Mike Martin Pier Tournament 2008
Tony Lane, of Chinquapin, NC, with his trophy and the 3.17 lb. speckled trout that earned him $1000 in the 4th annual Mike Martin Pier Tournament, held last weekend from Surf City Pier.
Smashing the tournament participation record with 178 entrants, the fourth annual Mike Martin Memorial Pier Tournament, held August 17-18 on Surf City Pier, exceeded all expectations. When the pier staff and anglers gathered outside the pier house on Sunday afternoon following the 30-hour fishing marathon, grins spread across weary anglers’ faces as they were presented with trophies, checks, and prizes for their catches.
Since no speckled trout were caught in last year’s Mike Martin tournament, the $500 speckled trout prize rolled over to this year’s event, and Chinquapin angler Tony Lane was only too happy to collect the event’s top prize, a trophy and a check for $1,000.
With only one trout on the board and the event’s final hours ticking away, Lane got a solid strike on a live mud minnow fished on a Carolina rig.
When he brought the fish to the surface and saw it was a trout, a friend quickly slid a net beneath it and pulled the fish up to the planks.
The speck went 3.17 lbs. on the scales, enough to handily earn Lane the big check.
Aside from the big speckled trout prize, the tournament awards $100 first and $50 second place prizes for the heaviest fish in eight other categories.
The winners of the Mike Martin Pier Tournament celebrate their success Sunday afternoon following the awards ceremony.
Virginia Speaks took home the first place spot prize for a 0.40 lb. fish, and she also earned second in the pompano competition for a 1.35 lb. catch. Both her fish fell for fresh shrimp on bottom rigs, with the pompano bite coming around 11:00 on Saturday morning, and the spot around 7:00 in the evening on Saturday.
Alex Beasley just edged Speaks out for the first place pompano prize, weighing in a 1.40 lb. pomp.
A 0.36 lb. spot earned Shelly Phillips second place for the species.
Augie Hernandez weighed in a 2.24 lb. spanish mackerel to top that category. His fish fell for a live mullet on the bottom around 10:00 Sunday morning. Russ Becker’s 1.63 lb. spaniard took second.
Only one sheepshead was weighed in, a 0.50 lb. fish caught by Tim Dupree. Dupree hooked the convict fish on a fiddler crab around 10:00 Sunday morning and released it after weighing it in.
Topping the flounder competition, Gene Rivenbark put a 2.65 lb. flatfish on the scales, barely surpassing Brian Glasshap’s 2.59 lb. second place fish.
Doug Keicher weighed in the top whiting, a 1.55 lb. fish. James Tyndall’s 0.80 lb. whiting took second.
Todd Andrews’ 1.23 lb. bluefish was good for first place, and Michael Bryant weighed in the 1.18 lb. runner-up blue.
While none of the adults fishing were able to land a king mackerel or a puppy drum, youth angler Tim Jenkins landed a 25″, 6.39 lb. drum that topped the Junior Angler leaderboard, winning him $100.
Tim Jenkins managed a feat none of the adult anglers could in the 2008 Mike Martin Memorial Pier Tournament, landing a 6.39 lb. puppy drum that earned him first place Junior Angler and $100. His fish fell for a shrimp fished on a bottom rig.
Jenkins big pup fell for a shrimp on a bottom rig near the pier’s cleaning table at 11:00 Saturday morning. After a 5-minute battle which took Jenkins around one of the pier’s light poles, the red was in a pier net and on the way up to the planks.
Gavin Jones weighed in the 1.57 lb. spadefish that earned him second place Junior Angler, and Garrett Burgess took third with a 1.54 lb. spanish mackerel.
Phillip Henry, of Sea Striker, showed up on Saturday with two more prizes-the largest fish landed on a Clarkspoon and a Gotcha plug. Surprisingly, it was flounder that took the top honors for both lures.
Candace Burke hooked a 0.98 lb. flatfish on a Clarkspoon to win a set of Clarkspoons and Clark Casters, and a 2.26 lb. flounder that fell for a Gotcha plug earned Tanner Jones a rod and reel combo valued at $220, both courtesy of Sea Striker.
Not only did the Mike Martin Tournament break participation records this year, in addition enough local businesses stepped up to shatter the previous sponsorship numbers, too. The event was the brainchild of former Surf City Pier manager Mike Martin, designed to highlight the diverse fishing at Surf City in August. Though Martin passed away before the tournament’s first running, the staff decided to dedicate it to his memory, and the event keeps growing every year.
