The wind huffed and puffed on Saturday, July 22, at the King of the Cape Classic King Mackerel Tournament, but it was the Big Bad Wolf, of Wilmington, that blew the house down. The Big Bad Wolf is a Yamaha powered Contender captained by Stacy Wester of Wilmington and crewed by Field Hucks, Surfside Beach, S.C. and Andy Justice, Pawleys Island, S.C. 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 SKA Division 9, King of the Cape Classic King Mackerel Tournament, held from Southport Watersports in the old Southport Yacht Basin.
“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 and decided to see if all that bait and activity might attract a big king,” said Capt. 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.”
It did indeed turn out to be a good decision, but the remainder of the tournament didn’t go without a scare.
It seems that through cell phone conversations with friends, the Big Bad Wolf crew knew another boat, the Squeeze Play, was headed in from off Carolina Beach, with a king in their fish bag that had the same length and girth as theirs. They found an empty slip just down from the tournament site and tied up to see the Squeeze Play’s fish go across the scales.
By the time the Squeeze Play, an Evinrude powered Offshore, arrived at the scales from their fishing spot at the 30/30, Capt. Michael Sellers, Jr. and crew knew the Big Bad Wolf’s fish weighed just over 39 pounds. They were hoping their fish would be a little heavier. Mathematical calculations of girth (22.5) squared, times length (51), divided by 700 placed their fish around 37 pounds, but the Big Bad Wolf king had weighed heavy and theirs could too.
When the Squeeze Play’s fish was presented to tournament weighmaster Jerry Dilsaver, he turned to the Big Bad Wolf crew and told them they had a serious challenge. It seemed like an eternity to the two teams, but less than a minute later it had been checked and the scales settled on 38.35 pounds. That .85 pound was a heartbreaker for Capt. Sellers and crew, but they gamely congratulated the big Bad Wolf Crew and continued to smile with their own good fortune.
There were still 30 minutes remaining in the tournament and last minute leader board changes have been fairly common in past years at this tournament, so both teams were optimistic but tense, knowing there might still be other challengers. Several other nice fish were weighed during that last half hour, but none presented a challenge for the first two places.
The early leader in the tournament was the Reel Buzz, with Capt. Chip Nifong and crew of Hampstead. They ventured offshore to near WR 4 early in the morning, caught their fish around 8:00 and began fishing their way back inshore. They arrived at the weigh-in around 1:00 and patiently waited on the Mercury powered Sea Pro until the scales opened at 3:00. Their fish weighed 36.40 pounds and finished in fourth place overall and first place in the 23 Feet and Under Class.
Third place was awarded to Aces Up Fishing, with Capt. Jay Sconyers of Murrells Inlet, S.C. The Aces Up king weighed 36.45 pounds and was caught in the Cape Fear Inlet Ship Channel.
The Top Lady Angler for the tournament was Brenda Vrooman. Vrooman, who was fishing on the Gone Again, with Capt. Daniel Mason of Supply, landed a 26.00 pound king. The Gone Again also finished in tenth place overall and was third place in the 23 Feet and Under Class.
The Top Senior Angler was Capt. John Batis of Carolina Beach, on the Miss Emily. Their king weighed 31.35 pounds and was also good for fifth place.
The Top Junior Angler was David Jackson, of Wilmington, who was fishing with his dad, Mike on the Live Line. The Jacksons also finished in ninth place. David Jackson had a big time at this tournament. He claimed the win in the Junior Division of the King of the Nets Cast Net Contest for the second time.
Capt. Rob Ferris, of Harrisburg, who fishes the Mad Mouse, won the Adult Division of the King of the Nets Cast Net Contest.
Tournament Directors Donnie Potter and Jerry Dilsaver said they were 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,” they said. “Unfortunately Tropical Storm Beryl formed just offshore and as it moved off sucked a minor cold front to the N.C. 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 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,” Potter added. “They caught some very nice kings and posted another impressive leader board.”
121 boats fished the tournament, which was held in blustery 15 knot southwest winds. Proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Long Bay Artificial Reef Association (www.lbara.com) and Brunswick County Special Olympics.
Sponsors for the tournament included North Carolina Sportsman Magazine, Southport Watersports, Chatlee Boat and Marine, Star Rods, The Wireless Company, Oak Island Sporting Goods, Boat Clinic, Fish-Ng Accessories, Maps Unique, Betts Cast Nets, and Turbo Rattler.
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