.30
      Mako/Mercury
      Tim Casey
      Todd Casey
      Sterling Casey

5.   KNOCKIN FIRE................................... 30.95           
      Fountain/Mercury
      John Gertz
      Adam Herring

6.   MOUNT MAKER.................................. 30.85
      Henry O/Suzuki
      Chris Kimrey

7.   OUTCAST........................................... 29.55
      McKee Craft/Suzuki
      John Hewlett
      Jamie Allen

8.   WHITE LIGHTNING............................ 25.20
      Yellowfin/Mercury
      Tim Hudson
      Sam Ballou
      John Lewis
      Brandon Hudson

9.   Chasen Kings...................................... 24.75

10. Bar Hopper......................................... 24.30

11. Easy Money......................................... 23.65

12. White Collar Crime.............................. 23.10

13. MOON DOGGIE................................... 22.80
      Contender/Yamaha
      Billy Emmart
      Mark Emmart
      Richard Williams

14. HOT ROD........................................... 22.40
      Contender/Yamaha
      Brett Barnes
      Alan Barnes

15. Out of Reach....................................... 22.10

Class of 23’

1.   Onslow Bay I....................................... 20.55
2.   No Problem......................................... 20.05
3.   Knot Sharin......................................... 17.15

SKA Top Lady Angler
Renee Wallace........................................... Rugman

SKA Top Junior Anglers
Sponsored by Power Marine Outfitters
1st Sterling Casey..................................... Nail It
2nd Brandon Hudson.................................. White Lightning
3rd Chaston Wilson.................................... Mack-A-Roni