“We went to the East Rock area thanks to some information we received from Dave Pennington and Tony Ross,” Pugh told us. “We were fishing in fifty feet of water and had caught Albcore and Sharks when our 29.76 hit a Bunker at two-thirty. I grabbed the rod and the fight was on.”

 Pugh went on to explain, “ It was rough but we ran the fish down. Just a few minutes before Jim gaffed her, a seven-foot shark had its sights on our winning king. We were really worried but we couldn’t horse her to the boat. We were really lucky.”

The team took home $5,500 for their efforts. They are sponsored by Lowrance, Pure Fishing, and Shimano. It certainly moved them up in the final standings in Division One’s Class of 23. From seventh to second. Great season guys!

The “team from Florida” saga continued in Onslow Bay. Jeff Keeton, his wife Vicki, and his son Colin Williams, started fishing the trail this season in Division Five. They did not qualify but that didn’t stop Jeff. He was determined to go to Biloxi so he chose Division One to make it happen. Funny thing how determination makes so much difference! He finished second overall in the open class thanks to a second place finish here with a 29.51, won Top Lady honors and Top Junior also.

At Onslow, Jeff ran his Mercury powered Yellowfin to the 3030 Reef. “I liked the water temperature and water color,” he said. “We were in seventy-four feet of water and it was stormy and rough. We got there at eight o’eight and immediately put a bluefish on our shotgun line. While we were putting a double pogy rig out she hit. It was only out for a couple of minutes. Vicki and Colin worked on her and a few minutes later she was in the boat.”

Jeff went on the say how much he enjoyed fishing in North Carolina but a special thanks was in order for John at ProFinder Charts. “He helped us out tremendously and his charts and chips are awesome,” he added.

All that really mattered was Jeff’s family could now make their plans for the year end finale in Biloxi.

Congratulations Jeff! Your determination is a story all will be happy to hear about.

Third place went to a non-member, the only one in the top ten this weekend.

Another Mercury powered Yellowfin, Won Up, earned fourth with Tony Ross, Charles Fullwood, Ricky Avery, Jay Feimster, and Leon Moore, with a twenty-eight pound king.

Remember that Tony recommended to the winning team where to fish.

“We were fishing at the Rock Jetties,” said Ross. “When you have a northeast wind it really stacks up the bait there. We would let the wind drift us for a couple of miles then run back up to the Cape and set up again. We were throwing everything we had in the well at them but had just some small ones on our side of the ledger. Late afternoon we had moved slightly further out when I got a call from Raymond with the size of his fish when the line went off again. I told him maybe I had one on bigger than his. Leon was on the rod and did a good job of getting her to the boat but the water was so dirty you couldn’t see the fish in the water. Ricky did a superb job of sticking her under the circumstances but she was gut gaffed and bled a lot.”

At the dock the Charter Boat captain missed overtaking Finnagle by 1.77 pounds. “Oh well that’s fishing, but I’m happy for them,” Ross added. “Now we’ll get ready for the Nationals. I think we’ve got a good shot of bringing the trophy and title back to North Carolina.”

Confidence is ninety percent of any fisherman’s skills! Good luck Won Up, see you in Biloxi and congratulations on a great season.

John Parks has always been a fisherman to beat in any event he enters. His Raymarine, Yamaha powered Wellcraft had a good tournament this weekend earning fifth with a nice 27.88.

Fishing with Matt and Matthew Henderson, they fished the waters around Pardens Inlet. “We had some small kings to show for our mornings efforts,” said Parks. “We were in thirty-five feet of water at one-thirty. It was windy and there was drizzle, it wasn’t pretty but I’ve learned over the years that you fish there in late September with a strong east-northeast wind. She hit a double pogy rig and I fought her to Matt’s gaff.”

Remember Parks has a fifty-five pound king scaled at the Nationals in Biloxi. If he attends, which knowing his competitive nature he will, he has to be a favorite to win the title!

I was getting worried whether Richard Hill’s R/C Homes was going to qualify this year but thanks to a nice sixth place 27.39, his team of Jon Banks and Charles Neal, can get their Gulf of Mexico gear ready. You see Richard already knows what’s in store having a fifty-two pound king to his credit in a National competition and has to be considered one of the favorites.

“We fished the Dead Tree Hole,” said Hill. “We caught her at eleven o’clock using pogy’s. I caught her and Charlie gaffed her.”

The Mercury powered Fountain team ended up tenth in the standings with just a two fish aggregate.

The Burt and Margaret show continued, this time earning seventh place this weekend with a 24.64. “We were forced to fish Cape Lookout in forty-two feet of water because it was just too rough to jump the shoals,” Burt Ferebee told us. “Conditions were bad but there were fish. Margaret caught ours at two-fifteen using a live menhaden.”

The real story here is Bert and Margaret are on their way back to Biloxi after winning the Division One’s Class of 23. Tough, world-class fisher people they are still one of the best husband and wife teams in the country!

Margaret also ended up second in the ladies division. They fish a Yamaha powered Contender.

Eighth place fell to D. Logan and David Logan fishing Logan’s Run. They scaled a 24.30 but that fish kept them three pounds ahead of the Reel Office and gave them the Division One win. The Yamaha powered Yellowfin team now gets a free entry into the Championship plus $270 to help with room expense plus a beautiful Division trophy.

Congratulations on a great win and good luck in Biloxi. 

Lyn Lewis Jr. and Lyn Lewis III picked up ninth place with a 21.30. Fishing the Mercury powered Bayliner, Major Bite, it would also give them a fourth place finish in the Division.

Tenth place fell to Bill Manning and Hunter Essick fishing the Mercury powered Triton, The Enigma. They scaled a 20.78

Top Lady Angler in the event was Kimberly Dolph fishing the Aqua Nutz and Chuck Harris won Top Senior Angler aboard the Sea Rat.

Once again the Onslow Bay Tournament turned out to be a great success in spite of the wind and rain. More important, a lot of underprivileged, at risk, terminally ill, and orphans will benefit tremendously from the generosity of the participants and the dedicated efforts of the sportfishing club. We salute You!