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Saturday, July 22nd was a windy day along the North Carolina coast, but over 120 boats gathered in Southport to participate in the Fifth Annual King of the Cape Classic.

The big winner in this year's tournament was the Big Bad Wolf of Wilmington. The Big Bad Wolf is a Yamaha powered Contender Captained by Stacy Wester and crewed by Field Hucks of Surfside Beach, South Carolina and Andy Justice of Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

They fished the tide line and beach near the Georgetown jetties and found an impressive 39.20-pound king to claim top honors and a check for $15,560 at the Southern Kingfish Association Division 9 tournament hosted at Southport Watersports in the old Southport Yacht Basin.

The Big Bad Wolf team had caught several small kings and a large shark further offshore on Saturday, but they decided to head to Georgetown to catch some fresh bait just after lunch. The decision was a good one. They tossed a naked pogy out while catching bait, and that's when their big king struck.

The fish tore around 275 yards of line off the reel of angler Andy Justice before Wester chased it down with the team's 33T Contender.

The long run apparently tired out the 39-pound king for when the Big Bad Wolf reached the fish, Wester was easily able to plant a gaff in it. He estimated that the fight took no more than eight minutes.

"We had been fishing around the tide line and a few places just a little offshore and came in to catch some fresh bait for the afternoon. When we realized how thick the bait was just off the beach we decided to see if all that bait and activity might attract a big king," said Captain Wester.

"The water conditions were really nice up there near the beach and we could see the bait for a long ways and figured a hungry king could also. It turned out to be a good decision."

"I'd like to give praise to the new 33T Contender for its superb handling of the rough conditions on Saturday," added Captain Wester. He also wished to express gratitude to Yamaha Outboards, Gladiator TR1 Autopilots and Power Marine Outfitters for their help in bringing home the win.

The Squeeze Play took second place overall with a 38.35-pound king.

SKA second place was awarded to Ace’s Up Fishing, with Captain Jay Sconyers of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The Ace’s Up king weighed 36.45 pounds and was caught in the Cape Fear River Ship Channel.

The Ace's Up crew caught bait at Carolina Beach Inlet Saturday morning, but the six to eight-foot seas in the ship channel made keeping the bait alive impossible. The team was forced to switch to a spread of artificial baits. The artificials worked, as it was a Drone spoon behind a planer that accounted for the 36-pound fish.

The bite came approximately 50 yards from the #8 buoy in the channel. When the king knew it was hooked, it ran straight for the buoy. Captain Sconyers was able to cut the fish off from the buoy with his 28' Yamaha powered Scout, but the king then ran under the boat. This forced Sconyers to turn around and chase the king in the opposite direction.

About ten minutes later, angler Brian Johns had the planer at the rod tip. Sconyers pulled in the long leader, and Johns sank the gaff in the king.

The early leader in the tournament was the Reel Buzz, with Captain Chip Nifong and crew of Hampstead, North Carolina, who were the first boat to the weigh-in.

They caught bait around William's Landing, between Masonboro and Carolina Beach Inlets. Then they ventured offshore to an area near WR4 early in the morning. They caught what they knew was a nice-sized king at around 8:30.

The king ate a naked pogy on the downrigger around 8:00, and it tore off around 250 yards of line. Despite the rough seas, angler Brian Schoenwiesner went to the bow to fight the king.

The fish stayed deep throughout most of the 30 minute fight, allowing the team only a glimpse at its size until it came to the boat for the first and final time. Wes Hege was aboard the 21' Mercury powered Sea Pro in addition to Nifong and Schoenwieser. Then they began fishing their way back inshore.

Reel Buzz arrived at the weigh-in around 1:00 and patiently waited on their boat until the scales opened at 3:00. Their fish weighed in at 36.40 pounds, and they ultimately finished in third place for SKA boats and first place in the Class of 23’.

The Reel Buzz also enjoyed some excitement before they caught their money-winning king. A sailfish ate a bait in the prop wash and tailwalked for a few moments before breaking off.

The Reel Buzz team thanked Brooklyn Premium Cigars of Wilmington for its sponsorship.

The Water Fountain, with Captain Jamie Jones of Carolina Beach, North Carolina, brought home SKA fourth place with a 31.05-pound king mackerel. The Water Fountain crew caught bait Saturday morning at Carolina Beach, and then headed offshore in four to five-foot seas with winds around 20 knots from the southwest. Their fish bit a naked pogy on top at 1:45 while they were inshore of WR4.

After striking, the king ran off around 200 yards of line. When Jones maneuvered their 29' Mercury Optimax powered Fountain to the fish, it ran off another 100 yards. William Kenyon sunk a gaff in the fish to conclude the 35 minute fight. Also aboard was Robbie Kennedy.

"We were just glad to get a decent size fish for a change," Jones remarked of their high tournament finish.

The Sweet T, a Cobia Captained by Mike Spadafino rounded out the top five SKA finishers with a 28.85-pound king. Spadafino reported that tons of good-sized pogies just inside the mouth of the Cape Fear River made catching bait Saturday morning an easy task.

The Sweet T king ate a dead cigar minnow with a pink skirt at the 30/30. The bite came at 12:16, and the fish stayed deep for the entire fight, never making a long run.

The team wasn't positive it was a king mackerel for much of the fight, but they kept the drag light to avoid pulling the hook just in case. This turned out to be a good decision, although they did fight the fish for nearly an hour. At 1:13 the team was able to gaff the fish and put it in the boat.

The Top Lady Angler for the tournament was Brenda Vrooman. Vrooman, who was fishing on the Gone Again with Captain Daniel Mason of Supply, North Carolina, landed a 26.00-pound king. The Gone Again also finished in tenth place overall and was third place in the Class of 23’.

The Top Junior Angler was David Jackson, of Wilmington, who was fishing on the Live Line with his dad, Captain Mike Jackson. The Jacksons also finished in ninth place overall.

David Jackson had a big time at this tournament. He also won the Junior Division of the King of the Nets Cast Net Contest for the second time.

The Jacksons, fishing with David Joyner aboard the 31' Yamaha powered Contender, coaxed the 26.05-pound fish into eating a naked pogy on top near the 30/30. The fish bit around 2:30, and it fought for about 20 minutes before Mike was able to gaff it. The Live Line team thanked its sponsor Tex's Tackle.

Captain Rob Ferris of Harrisburg, who fishes the Mad Mouse, won the Adult Division of the King of the Nets Cast Net Contest.

Tournament Director Jerry Dilsaver said he was disappointed the weather wouldn't cooperate and attributed the gusty winds and high fuel prices with the turnout that was lower than past years. "We watched the weather like a hawk for the whole week and the forecast was very good early in the week," Dilsaver said. "Unfortunately Tropical Storm Beryl formed just offshore and as it moved off sucked a minor cold front to the NC coast and created the wind.”

“It wasn't strong enough to cancel or postpone the tournament, but it did hinder the participation. It wasn't smooth by any means, but we had several fishermen stop to tell us the conditions weren't all that bad and were significantly better than the prior weekend.”

"Congratulations are in order for all the fishermen who participated in the King of the Cape Classic this year," Dilsaver added. "They caught some very nice kings and posted another impressive leaderboard." There were 121 boats that fished the tournament, which was held in blustery 15 knot southwest winds.

Final Standings

1.   BIG BAD WOLF................................................... 39.20
      Contender/Yamaha
      Stacy Wester
      Field Hucks
      Andy Justice

2.   Squeeze Play....................................................... 38.35

3.   ACE’S UP........................................................... 36.45
      Scout/Yamaha
      Jay Sconyers
      Brian Johns

4.   REEL BUZZ......................................................... 36.40
      Sea Pro/Mercury
      Chip Nifong
      Brian Schoenwiesner
      Wes Hege

5.   Miss Emily........................................................... 31.35

6.   WATER FOUNTAIN............................................. 31.05
      Fountain/Mercury
      James Jones
      William Kenyon
      Robbie Kennedy

7.   SWEET T............................................................ 28.85
      Cobia/Yamaha
      Mike Spadafino

8.   King’s Ransom..................................................... 27.45

9.   LIVE LINE.......................................................... 26.05
      Contender/Yamaha
      Mike Jackson
      David Joyner
      David Jackson

10. GONE AGAIN....................................................... 26.00
      Bayliner/Mercury
      Dan Mason
      Steve Stallings
      Brenda Vrooman

11. BLACK CAT......................................................... 22.05
      Triton/Mercury
      Jamey Stewart
      Hunter Harrelson

12. Reel Time............................................................ 21.10

13. FINAL APPROACH.............................................. 19.75
      Pursuit/Yamaha
      James Demyan
      James Demyan III
      John Demyan
      Don “Doc” Johnson

14. PLAYIN’ HOOKY................................................. 18.20
      Starcraft/Yamaha
      Thomas Hemphill
      David Rourk

15. REBAIT.............................................................. 18.00
      Regulator/Yamaha
      Brad Fields

      Class of 23’

1.   REEL BUZZ......................................................... 36.40
      Sea Pro/Mercury
      Chip Nifong
      Brian Schoenwiesner
      Wes Hege

2.   King’s Ransom..................................................... 27.45

3.   GONE AGAIN...................................................... 26.00
      Bayliner/Mercury
      Dan Mason
      Steve Stallings
      Brenda Vrooman

SKA Top Lady Angler
Brenda Vrooman........................................................ Gone Again

SKA Top Junior Anglers
Sponsored by Guy C. Lee Building Materials

1st Mike Jackson........................................................ Live Line
2nd Hunter Harrelson.................................................. Black Cat
3rd Austin Allen.......................................................... Double Down10