Southport Magazine

The 45^th Annual U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament is right around the corner. This year’s tournament will be Oct. 5 – 7 at Brunswick County’s Dutchman Creek Park, 4750 Fish Factory Road. The U.S. Open is one of the largest king mackerel tournaments on the East Coast of the United States and part of the SKA (Southern Kingfish Association) Tournament Trail. In 2021, the tournament attracted 561 boats and paid out more than $423,600. The Tournament has an all cash guaranteed prize structure that is not based on participation numbers. It pays 55 places in its primary prize category including $25,000 for the largest king mackerel. There are also 40 sponsors who add supplementary cash prizes to the event.

Three notable prizes include the Daily Aggregate Weight Prizes, Senior Angler and Junior Angler Awards. The Daily Aggregate Weight Prizes are sponsored by Sea Tow and Dosher Memorial Hospital, and Junior Angler Awards are sponsored by Coastal Pediatric Dentistry and Novant Health. Each day a $1,000 Aggregate Prize will be given to the boat and crew that catch the most poundage from combining the weights from two or three fish.  The Junior Angler Aggregate prizes are daily and total $1,000 while the overall senior aggregate is a two-day total with a $500 award.

Food Court

The tournament Food Court will be open on Thursday from 12  – 7 pm and Friday from 12  – 5 pm, featuring Dutch Girl Dogs (hot dogs, chips, drinks), and Saturday from 12 – 7 pm featuring Wallace Catering (Burgers, BBQ, sausage/peppers/onions, fried or grilled chicken sandwich, Calabash style fried shrimp or fish, and shrimp and grits.)  

Sponsor Showcase

Visit the Grand Patron Sponsor Showcase at Dutchman Creek Park Oct. 5 – 7.  Grand Patron sponsors BEMC, Better Beach Rentals, Builders FirstSource, Dutchman Creek Bait & Tackle, Garmin, Hawthorne at Pine Forest, Novant Health, Mocean Construction, Mosquito Joe, Odyssey Offshore, SKA, and Southern Concepts Design & Build, and will be on site selling merchandise and talking about their product or service during the tournament. 

Registration 

Early Bird Registration can be completed online, postmarked or in person at Chamber’s Welcome Center, 4433 Long Beach Road, by midnight on Friday, Sept. 8. Online Registration will be available until 11 pm on Oct. 3.  Onsite Registration will be on October 5  from 10 am – 9 pm at Dutchman Creek Park.

Packet Pickup

All registrants must come to Packet Pickup at Dutchman Creek Park between 10 am – 9 pm on Thursday, Oct. 5.  The Back Porch Rockers will perform at the Park from 4 – 7 pm, playing an variety of rock and roll from the 60s to the 90s.  The Captain’s Meeting will be held in person and virtually on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7 pm at Dutchman Creek Park or on www.usopenkmtlive.com  It is strongly advised that all captains tune in or attend this meeting, as any rule changes or necessary clarifications will be announced at the meeting.   

Weigh ins

Watch the tournament participants weigh their catch in person at Dutchman Creek or online.   PointClickFish.com will stream weigh-ins at the scales live from the tournament during peak weigh-ins on Friday from 2-5 pm and Saturday from 2-4 pm. You can pick up the link to the live feed at http://www.usopenkmtlive.com/.

Merchandise

Tournament merchandiseis very popular and is available online at www.sptokimerchandise.com  and in person Monday through Friday from 8:30 am – 5 pm at the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center until Oct. 1.  The tournament will sell merchandise at the tournament headquarters (Dutchman Creek Park) Oct. 5– 7 or until it sells out.

The Awards 

The Awards Ceremony will be held in person at Dutchman Creek Park beginning at 7:30 pm on October 7. Prior to the awards ceremony Trilogy (rock n roll journey through the 50s, 60s and 70s) will perform at the Park from 4:30-7:30 pm.

Tournament details are available on the US Open King Mackerel Tournament website, www.usopenkmt.com, or for a brochure contact the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce, 4433 Long Beach Road, SE, Southport, NC 28461, 910-457-5787 or 800-457-6964, or e-mail events@southport-oakisland.com.