2020 TOPSAIL ISLAND KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

The biggest kingfish at 44.5 pounds

This annual tournament began with Dale Powell and Rick Wells, owners of Power Marine Outfitters in Sneads Ferry. Then this spectacular event that takes place at New River Marina event was eventually turned over to the Rotary Club of Sneads Ferry. Since then it has become the Club’s major fund-raising event to support their service and activities.

To date, The Sneads Ferry Rotary Club’s Annual King Mackerel Tournament has raised approximately $1.0 million dollars that has been distributed into the local community, region, and to other parts of the world through Rotary projects supported by the club.

Those projects include:

College Scholarships for Dixon High School Seniors, Coastal Carolina Community College Perpetual Endowment Fund, an SAT Scholarship Fund, dictionaries for Onslow County third graders, support of the Lake Waccamaw Boys and Girls Home, the Annual Percy Jenkins Senior Citizen Dinner, Project Guatemala providing clean water, food, shelter and medical supplies, annual Christmas Shopping Program for kids, annual Christmas Grocery Project for local families in need, ongoing support of C.H.E.W, Alzheimer’s Research, Onslow Women’s Shelter, Breast Cancer Victim support, Volunteer Fire Departments, Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly, a Rotary Interact Club at Dixon H.S., Paul Harris Fellowships, various Matching Grants projects, and Financial Assistance to those in need in our community.

The event itself is a good time for everybody. You don’t have to fish. You can just watch the boats of all shapes, colors, and sizes come in and be part of the excitement as the fish are weighed in, then watch the leaderboard fill up with boat names and weights of their fish. Enjoy the sights by the water around the marina, the smells of good food, listen to the music, and have fun-natured conversations with locals and visitors that come together for this unique coastal experience.

The evening before the fishing begins is the traditional Captain’s Dinner of freshly cooked shrimp with hushpuppies, slaw, and fries all prepared by the Rotary Club members. This year they served approximately 420 meals. The official start to the event includes a Color Guard followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, a blessing, and some words from the Rotary Club president.

This year’s tournament had 103 boats registered to compete, over 1200 pounds of fish were weighed in, over 420 meals were served, and over 800 event custom-designed tee shirts sold.

For more information on the annual KMT please visit online at www.sfkmt.com and to learn more about the Rotary Club of Sneads Ferry visit www.sneadsferryrotaryclub.com

If you have not yet experienced this event be sure to put it on your calendar for next year. The tournament takes place in August. Once a date is established it will be posted on the event website.