Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Aug. 12, 1993, edition 1 / Page 19
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McKenzie's Tiger Shark Shatters Poor Boy Tourney Record BY DOUG ruttf.r Robert McKcn/.ic, a perennial bridesmaid ,n the Poor Boy Shark Tournament out of Shallottc Point, finally has a reason to kick up his heels and celebrate. The Fayetteville man, who has placed in uic tournament at least half a dozen tim:s, finally won all the marbles last week with a loumamcnt-record-shauering tiger shark rial tipped the scales at an unbelievable 937 pounds. "I'd say he did it with a bang," said his son, Ron McKcnzic of Linden, who fished on the winning boat. "Not only did he win the tournament, but he set a new iixuiu. We're all pretty thrilled with it." The 937-pound female tiger highlighted an otherwise uneventful 12th Annual Poor Boy, held out of Hughes' Marina. Thirteen boats entered the tournament, and fishermen brought just 12 sharks to the docks. For the second straight year. Mother Nature dealt fishermen a nasty hand. Anglers battled rough seas all three days of l)ic tournament that started last Thursday. Severe thunderstorms threatened throughout the weekend. "They didn't get to fish where they want ed u> and as long as they wanted to bccausc of the weather," said tournament chairman John Watkins. The lousy weather was a repeat of last year, when fishermen landed just 27 sharks. "Two years in a row," Watkins said. "Hopefully we'll return to the good weather of a lew years ago next year." Despite the conditions, the winning fish made this year's tournament a memorable one. The pregnant shark was 12 feet, 8 inch es, long and estimated at nine to 10 years old. Fishing with Robert and Ron McKen/.ie on the lloncy I was Lonnic Stone of Narrows, Va. Ron McKcnzic said the boat left shore around noon Thursday and an chored about 8 to 10 miles offshore. It wasn't long before a large shark took one of the baits. The fishermen battled the Fish for about 90 minutes before the line be came tangled and snapped. "Wc were very disheartened at this time," McKcnzic said. The boat returned to the spot where the shark had been hooked, and the crew immediately hooked up with the huge, female tiger. The shark and fishermen battled for 2 1/2 hours, with the fish pulling the boat 2.7 miles before it could be tied to the side of the craft and brought ashore. "She put up quite a light and she was smart." McKcnzic said. "She acted like she had been around the block once or twice and been hooked." Catching the tiger might have been the easiest part of the day for the crew of the Honey I. "Our boat ran into all kinds of problems," McKcnzic explained. "We had everything go wrong that could go wrong." Among other things, the boat wouldn't steer to the lef' and the engine overheated. "It took us about four hours to get back in with that much shark," McKcnzic said. As it turned out, the boat sustained so much damage that the crew couldn't fish Friday or Saturday. "I felt like we'd really outdone ourselves," McKcnzic said. "I wouldn't trade the experience for nothing in the world." McKcnzic and his fishing buddies thought the shark weighed between 450 and 500 pounds until it was actually on shore. "Once we got her in and saw how big the belly was ii amazed us." Tournament biologist Dr. Frank Schwartz, a shark expert with the N.C. Institute of Marine Sciences at Morchead City, said a 937-pound shark is "highly unusual." Sharks weighing between 400 and 600 pounds arc considered large lor this area. The state record is 1,150 pounds and the world record is 1 ,400 pounds. Schwartz found 55 fetuses inside the fe male shark, which was about two to three weeks from delivery. They weighed 140 pounds, which accountcd for 15 percent of the mother's body weight. How big was the shark? When tourna ment officials tried to lift the fish from the water with a crane, the 5/8-inch stainless steel hook in its mouth straightened out and the shark fell to the ground. McKcnzic said his father, Robert, hooked an even bigger shark about three years ago but it got away after snapping a wooden handled gaff with its powerful jaws. That shark was well over 1,000 pounds. "This is the biggest thing we've ever caught and landed," McKcnzic said of the tourney winner. C.W. "Junior" Hughes of Shallotte Point, who owns the marina where the tournament is based, held the old tournament record with a 648-pound Uger landed two years ago. McKcnzic ran away with the tournament this year and took home S910 in prize mon ey. His n.onstcr outweighed every other fish by at least 855 pounds. "It was a tournament record," Watkins said. "We were cxcited about that, but we were disappointed with the weather." Finishing second and winning $650 was Adam Sanders of Ocean Isle Beach with an 82-pound blacktip. Landing a 71 -pound blacktip and earning S520 for third place was Charles Maxwell of Hope Mills. Everett Kendall of Simpsonville, S.C., placed founh and won $260 for a 26-pound brown shark. The Poor Boy usually gives out six awards, but Watkins said only four boats brought sharks to the weigh station this year. The top four places shared 90 percent of the entry fees. The 13th Annual Poor Boy Shark Tournament has tentatively been scheduled for July 21-23, 1994. FISHING REPORT Local Piers Reporting Steady Catches BY DOUG RUTTKR Local pier fishermen continued to catch an assortment of fish last week while anglers in pursuit of large king mackcrcl offshore were slowed by rough seas. Pier fishing, which was excellent in early July, is still better than usual for the second week in August. Hot weather typically ruins pier fishing, but record heat last month didn't hurl a bit. Anglers caught spots, pompano, whiting, trout, flounder and black drum last week at the South Brunswick Islands' three ocean fish ing piers. Gil Bass of Holden Beach Pier said fishing was better last week lhan it was the previous week. "I think maybe this cooler weath er has helped a little bit," Bass said Monday morning, referring to a cool front and showers that moved through the area over the weekend. Ed Kayler of Sunset Beach Fishing Pier said anglers were catch ing fish in the rain on Sunday, when six to eight flounder were landed. Fishermen also pulled in some nice black drum last week at Sunset Pier weighing 4 to 5 pound each. "We haven't been skunked one day all week," Kayler said. 'There's not a lot of spots, but they're catch ing fish." Anglers at Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Pier caught mostly spots and speckled trout last week, according to manager Curtis Williamson. "It's been pretty fair. It could be better but they're catching fish every day," Williamson said. Fishermen caught a few shcepshead last week. "I'm pretty sure it's going to get even better when this weather cools off," he added. "After Labor Day I'm pretty sure everything's going to get in full swing." Tripp's Fishing Center Joyce Land of Tripp's Fishing Center at Shallotte Point said fisher men started catching some big, yel low spots in gill nets Monday morn ing. Anglers continued to catch small er spots on the hook and line last week. Other inshore catchcs includ ed flounder, spottailed drum and big black drum. Offshore, the crew of the Rockiri Robin landed three king mackerel and one ambcrjack last Saturday. Fishermen also caught dolphin and yellowfin tuna in the ocean. "Overall it's good, all things consid ered," Land said. Sheffield's John Sheffield of Sheffield's store at Ocean Isle Beach said rough seas spoiled the offshore fishing most of last week. "The wind was blowing so hard," he said. "It was kind of poor fishing for four or five days there." Sheffield said last week was "probably about the worst week we've had this summer. A lot of people trying but not much catch ing." This Week's Tide Table AUGUST HIGH LOW Day Date A.M. P.M. A.M. P.M. Thursday 12 3:13 4:03 9:40 1 ft 34 Friday 13 4:19 5;03 10:41 11:33 Saturday 14 5:22 5:59 11:40 Sim day 15 6:20 6:52 12:27 12:36 Monday 16 7:16 7:43 1:18 1:27 Tuesday 17 8:09 8:32 2:05 2:18 Wednesday 18 9:01 9:21 2:52 3:09 ADJUSTMENTS SHALLOTIE INLET ? add 17 min. high tide, add 32 min. low ude. LOCK WOOD FOLLY ? subtract 22 min. high tide, subtract 8 min. low tide. BALD HEAD ISLAND? subtract 10 min. high tide, subtract 7 min. low tide. SOUTHPORT? add 7 min. high tide, add 15 min. low tide. LITTLE RIVER ? subtract 11 min. high tide, add 18 min. low ude. Polish Your Image Just arrived... Self-Service Interior Shampoo Machine Try this quick, easy way to clean your car's upholstery and carpet. Car Detailing Our expert detail job includes hand wash, interior and exterior detailing with Top-Kote? Car Care products. Regular $59.95 sr oo Ail with this ad MM thru Aug. 31, 1993 More pressure, more soap than any other car wash! MASTER LUBE & CAR WASH Hwy. 1 1 Jk ISO at East Gate Plaza ? Shallotte 754-WASH ?/ 54-LUBE _____ _____ C1993_THC BRUNSWICK BEACQfg PHOTO CONTRIBUTED PHIL BRINSFIELD of Ocean Isle Beach caught this 36-pound king mackerel July 31 aboard his boat, Getaway. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED JOHN SUTTON of Ocean Isle Beach landed this 40-pound wahoo during a recent fishing trip on the Job Site. ~~ PHOTO CONTRIBUTED GORDON HAYES of Newport Street, Ocean Isle Beach, caught this 30-pound-plus king mackerel aboard the Old Sarge 12 miles out from Ocean Isle Beach on July 22. C'Hawk boats, Yamaha motors Marine supplies & equipment Service on all makes and models 1900 Sommerset Rd. SW ? Ocean Isle Beach (1 ?/? blocks before Pelican Pointe Marina) 579-2781 Monday-Friday 9 am-5 pm ?19M THE BRUNSWICK BEACON ^ TT? auto JLO S ELECTRIC ALTERNATORS STARTERS VOLTAGE REGULATORS GENERATORS REPAIR? REBUILT? EXCHANGED AUTOMOTIVE WIRING 754-7656 Royal Oak Road & Hwy. 17 N., Shallotte 1931 tut BRUNSWICK BEACON It's Hard To Believe, But Fall Fishing Lies Ahead BY JAMIE MILLIKEN Rough weather kept most boats at the docks this past week. Strong southwest winds and daily thundcrshowcrs teamed to turn the ocean into one large washing machine. The bad weather days made it tough on this year's Poor Boy Shark Tour nament, held annually at Hughes Ma rina at Shallottc Point. For complete results (and one amazing fish) sec Doug's articlc also in this week's Beacon. mum Our weather is changing. The nights arc beginning to cool a bit, and this always serves as a reminder that the good old fall fishing is just around the corner. But, I ask you, how can it get any better? Those of you who have been directly involved in this year's offshore fishing will agree ? it has been an exceptional year. It is just hard for me to believe that our best fishing is still ahead of us. Fall fishing is a magical time in the South Brunswick Islands. We are famous for our runs of spot and those great North Carolina mullet. It will not be long before our area piers are lined (shoulder-to-shoulder) with an glers catching spots two at the time. As you know, when we start seeing large runs of fish moving along our beaches, the king mackcrel trips suddenly turn from running 20 miles off shore to some fantastic fishing in 30 feet of water or "in the suds," as we like to say. What's best about fall fishing in the South Brunswick Islands? For me it's enjoying the fishing stories of that day's fishing trip around an open campfire roasting sonic of our world-famous oysters. Between Missy's cornbread and Larry Holdcn's oysters and Chip Marec's storytelling, it's like the television commercial ? "it don't get no better than this!" So that about covers us this week. This unstable weather won't last much longer, so I hope to see you soon on the water. Until next time, good fishin' and good luck, "Jolly Mon." CAPTAIN JAMIE'S OFFSHORE FISHING REPORT Safe Boating Course Set Flotilla 1005, U.S. Coast Guard Island Coast Guard Station. Auxiliary, will sponsor a boating For information, contact M. safety and seamanship coursc begin- Fullwood, 457-4512; H. Sweeny, ning Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Oak 278-5200; or J. Mulder, 845-2115. Jim's , V. yfwu 2 ? ANNUAL FIREARMS AND WINCHESTER AMMO TRUCKLOAD SALE SALE RUNS AUG. 18-29 FEATURING WINCHESTER DOVE & QUAIL SHOTSHELLS I 25 Shells Per Box WE'RE DEALING!! TRADE-INS WELCOME BEST SELECTION - LOWEST PRICES Jim'S GUARANTEES NEW AND USED FIREARMS EARLY BUYERS CAN'T LOSE WITH Jims PRICE PROTECTION POLICY. LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEED OR Jim's WILL REFUND THE DIFFERENCE. 4M4720 * . GUN ? JOBBER* 864-2270 MON.-SAT.9-* suN-t-e ^ ?? ? .??: 919-799-73141
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 12, 1993, edition 1
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