On a morning that was producing three- to four-foot seas and a 15-knot southwest wind, Stark’s son-in-law, Jeff Stevens, hooked the fish around 10:30 a.m. The king was brought aboard Stark’s 31-foot Contender, “Sea Bandit”, equipped with twin 250 Yamahas. It was caught about five miles off Apache Pier in Myrtle beach, S.C.
“When the fish hit the wash line, Jeff grabbed the reel,” Stark said. “It just ran offshore, and that was a good sign that it was a big one. Jeff fought it for 20 minutes before we actually saw the fish. We backed off the drag so he could run where he wanted until he got tired out. It took about another 10 minutes to bring it in.”
The king caught with a 20-pound test line earned the first-place winners a total of $23,315 in cash prizes.
Stark, a general contractor, has been tournament fishing for about 15 years and has participated in all 10 of the Jolly Mon events. He keeps his boat at Cricket Cove in Little River, S.C.
In 1995, he finished third in the national championship held in Tampa, Fla. Also that year, he won the Sun Fun Tournament in Myrtle Beach with a 38-pound king. Stevens took ninth place in last year’s Jolly Mon. He and his father Gerald are the owners of Aberdeen Small Engine.
