Kingfish Connection: What terminal tackle do you use over there in North Carolina? What reel, what rod and what size line? Does brand matter to your team? What line color would we find on your reels?

Barrett McMullan: For our rods we stick with a 15-30lb class Star Deluxe rod. The reel is a Shimano Speedmaster or Torium 30 reels for the most part. Brant likes to use 20lb Suffix or Stren in pink. I like to use 20lb Cuda line in a dark green color.

Brand is not so much important than specifications of each product. The rod should have a very reactive tip so that the behavior of the baitfish can be observed as well as serve as a shock absorber from a hard strike. The rod must also have a strong backbone to lift the fish from the depths. The reel is simple. We look for a 6.2:1 retrieve, a smooth reliable drag, and the ability to hold 450+yds of 20lb test. More science in involved in the selection of fishing line. Brant is in favor of Suffix/Stren because of abrasion resistance and pink is least visible color in green water. Barrett prefers Cuda dark green because of the extra thin diameter allowing more line to go on to the reel, the fluorocarbon coating, and the extra strong breaking strength.

How do you rig your leader for those North Carolina smokers? Do you ever use multiple trebles in a rig? Also, what # wire and what size hooks are your preference? Do you prefer a specific brand of hook?

The rig is reliant on the size of the bait, the size of the fish in the area, water clarity and style of fishing. Without going into too much detail, the hooks on a rig should stretch the entire length of the bait approximately 4" apart. Many larger baits take more than two hooks. For most baits we prefer using all trebles, but on certain larger baits a single nose hook seems to offer a better presentation. Presenting a bait in the most natural and unrestricted manner is the goal. Again wire size varies but a typical North Carolina slow trolling live bait rig for us consists of #5 wire and two #4 trebles. We have always used Eagle Claw, but are currently testing a new Mustad product. An entire book could be written based on the above questions. Rigs are dependent upon the conditions. Experiment and find what works best for you under various conditions.

Are you a big believer in using either skirts or products like a turbo rattler to enhance your bait's presentation? What's your favorite skirt color? Do you ever use a "unique" rig such as a zombie or double bait set up?

We are firm believers in trying something different. We have prided ourselves on being innovators on the fishing scene and that requires trying baits and techniques that might seem unusual to most. Double rigs are a favorite but even better is triple or more. We've been fishing the "zombie" rig before it was called the "zombie" rig. When fishing in crowds putting out something different is even more important.

One other tip is to not always focus so much on what each bait individually looks like. Try and visualize your spread as a school of bait and position each bait strategically to attract strikes. In other words get out of the trees so you can see the forest. We fish skirts occasionally- Cape Lookout Lures is number one choice. We try and match the skirt color to the watercolor most times.

If you could have one bait in your live well for a tournament up there which would it be? How big of a role does throwing a cast net have to do with your bait fishing? Do you like to use ribbon fish?

Instead of type I'm more interested in size. The time of year decides what type is most effective. Again seeing the big picture comes into play when this question is asked. My favorite big fish bait is a big bait, but a spread of big baits is not as effective as a spread of normal baits with one big bait mixed in. This comes under the do something different advice.

Throwing a cast net is probably one of the most under practiced skill by fishermen I see yet one of the most important. Being able to locate bait and capture it efficiently is an area where much improvement can be made to most fishing teams. Fortunately, growing up my father had both Brant and I throwing cast nets from size 3 to size 12 off the roof or deck or boat sitting in the driveway all year long. With the skills acquired there combined with an ability to read bait behavior gained through charter fishing every day and finally capturing the bait while fishing without a mate every day on charters has allowed us to excel in the bait catching area. Being able to throw a net is the first step in most of our bait fishing. Next is locating bait, and then strategically positioning the boat to allow the net thrower to have the best chance of succeeding. Ribbon fish: never leave home without them.

Do you ever scale down the equipment that you use? What conditions would lead you to do this?

Many times we scale down equipment. Such cases would include extra clear water or fishing in a crowd.

How does your team prepare for each tournament? How much prefishing do you do for each tournament? Do you prefish more for some tournaments? Do you focus more on getting good bait during this time?

Communication is the number one most important tool when preparing for tournaments. This is especially true when fishing out of home waters. In home waters our pre-fishing is done by our charter fleet, which is on the water nearly every day.

When fishing out of town we like to devote one day to bait and one day to fishing if possible. We rely heavily on dependable contacts who we share information with. Visiting local tackle stores, fishing piers or commercial fishermen in the area we will be fishing is a great way to find out what's going on. If we feel we have good info on fish location we will spend more time on collecting bait. We probably focus more on getting the right baits when fishing out of town assuming we have a decent idea of where the fish will be.

How do you keep yourself on top of the bite when North Carolina has so many anglers and a large number of tournaments?

Experience. We've been king mackerel fishing the Carolina waters since before both of us could see over the gunnel. My father began king mackerel fishing off the Carolina Beach pier in 60's and started fishing kingfish tournaments in the late 70's. Brant and I picked up the torch in the early 90's. Knowing where the kingfish have been historically and how they react to certain conditions allows us to have fairly good idea where the concentration of fish will be. Also the fact we are on the water nearly every day helps us to keep taps on where they are located.

What role do temperature charts play in determining where you try to concentrate your efforts on tournament days?

For most of the year temp charts do not play a role in where we will fish. This is an area where we stand to make improvements. In late Fall when temperature breaks form off of northern NC, temp charts do come into play. It is not until at least mid October though do we begin to take temperature into consideration. We've found king mackerel aren't as temperature restricted as most would think. During our bluefin tuna fishing we'll catch some of the biggest fish of the year in 59 and 60 degree water.

What would be the one tip that you would give to an angler fishing your area for the first time? What preparations should a team go through prior to coming to your neck of the woods? What one tournament in North Carolina would you recommend an out of town angler heading up to fish? Are long runs a must when you fish a tournament up there?

To those first timers to our area the best way to prepare is to communicate first. A great tool that we provide here at the Ocean Isle Fishing Center is our fishing reports on our website www.oifishingcenter.com. We try to keep it updated daily with all of our findings in our charter fishing. This is in line with the checking tackle shops tip I mentioned earlier.

Beyond that, when in doubt go to the Cape Fear Ship Channel or Jungle- a good fish will come from either one of those places 90% of the time. Other preparations to consider when coming this way would be to have a quality cast net and know how to use it. We have a net that we custom designed that is fast sinking and works great for fast moving pogies. In other areas normal nets will do the job, but up here the pogies are larger and sometimes can be hard to catch. Our fast sinking nets are heavy but they do the job. We have them here at the Fishing Center.

Of course the tournaments I have to recommend are the Jolly Mon King Classic in July (340 boats in 2004) or the Fall Brawl in October (220 boat in October). Those tournaments fall right in the peak time for catching big kingfish in this area. The last week in June and first week in July we always have a run of big fish and then October in the Carolina's is a must for anyone who hasn't experienced it.

Long runs are never a must wherever you fish and here is no different. There are plenty of fish close by to Ocean Isle Beach but sometimes long runs become attractive because it allows you to get away from the crowd. More times than not though like I said before, Cape Fear Ship Channel or Jungle is where it will happen.

What one aspect of the fishing in your area do you think most people will find to be different when they compare this fishery to others?

For king mackerel fishing one thing that is often overlooked by those not familiar with the area is the lay of the land. From the SC state line to the Cape Fear River Channel the beaches face to the south. Being able to use the intercoastal waterway effectively to come out of different inlets taking into consideration the direction of the wind relative to where you want to fish is a valuable tool. You can usually get to any location you want to out of this area despite bad weather if you plan your trip and use the inside waters to your advantage.

Does your team like to "run and gun" or wait for the one big smoker?

That depends on the situation. If conditions are right and we have confidence in an area we will stay there as long as it takes. If we feel like the fish are scattered and we need to check a bunch of spots where no one else has been we will jump around. Communicating is important here. Your contacts can cover ground more effectively as a group rather than trying to do it all yourself.

Which areas would you recommend an out of town team look up to try to get into a good king mackerel bite during these North Carolina tournaments?

Depends on the time of year. Summer- go to the Jungle or any other spots in 65 foot depth. In fall go to the Cape Fear Ship Channel or other nearshore spots.

Thank you very much for stopping by Captain Barrett!

Thank you to all the king mackerel fishermen out there who are supporting the "Save Our Pogies" effort www.saveourpogies.com that we started at the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. We are attempting to ban the commercial purse seine netting of pogies off of our beaches. The harvesting of the pogies, which are used in fertilizer, cosmetic products, and other industrial products, is devastating to our sport fishery.