US Open KMT 2005
The US Open KMT didn’t attract a record number of boats this year, but they did bring in a large number of kings to the weigh station.
The 345 boat field weighed in a total of 485 kings-294 on Friday and 191 on Saturday. At the end, a 38 lb. king caught on Friday would be the 2005 US Open winner.
“Team Hammer” won the event with a 38.65 lb. king. The team of Capt. Ron Sutton and David Godbold, both from Carolina Beach, found the big king about one mile off of Ocean Crest Pier using a naked pogy on the long line. The king hit at 10:00. It took about 40 minutes to bring him in, due in large part because it was foul hooked behind the head.
Godbold said, “The king never made any hard runs, just a couple of easy runs where it peeled off some line.”
“Team Hammer,” a 33′ Hydra Sport with triple 225 Yamahas, chased the king a little until it came up to the top. Then Sutton had to walk the king around the boat at least six times.
Of the win Sutton commented, “We’re very fortunate.” He added, “I’d like to thank Hydra Sports, Yamaha, Vector Marine, and Johnson Marine.”
Second place went to “Team Faria Sandpiper,” a 30′ Hydra Sport, with a 35.60 lb. king. Fred and Dane Piper, from Raleigh, caught the king on Saturday off of Lockwood Folly Inlet. The king hit a ribbonfish down about 15 feet.
The king struck around 1:30 and took 40 minutes to bring in. After about 3-4 long runs, it stayed around the boat for approximately 15 minutes before they could get a gaff in it.
F. Piper gave his appreciation to both Evinrude Motors and Dave Blackburn at Faria Marine Instruments for their support.
The third place king weighed in at only 5/100 of a pound less than the second place king. “Live Line,” a charter boat out of Wrightsville Beach, found a 35.55 lb. king in the river channel. Capt. Mike Jackson, David Jackson, and David Joyner, fishing on the 31′ Contender, hooked up around 7:30 on Saturday morning. The strike came on a naked pogy in 30′ of water on the medium line. It only took 5 minutes to bring the king in.
“Chaser I” came in fourth place with a 35.40 lb. king caught on Yaupon Reef. Cecile Wallace, from Durham, and J.L. Nichols, from Wrightsville Beach, found the king Saturday morning around 9:00.
The king hit a skirted pogy on the long line. Wallace said, “It took a big run and kept on going.”
After a 20-minute fight, they brought the king over the rails to find it was hooked in the side.
The team thanked Power Marine Outfitters and Mercury Motors.
“Mac Daddy” came in fifth place with a 34.35 lb. king. Wesley Campbell, Carson Lee, Chris Campbell, and Chad Devane, all from Elizabethtown, caught the king in the river channel with a naked pogy on the longline.
Just 30 minutes before the 34 lb. king hit, they had landed a 26.75 lb. king.
The rest of the top ten are as follows: D. Logan, from Wrightsville Beach, on “Logan’s Run” in sixth with a 33.95 lb. king; Tommy McAlister, from Marshville, on “Hammer Time” in seventh with a 32.5 lb. king; William Ray Sears, from Apex, on “Got-Cha” in eighth with a 32.15 lb. king; Rick Nifong, from Oak Island, on “Man-O-War” in ninth with a 32.0 lb. king; Joseph Christopher Stone, from Wrightsville Beach, on “Sweet R Tea” in tenth with a 31.75 lb. king.
Tournament Director Eric Padgett noted that the number of boats being down probably was due to gas prices, the wind, and another KMT going on up in Morehead City. He also noted that while the number of in-state boats was down, the tournament did attract a larger number of out-of-state boats this year.
Padgett thanked all of the tournament’s participants and sponsors, and said the tournament would not be possible without all of the hard work from the tournament board of directors, the committee members, and all of the volunteers.
For a complete list of the results from the leader board, including all of the special weight prizes, you can log on to www.usopenkmt.com.
