OIFC Newsletter

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Yellowfin/ Yamaha Fall Brawl King Classic
October 22-24
Fishing has been tough this season. However, take refuge in knowing that October will be here soon. And what's more fun than fishing in a tournament? Fishing in a tournament when the fish are actually biting! You can expect that at the Fall Brawl. Mark your calendar. Spot Races, Oyster eating, Kings at the sea buoy, cool air....... its just around the corner
** Programs will be in the mail next week**
CAPTAIN'S CHOICE FORMAT- Fish 1 out 2 days- EITHER Saturday, October 23rd or Sunday, October 24th. Declare your intended fish day on your registration form or you have until 7:00am on Saturday, October 23rd to call (910) 253-3474 and leave a message declaring your fish day. .
$215 Entry Fee by 10/15/10, $250 after
Pays $$ top 26 heaviest King Mackerel
Pays $$ top 10 Jr. Angler's heaviest King Mackerel
Pays $$ top 10 Lady Angler's heaviest King Mackerel
Pays $$ top 3 Senior Angler's heaviest King Mackerel
NEW- 1st place Cobia and 1st place Spanish Mackerel
CLICK HERE for complete details, entry form or on-line registration
Jolly Mon Racing Finishes Up 2010 Season in Style




Jolly Mon Racing team driver, Justin Millikin holds up 5 fingers to signify 5 wins at Myrtle Beach Speedway during the 2010 season. The team won their first race early in the season, but found trouble mid season with a couple of DNF's. However, by the end of the season the Jolly Mon Racing team found their stride as they won the last 4 races in a row at Myrtle Beach Speedway. The team finished up 2nd in track championship points for the season. This marks the most wins and best track championship finish for Justin and team. They look forward to the 2011 season and especially want to thank Jolly Mon King Classic sponsors: Yellowfin, Yamaha, OIFC, Sea Tow, Bell & Bell, JP Russ & Sons, Guy C. Lee, BB&T

Fishing Report
by Capt. Brant McMullan
You can't deny the feeling of Fall in the air. You likely know that Fall offers some of the best fishing the area sees, and as far as I'm concerned, it can't come soon enough. However, it will still be another couple of weeks before the Fall fishing really kicks into high gear. Currently water temperatures are still in the mid 80's. And despite lots of recent North wind that has pushed Mullet out of the inlets and onto the beach fronts, the Kings are just not there yet. Look for water temperatures to fall into the upper 70's before the Kings will magically show up along the beach and give the Mullet something to think about. The Gulf Stream fishing has been picking up steady as Wahoo and Mahi have been biting with regularity over the past couple of weeks. In addition, Sailfish and White Marlin are mixed in to provide additional entertainment. Grouper fishing has also been picking up as the Gags can sense Fall and are beginning to move closer to shore into the 60-80 foot depth range. To be honest, there isn't any particular fishing that is stand-out right this moment. It has been a tough late Summer of fishing, and the facts are that it is still Summer. But, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will keep you abreast of water temperatures and fish movements, so stay tuned.

OIFC NC King Mackerel Championship
November 13th-21st - weigh-ins at Beaufort and Hatteras

Pick 2 out of 9 fishing days to compete
Must declare fishing day by calling tournament hotline before 6am of day you are fishing
Tournament winner determined by heaviest combined weight of 1 King for each fishing day
Pays 1st, 2nd and 3rd
May leave from any NC port and weigh-in at Beaufort or Hatteras
Visit www.OIFC.com or email captbarrett@oifc.com for information. Treat yourself at the end of season by fishing the hottest big fish bite in the Carolinas.

TEAM OIFC Wins Onslow Bay King Mackerel Tourney
by Capt. Barrett McMullan



Man, you got to love it when a plan comes together. I can honestly say our latest success on the king mackerel tournament trail was lacking any drama as things went way to smooth from start to finish. The only drama of the entire weekend was the brief panic that set in when the toilet paper went missing on board the boat. Rube and I loaded up my 31' Yellowfin headed north to Swansboro for the Onslow Bay Open KMT. We left out Friday mid morning and arrived in Morehead City in the afternoon with the plan of locating and catching some bait. The next morning the plan was to get a later start than normal so that the menhaden would have time to come up making catching them a little easier. The plan worked as we joined about 20 other boats behind Harkers Island and located a large school of quality pogies. After catching bait we made a leisurely run to the east side of Cape Lookout shoals where we stopped a couple times checking the water conditions at a couple spots. Deciding to keep going until we found the right water ended up being the correct choice. The seas were 3 to 5 so we took our time but eventually settled in and began fishing. After about an hour of nothing and doubts on our chosen location creeping into our minds the quietness was interrupted by a baracuda first and next a shark. Not what we were after but at least it was a sign of life. Just a few minutes later a bluefish on top was drilled and off we went. Unfortunately the clicker was off by mistake so we didn't get to hear that telltale sound of a true smoker but this one sure did his part. I was holding the rod as line disappeared off the spool. The fish did everything right. He smoked it straight into the sea and then came to the top. Rube and I traded positions behind the rod several times as we worked around the other lines and got in position to gaff the fish. We could see the fish down about 20 feet in the clear blue water and knew this was a good one. After a couple tense laps around the boat I was finally able to sink the gaff and bring the log on board. Just like that it was over by about 11:00. We were at the scales when they opened at 3:00pm where we hoisted our bounty for pics and then put her on the scales. She was long and skinny and pulled down the scales to 40.77lbs. Not a monster but certainly a great catch. I honestly didn't think it would hold up, but as luck would have it we held off all challengers and took home top prize in the tournament. While winning is a great charge I felt a little cheated on this one because of the lack of drama. This was a no pressure, easy going, go with the game plan event. Maybe my empty feeling is because I 'm so used to nothing ever going as planned which puts us in positions of having to come up with miracles. No I'm not complaining about catching a 40lber in a tournament, I'm just caught a little off guard by the simplicity of this tournament experience. Wake up late, catch bait, ease to fishing spot, fish for a little while, get bite, catch fish, ease to scales, collect check. Don't worry, I won't get used to it!

TEAM OIFC Wins Brunswick Islands King Classic
by Capt. Brant McMullan



Well, Capt. Barrett issued the challenge by winning the season's first King Mackerel tournament for the OIFC, he and Rube did a great job. However, a return shot has been fired as Ocean Isle Fishing Center fishing team members Chris Eckert, Rube McMullan, Caroline McMullan and myself won the 2010 Brunswick Islands King Classic held Sept 10-11, 2010 out of Southport, NC. We weighed an awesome 43.14 pound King to win the tournament; but almost as impressive, to win the tournament for the second consecutive year in a row. I decided to fish offshore in 100 feet of water as nearshore water temperatures remain warm and action had been lacking. As such, the plan was to fish over bottom fishing grounds where hopefully there might be a big King that had taken up residence feeding on Snapper during the Summer. Our second stop proved to be the jackpot as a spread of live Pogys was set. After 10 minutes of trolling, the downrigger set at 30 feet went off and Chris grabbed the rod. As he came tight, the medium flat line rod bent double, and I grabbed the rod. My fish sent the reel into a smoking, high speed run, indicating it was a fish of size; the only question was if it was a wahoo or king? We kept the boat at idle while Chris fought his fish and I quietly worked his fish back to the boat. After 15 minutes or so, my fish came into sight and revealed the silver sides and yellowish tale that signal a Kingfish deep below. It was apparent it was a big fish. The King made one circle and I brought it to the surface where Rube gaffed and asked for assistance; I dropped the rod and grabbed the big tail and the fish was on the deck of the Yellowfin. It was one of those magical days as now all that was left was to weigh-in. It was only 11am, but my 5 year old daughter, Caroline came to fish, and she was having a blast. The team reset and Caroline boated another King and a nice Dolphin. We eventually set for home and made the weigh-in shortly after 3pm and the rest is history. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together. I will give credit where it's due as the common factor in both recent wins is Rube "the GooRube" McMullan. Most exciting to me was Caroline winning Jr. Angler. She won $300 of her own and got a first place trophy; she is fired up.

CLASSIFIEDS
- 2001 27 World Cat (twin 2003 Yamaha 200 hpdi's w/ 130 hours, 2007 Road King trailer, custom lean post/livewell, Northstar chartplotter, Simrad autopilot, Furuno fishfinder, tons of storage- mint condition)- asking $43,500
- 2003 Suzuki F140 (includes controls, gauges and stainless prop. Starts first time, runs good, idles good. New lower unit in 2009. She has been run hard and met more than one sandbard, but she's got life for someone on a budget wanting four-stroke power.)- asking $2500
- 2010 Yamaha VX1100 Waverunners (rental units that were purchased in Spring of 2010. Warranty thru August 2011. They have typical fiberglass dings that come with rentals, but engine is in great condition. Start, idle and run perfectly. Priced to blowout.)- $4000 as single sale, $7000 if you buy two. Tandem trailers also available for $1500.
- NC Standard Commercial Fishing License (I have a couple that I don't need anymore. These are the license you will have to have to sell Bluefin Tuna or any other fish in NC.)- asking $3500


Ocean Isle Fishing Center
65 Causeway Drive-Ocean Isle Beach, NC 28469
(910) 575-FISH - www.oifc.com