Tidelines – December 15, 2011
So much to talk about, and so little space in Tidelines.
To begin, Fisherman’s Post is very excited about offering three new inshore tournaments, as well as a tournament trail, in 2012. Even as we are putting together this big winter issue, a good amount of energy and work hours are already being put into this project.
These three new tournaments will be added to our two existing inshore events, the Spring Inshore Challenge and the NC Flatfish Championship, and all five will follow the popular formula we employed this past spring with two divisions: a flounder and a red drum division.
The dates and locations of these new events are June 29-30 in Topsail, July 20-21 in Morehead, and August 17-18 in Southport. The five tournament series will start in Wrightsville Beach on June 1-2 (Spring Inshore Challenge), and end on Sept. 14-15 in Carolina Beach (NC Flatfish Championship). And at the fifth event in Carolina Beach, we will also crown both a flatfish and a redfish tournament trail champion by adding up the weights of your three heaviest flounder or three heaviest red drum over the course of the five events.
Sponsors are already signing up (you can expect Anheuser Busch and Gulp and Penn products to be on hand at all our tournaments), so we are confident that all five events will provide fun and a sense of community (captains dinner/parties and awards dinner/parties, raffle tables, t-shirts, etc.) even if you aren’t quite fortunate enough to make it on the leader board.
More details on each tournament and the tournament trail will be available online at www.FishermansPost.com by the start of 2012.
Once this issue goes to print, though, the full focus of Fisherman’s Post will be dedicated to preparing for the inland boat shows that we will be attending (Raleigh Bass, Raleigh Convention Center, Richmond Bass, and Greensboro Bass, as well as the Fisherman’s Post Saltwater Fishing Schools coming up in February in Wilmington and Morehead City.
So with fishing schools and boat shows and tournament plans for the new year keeping us busy in the Fisherman’s Post office, please read this winter issue slowly and take your time looking over the photos, as we use January and February to take a break from publishing the newspaper (we won’t be doing our first issue of 2012 until March 8).
This is our favorite issue of the year, not just because we get to take a break from printing but mainly due to the strong support we enjoy from our advertisers. The recipe is simple: more ads lets us print more photos and more editorial.
And when we are given more space for photos and text, our first thought is to go on some Guide Time trips to produce articles. You can read about fishing for red drum in the picturesque and serene Buzzards Bay with Capt. Mike Pedersen of No Excuses Charters and Riley Rods.
Or you can join Capt. Charles Brown of Old Core Sound Guide Service for an adventurous trip to the Cape Lookout rock jetty for a night time speckled trout trip, a must do for any trout fisherman.
Add to the list a fly fishing trip for stripers on the Cape Fear River with Capt. Jon Huff of Circle H Charters and Intracoastal Angler, and you’ve got an impressive lineup of articles that might be just enough to get you through until March.
So this winter issue is our Christmas present to you, and all we ask in return is that you (1) send us winter fishing photos to use in the March 8 issue, (2) buy tickets to our saltwater fishing schools for you and your friends, (3) plan to fish in at least three of our five flounder & red drum tournaments, (4) come up to our booth at any of the boat shows and say hello, and (5) accept our appreciation to all of you for making Fisherman’s Post a part of the fishing culture of coastal North Carolina.
Can you believe that 2012 will be the start of our 10th season?
