US Open KMT 2006
Although weather forecasters called for small craft advisories off Southport, NC, for October 6 and 7, 356 boats still registered to fish in the 28th annual US Open King Mackerel Tournament. Fortunately, the weathermen were wrong yet again, and tournament participants were treated to two beautiful fishing days with 10 mph winds and 1-2 foot seas in the Cape Fear River shipping channel, where most of the boats were fishing.
Wilmington, NC’s “Knockin’ Fire” team captured first place in this year’s US Open with a 39.30 lb. king caught on Friday. Jay Gertz Jr., John Gertz, and Adam Herring caught the fish, worth a total of $39,085, aboard the 31′ Fountain powered by twin Mercury 250XS motors.
The “Knockin’ Fire” was trolling inside the Cape Fear shipping channel when the winning king struck around 9:00 in the morning. Herring took the rod after the mackerel ate a naked pogy trolled long. The fish only ran off about 50 yards of line after the bite, and then it went deep.
Herring quickly brought the fish close to the boat, but the king stubbornly refused to come to the surface. “We got her to the boat quick, but she was tough to get in,” John Gertz remarked of the fish. After 20 minutes of a straight up and down battle, the king finally relented and came to the surface, where Gertz planted a gaff in it.
The crew caught five more kings on Friday in the same area, with the next largest around 25 lbs. Returning to the shipping lane on Saturday, the “Knockin’ Fire” found four king mackerel, with two more over 20 lbs.
Catching bait presented no difficulty for the “Knockin’ Fire” team on Friday or Saturday, and they filled the live well both days in the Cape Fear River.
The “Knockin’ Fire” crew wished to thank sponsors Mercury Outboards and Fountain Powerboats, as well as their wives, for supporting them in their tournament efforts.
Second place overall went to the Apex, NC “Got-Cha” fishing team of Bill and Barbara Sears. They ferried a 38.25 lb. king to the scales aboard their 29′ Yamaha-powered Wellcraft. Second place earned the Sears a check for $18,451.
A naked double pogy rig in the propwash fooled the Sears’ king into striking around 10:00 on Friday. They were trolling just west of the shipping channel in 35′ of water when the fish bit. Taking the rod after the strike, Bill was surprised that the king didn’t make much of a run. Instead of peeling off a lot of line, the king went deep and began slowly circling the boat. The fish kept up the deep circle routine for around 15 minutes before it surfaced. As soon as it did, Barbara gaffed it and swung it aboard the “Got-Cha.”
On Friday, the “Got-Cha” caught a total of 10 king mackerel, releasing all but two. They caught bait easily just off of Oak Island’s Ocean Crest Pier.
The Morehead City, NC-based “Hot Grits” took third place, weighing a 37.95 lb. king mackerel. Teammates Andy Hinton, Jimmy Kirkman, David Stallings, and Jack Wood (who is a two time previous US Open Champion) brought home $10,634 for their king, which they caught Friday aboard the 32′ Donzi powered by 275 Mercury Verados.
The “Hot Grits” king hit a double pogy rig with a pink skirt trolled in the propwash at 11:30 on Friday. The crew was trolling a tideline directly in the shipping channel when the fish struck, and Kirkman picked up the rod. The team described the king’s fight as typical for the species, with several runs on the surface. Kirkman had it boatside in under 10 minutes. As soon as it was in range, Wood gaffed the third place mackerel and boated it.
The “Hot Grits” crew wishes to express gratitude to sponsors Donzi, Mercury, and Loadmaster for contributing to their success in the US Open.
The “Sea Walker,” a 31′ Yamaha-powered Cape Horn from Oak Island, NC, took fourth in the US Open with a 37.70 lb. king. In addition to the $2500 check for fourth place, Mickey, Phil, and Tanya Gilley, and Matt Cox won a SeaTow sponsored prize and an Early Bird registration drawing.
The fourth place king struck the first bait the “Sea Walker” deployed in the shipping channel on Friday. It hit while Tanya Gilley was still freespooling the bait out behind the boat. She flipped the reel in gear, and the fish took off on a long run. Since there were so many tournament boats in the area, the “Sea Walker” couldn’t follow their king, and Tanya had to fight it back to the boat after each run. After 30 minutes of the give and take battle, the mackerel had had enough and Cox was able to gaff it.
The “Sea Walker” obtained bait easily just off Ocean Crest Pier on Friday. They would like to thank sponsor BlackBarry Marine of Southport for contributing to their fourth place finish.
The “East Coast Sports” team, hailing from Topsail Island, NC, weighed a 36. 90 lb. king to finish fifth in this event. Father/son team Randall and George Edens caught the king aboard their 35′ Wellcraft powered by three 250 Yamaha four strokes, and they pocketed a check for $1500 for fifth place.
The “East Coast Sports” king fell for a double pogy rig in the propwash in the shipping channel. It bit at 1:00 Friday afternoon, and George took the rod. At first the king only took about 50 feet of line; however, when it realized it was hooked, the fish made a 200 yard dash and went deep. After the team caught up to the king, it made another, shorter run, going down again. When the fish neared the boat a second time, Randall sank a gaff in it.
Prior to catching the fifth place fish on Friday, the Edens caught a 25 lb. king around 9:00 am, brought it in, weighed it, caught more bait, and then headed back out. They caught bait Friday off Oak Island near Yaupon Pier.
George Edens wished to express gratitude to the team’s sponsors: East Coast Sports, Portside Marina, Wellcraft, Yamaha, Road King, and Zander Guy Real Estate.
The US Open was started 28 years ago by Southport and Oak Island community leaders to highlight the incredible fall fishing in the area. It is unique among area king tournaments in that the best king fishing at this time of year is usually very close to shore in the river channel, so the great majority of tournament boats are fishing the same general area. The great competition this creates is showcased by the fact that the top five fish in the 2006 event were separated by less than 2.5 lbs.
Despite forecaster’s attempts to scare anglers away from registering, the 2006 US Open King Mackerel Tournament went well and continued its annual contribution of over two million dollars to the local economy.
