Sneads Ferry Rotary King Mackerel Tournament

The Sneads Ferry Rotary King Mackerel Tournament brought out 111 boats across the Captains’ Choice weekend of August 14-16, with 44 teams fishing Saturday and 67 on Sunday. Conditions stayed decent both days, and boats spread out from New River Inlet to the shoals, checking their offshore numbers and looking for August kings.

Team Smelly Cat, featuring Scott and son Jake Marinelli along with longtime friend Rick Rourke, fished Sunday on their 26’ World Cat and put a 40.55 lb. king on the deck to win the tournament. 

Sunday morning started with finding plenty of pogies. With bait secured, Scott headed offshore toward Cripple Rock. They stopped on a set of marks Scott recognized from fishing with a charter captain friend years ago, and the fish were there. They lost the first bite, then landed a king in the high teens or low 20s. 

On the next pass, the long line bounced on the surface, and Jake started cranking it in fast to clear the spread. Mid‑retrieve, the bait got crushed. The fish made one good run and then came straight to the boat, and they had it landed in about 10-15 minutes.

 When they pulled the king over the gunwale, Scott texted his wife that he thought they’d just won the tournament.

Team Greasy Money, comprised of Jeff Tyson, Randy F. Dyson, Randy W. Dyson, and Riley Dyson, finished in second place in the 2026 Sneads Ferry King Mackerel Tournament weighing in a 37.94 lb. king mackerel. Their fish struck a live pogie in the propwash.

The day wasn’t perfect—for example, the downrigger wire snapped and the electronics never corrected themselves—but the big king still found their spread. Scott has fished 15-20 tournaments over the years without a major win, so this one meant a lot. For Scott, Jake, and Rick, the 2026 Sneads Ferry Rotary finally delivered the win they’d been chasing.

Team Greasy Money, led by captain Jeff Tyson, took second place with a 37.94 lb. king and also won first place in both the High Roller and the main TWT. 

Jeff runs a 31’ Cape Horn and fished Sunday with Randy Finn Dyson and his two sons, Randy West and Riley. Jeff met the boys 15 years ago after buying a place at the beach, and they grew up fishing with him. Over the last four years, the group has gotten serious about king mackerel tournaments and already has a couple wins together.

The crew left around 5:15 on Sunday morning, checked the waterway for bait, and then ran to Harkers Island. Pogies were scattered and tough to find, but the boys threw big nets and had bait in about 40 minutes. 

Jake Marinelli, Rick Rourke, and Scott Marinelli, of Team Smelly Cat, topped the leaderboard in the 2026 Sneads Ferry King Mackerel Tournament with a 40.55 lb. king mackerel. They king hit a live pogie on the long line on Sunday morning.

Jeff ran down the shoals, took a left, and pushed across to 17,700, setting lines at 7:55. They stayed there until 12:30, watching two kings get caught nearby but never getting their own bite.

With the morning dead, Jeff made the call to jump the shoals and head back to the west side. 

They fished a couple of spots, and then around 2:00 as Randy West let a bait out behind the boat, a king smoked it right behind the prop wash. The fish did not act like a typical big king at first, making a short eight second run and then stopping. 

Jeff stayed on top of it with the boat while Randy fought it mid-column. The fish eventually took a second strong run, and when it came up top, Riley called it a king. They made quick work of it and put the 37.94 lb. fish on the deck.

Team Conference Call took 3rd place with a 36.78 lb. king, which also brought the team second place in both the High Roller and TWT divisions. 

More information on this event can be found at www.sfkmt.com.

by Fish Poster