2025 Spanish Mackerel Open
This year’s annual Spanish Mackerel Open, presented by Fisherman’s Post, was held out of Wrightsville Beach the weekend of June 14-15 in a Captains’ Choice format where teams were able to pick the best fishing day between Saturday and Sunday.
The weigh-in was once again held at Motts Channel Seafood, while registration and awards took place at Intracoastal Angler.
The main leaderboard offered opportunities to win based on a team’s total weight of a three-fish aggregate of spanish mackerel, and the event also offered chances to further a team’s winnings via four voluntary TWTs—Single Big Spanish, Three Spanish, Single Big Bluefish, and Single Big Lizardfish.
The Spanish Mackerel Open is a competitive but family-friendly event, with prizes awarded to the top Junior Angler (ages 0-8), Pre-Teen Angler (ages 9-12), Teen Angler (ages 13-17), Lady Angler, and Senior Angler.
Josh, Erin, Briley, and Lisa Palm, of Team Bone Collector, took first place in the 2025 Spanish Mackerel Open with a three-spanish aggregate of 7.6 lbs. They caught their spanish in the mouth of the Cape Fear River.
In their first-ever tournament appearance, Team Bone Collector—Josh, Erin, Brylee, and Lisa Palm of Boiling Spring Lakes—took home first place overall with a three-fish total of 7.6 lbs. Their performance also earned them third place in the Single Big Spanish category and the Lady Angler award for the team’s largest single spanish weighing 3.2 lbs.
After scrapping their Saturday plans due to lightning storms in Southport, the team launched Sunday with hopes of reaching their usual nearshore spots. However, rough seas forced them to stay closer to shore, and they shifted their efforts to the mouth of the Cape Fear River, working the shorelines from Bald Head Island to Caswell Beach.
Trolling Clarkspoons behind planers and trolling weights, they landed all three fish between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Their largest came on a #4 Clarkspoon paired with a 3 oz. trolling weight, while the others hit smaller spoons and a bird rig.
Team Habla Espanol, hailing from Wilmington and featuring Sutton Schilawski, Jared Zeller, and Dane Delabastide, secured second place overall with a 6.7 lb. aggregate weight. They landed a 4.7 lb. spanish that not only earned them second place in the Single Big Spanish category but anchored their bag in taking first place in the Three-Fish TWT.
Fishing Sunday, the team focused on familiar nearshore wrecks, including the Boxcars and Liberty Ship. Their strategy centered on targeting a larger class of fish using live pogies and mullet. The plan paid off early with their two spanish hitting shortly after lines went in. Although the bite slowed and they couldn’t land a third keeper, their early success was enough to secure a strong finish.
Team Habla Espanol, comprised of Sutton Schilawski, Jared Zeller, and Dane Delabastide, finished in second place in the 2025 Spanish Mackerel Open with an aggregate weight of 6.7 lbs. The team focused their efforts on the Boxcars and the Liberty Ship.
Team Irish Exit, made up of Joey Potanovic and his fishing buddies Ty Williams and Gus Carlstedt, took third place overall with a single 6.1 lb. spanish mackerel—the largest fish of the tournament. That catch also earned them first place in the Single Big Spanish TWT.
The team fished live pogies on a downrigger near the 5-Mile Boxcars, where they hooked their tournament-winner around 11:30 a.m. Though it was their only spanish of the day, it was enough to vault them onto the leaderboard.
To see the complete Spanish Mackerel Open leaderboard and find out more about this and other Fisherman’s Post events, visit FishermansPost.com or check out Fisherman’s Post on their Facebook page.
