King Tourney Q&A with Capt. Robert Olsen

Among dozens of prized gamefish off the Charleston, S.C. coast, Capt. Robert Olsen of Knot at Work Fishing hones his skills on sky-rocketing king mackerel during the summer tournament season. In the 40-year-old's more than 10 years as a tournament angler, his winning resume ranges from a 15-pounder for $5,000 to first place in a Southern Kingfish Association's National Championship for $60,000.
Olsen shares some of his tournament experience, along with how he hunts for the winning fish.

What is your age and how long have you been a guide?

I am 40 years old and have been a guide here in Charleston for the last 10 years. Prior to that, I did a lot of fishing, including commercial grouper/snapper and worked on a commercial long line shark fishing boat with my brother, Harold Olsen.

When did you begin fishing the bigger king tourneys here and throughout the Southeast?

I started tournament king mackerel fishing in 2000. Didn't travel much the first few years, but did qualify for the Southern Kingfish Association National Championship tournament each year. It was held in Ft. Pierce, Fla. or in Biloxi Miss. in November of each year. I fished a few FLW Professional king mackerel tournaments in 2006 and 2007.

What is your personal best king in weight? And how would you compare the number and size of fish caught this year compared to the past?

My personal best king mackerel is 49 lbs, and it was caught in Biloxi, Miss. in 2003 during the SKA National Championship. My personal best on the East Coast is 38 lbs. This year the king fishing has been better than I can ever remember. During our tournament season this year caught 10 fish over 30 lbs. I caught at least 15 more during charters with the biggest being 38 lbs. We had some quality fish off of Charleston this year.

What month of the year do you catch the most fish and where do you target them here?

East Coast fishing is usually on the beach. (fishing within 5 miles of land and usually by one of our many inlets in South Carolina)

Do you target them differently in out-of-state tournaments? Do you use different baits, tactics or range?

In the gulf, fishing is usually by an oil or gas rig. There are hundreds of them and they hold a lot of bait and where there is bait, there are kings. I mainly use menhaden off of Charleston i.e. mullet, blue runners, cigar minnows, ribbonfish too, but mainly menhaden. In the gulf, I use only blue runners, mullet and ribbonfish.

King mackerel like water temperature 66 to 84 degrees. In the spring I target them 25 to 40 miles offshore, in the summer 1 to 20 miles offshore and in the fall, out 15 to 40 miles offshore.

How many king tournaments and other tournaments do you enter each year? And what is your biggest purse?

The first five years, I fished about 10 tournaments a year. The last few years, I fish about five or six. I have won money with all different size fish. I even won $5,000 with a 15-pound king. Kings are affected by the barometer and sometimes they don't bite. It could be in the middle of the summer and if the moon phase is full, and the pressure is falling, only the fish way offshore will bite. That is why they call it fishing.

My biggest payout was in 2003. Our team was fortunate to win the SKA Class of 23 National Championship. We won a boat and some money. After it was all sold, our total was about $60,000 cash, which was divided four ways. Each member received a cut and the boat also received a cut.

Where is your favorite spot off Charleston to fish and why?

I fish just about anywhere during tournaments. Weather plays a big factor and sometimes I fish where most people wouldn't want to. I mainly look at water temperature, bait in the area and water clarity. This year, there has been a good beach bite. We haven't had one of those in several years. I like to fish the Charleston shipping channel. It always holds a lot of bait in the dredged channel and it extends out almost 17 miles. I am always confident that the winner for every tournament in Charleston is in the channel, but you just have to figure out where and then get the big bite.

What is your preferred rig (anything other than a stinger rig)?

My standard rig is a three-hook rig. It consists of 60 lb. seven strand wire, an 80 lb. spro swivel and a live bait nose hook, and two no. four treble hooks 4x strong. The total length of the rig is about 30 inches.

Do you find king tourneys more difficult or easier than other species? Are they more expensive or time consuming?

I have been lucky a few times with fish that were worth 10 to 15 thousand dollars and I have cashed in many tournaments. It is hard to be consistent with tournaments but I can at least say I have over 50 tournament checks so far. I am only in the tournaments for fun, but the payouts have been good on occasion. I can at least say I haven't lost any money yet and breaking even is just like winning.

What is your most memorable king tourney trip? What happened?

My most memorable trip so far, had to be the last Fishing For Miracles Tournament. I had only kids on the boat. My 14 year old daughter, My 9 year old son and my neighbors son who is 16 years old. On the first day of the 200 boat field, my daughter caught a 29 lb. king. On the second day my son caught a 34 lb. king and won 2nd place youth angler and 14 th place overall in the tournament. The ocean was calm and my kids had the experience of fishing a tournament and catching a big fish too. They can't wait to do it again.

Where did you learn to fish and catch kings?

I use to troll ballyhoo in the mine field area off of charleston about 8-12 miles offshore. It would always produce a few kings. I didn't start catching bigger kings until I learned how to live bait for them. I learned along the way on how to catch kings. I almost always learn something new each day I fish and try to apply it for the next trip on the water.

Best time of day to target kings? Live vs. dead bait?

Best time to catch them is anytime during a tide change and if I am fishing nearshore, during the high tide. I only like to use live bait. Sometimes when I am bottom fishing, I use a dead cigar minnow drifting behind the boat. It usually always produces.

Looks like you had an awesome day at the Charleston Coastal Anglers tournament. How did you catch the winning fish?

My girlfriend, Melissa Langston, caught a 34 lber. during the Coastal Anglers Tournament and it was good enough for the win. We were slow trolling menhaden about 4 miles off of Charleston. We had 3 on at one time. One was about 30 lbs. and the other was about 20 lbs. Melissa just had the rod that was singing the drag the loudest. It took her about 15 minutes to get it to the boat. After I gaffed it and it hit the deck of the boat, Melissa looked at me and said "Thats a big fish right there!" We ended up catching a few more kings, but none of any size.

The day you took me out, George mentioned that you went to Iraq. How long were you in the military? Did you think you were going to be a guide when you returned home?

I was in the National Guard from 1989 until 1995. I spent over 2 years of active duty. When I was deployed in Iraq for almost a year, I had alot of time to think about what I wanted to do. My thoughts have always been on the water and I am living my passion. That is a good feeling and I am lucky to be able to do what I always wanted to do, fish.

Where do you see the future of king fishing? More fish? Can there be more done in conservation?

I see that our king fishing will get better over the next few years due to the decline of the commercial industry in Florida. Kings migrate down south in the winter and follow the warm water up the coast each year. So far there have been more quality fish caught (36-46 lbs.) this year. Back in 2004 was our last strong bite with a bunch of quality fish caught in each of the tournaments.

Visit Capt. Olsen's Web site: www.KnotatWorkFishing.com