‘Not bad for a Saturday fishing’: Oak Island crew land big king near Cherry Grove Pier
The Baker boys, three generations strong, found the winning king mackerel just off the beach last weekend to capture first place in the Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament out of Little River.
Ben Baker, a part-time resident of Oak Island, N.C., was fishing with his dad Ronnie and son Greylyn aboard their 25-foot Sea Hunt Game Fish, dubbed Tag Team.
The Bakers joined a gaggle of boats fishing in the vicinity of the Cherry Grove Pier and pulled the winning 41.77-pound king from a spot just off the pier.
Reel Happy claimed second place with a 38.60-pound king followed by Kryptek Fishing Team (38.15), Strictly Business (37.73) and Knothead (37.08) to round out the top five.
The Bakers earned $35,800 for their victory over the field of 158 boats, and are now in 10th place in the overall standings of the Kingfish Cup Series.
“Not bad for a Saturday of fishing,” said Ben Baker.
With the fall run of mullet, along with menhaden, in full force near the beach, king mackerel have been right on their tails. Boats fishing in the tournament could fish one day, Saturday or Sunday, and 145 of the field of 158 chose Saturday with a rainy forecast on tap for Sunday.
Numerous boats congregated to work the areas near the Cherry Grove and Apache piers.
“We thought about going to Apache Pier, then decided to check the Cherry Grove Pier area,” said Ben Baker. “There was a lot of bait in that area so we decided on Cherry Grove.”
In the midst of all the boat traffic, the Bakers found a hot spot about a couple hundred yards off the pier.
“Between 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. we caught four fish in that area — all in that one little spot,” said Ben Baker. “Obviously, we marked that spot. It got so crowded we weren’t able to get back to our hot spot.
“We had trolled up closer to the beach and decided we wanted to get on the hot spot one more time before day was over. Boats had thinned up a bit and about a football field (of area) opened up right on that spot. My best guess was there were 50-75 boats in the area — tight quarters for all those boats trolling.”
When they got back on the spot and started deploying their four lines with live menhaden, the bite came quick.
“Greylyn had just sat the last rod in the rod holder when it went off,” said Ben Baker. “We were concerned about getting cut off by another boat’s motor.”
Ben grabbed the rod, Ronnie took the helm and 21-year-old Greylyn, a December graduate of UNC-Wilmington, was ready with the gaff.
“Greylyn, he’s the gaff sniper,” said Ben Baker. “He was able to reach out there and get the gaff in the fish. It was hard to tell how big it was, we hadn’t gotten a good look at the fish.
“When he was trying to get it in the boat and said ‘I need help,’ I knew then it had to be a nice fish. I helped him grab the gaff and the two of us pulled it over the side and into the boat.”
The fish was in the boat at 2:20 p.m. and the Baker trio weighed the king in at 3:20 p.m. at Captain Archie’s in North Myrtle Beach.
After taking over the lead in the tournament, the wait was on until the weigh-in ended at 5 p.m. on Saturday and then again on Sunday.
“It was fingernail chewing time,” said Ben Baker. “It was a long night and it seemed like the clock was going backward on Sunday. We had to sit around and wait.”
When it was over, the Baker boys had won it.
“The shock still hasn’t worn off, it doesn’t seem real,” Ben Baker said.
The Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament is one of four tournaments in the Kingfish Cup series and one of five in the Southern Kingfish Association’s Division 2 – Carolina Border.
The final tournament in both tournament series is the Fall Brawl King Classic, set for Oct. 23-25.
SALTT Event
The second tournament of the fall semester for the Student Angler League Tournament Trail (SALTT) was held Saturday at the Carroll Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown.
The final fall tournament will be held Nov. 14. For more information about the SALTT including cumulative leaders, visit www.salttfishing.com.
The winners follow:
- Middle School Redfish Division: 1, Conrad Beglin and Hamp Eirvin, Waccamaw, two fish, 8.53 pounds. 2, McKenzie and Jacob Hardwick, Aynor, two fish, 5.85 pounds. 3, Chloe Skipper, Andrews, two fish, 5.64 pounds. Aiden Fleming and Ben Rodenbeck, Waccammaw, weighed in the Big Fish, 4.30 pounds.
- High School Redfish Division: 1, Chappell and Elliott Miller, Georgetown, two fish, 8.11 pounds. 2, Joseph Falcon and Luke Russell, Waccamaw, two fish, 7.85 pounds. 3, Ashton Rouhselang and Lance Cooper, Conway, two fish, 7.16 pounds. Christa Edmonds, Carolina Forest, weighed in the Big Fish, 4.80 pounds.
- Elementary Bass Division: 1, Elijah Norris, Loris, one fish, 1.67 pounds.
- Middle School Bass Division: 1, Tucker Howard, Andrews, and Wilson Hewitt, Georgetown, five fish, 7.47 pounds including the Big Fish of 2.22 pounds. 2, Cody Wilder and Dalton Williams, Conway, five fish, 7.10 pounds. 3, Branson and Tucker Howell, Conway, five fish, 6.71 pounds.
- High School Bass Division: 1, Jacob Martin and Austin Winburn, Conway, five fish, 11.09 pounds. 2, Mason Hardee and Will Hardee McGuirt, Conway, five fish, 10.73 pounds. 3, Allen and Colton Ledford, Socastee, five fish, 9.42 pounds. Matthew Mitchell and Christopher Vause, Georgetown, weighed in the Big Fish, 2.89 pounds.