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The big winner in this year’s Raleigh KMT, held August 4th through 6th out of Sea Water Marina in Atlantic Beach, was the crew of Miss Geri out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. They weighed in a 41.80-pound king to win by almost five pounds, but what makes their win even more decisive is that they had a second 40-plus-pound king on the boat that also could have won the tournament.

Captain Doug Wilkins took his crew—Jay, Billy, Randal and Charlie Wilkins, Rick Binder and Jay Baart—to the 4-Mile Rock off of Drum Inlet. By 8:45 they were hooked up with the first of their 40-pound kings.

Just before 8:45, they put a 25-pound king in the boat. As they were putting back out the first of their baits, the tournament-winner hit a pogy only three feet behind the motors. The king burned about 250 yards on the surface, and then started heading back to the boat. Then after a 15 minute fight they had a gaff in the king.

“It was a Chinese fire drill for a moment,” said Doug Wilkins. “We had fun but were serious when we had to be.” The Miss Geri is a 32’ Regulator with twin 300 Yamahas.

“I’d like to thank my cousin John of Team May Craft who helped us with bait, led us through Cape Lookout shoals, and suggested where we should fish,” added Wilkins. “I’d also like to thank Bryan Davis of 70 West Marina who sold me a great boat package.”

The Atlantic Beach-based Stars-N-Strike team took overall second place with a 36.90-pound king caught at 9:30 at the old sea buoy on a naked pogy on top.

Captain Mark Yokeley, out of Raleigh and fishing on the Mater Head, was the second place SKA boat and third place overall with a 34.35-pound king. He was fishing with Kim Yokeley and John Preast. They caught their king on the east side of the shoals with a naked pogy on the top in about 50 feet of water. The strike came at 1:00, and the fight lasted for 30 minutes.

The king’s first run almost spooled the reel, and then it took about four more good runs before coming to the boat. John Preast put the gaff in the fish. Earlier in the day they had caught kings in the 25-pound range, as well as several other smaller fish. The king also brought Kim Yokeley the tournament’s Lady Angler award.

The Mater Head is a 34’ Yellowfin with triple Mercury 275s, and Yokeley thanked Yellowfin for the great boat that helped put him in a position to finish high on the leaderboard.

Fourth place went to Digit and Team Carroll Construction out of Raleigh. They landed a 33.95-pound king. Daniel and Bryant Carroll, fishing on the Digit, were the Top Junior Anglers of the tournament. The Digit is a 36’ Mercury powered Contender.

Rock Steady was the fourth place SKA boat and overall top five with a 32.60-pound king. Captain Frankie Holloman, Jr., Todd Casey, Kevin Lancaster, Nicholas Hill and Kristie Holloman caught their king at 2:30 on the east side of the shoals in about 60 feet of water.

The king hit a naked pogy on top when they weren’t ready. They had caught bait that morning at Harker’s Island, but were running low so they were on the bow jigging up fresh bait when the king hit. After the strike, the king went under the boat.

“It tied up every line we had and cut the downrigger,” explained Captain Holloman. “We then followed the king for about 20 minutes before we were able to put the gaff in him.” Kevin Lancaster was the angler and Todd Casey worked the gaff. Other than a 14-pound king caught at 8:30 that morning, the 32-pound king hooked six hours later was their only other strike

Rock Steady also took top honors in the Class of 23’. It’s a 23’ Sea Fox with a 200 Mercury. In addition, Kristie Holloman was the second place SKA Junior. The team thanked Chris Wood for giving them weather and water temperature information.

Triple Trouble, out of Hurdle Mills, North Carolina, rounded out the top five SKA boats with a 30.95-pound king. The crew consisted of Captain Phil Mitchell, Seth King, Heath King and Philip Mitchell. They caught their king on the east side of the shoals in about 50 feet of water. The king liked the look of a naked pogy on the top.

It was a morning strike, coming at 8:00. The king took a strong initial run heading offshore. After the first run, it took about three more runs before coming to the boat a total of 15 minutes later.

Seth King was the angler, and Heath King was the gaff man. The team caught and released a bunch of smaller kings on the day, but the 30-pound fish was by far the biggest of the day. Triple Trouble is a 28’ Triton with twin 225 Yamahas.

The second place SKA boat in the Class of 23’ was Miss Teny out of Walstonburg, North Carolina. Captain Ashley Lynn Jones and Frankie Jones found a 29.35-pound king in Drum Inlet. That king hit a naked pogy on the top at about 8:00 in the morning. It took young Frankie Jones (age 13) about 30 minutes to bring the fish in. The king never took any long runs, but rather it just went deep and stayed deep. Miss Teny is a 23’ Palmetto with twin Mercury 150s.

The SKA Top Lady Angler over the weekend was Michelle Cameron from Morehead City. She was fishing with her husband, Eddie Cameron, on their boat the Ole.

Their king came late in the tournament, striking at 3:30. The 30.40-pound king hit a ribbonfish on the downrigger in about 60 feet of water. Eddie Cameron described the spot as “a hard bottom ledge not in a lot of bait but there was a lot of surface fish around us.” Once hooked, the fight only lasted 10 minutes. Ole is a 25’ Hydra Sport with twin 225 Evinrudes.

The Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club offered a prize specific for its club members. The winner was SKA’s Second Chanze with a 27.80-pound king. Captain John Lewis and Chad Barnes caught their king at the 4-Mile Rock out of Drum Inlet. It hit a naked shad on top at around 10:00. Second Chanze is a 31’ Contender with twin 250 Yamahas.

The winner of the Cape Carteret Sportfishing Association club prize was another SKA boat. Open Wide took this year’s title with an 18.15-pound king.

Sailfish Boats and Coral Bay Marina sponsored a prize for the heaviest king weighed in by a team fishing on a Sailfish boat. That award went to Davey Cavanaugh, from Wallace, on the Going Deep with a 21.90-pound king. Cavanaugh fishes on a 23’ Sailfish with twin 150 Yamahas.

May Craft also sponsored a prize for the heaviest king caught on one of their boats. Team May Craft took this award with a 20.70-pound king. Onboard the 27’ May Craft with twin 225 Mercury outboards were John, Jackson, Jonathon and Ken Wilkins.

The Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club King Mackerel Tournament is made possible by numerous sponsors, including this year’s Gold Sponsors: Bobby Murray Chevrolet, Carolina Outdoor Sportsman, Town Creek Marina and West Marine.

The RSWSC uses proceeds from the tournament in a number of ways. They donate $5000 to the Take A Kid Fishing Foundation. Proceeds from the sale of fish go to the Eckerd’s Foundation.

They also award three $1000 scholarships to graduate students at NC State in the marine Science Department. Also, funds from the raffle are donated to the Boys and Girls Club. For more information about the Raleigh club and tournament, you can visit www.rswsc.org.

Raleigh Final Standings

1.   MISS GERI................................................... 41.80
      Regulator/Yamaha
      Doug Wilkins

2.   Stars & Strikes.............................................. 36.90

3.   MATER HEAD............................................... 34.35
      Yellowfin/Mercury
      Mark Yokeley
      John Preast

4.   DIG IT......................................................... 33.95
      Contender/Mercury
      Tony Carroll
      Greg Carroll
      Daniel Carroll
      Bryant Carroll

5.   ROCK STEADY.............................................. 32.60
      Sea Fox/Mercury
      Larry F. Holloman, Jr.
      Todd Casey
      Kevin Landcaster
      Kristie Holloman

6.   TRIPLE TROUBLE......................................... 30.95
      Triton/Yamaha
      Phil Mitchell
      Seth King
      Heath King
      Philip Mitchell, Jr.

7.   OLE............................................................. 30.40
      Hydra Sport/Evinrude
      Eddie Cameron
      Michele Cameron

8.   SOUTHERN BELL.......................................... 29.95
      Contender/Yamaha
      Matt Gay
      Vernon Jones
      Mark Jones

9.   MISS TENY.................................................. 29.35
      Palmetto/Mercury
      Ashley Jones
      Scott Jones
      Randy Chase

10. Bite Me......................................................... 29.00

11. SECOND CHANZE......................................... 27.80
      Contender/Yamaha
      John Lewis
      Chad Barnes

12. Big Melon...................................................... 26.95

13. MISS LEXI................................................... 26.90
      Fountain/Mercury
      John Mercer
      Danny Hope

14. REEL HEEL.......................................................... 26.50
      Jupiter/Yamaha
      Don Westbrook
      Leigh Westbrook
      Larry Denning

15. PROUD MARY............................................... 26.20
      Privateer/Mercury
      David Pennington

Class of 23’

1.   ROCK STEADY.............................................. 32.60
2.   MISS TENY.................................................. 29.35
3.   Bite Me......................................................... 29.00

     
SKA Top Lady Angler
Michele Cameron................................................ Ole

SKA Top Junior Anglers
Sponsored by Coastal Marine Center

1st Daniel & Bryant Carroll.................................... Dig It
2nd Kristie Holloman............................................. Rock Steady
3rd Philip Mitchell, Jr............................................. Triple Trouble