We were blessed to win the Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament. Here’s how it went down. (WARNING! This is a very Long Read)
This was a weekend of FIRSTS.
I could not have won without my good friend and great king mackerel fisherman, Brian Henry of the Magoo fishing fame. For the past several weeks, Brian has been telling me over and over that he has a good feeling that we are going to catch a 40. Brian bait-fished on Thursday and caught some nice Ribbonfish. For the FIRST time ever, he had a nice Spanish Mackerel jump in his bay boat chasing a mullet minnow.
Then the next day on Friday when Brian and I were bait-fishing and pre-fishing, we had another FIRST. We were pulling Clark Spoons, when something absolutely blistered a small Clark Spoon on a planer. Since I had seen a big Tarpon roll earlier, I was thinking Tarpon; but I eliminated Tarpon because there were no jumps. Then I was thinking smoker King Mackerel; but I eliminated King Mackerel because the monofilament was not cut. Then because the fish darted here and there at hyperspeed, I was thinking Little Tunny/False Albacore. Then when Brian had recovered the three hundred yards of line with the Avet 8.0:1 reel, the fish was within 25 feet of the boat and declared itself. A massive 140-150 pound Tarpon jumped right at the boat! It jumped about eight times altogether, putting on an aerial display including backward flips that would shame circus acrobats. We leadered the fish and were ready to release it, and thankfully the hook on the tiny Clark Spoon finally straightened. Brian was privileged to catch his FIRST Tarpon, and a big one at that, and on a Clark Spoon! I can say that that is the FIRST time I have ever heard of a Tarpon caught around here on a Clark Spoon and certainly my FIRST.
At 5:30 am on Saturday, Brian Henry and I were up ready to roll on my Contender 35ST, the Fishin’ Physician. We loaded the boat with ice, tackle, food, and drinks and then transferred pre-caught bait into the livewells. FIRST we prayed and asked G
Congrats on a great fish! It was definitely short and super fat. Good luck at the Nationals if you are competing. The Rumble is by far one of the best run tournaments left with a true king mackerel appeal. We need to have more tournaments with check-outs to bring everyone together for a real tournament experience.
Thanks for sharing your day and details.Too many times tournament guys don’t share their story because of their top secret mindset. It’s just was your day and you did your homework to be in the right area. We fished the tournamrnt with a different strategy and stuck with it. We were south of you an went deeper then shallow with no luck. It was a hero or zero kinda day. Weather and conditions made it tough for all. Good luck this week in Morehead City at the Nationals.
That’s a great story Doc. makes my adrenaline rush just from the read. Congrats.
Long years of prep. and practice payed off.
I had the same scenario in a Fishing for Miracles with a 39 # fish the first day only to be knocked out by the sponsor of the tournament fishing ballyhoo on a sporty. Your luck held out!
“If we ever forget that we’re
one nation under God,
we will be a nation gone under.” - Ronald Reagan
just kidding