‘God gives you just enough’: Makin Dew sneaks in, then wins Kingfish Cup Championship

Makin Dew barely qualified for The Kingfish Cup Championship, but once they made it into the elite field, David Purser and crew made the most of the opportunity.

A field of 29 boats qualified for the championship event by competing in the four tournaments that comprise the Kingfish Cup circuit, the Jolly Mon, East Coast Got ‘Em On, Rumble in the Jungle and Fall Brawl.

But the final three boats had to finish in the top three of the Kingfish Cup Wildcard Tournament to qualify for the championship. Makin Dew finished third in that event on Nov. 3 and was in essence the final boat to make the championship field.

The championship, held out of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, was originally scheduled as a two-day tournament but was postponed to Nov. 10 and shortened to one-day with each boat able to weigh in two king mackerel.

Purser, his 13-year-old son Lucas and crew members Tony Morgan and Thomas Jenkins caught the only 30-pound king of the day, a 34.7-pounder, to go with a 23.2-pounder for a 57.9-pound two-fish aggregate to win the tournament.

“We got the last spot,” said David Purser. “Sometimes God gives you just enough and we’re thankful for all of it.”

The Kingfish Cup starts with 100 boats competing through the four qualifying tournaments with one goal in mind – to make the championship.

“You compete with 100 boats all year to get to the championship,” said Purser. “That’s what makes The Kingfish Cup the best, it’s a very challenging deal to get to the championship.”

The Makin Dew team claimed $122,000 for the victory. Robby Remson and crew aboard Long Run/LBFC finished second with a 55.5-pound aggregate. Rounding out the top five were Fin-Addict (54.2), Clearly Hooked (52.0) and Jamaican Me Crazy (50.85).

Makin Dew, a 36-foot Yellowfin, fished the Horseshoe, a well-known live bottom area with ledges located about 30 miles off Oak Island, where the crew hails from. After successfully pre-fishing the area, they entered the championship very confident, even though the crew had not won a tournament in three years of fishing together.

“We knew we were going to win the tournament,” said Purser. “We had told people all week long. We always do better in a little rougher water, and at the end of the year we do better than during the year. We prayed about it all week. We fished around there 2-3 days before the tournament so we really felt confident.”

The Horseshoe produced more than smoker king mackerel in early November leading up to and during the tournament.

“This time of year that’s the go-to place,” said Purser. “A lot of people call it Halloween at the Horseshoe. We caught kings, barracuda, dolphin and blackfin tuna. It was a strange catch. We had a good tuna dinner that night.”

There was one issue though, Purser said.

“It was a tough day to get fish in the boat,” said Purser. “About every time we’d get a fish by the boat a shark would bite him in half. Once a tiger shark gets under your boat, first chance you’ve got to gaff (a fish) you’ve really got to make it count.”

When Makin Dew hooked up with the 34.7-pound king, it was a little more frantic than usual, thanks to the shark.

“We were running that fish down at 10-12 mph,” said Purser. “Tony jumped up there and gaffed the fish and got him in the boat real quick.”