Bay Creek Classic
Bethany, Leah, and Fred Davis, of Wilmington, with the 7.30 lb. flounder that won the Bay Creek Classic. Leah caught the big flatfish on a live finger mullet at a grass bank in the Cape Fear River.
Topping the leader board in the 5th Annual Bay Creek Classic, held September 24 out of Wildlife Bait and Tackle in Southport,Wilmington’s Fred Davis and daughters Bethany and Leah scaled a 7.30 lb. flounder to earn the first place check.
As much of the rest of the field were, theDaviscrew was greeted with a tough day of fishing on the morning of the event.
“Even bait was tough,” Fred Davis said. “We caught some menhaden early, but it took a while to find some good mullet.”
Fishing Snow’s Cut, theCape Fear River, Carolina Beach Inlet, and a variety of other spots, the trio had only landed a few undersized fish when they returned to the river around 3:00 that afternoon. However, casting live finger mullet to a final grass bank in theCapeFearpaid off for theDavisclan.
“We were going to finish it up right there and head back to the boat ramp,”Davisexplained. “We were just running down one last grass bank with the electric motor when Leah said she’d gotten snagged.”
Looking back at his daughter,Davissaw the rod bob a bit.
“I asked her if she was still snagged, and she said ‘not now’,” he continued. “It bent the rod pretty good and she was struggling with it a bit, so I thought it was probably a good fish.”
Leah then went about working the fish to the boat, but the first time the anglers saw it, they were unable to get it in the net.
“I just couldn’t quite reach it with the net,”Davissaid, “but I got it the next time it came up. I’d just gotten through telling them that one bite was all we needed. ”
With a 7 pounder in the boat and under an hour to get to the scales, the anglers hurriedly stowed their gear and got underway.
“We had to go once we put that fish in the boat,” explainedDavis. “I put her into the wind and we ran down there. If the river had been a little rougher, I don’t know if we’d have made it.”
Arriving at theSouthportno wake zone with a slightly larger time margin, the anglers were able to relax a little more as they made their way to the scales at the Wildlife boat ramp.
Scaling a 6.6 lb. fish to take home second place were Marc Spencer and Bubba Howard.
Their big fish also bit a live finger mullet in the Cape Fear River near a grass bank further down towardsSouthport.
“I’m not really a fisherman,” Spencer explained, “but I’ve been friends withBrandonforever, and I got Bubba to take me fishing for the tournament. That’s only the second or third flounder I’ve caught in my life, so I didn’t really know what I had. Bubba did, though, and he was so excited for me.”
The Bay Creek Classic is an annual flounder tournament benefitting local outdoorsman Brandon Matthews, who was paralyzed in a fall from a tree stand five years ago. Proceeds from the event go to helpBrandonwith his substantial medical bills and other costs associated with his recovery.
