All American Flounder Tournament
Donnie Brooks, Ray Fowler, and Chris Thomas with the third, second, and first place flounder in the All American Flounder Tournament–4.64, 6.82, and 6.92 lbs. respectively. The event was held out of Wildlife Bait and Tackle on July 12.
Scaling a 6.92 lb. flounder to ease into the top spot on the leaderboard, Southport local Chris Thomas earned first place in the 2014 All American Flounder Tournament, held Saturday, July 12, out of Wildlife Bait and Tackle.
Thomas, fishing with fellow Southport angler Charles Drew aboard a 19’ Carolina Skiff, had fished several flounder tournaments already this season and had a good idea of where they wanted to be on the morning of the event.
“We were headed for a dock in Southport, but there was someone already there,” Thomas said. “So we headed to the Pfizer dock.”
The anglers had started the day with a livewell full of menhaden, but they decided to stop by the Bald Head ferry entrance to try and nab some finger mullet as well. With one throw of the net, they accomplished that agenda and made their way north to the Pfizer dock.
Soon after they set up and began fishing, Thomas got a big bite and hooked up with what felt like a stout flounder.
“You know when it’s a flounder,” he explained. “He was breaking water, and we knew it was a big fish, probably a 10 pounder.”
As the angler maneuvered the fish to the boat, however, the battle swung in the fish’s favor.
“You’re so close to the pilings there,” Thomas continued. “He turned toward them and I thumbed the line to try and stop him, but he got to a piling and got off.”
The encounter with the big fish led the anglers to the decision to fish the day out at the spot.
“Charles is a two-time winner in this tournament,” Thomas said. “He said we should fish there all day after we lost that big one, and that’s basically what we did.”
After landing several more flounder, but none that would likely put them on the leaderboard, the call to stay put proved to be a good decision when Thomas got another thump on a live finger mullet. After letting the fish eat, he set the hook and the anglers were fast to their second big flatfish of the day.
“You can tell if they’re big when you try to pull them off the bottom,” Thomas continued. “I picked that one up, and he pulled right back.”
The anglers didn’t know how big, though, until the angler had the fish close to the boat.
“Charles saw him and said ‘it’s a big fish,’” said Thomas. “And he got the net and dipped him up.”
With the near-7 lb. flounder in the boat, the anglers kept at it hoping for an even bigger fish. They managed to land 19 flounder over the course of the day, but none that challenged their big fish.
Wilmington, NC’s Ray Fowler was hot on the Southport crew’s heels, weighing in a 6.82 lb. flounder to take second place. Donnie Brooks, of Oak Island, rounded out the top three with a 4.64 lb. fish.
