CCFA Redfish Series 2008
Toting a pair of red drum measuring a near-perfect 26.88″ and 27″ and weighing 15.08 lbs., Chuck Fonvielle and Henry McFadden, of Georgetown, SC, beat out the hometown favorites to take first place in the third CCFA Redfish Series event, held September 13th out of Hammock’s Beach State Park in Swansboro. The stout fish earned the anglers a check for $2,322.50.
Fishing aboard an 18′ Ranger Ghost flats boat, the anglers targeted an area far north of the tournament site, starting their day on a 2′ deep flat near the mouth of the Neuse River.
They found a school of reds soon after beginning to fish, but they were unable to stick with them for long.
“Chuck caught one,” McFadden said, “then they busted up, and we didn’t know where they went from there.”
The first fish was a tournament-perfect 27″, and it fell for a Gulp pogy on a ¼ oz. jighead. Weighing a solid 7.80 lbs., this first red also earned the pair the top spot in the event’s big fish TWT.
Losing the school wasn’t a huge problem, as the anglers continued to hook fish while blind casting throughout the morning.
“It was hit and miss,” McFadden explained, “but we caught seven more fish right there.”
With a solid pair of fish in the boat, the anglers began heading south, stopping at another spot off the ICW a bit later in the morning.
Fonvielle quickly hooked another fish on a spinnerbait/Gulp combo, and brought the team’s eighth fish to the boat, the 26.88″ red that secured their victory.
“We had those two in the boat by 10:30,” McFadden said. The anglers continued to fish for a short time afterwards, but eventually they decided to head back towards Swansboro around midday.
“We just didn’t think we were going to better ourselves,” McFadden said at the awards ceremony.
None of the other teams were able to better them either, as the anglers found out after their hour and ten minute run to the scales.
The anglers wished to thank Griffin Tree Service, Marshall Marine, and Ranger boats for their contributions to the team’s success.
Swansboro locals Lane Hurst and Jamie Riggs took the second place honors in the event with a pair of reds weighing 14.20 lbs.
The anglers, fishing on a 17′ Maverick flats boat, had action early, as Riggs landed a solid upper-slot red at 7:00 that ended up being one of the fish they weighed in. The fish fell for a MirrOlure Top Dog as the anglers were fishing grass edges and oyster rocks in the marshes near Swansboro.
“We were just cutting the grass in the local marshes all day,” Hurst explained, “fishing around rocks that you can go to just about everyday and find some fish.”
Though they didn’t locate any large schools of fish, the anglers had action all day, releasing around 40 reds by Hurst’s estimate while casting Gulp baits, spinnerbaits, and Top Dogs. Hurst caught the second fish they brought to the scales around 11:00. The pair’s 7.65 lb. big fish also earned them second in the TWT.
Captains Jeff Cronk and Mike Taylor earned third place in the event with a pair of drum weighing 12.71 lbs. Capt. Matt Lamb, fishing with his father, Ray, took fourth with an 11.79 lb. aggregate weight. Two reds weighing 11.51 lbs. secured fifth place for Capt. Ricky Kellum and Derrick Barbee.
The top five teams from the three CCFA Redfish Series will compete for the title of Series Champions on October 11. Based on accumulated points over the course of the events, the competing teams will be Cronk/Taylor, Hurst/Riggs, Lamb/Lamb, Kellum/Barbee, and Patterson/Patterson.
