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more Mercury Trail stories<< ON THE FLY TOPS SKA TEAMS IN SWANSBORO
McLamb Takes Top Class Honors with 21-Pounder!
by Max Gaspeny
Bill McLamb’s On the Fly fishing team caught the heaviest king mackerel of any of the Class of 23’ boats competing in the Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament, held May 25th-27th. In fact, the 21.04-pound king the crew brought to the scales at Swansboro’s Hammock’s Beach State Park was the largest weighed by any SKA boat.
The Raleigh, North Carolina based team consists of McLamb, his son Jon McLamb, Al Davis and Troy Simmons fishing aboard the On the Fly, a 23’ Yamaha powered Pathfinder.
The top SKA king hit a double menhaden rig trolled in the shotgun position around noon on Saturday. The On the Fly was slow trolling around the 200/200 when the bite came.
“We thought it was a dolphin because it skied on the bait and missed,” Bill McLamb said. “That’s how he got foul hooked. We saw the tail hit the water, and still couldn’t tell—it was a big splash. I said, ‘If he jumps again right away, it’s a dolphin,’ but the fish took off.”
Jon McLamb grabbed the rod after the dramatic strike and began fighting the acrobatic king. Due to the foul-hook, the battle took a little longer than typical—around 35 minutes. Otherwise it was an uneventful fight until Jon McLamb got the 21-pound king close to the boat.
“We saw a shark come up to hit the king,” Bill McLamb recalled of the tense moments leading up to boating their fish. “We could see the king well in the clear water, too, but just couldn’t quite reach him with a gaff.”
Fortunately for the On the Fly crew, the shark missed their fish, and Bill McLamb was soon able to reach out and gaff it. They continued trolling the area looking for a larger fish before deciding to head to the scales.
Although the Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament was blessed with light winds and calm seas, the On the Fly had a bumpier ride than most of the competitors, and that was due to some mechanical issues.
“We lost the trim tabs on the way out,” he explained. “Luckily they were up when it happened.” Any discomfort the crew felt on the ride back was surely tempered by learning at the scales that their fish was at the top of the Class of 23’ and the heaviest fish landed by a SKA boat.
The On the Fly team earned a total check for $5,750 for their efforts. Aside from the 21-pound king, they caught three smaller kings and a dolphin over the course of the day. They found their menhaden baits with little difficulty in front of McLamb’s Harkers Island house.
The top fish in the Open Class of SKA competition was a 19.88-pound king weighed in by the Watch This. The team fishes aboard a 35’ Wellcraft powered by three 250 Yamaha four strokes, and is made of Jeff Cunningham, his son Trask Cunningham and Jeff Lee.
The Watch This was working the area just south of Frying Pan Tower when their fish struck around 2:30 Saturday afternoon. They started the day further offshore, and Jeff Cunningham was somewhat surprised to find the fish where they did.
“I really expected the bigger kings to be offshore. We had been out to the Navy Wreck to start the day, worked back in to a couple other spots, and finally decided to try the Tower area,” he said. “When we got there we jigged up some baits, hooked one, dropped it back, and five minutes later, it was on.”
A live cigar minnow trolled naked fooled the Watch This king, and Jeff Lee was first to the rod after the strike. Lee battled the king for a short 10 minutes before it approached the big Wellcraft. When the fish was in range, Jeff Cunningham stepped from behind the helm and planted a gaff in it.
Explaining the decision to move inshore to the Tower, Cunningham said, “We heard very little on the radio about kings offshore, and we thought if we do manage to get something in there, our run in won’t be as bad.”
It may be closer than the Navy Wreck, but the Tower is still over 70 miles from Bogue Inlet, and the team headed for the weigh-in soon after boating the king. They earned $2,711 for the 19.88-pound fish.
Although the near-20-pound king was their biggest, the crew experienced a busy day of fishing, catching dolphin and several other kings up to 15 pounds. They caught their bait, along with many other boats, in the ocean off Bald Head Island.
Another father/son team, Brett and Alan Barnes, fishing on board the Hot Rod, took the second heaviest fish by an SKA Open Class boat, a 19.30-pound king. The Wilmington, North Carolina based team fishes aboard a 25’ Yamaha powered Contender.
The Barnes were trolling just offshore of Frying Pan Tower when their king struck. The fish hit a large menhaden trolled naked around 9:30 Saturday. Alan Barnes picked up the rod after the bite and began a quick struggle with the fish.
“He ran off, but the fight wasn’t unusual at all,” Brett Barnes said. After 10 minutes, the mackerel was close enough to the boat for Brett to leave the wheel and gaff it.
The Hot Rod continued fishing near the Tower and hunting for a bigger king for the rest of the day. Rather than a steady bite, Barnes described the action as periodic. When it was time to head to the scales, the Barnes had boated several kings close to the size of their big fish and a few dolphin.
The 19.30-pound fish earned the Hot Rod $1,590, and Barnes said, “We continue to count on and be pleased with the performance of Terminator Titanium Wire and VMC Hooks.”
Stacy Wester’s Big Bad Wolf team, based in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, took the 18.90-pound third heaviest king by an Open Class boat. Wester fished the event with his brother Ditto Wester and Clay Walker aboard the Yamaha-powered Contender 33T.
The Big Bad Wolf was anchored up and catching red grouper when their fish hit around 1:30. The crew was on a ledge in 100 feet of water 50 miles east of Swansboro after starting the day on the inshore side of the Gulf Stream at a depth of 160 feet. Their fish inhaled a naked menhaden live-lined on top.
Team Captain Stacy Wester took the rod after the bite, and the crew chased down the king in short order. It took less than 10 minutes for the fish to tire, and when it got close, Ditto Wester leaned over and gaffed the king.
Along with their leaderboard king, the Big Bad Wolf crew caught dolphin, smaller kings, and 15 keeper red grouper. They caught their menhaden with one throw of the net at Wrightsville Beach on Saturday morning.
The Big Bad Wolf fish topped the High Roller’s TWT in addition to other prizes, and Wester accepted a check for over $7,000 at Sunday night’s awards ceremony. Wester wished to express his gratitude to sponsors Power Marine Outfitters, Contender, Yamaha and Gladiator TR-1 Autopilots.
The fourth place Open Class boat was the King Krazy, out of Nashville, North Carolina, with an 18.60-pound king. The fish also gave Dylan Sanders Top Junior Angler honors.
An 18.30-pound king put the G’s Machine team, from Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, in fifth place for Open Class competition, and earned Michelle Norris the Top Lady Angler spot. The team’s Junior Anglers Jordan and Savannah Norris also took second place on the SKA’s Junior Angler leaderboard.
A 16.76-pound king mackerel earned Hannah Smith, fishing on the Extasea, third place Junior Angler honors.
The Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament is the first SKA Division 1 tournament of the year. The 212 boats that registered in this year’s king mackerel competition were met with pleasant weather on Saturday, the king mackerel event’s only fishing day. “The weather was fantastic,” Tournament Director Stukie Payne said. “It’s the best weather we’ve had in five years.”
The Swansboro Rotary King Mackerel Tournament supports the Rotary Club’s scholarship fund for local high school students. “We’ve given out $510,000 to date, and the tournament entries specifically benefit the scholarship program,” Payne explained.
FINAL STANDINGS
SWANSBORO ROTARY KING MACKEREL TOURNAMENT:
|
| 1. |
Tailwalker•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 25.88 |
| 2. |
Team Germinator•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 25.34 |
| 3. |
Release•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 22.22 |
| 4. |
Stressless II••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 21.98 |
| 5. |
ON THE FLY •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
21.04 |
| Pathfinder/Yamaha
William McLamb
Troy Simmons
|
| 6. |
WATCH THIS••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
19.88 |
| Wellcraft/Yamaha
Jeff Cunningham
Trask Cunningham
Jeff Lee
|
| 7. |
HOT ROD•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
19.30 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Brett Barnes
Alan Barnes
|
| 8. |
BIG BAD WOLF•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
18.90 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Stacey Wester
|
| 9. |
KING KRAZY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
18.60 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Ronald Sanders
Barry Wilson
Michael Sanders
Dylan Sanders
|
| 10. |
G's MACHINE••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
18.30 |
| Fountain/Mercury
Kevin Norris
Jordan Norris
Michele Norris
Savannah Norris
|
| 11. |
THE RIGHT ONE BABY•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
16.86 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Todd Matthews
Jim Davis
Barry Matthews
Garland Sewell
|
| 12. |
EXTASEA•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
16.76 |
| KenCraft/Evinrude
Derrick Smith
David Smith
Jack Paczosa
Hannah Smith
|
| 13. |
THREE STOOGES & CHERYL•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
14.78 |
| Donzi /Mercury
Larry Warren
Cheryl Warren
Steve Straun
Ken Garvey
|
| 14. |
SECOND CATCH••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
14.56 |
| Contender/Mercury
Bert Ferebee
Margaret Ferebee
|
| 15. |
Miss Mercy•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 13.68 |
| 16. |
OPEN WIDE••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
13.62 |
| Cape Horn/Yamaha
Benson Ybanez
Tony Fincher
Robbie Ferrell
Billy Parkins
|
| 17. |
SKINT BACK ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
13.60 |
| Wellcraft/Yamaha
Kevin Jones
David Jones
Sandy Jones
|
| 18. |
Reel Return•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 13.18 |
| 19. |
FISH-JIG••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
12.74 |
| Sailfish/Yamaha
Charles Harris
|
| 20. |
MISS TENY•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
12.58 |
| Palmetto/Mercury
Ashley Jones
Scott Jones
Randy Chase
Frankie Jones
|
TOP JUNIOR ANGLERS
Presented by Power Marine Outfitters: |
| 1. |
Dylan Sanders ••••••••••••••• KING KRAZY••••••••••••••• 18.60 |
| 2. |
Jordan & Savannah Norris••••• G’s MACHINE•••••••••••••• 18.30 |
| 3. |
Hannah Smith•••••••••••••••• EXTASEA••••••••••••••••••16.76 |
 |
