This weekend marks the 43rd U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament.
Anglers from all over the country will gather in Southport, hoping to catch the biggest fish. The tournament was supposed to be last weekend, but Hurricane Ian called for a reschedule. Ian can potentially cause other complications to the competition as well.
Dieter Cardwell has always loved fishing. It’s something he’d do with his father as a kid.
Now, he’s made a life of it. He participates in fishing competitions up and down the coast and is gearing up for the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament.
“I started fishing the U.S. Open on the second tournament, 1980, and I’ve fished every one since,” Cardwell said. “I’ve done very well. We’ve been in the top 10 several times, we’ve won it twice, and we been second once, and then, you know, scattered in there, so we’re serious about it.”
While he may have fished all but one of the U.S. Opens, this weekend’s tournament will provide its own unique challenges.
“Of course now with the hurricane coming through it’s dropped 12 degrees in one day,” Cardwell said. “And the fish won’t tolerate that and hopefully they’ll be back.”
Now, his best bet to increase his chances of winning is to go find some bait. While some may lose a couple of hours at the beginning of the competition looking for bait, Cardwell and his team will be ahead of the game.
Lucky for them, just one day before the competition, the bait was everywhere — and where there’s bait, there’s fish.
“The bait's finally in here. Usually the fish are two or three days behind the bait, so they may — Monday or Tuesday — they may come in here,” Cardwell said. “But hopefully they come in Friday and Saturday.”
Wherever the fish go, Cardwell plans on finding them — and he doesn’t plan on finding just any fish. He wants to find the biggest.
Cardwell’s the only one in the history of the U.S. Open who has ever won twice, and for him, winning the tournament three times would mean everything.
“It would be miraculous, I would be overjoyed. It wouldn’t be like I wouldn’t be trying, you know? I’d say all these years, I really love it now, I love fishing. You can tell we’re out here catching bait, and been at it the last two or three days. We’re serious,” Cardwell said. “When you do something, you work hard, and then you get lucky, and the big one hits your line, you know. You’ve done all your work and it feels really gratifying to put your fish in the boat, and then after that it’s just happy time.”
Cardwell is just one of many anglers who will be participating in the competition this year.
The Southport Oak Island Chamber of Commerce says that the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament broke attendance records last year and brings in roughly $2 million to the city. Since the event was pushed back a week due to Ian this year, they’re expecting fewer participants but are still anticipating a great economic impact.
If you would like to learn more about the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament, click here.