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Copyright 2006 Brandon W. Smith. All rights reserved.
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Fishing Team
2003 Reports
I fell behind with my reports and journals towards the end of the year due to school. We weren’t able to fish many tournaments, but were still able to accumulate enough points to qualify for the nationals, though we again will not be able to attend.
No journal for the HOOK or the U.S. Open.
Rumble in the Jungle
September 13, 2003
Having moved my boat to Columbia to avoid Fabian, plus having a new trailer fitted for the boat, and with Isabel bearing down on us I decided to leave my boat in the Midlands and join Jeff and Greg aboard the Triple Gobble. Also fishing with the Triple Gobble team for this tournament was Ronnie Broach.
Not having any Friday classes has been wonderful thus far this semester, and with the added time Mary Coleman and I headed down to Little River Thursday to prepare to meet Jeff and pre-fish on Friday.
We launched Jeff’s boat around 8 o’clock and made our way to the Inlet. After turning the jetty we decided to make the run north along the beach to look for bait, with plans to fish the Lighthouse Rocks. We found bait just shy of the Holden Beach Pier, but it was scattered. After several throws we had enough nice turbo pogies for our short trip.
The winds were steady out of the north, and the air temperature was quite chilly. Water along the beach was in the upper 70’s, but mid 70’s offshore. We found the ocean considerably calmer than expected, though the wind did make fishing a little difficult. We fished for about an hour, marking a decent amount of bait, but no strikes.
Wanting to return to the dock around 2, we picked up our lines and checked our bait location to see if it was still holding bait, and then ran south of Myrtle Beach to see if there was bait off the beach to the south. Though we had found no fish, we located bait the north and south and felt pretty comfortable with our plans for tomorrow.
The tournament received 93 boats, pretty good for the inaugural event coupled with the expected poor weather conditions. As it turns out, the weather was great and the tournament was put on very well, though the fishing was bad.
We started at the Myrtle Beach Rocks after spending 1 ½ hours gathering scattered bait. We watch two small Kings, one from behind us and one in front of us (by the same boat), but could not hook up ourselves. We managed only one small Shark. There was plenty of great bait, as we had jigged some nice Blue Runners and big Cigar Minnows, but no fish. We decided to rune to the Jungle, but after marking no bait, soon ran again to a spot I call the Stink Pickle, about 30 miles off the beach.
The water looked good at the Stink Pickle, but after marking only a little bait and with no strikes, we were quickly off to the Shark Hole. More of the same here, so we moved to the Lighthouse Rocks. Without even wetting a bait, we continue running and finish the day at the Cape Fear Shipping Channel.
After returning to Cricket Cove, we discover that we finished 8th with 85 other boats, as only 7 fish were weighed.
August 31
Took my parents Spanish fishing around the Lockwood Folly Inlet. There were lots of fish, but only a few keepers. All told, we caught 15-20 fish in a couple of hours.
South Brunswick Islands KMT
August 30
After having little success pre-fishing the Myrtle Beach Rocks, I had considerable doubt as to whether we should fish this event, firmly believing that those capable of running south of Georgetown would have a significant advantage. Weighing our options, Reed and I finally concluded that fish swim and the bite could turn on anywhere and anytime, so our chances were just as good as anyone else’s.
We started by getting our bait off Oak Island. Our plan had been to run offshore 26 miles, but we had to alter our plans due to the sloppier than expected conditions. We change course and deposited our baits back into the sea around 7:30 at the WOFES site.
One hour and a couple of sharks later, we move to the east, across the shoals towards the Cabbage Patch. Just after crossing the shoals, we find lots of bait so we dropped our lines in and fought off more sharks.
After we had more than our fill of sharks, we continued over to the Cabbage Patch. It was only a few minutes before we began to hook up, but to our pleasant surprise, we were catching kings instead of sharks.
We were excited to finally find some fish, but they were all very small. After releasing a few fish, we put one in the boat to weigh, though small.
We had caught a bunch of fish, and our bait and rig selections were getting very low. We hated to leave a spot with fish, but knew we needed to rebait, and figured that we wouldn’t find the winner at the Cabbage Patch.
After running inshore and getting fresh bait, we had to decide whether to fish Lockwood Inlet, or the dreaded Cape Fear Inlet. Because we detest the Cape Fear, we decided to finish the day at Lockwood.
We trolled for a while without a strike, and after hearing about the bite at the Cape Fear we considered moving, but decided to remain.
Unfortunately, the Lockwood only produced one shark, bringing our shark tally to over 30, and forced us to weigh our small 13.98 lb king. We hoped for 50th place and the $1,000 prize. (As I later learned, we came in 51st, how typical.)
At the awards ceremony, we learned that most of the fish came from the River Channel and nothing was biting down south.
August 29
I haven’t been able to fish this beautiful weather we been blessed with, but I was finally able to get out and prefish for the SBIKMT. Mary Coleman and I left the dock around 8:45 and made our way towards the Myrtle Beach Rocks. The ocean was beautiful, and bait was plentiful, but the fish had lockjaw.
I had originally wanted to fish off of Georgetown for the tournament, but I read the rules and learned of the checkout, so I knew that run would not be a possibility Saturday. I had hoped that the fish that were chomping down south might make their way north, and thought that the inshore spots around Myrtle Beach might be the spot. I was wrong.
Started inshore of the Myrtle Rocks and had only one short strike. I then proceeded a few miles offshore and only found a couple of sharks and one large Spanish. It was not looking like a very promising spot. I elected to move over to the 410/510 on the way home, and could only find sharks there too.
The reports have been that the king bite had been non-existent for the past week and a half. It looked no different today. I’m not sure what to do for the tournament; feeling at a big disadvantage not being able to run south with the big boys after the huge bite last weekend.
August 22
Couldn’t fish today, but Crawford took a trip out to the stream and had no luck. He reported no strikes, and to top it all off, a storm popped up on the way in and it took over four hours to return.
Greg and Jeff aboard the Triple Gobble fished the Miracles tournament and found a nice fish weighing 27#, but it took over a 30# fish to make the top 30
August 16, 2003
Decided not to fish the Shallotte KMT for various reasons but took the Whaler out for some fun fishing. Today’s crew included Mary Coleman and Reed. Started at the Little River Offshore with several other boats, but there was no bait, nor fish. We eventually moved over to the Sherman, but only had one shark. Drifting home we found some bait and a nice bottom, but only picked up one Black Sea Bass.
August 15, 2003
Mary Coleman and I ran out to the Shark hole on the Sailfish to prefish the Shallotte Inlet KMT. When we arrived, there was no bait and no fish. Heard a good bite was going on at the Horseshoe, but didn’t want to run out any further due to the lack of food on board; I was very hungry, so we ran in.
August 1, 2003
Went up the Lockwood with my mom on a birthday fishing trip and found several small flounder, a bluefish, and a pinfish.
Jolly Mon KMT
July 5, 2003
The Jolly Mon is one of my favorite tournaments, because as always, Brant and his family did a great job putting on the tournament. This year however, the rough weather limited the number of boats that entered. Though they did not reach the expected 275 entries, 256 boats did enter and 74 fish were weighed.
Our plan had been to fish both my boat and my parents boat. However, one of the boats that didn’t enter because of the expected seas was The Reel Estate. Choosing not to be pounded to death and fish an inlet, Ryan, Brian, and myself joined Mary Coleman and my father on the Legal Ease.
It’s nice to see how the other half lives during rough weather tournaments. We didn’t get wet, nor pounded, nor bruised, and the air conditioning was excellent.
After reaching the Shallotte Inlet, we quickly noticed the congregation at the end of the last set of markers. About 50 boats were looking for bait. We strolled around, tossed the net once, but decided that any effort to catch bait in that C.F. was not worth it. We headed south along Ocean Isle, and ½ mile later, we floated the net and were off to the Jungle before any of the other loaded up.
After putting out our spread, we were troubled by a large tangle. Then a pogy got in the prop. It was slow and it was not looking good. Finally we had a strike. One small King whose innards were hanging from its belly when we brought it to the boat. It looked like a scalpel had been used to cut along its belly. We kept the fish for the table, but it was too small and too mutilated to weigh.
After several hours at the Jungle, the decision was made to head to the 65-foot Hole. Bait seemed to be more abundant, but the only strike we had was from a small Dolphin in the prop wash. We again decide to move.
The second tournament of the year and we have ended up at the 390/390 looking for some luck. We quickly have a double hookup, one of which burnt the reel as it took off. Definitely the nicer fish of the two, it spit the hook just before we broke off the other fish. Luckily, we still had the smaller fish hooked, so we battled it and brought it to the gaff.
We decided that we would weigh it, even thought it was small hoping that Mary Coleman might win a prize for Lady Angler. We were very impressed that a small 15.65# King got us a tie for 3rd in the Lady Angler Division and a tie for 28th overall.
Greater Wilmington KMT
June 28, 2003
Fished the Greater Wilmington KMT with Ryan and Graham Douglas, a friend from Law School. Another tournament year has arrived. As in the past, The Reel Estate Fishing Team began its tournament season at the Greater Wilmington KMT. This tournament has been the chip on our shoulder it seems we cannot shake. We have yet to weigh a king in this tournament; but this year would be different! Yeah right.
As expected, the fish gods were able to kick up some nice seas to greet the fisherman in the morning. A stiff 15-knot SW wind met everyone at the inlet. The plan was to begin at the Jungle, where we had boated a couple fish over 20 pounds and a friend from Lumberton had landed a 45-pound fish the week before. Unfortunately, the seas are our final deciding factor, and if we wanted to fish with live bait (which would still be alive when we reached the fishing grounds) we could not make the 25-mile run. So to the backup plan, as always seems to be the case.
We make it to the Little River Offshore Reef and deploy our spread. It was slow. We worked the area with several other boats, but no great action. The seas have already begun to lay down a bit, so we debate heading dead into the waves to finish our trip to the Jungle, or to run the trough to Christina’s Ledge were we had been told a 30# fish had been picked up two days before.
After talking to someone at the Jungle who had no encouraging words, we picked up and headed north. There were a couple of boats on Christina’s Ledge, lots of bait, but only a couple of small kings. A few minutes after we arrived, several of the boats dispersed, and an hour or so later, we did as well.
We needed to find somewhere holding fish larger than the ten to twelve pounders we had found already. We had gotten a report from Tony on the Precious that a boat they were heading to meet had landed a 24 and a 28 and were very excited. Sounding very promising, we headed to the 390/390 with renewed enthusiasm.
Shortly after arriving, Tony had hooked a Cobia and a small king. We quickly were landing kings, one after another. The only problem, they were small; all between 24 and 28 INCHES! We had relied on information from a moron, who was very excited to be catching very small kings. Oh well, live and learn.
Our bait was quickly depleted, so we headed inshore, rebaited, and finished the day at the Lockwood Tide line. We spent the afternoon in anger, wondering if our luck would have been better elsewhere, instead of heading to the 390/390. Our questions were shortly answered when Tony called excited over a big fish. It turned out that he picked up a 25# king right where we had been. His fish, had he been fishing the tournament, would have been good for 9th place.
We headed back to the hill, choosing not to burn the fuel to weigh our small fish. The curse of the GWKMT continues through 2003.
June 22, 2003
Mary Coleman, Reed, Joe (Reed’s father), and myself headed out to the Jungle today to find some action with the kings. As soon as we put our lines out, we were hooked up and remained that way for the better part of the morning. We had planned for a short trip, since we needed to get on the road early in the afternoon, but still had plenty of time to land 8 Kings, and couple of Sharks, and one Cobia. The Cobia proved to be the most difficult fish to get to the boat. It made one final run as in neared the boat, which caused Mary Coleman to loose her grip on the rod. I watched as it sailed overboard into the deep blue abyss. After the day of fishing, we placed the remaining rods in the missing man formation and returned to port. If someone finds a rod and reel attached to a twenty-pound Cobia, please return; I’m sure they’ll be some reward.
June 21, 2003
Fished the Lighthouse Rocks for about thirty minutes with Mary Coleman today. The water was dirty, and found no bait and no fish.
June 3-8, 2003
Did a lot of scouting and fishing with Reed this week. Hit a bunch of different areas, finding lots of small fish, but no congregation of large Kings. Bait has been plentiful along the beaches, and the farther south of the Cape Fear you go, the better the water clarity.
May 24, 2003
Fished the James Island Yacht Club Tournament with Jeff Weathers and Loyd Weston out of Charleston, SC aboard the Triple Gobble. The fishing was very slow, as we failed to catch anything worth weighing. We worked an area off of Edisto, deciding to fish it hard knowing that it had produced some good fish over the last week, but to no avail. Overall, a very disappointing day.
May 3, 2003
For the second year in a row I began the Kingfish Tournament season aboard the Triple Gobble with Jeff and Greg Weathers. It was the day after my last exam, as was the case the previous year, but the difference this year was that the ocean wasn’t trying to kill us and we were aboard Jeff’s brand new 31’ Contender.
The day began with a very early start as we loaded the boat and departed Georgetown Landing well before sunrise. Our first destination was a near shore reef to jig up some bait. At first we had little success, but then the “hero” Bluefish bite turned on. We picked up several nice Bluefish, which we would have killed to have in the fall, but they were probably just a little large for the early season Kings. Looking for a little smaller bait, we headed further offshore where we picked up some nice Cigar Minnows.
We then made the quick trip to the spot we had pre-fished earlier in the week. We had hoped to find it covered with King Mackerel, but were thoroughly disappointed after we lost several fish to break offs against the bottom structure. We finally boated a fish, and as expected, another monster Amberjack.
We make a move north, only to find one very large Bluefish.
Time is now fleeting, as we find ourselves over 60 miles from the weigh-in with no Kings and little time. We make one more move that proves to be our saving grace. Our first strike leaves us no doubt that it was a Scomberomorus Cavalla as the fish streaks by the boat on the top water. Jeff grabbed the rod and successfully angled it to the boat. Greg carefully grabbed the fish’s tail and lifts it over the gunnel. Though it was a small fish, it was something to weigh. After last years stellar results we knew any fish could be a good fish.
We managed to catch a release a few more fish, but none are larger than the one we already had in the boat. Around 3 o’clock we began to make our way towards Little River.
As we approach the weigh-in, George Summerlin of the USAA quickly snaps a picture and Jeff takes the fish to the scale. He pulls down 17.54 pounds, good enough for 5th place. Not the tournament winner, but not a bad start to the 2003 season.
The tournament came nowhere close to the already low expected payout, as only 50 boats of the expected 150 participated in the tournament.
April 30, 2003
Took a study break from exams to pre-fish for the Spring Frantic Atlantic KMT with Greg Weathers, Loyd Weston, and Patrick McDougald. Our plans were to look for some spots that might be holding some early season Kings, but the predicted calm seas enticed us to venture offshore.
We began the day south of the Georgetown Hole and quickly boated a nice 25 # Blackfin Tuna. After seeing some birds working an area we moved away from our spot. There were fish busting the surface, but no Tuna. We worked the birds for a while with no luck. We finally moved back to the spot where we picked up the Blackfin and boated a 45# Yellowfin. We also picked up six dolphin and a Hatteras size Bluefish.
We had hoped for a few more Tuna, but needed to make our way back inshore to scout for kings. We picked up and headed in just after one o’clock. Our first spot looked like a winner. There were some nice temperature breaks and several rips. We trolled our ballyhoo and within the first few minutes of deploying our baits we had our first strike. The run got us very excited, as the song of the Kingfish played the Shimano 25 TLD. After a relatively short battle we bring a monster Amberjack to the boat. A little disappointed after finding out what we surely hoped to be a King was an Amberjack, we put our lines back out. Again, we quickly boated another A.J.
We moved a little further from the structure to hopefully avoid the A.J.s and find some kings, but had no success. We finally pulled in our lines and made our way inshore to check the bait situation.
Overall, we had a decent day in the stream, found and area that should be holding some Kings, if we cant stay away from the A.J.s, and located some bait so we should be set for the upcoming Spring Frantic Atlantic this weekend.
April 13, 2002
I headed out to the 390/390 area aboard the Legal Ease with Mary Coleman in search for Bonito. We found a few pulling Clarkspoons on #1 and #2 planers.
Crawford went aboard the On Edge and crushed the Tuna near the Same Ole ledges. They missed twelve strikes, but still boated their limit of nice Yellowfin, and reported hooking up to two Bluefin.
April 12, 2003
Greg and Jeff took the Triple Gobble and fished south of the Georgetown Hole and landed one nice Tuna (70#), one Wahoo (40#), one Dolphin, and a Sailfish.
Tony Prevatte with his Precious got into the Bonito at the 390/390, landing over 17 fish is just a couple of hours.
April 4, 2003
The Triple Gobble headed out today and finally got into the tuna. They fished south of the Georgetown Hole and boated several nice fish, the largest being over 50 pounds.
March 23, 2003
After what seems like weeks of bad weather, a beautiful day on the water was a rare blessing on Sunday. I tagged along with Greg and Jeff on the Triple Gobble again to head out for some Tuna and Wahoo. Also joining us was Jeff’s friend, Seth Land.
We left the dock around 4:30 a.m., and were greeted with calm seas. This made the trip to the Georgetown Hole a very pleasant ride. Shortly after deploying our spread, we had our first knockdown, but no hookup. This raised our expectations for the day, hoping to find some schools of Tuna.
Not too long after our first knockdown, we hooked up on the spreader bar. Unfortunately, when Jeff finally muscled him to the boat, we discovered that it was only a False Albacore.
We again put the baits back out, and waited for our next opportunity. We began working around schools of False Albacore and Skipjack Tuna. Finally, a 50 wide with a spreader bar begins to slowly sing the signs of a fish, most likely a small fish. But then, as we all slowly clear the lines, the reel screams. We all hurried as the 50 wide spools became smaller. Becoming dangerously close to being spooled, we turn the boat and Jeff moves to the front to try to recover some line. As soon as he makes it to the front, the fish jumps and we see what we are battling with, a Blue Marlin. But just as quickly as he came, he left after breaking the leader just below the spreader bar.
We trolled for a few more hours with no luck. We ended the day deep dropping for Grouper with moderate success.
February 8, 2003
The first trip of the 2003 season was an excursion in search of some Red Snapper and other bottom fish out of Georgetown aboard the Triple Gobble. Greg and Jeff Weathers, Lloyd Weston, and myself left Georgetown Landing shortly after 8 o’clock and headed down the river, pointed the bow towards our destination, and began our journey about 40 miles outside of the jetty.
NOAA predicted the seas to calm from 4-6’ to 2-3 during the day. As we broke through the jetties, we found that the strong offshore winds had kicked up a pretty large outgoing sea. Our trip out was smooth, though the thought of the ride in if NOAA was wrong did concern me. The weather cooperated wonderfully, as the seas subsided throughout the day, leaving a nice ride in.
The fishing was excellent today. I was finally able to prove that I don’t suck at bottom fishing, which seemed to plague me last year. If anything, I pushed my bad luck off on Jeff, but we all caught lots of fish.
We caught our limit of Snapper and had to begin releasing them. Two nice Grouper, one being a real nice Scamp which Greg landed, a few Triggerfish, a bunch of Beeliners, and lots of Red Porgies.
Now I was told that the Red Porgy is a threatened fish. Though I am all for protected our precious resources, I may have to disagree with this classification. Either I am the best Red Porgy fisherman ever, or there are plenty of them down there. I spent the better part of my day tossing these guys back.
After anchoring over the most productive spot, sharks finally moved in and ran us off. By the end of the day, we had a box full of fish, no bait, and sore arms. I definitely look forward to another offshore bottom fishing trip.
