The really big king mackerel were not around for the Hang 'Em High king mackerel tournament fished Oct. 31-Nov. 1 out of Hilton Head.
But that just made for a tightly contested event. Coming out on top and winning the $50,000 first prize was the boat Pole Dancer , captained by David Hartness of Isle of Palms. Pole Dancer's top catch was a 33.
4-pound king mackerel. Coming in a close second was the Mount Pleasant-based boat, Yates Sea, captained by David Yates, with a 33.0-pound king mackerel that netted the crew $22,000.
Outdoors: Waiting until last minute pays off in SC Fall Classic EZ Cat, captained by Eric Moore of Hilton Head, finished third and won $9,000 with a 32.7-pound catch. All three of the top fish were caught on the tournament's first day, said tournament director Marc Pincus.
"We had beautiful days. There was a pretty big swell out there, but all in all the weather was perfect," Pincus said. "It was a heck of a finish, a heck of an exciting couple of days.
I fished the tournament, and we caught 50 fish in two days. The October-November kingfish bite was incredible, world class, and everybody experienced it. "Certainly, the class of fish wasn't as big as we've had in years past, but it kept it close.
Right down to the last minute, it was anybody's tournament." Second-place finisher Yates Sea was announced as the winner of the 2024 HUK South Carolina Saltwater Series based on finishes in the S.C.
Wahoo Series (155 teams), the S.C. Mahi Series (150 teams) and the S.
.
