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Late in the last week of August, it looked as though Tropical Storm Ernesto would foil the Carteret County Sportfishing Association's plans to hold the 22nd CCSA/Boater's World King Mackerel Tournament, originally scheduled for Saturday, September 2nd, 2006, in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. However, the storm sped up as it approached the Carolina coast, and it was possible to hold the event, albeit one day late, on Sunday, September 3rd.

Just two days before the tournament, Ernesto's heavy winds churned up high seas in the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina. Sunday was different. On Sunday anglers in the 102 participating boats reported ideal conditions with seas at one to two feet and winds of less than 10 knots.

The Jackpot team, consisting of Captain Tat Fearing, Benjie Dougherty and Mullet Johnson, was able to pull off a hometown victory in this year's event, hauling a 35.10-pound king mackerel to the scales at Jaycee Park on the Morehead City Waterfront. The team, whose members hail from both Morehead City and Atlantic Beach, earned $12,345 for topping the leaderboard and the TWT.

The winning king bit a double pogy rig 35 feet deep on the downrigger at 4 Mile Rock off Drum Inlet. Johnson grabbed the rod after the king struck at 8:15. The 35-pound fish made three long runs during the fight, and with each run the team chased the fish down on their 35' Yamaha powered Wellcraft.

The fish was hooked only in the tail when it came to the boat, which made getting a solid gaff shot difficult for Fearing. After several tense moments, he succeeded in gaffing the king at an angle and pulled it into the boat. The big mackerel was the only fish the Jackpot crew landed on Sunday. They caught menhaden without much difficulty on Sunday morning, finding their bait around marker 10 in the ICW.

Second place went to Captain Jeremy Pate and the Magic Stik team out of Goldsboro, North Carolina. Pate and teammates Jeff Crocker, Bryan Pate and Derek Speight brought a 33.45-pound king to the weigh-in in their Yamaha powered 23T Contender. Second place in both the Primary Division and the TWT earned the Magic Stik crew a check for $6,081. The team also had the top boat in the Class of 23’

Their fish bit a red-skirted pogy on top on the outrigger around 9:00 on Sunday. The Magic Stik was trolling on the east side of Cape Lookout shoals in 65 feet of water when the king struck. Initially, the Magic Stik crew did not think the fish was very large, but after a few moments it made a fast 200-yard run. With Bryan Pate at the Contender's helm, the team followed their fish. After 15 minutes of a give-and-take battle with the 33-pound mackerel, Jeremy Pate passed the rod to Jeff Crocker and gaffed the king.

In addition to the second place king, the Magic Stik team lost two other big kings and caught a dolphin, some small kings, and sharks. They tried for four hours Saturday afternoon to catch bait but were unsuccessful. The team ended up buying pogies from Capt. Stacy's Fishing Center.

The Right One Baby, a 33' Yamaha powered Contender crewed by Captain Todd Matthews, Barry Matthews, Brandon Sewell and Jim Davis, took third place with a 30.95-pound king. The Swansboro, North Carolina, team picked up $2,204 for third place in the tournament and the TWT.

Their third place king bit a naked pogy around the 1700 Rock. The strike came just after 8:00 on Sunday morning, and Captain Matthews picked up the rod. “He didn't run as hard as some kings that size,” Matthews said. Rather than blistering runs, the king stayed deep and circled the boat repeatedly, refusing to come to the surface. When the stalemate was broken and the king surfaced, Barry Matthews gaffed it and brought it aboard.

Bait was difficult to catch for The Right One Baby as well, and they ended up purchasing it. In addition to their 30-pound king, they also caught three dolphin (weighing up to 15 pounds) and several sharks. The Right One Baby crew wishes to express gratitude to First Citizen's Bank, Contender Boats, Yamaha Outboard Motors, Century 21 Waterway Realty and Swansboro Drugs for their sponsorship.

Tim Hudson and the White Lightning team secured fourth place with a 26.35-pound fish. Hudson, who Captains the 36' Mercury powered Yellowfin, his son Brandon, and Sam Ballou took home $1,020 for fourth place. Plus, Brandon Hudson won an additional $300 as the Top Junior Angler in the event.

The White Lightning king bit a pogy on a “secret rig” around 12:30 on Sunday. The team was trolling around the 1700 Rock when the fish struck. Brandon picked up the rod and began to fight the king, which was right next to another boat fighting another big fish. Despite the complications presented by battling the king adjacent to another boat that was hooked up, the White Lightning team got their fish to the boat in only eight minutes. Ballou finished the fight by putting a gaff in it.

Catching bait was a slow process Sunday morning for White Lightning, but they got it in about an hour and a half at Harker's Island.

The Wake Forest, North Carolina-based Dawggone, a 26' Regulator Captained by John Monko, Sr., captured fifth place with a 25.75-pound king mackerel. Monko, Sr., John Monko, Jr. and Jennifer Monko won $638, and his daughter Jennifer also took home $500 as the Top Lady Angler in the event.

The Monko's king hit a double pogy rig on top around 11:00 on Sunday. The Dawggone team was trolling around 30 Minute Rock when they got the bite. Monko, Jr. took the rod, and Monko, Sr. took the helm and began to pursue the fish.

After a couple of long runs, the Dawggone boat neared the king. When they got to the fish, it slowly swam to the surface, giving John Monko, Sr. the perfect opportunity to gaff and boat it. While the king made several big runs, the fight only lasted around 10 minutes.

John Monko, Jr. was glad the team had put a fat king in the boat. “We've had a decent but kind of slow year,” he said. “This was a good day of fishing, and it helped us out with SKA points.” In addition to their fifth place fish, the Dawggone team put a seven-pound spanish mackerel in the boat. They also released several smaller kings and a shark.

Catching bait was tough for the Dawggone crew, but they stuck it out and ended up slowly filling the well at Harker's Island.

In light of Ernesto's attempt to derail the CCSA/Boater's World King Mackerel Tournament this year, organizers wisely chose to watch the weather until the Wednesday evening before their event before making any judgments on a postponement. The decision to move the fishing day to Sunday proved to be a stellar one, as seas were some of the calmest of any North Carolina king mackerel tournament yet this year.

It would be impossible for the CCSA to hold this event without the generous support of their title sponsors: Boater's World, Smithfield's Chicken and Barbecue, and Budweiser.

CCSA/BOATER’S WORLD KMT
Final Standings

1.   JACKPOT....................................................... 35.10
      Wellcraft/Yamaha
      Tat Fearing
      Gary Johnson
      Benjie Doughtie

2.   MAGIC STIK.................................................. 33.45
      Contender/Yamaha
      Jeremy Pate
      Bryan Pate
      Jemmie Crocker
      Derek Speight

3.   THE RIGHT ONE BABY................................... 30.95
      Contender/Yamaha
      Todd Matthews
      Jim Davis
      Barry Matthews
      Brandon Sewell

4.   WHITE LIGHTNING....................................... 26.35
      Yellowfin/Mercury
      Tim Hudson
      Sam Ballou
      Brandon Hudson

5.   DAWGGONE................................................... 25.75
      Regulator/Yamaha
      John Monko, Sr.
      John Monko, Jr.
      Jennifer Monko

6.   BUCK-A-ROO................................................. 25.25
      KenCraft/Mercury
      Stephen Buck
      Jeff Buck
      Phil Woolard
      Donnie Baber

7.   HOT ROD....................................................... 25.10
      Contender/Yamaha
      Brett Barnes
      Alan Barnes

8.   MISTER STANMAN........................................ 24.80
      Regulator/Yamaha
      Stan Jarusinski
      Dave Newsom
      Charles McClure

9.   OVERTIME.................................................... 23.35
      Sea Ray/Mercury
      Charles Coates
      Buddy Avery

10. R/C HOMES................................................... 23.15
      Fountain/Mercury
      Rick Hill
      Charles Neal

11. POWER MARINE............................................ 21.65
      Contender/Yamaha
      Rick Tudor
      Robert “Lewis” Hayes
      Henry Moore III

12. Comfort Zone................................................. 21.55

13. Hog Wild......................................................... 20.65

14. WHATS FA SUPPA......................................... 20.65
      Sailfish/Yamaha
      Colin McDuffy
      Keith McDuffy

15. PROUD MARY................................................. 20.56
      Privateer/Mercury
      David Pennington
      Rob Pennington

Class of 23’

1.   MAGIC STIK.................................................. 33.45

2.   MISTER STANMAN......................................... 24.80

3.   OVERTIME..................................................... 23.35

SKA Top Lady Angler
Jennifer Monko...................................................... Dawggone

SKA Top Junior Anglers
Sponsored by Gregory Poole Marine Power
1st Brandon Hudson............................................... White Lightning
2nd Jackson Wilkins............................................... Team MayCraft (18.25)
3rd Jackson Pulley................................................. Precision Marine (13.35)