Outdoors: Wilmington fishing crews win U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament, Hook-A-Hoo Rodeo

Stan Hollingsworth and his fishing crew out of Wilmington, N.C., are feeling as snug as a bug in a rug this week after winning over $58,000 in the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament last weekend out of Southport, N.C.

Hollingsworth’s fishing team aboard Bug-N-A-Rug, a 27-foot Onslow Bay center console, weighed in a 50.40-pound king on the second day of fishing to claim top honors in the tournament that attracted a huge field of 323 boats.

“It’s unbelievable, unreal,” said Hollingsworth, who fished with Stuart Flynn and Ryan Lisk on the brand new boat. “I know people who have fished this tournament 20-25 years and haven’t won it.”

Team Onslow Bay, owned by Brad Knight of Hampstead, N.C., the owner of Onslow Bay Boatworks and maker of Hollingsworth’s boat, finished second with a 37.75-pounder.

Competitors were able to weigh in a king mackerel on each of two fishing days, Oct. 30-31, and the Bug-N-A Rug team found itself in second place after weighing in a 36-pounder after the first day of fishing.

The crew caught that fish on a bluefish at the Cabbage Patch, a hard-bottom area 12 miles east of Bald Head Island and returned to the same spot the second day, which fell on Halloween.

“Historically there’s a big king or two swimming around there,” Hollingsworth said. “The bite was slower on (Halloween) but our spirits were high watching (other boats) catch smaller fish. We knew we were in the top three.

“I told the guys at 12:30 p.m. we were going to (work) the spot where we hooked up the day before.”

Almost exactly 24 hours after the crew’s first big bite, it was deja vu at the same spot, only in a bigger way.

“Right at 1 p.m. the medium line with a bluefish on it started screaming,” Hollingsworth recalled. “That fish burned it down. It was just an explosion. A fish like that dumps line really quick off the spool.”

Bug-N-A-Rug was fishing in a group Hollingsworth estimated at 60 boats, meaning boat maneuvering was critical with a smoker king hooked up.

Flynn immediately took the rod to the bow to fight the fish. Hollingsworth was at the helm and almost got the boat up on plane chasing the fish. In just a few minutes, the trio got a look at the fish.

“We knew it was a big one in the water,” said Hollingsworth. “It had a big ol’ head on it.’’

After Lisk took the helm, Hollingsworth reached a 12-foot gaff about eight feet into the water and pulled the fish into the boat.

The celebration quickly started, and soon they were off to the weigh-in to verify their win.

“To be in second place after day one and then to actually win the thing is just unbelievable,” said Hollingsworth, owner of Bug-N-A-Rug Exterminators in Wilmington. “It’s a dream I’ve had and I’m glad to be part of the history of the tournament.”

For more information on the tournament visit www.usopenkmt.com.

Hook-A-Hoo Rodeo

The family-friendly crew of Blue Eyes came out the winner in the 8th annual Martini’s Fall Hook-A-Hoo Rodeo with a 61.9-pound wahoo.

The 40 boats competing in the tournament could fish any one day from October 12-31 and could weigh in their top fish at six locations from Murrells Inlet to Morehead City, N.C.

The Wilmington area crew of Blue Eyes, a Grady White 330 Express owned by James Finnerty, selected Oct. 16 for its fishing day with a crew evenly split with five adults and five youngsters.

The adults were Danny Adams, Ryan Lisk, Kyle Priestley, Sam Franck and Finnerty and the junior anglers were Tripp and Reid Finnerty, Cam and Jax Franck and Taylor Lisk.

The first fish of the day was the eventual tournament winner, and the 61.9-pounder hit a purple/black Bluewater Candy Jag. The crew landed three other wahoo including a 46-pounder.

Tripp Finnerty won the tournament’s Junior Angler award for the 61.9-pounder.

Blue Eyes earned about $10,000 and donated a portion of the winnings to the tournament’s benefactor – the Shriners Hospitals For Children.

Crew member Ryan Lisk had quite a Halloween, as he was also part of the Bug-N-A-Rug crew that won the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament on Oct. 31, the same day Blue Eyes was declared the winner of the Hook-a-Hoo Rodeo.

John Pollock’s Reel Tight finished second with a 59.0-pound wahoo.

Tournament founder Jeff Martini and his crew aboard Dirty Martini were a close third with a 58.96-pound wahoo.

Martini founded the tournament in 2008 as a means to support the Shriners Hospitals for Children. For more information, visit www.hookahoo.com.

Lowcountry Redfish Cup

This tournament trail will make a stop next weekend at the Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown.

Only anglers who have qualified for the tournament are eligible to compete, but the public is invited to the weigh-ins at the complex, located just off U.S. 17 in Georgetown on the Sampit River.

Weigh-ins begin at 3:30 p.m. for both days of fishing, on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14.

For more information on the trail, visit www.lowcountryredfishcup.com.

Waccamaw Audubon Society

The group will hold its November meeting on Thursday at St. Paul’s Waccamaw Methodist Church, located at 180 St. Paul Place in Pawleys Island.

Guest speaker will be Mike Walker, head naturalist at Huntington Beach State Park. Refreshments will be served at 6 p.m. with the meeting starting at 6:30 p.m.

For more information visit www.waccamawaudubon.org.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Outdoors: Wilmington fishing crews win U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament, Hook-A-Hoo Rodeo."