Recent Accomplishments ...

• Feb/2010: Letter to the Editors of newspapers and magazines supporting the Governor's panel to study the feasibility of drilling for oil off N. C. State Senators and Representatives forward the letter to the Governor.
  
  
• Jan/2010: At the annual meeting of the Onslow Bay King Mackerel Tournament, the Financial Director reported that in spite of the bad weather the tournament netted $17,600 for a total of $170,334 in 9 years for Child Service Agencies. Our SKA Sanctioned tournament date was changed to August 14, 2010.
  
  
• Nov/2009: 14th place SKA Nationals in Biloxi, Miss.
  
  
• May/2009: Appointed to the Lowrance Electronics Pro Staff Team, Mid Atlantic Representative.
  
  
• Dec/2008: Appointed to the Feasibililty Study Committee for the proposed Saltwater Fishing Museum and Resource Center to be built in Morehead City N. C.
  
  
• Nov/2008: 2nd place in the 23 Class at the Southern Kingfish Association National Championships in Biloxi, Ms. Overall the 10th heaviest fish, 42.21 and the 9th heaviest aggregate of 75.68 lbs. in the 430 boat field.
  
  
• Nov/2008: The Financial Officer of the Onslow Bay Open King Mackerel Tournament announced that the 2008 tournament raised $20,025 from our weather postponed tournament, a total of $152,734 in 8 years for KIDS Charities.
  
  
• Nov/2007 to Aug/2008: Worked with N. C. State Representatives, Senators and the Senator Pro Tem to change a 1978 law to allow trailers over 8' 6" wide to travel 365 days a year, 24 hours per day. Legislation to be proposed at the 5/13/08 Short Session by both the House and the Senate. HB 2167 was overwhelmingly approved by the House and Senate (only 5 Representatives against, 105 for and all 48 Senators for) on 6/17/08. The Governor vetoed the Bill, the House and Senate reconvened on 8/27/08 to override the veto. Only 9 Representatives voted against it, Senators were unanimous. This was the FIRST time in N. C. history that the Governor had his veto over ridden.
  
  
• May/2008: Nominated for the 2008 State of North Carolina "Volunteer of the Year".
  
  
• Jan/2008: The Onslow Bay Open King Mackerel Tournament Committee announced at their Annual Meeting that a total of $27,440 was raised for at risk, underpriviliged, terminally KIDS and orphans. $132,709 raised in 7 years.
  
  
• Jun/2007: Elected by 10,000 members of the Southern Kingfish Association to their Hall of Fame, the 3rd person ever to be accorded this honor.
  
  
• Mar/2007: Featured in the Yamaha Quarterly Newsletter that was sent to all boat manufacturers and Yamaha dealers in the U. S.
  
  
• Feb/2007: Appointed to the Saltwater Faculty by George Poveromo for the Saltwater Sportsman National Seminar Series attended by over 750 in Wilmington, NC.
  
  
• Feb/2007: Saltwater Sportsman published another article by Joel Arrington, "Kings Ransom".
  
  
• Jan/2007: Sponsored hull #2, 23 Class Tournament Edition by Onslow Bay Boat Works, Hampstead, NC.
  
  
• Jan/2007: Onslow Bay Open KMT announced that $21,000 was raised from 2006 Tournament for KIDS Charites, a total of $105,000 in 6 years.
  

Stanman Says...

• "Had a charter today where we caught a 28 lb. King Mackerel (by a 13-year-old) and his dad caught a 6 ft. Sailfish on 30# Titanium Tooth Proof. Caught other kings and had to change the rig only because the hooks got dull — the line leader never got kinked. It's great stuff!"
• "Dolphinfish will tear up stainless steel wire and twist it. We kept using the Titanium Tooth Proof over and over again — and it doesn't twist. They also say that yellowfin tuna won't hit wire — well, we caught three, up to 40 lb. on that Titanium.

Involvements

• Tournament Involvement: Founded and am the Director of the 9th Annual SKA Sanctioned Onslow Bay Open King Mackerel Tournament.
• Seminar Involvement: Member of George Poveromo's Saltwater Fishing Seminar. Speak at Fishing Clubs and at Boat Shows.
• Club/Organization Involvement: Founded the Onslow Bay Saltwater Fishing Club in 2003, served as President until 2009, now serving as Secretary/Treasurer

Targeted Fish:

• "Big fish, king mackerel, sailfish, cobia, grouper, snapper, wahoo, tuna."

Top HI-SEAS lines and reasons why:

• "Quattro - We use 15 lb. line in the Atlantic which allows for realistic presentations of live baits. In the Gulf we will use 20 lb. line."

Top AFW line and reasons why:

• "Titanium - This line has a forgiveness factor, it stretches under impact. You can use this leader several times, it is black and disappears in the water."

Favorite Fishing Technique:

• "Slow trolling live bait. Baloon fishing while anchored up over a reef catching bottom dwellers"

Favorite Area to Fish:

• "Marathon, The Keys, Florida."

Most Memorable Fishing Experience:

• "Winning the SKA National Championship in 2005."

What tip would you give a non professional angler?

• "No matter what species you are fishing for, pay attention to the details. Details, details, details."

When not fishing I like to…

• "experiment with different rigs, wires and lines, work out 2 to 3 hours a day. Also like to go on cruises with my bride of 47 years, Barbara Ann."

SKA Nationals 2005

The 2005 SKA National Championship was scheduled for November 2005. The team was plagued by bad luck all around, from a broken VHF radio antenna to broken motor cowling, to dead bait — it was a relief when the Championship was cancelled due to high winds and 8 foot seas. The team would have another shot at glory in the rescheduled Championship in April 2006.

Putting bad luck behind them, the team hit the water at 5 a.m. the Wednesday before the rescheduled tournament. They headed south in search of bait. After filling the bait well with greenies, they headed to the spot they'd been told had kings in 60 ft. of water. Without any luck there, they turned toward deeper water, slow trolling those greenies out to 75 ft. deep — when all hell broke loose. They could only keep one rod in the water. Kevin, Sam, Greg and Charles caught 12 Kings, and Kevin's weighed in at 50 lb.! The team released their catch and headed back to port, feeling pretty good about the coming tournament.

On Thursday's bait run, something unusual happened. About 10 miles out, a yellow finch flew into the boat and landed on Captain Stanman's hat. It sat there for about ten minutes. The team dubbed the finch "a bird from paradise" and felt blessed.

Friday was the first day of tournament fishing. Things didn't look good - the team had arranged to supplement caught bait with bought bait...and the bait man was a no-show at 4:15 a.m. He didn't roll in until about 5:30 a.m. — with no tires or rims on the left side of his trailer. Driving on the axle hub. Now that's commitment. The team got a late start (7:15 a.m.) and headed south. They returned to "their spot" and patiently waited, hoping that one or two fo the Big Girls would still be around.

The top middle line was fished very long, no other boats around, and that was the line that went off at 11:25 a.m. After making a fairly good run for the first 150 yards or so, she decided to go into high gear and almost spooled them. And as hard as that Big Girl tried to get out of town, that's as fast as she ran back to the boat. Just as the spool was almost full, she made another run of about 100 yards to the port side of the boat, then made a hard run back trying to wrap in the motors and get cut off. The team got the gaffs ready. Charles stretched out over the gunwale and nailed her in a non-vital spot, the tail. Kevin grabbed her by the tail, and laid her on the deck. No one may have seen them catch the fish, but Stanman wagers they could hear them for miles. She was a 40 pounder for sure. Calling it a day at about 2 p.m., they headed back for the official word: 42.47 lb., narrowly beat out for the first day of competition by a Jacksonville, Fla., fisherman who came up with a 47 lb. fish.

Saturday dawned and the bait didn't look so hot. The team invested in some fresh bait and headed out into 3–5 foot seas. Heading back to "their spot," the team finds it no longer lonely. Turning toward the beach on a tip, there's a local there, fishing at 60 ft., just where the team had had no luck on Tuesday. Drifting for about 15 minutes, Kevin dropped a blue runner down; Greg locked it down when the ball hit 34 ft. Immediately, the line is pulled, but hte fish didn't run. Stanman took the rod, and the team decided to fight this fish as though it was a King, they'd seen 20's do the same thing before. The fish made a 200 yd. run. Nothing to get excited about, typical run of a fish in the 20s.

Everyone was surprised at the size of the fish — looked like another 40! Landed that fish in just about 5 minutes with Kevin at the wheel and Greg and Charles manning the gaffs. At 52 inches long, it looked like another 40. The official weight comes in at 39.91 lb. for a 2-day aggregate of 82.38 lbs., a pretty tough weight to beat!

"A vicious rainstorm knocked out electricity at the weigh-in site, making it tough to keep track of the standings, but 82 lbs. keeps the team on top - not only best in class, but 3rd heaviest tournament-wide." The team looks forward to defending their title in November 2006!

Tips & Techniques from Mr. Stanman…