Tournament Report – Ocean Isle Inshore Challenge
Scaling the event’s heaviest red drum at 7.62 lbs. and adding a flounder to take home the top aggregate weight as well, locals Capt. Jacob Frick and the “Tiberias” fishing team were the big winners in the 3rd Annual Fisherman’s Post Ocean Isle Inshore Challenge. Ken Tucker and “Top This,” of Albemarle, NC, secured the top spot on the tournament’s flounder leaderboard with a 6.04 lb. fish.
Jake and Jacob Frick, of team “Tiberias,” with the 7.62 lb. red drum and 2.97 lb. flounder that earned them first place in the red drum and aggregate categories in the Ocean Isle Inshore Challenge.
Frick, fishing with his son Jake (age 7) and Deana and Scott Rivers, had done some pre-fishing before the event and found a school of reds he wanted to return to, but had a bit of difficulty getting started on tournament morning.
“We had trouble catching bait,” Frick explained. “We finally found some menhaden in front of Ocean Isle Marina.”
After adding the menhaden to some finger mullet and live shrimp they already gathered, the anglers headed for a hole in the Shallotte River to look for a flounder while they waited on the perfect tide for their red drum hole.
The flatfish proved cooperative but not quite as large as the “Tiberias” anglers had been hoping to find.
As the morning wore on and the tide fell, the anglers had landed several flounder in the 19” range and decided it was time to head for their drum spot near Sunset Beach. They found action from the first cast on, but had the opposite problem with the drum as they had the flatfish.
“We couldn’t catch a flounder big enough at first,” Frick said, “and then we couldn’t catch a red small enough.”
After releasing a pair of 28” drum and a short fish, they finally hooked one that looked to be perfect, but it broke the leader boatside.
Finally Scott Rivers and Jake Frick connected with a doubleheader of reds, and Rivers’ fish proved to be a nearly perfect 26.75” red that was the one the anglers ultimately brought to the scales. Live shrimp fooled most of their reds including the big one.
The anglers also added another 19-20” flounder to their livewell at Sunset Beach, and Frick was unsure where they landed the one they brought to the scales.
“We had two around that size in Shallotte and the one at Sunset,” Frick explained. “I don’t know which one we ended up weighing.”
Regardless of the fish, it was plenty to secure their winning aggregate weight, and their big drum also earned Top Junior and Top Lady Angler for the younger Frick and Deana Rivers, respectively.
A 7.28 lb. red drum secured second place on that leaderboard for Dennis Spangler and the “Caught Up” crew, and Bryan Milliken rounded out the top three with a 6.59 lb. fish.
Fishing with his son Jamie and grandsons Jacob and Jordan, Ken Tucker elected not to do any scouting before the competition.
“I don’t believe in pre-fishing,” Tucker explained.
The “Top This” anglers also had some difficulty with bait on the morning of the event, catching a livewell full of menhaden that they had to replenish before noon.
“We went up a creek and the water was so fresh that it killed all the bait,” Tucker said.
After catching their second load of bait, the anglers headed for one of Tucker’s favorite flounder spots.
“Our honey hole is up in Sauce Pan Creek,” Tucker continued, “in about 1 foot of water. We catch most of our big flounder in shallow.”
Trolling live menhaden with custom rod holders that allow the crew to cover 32’ of spread with each pass, the “Top This” crew began prospecting the creek and didn’t have to wait long for action.
“We caught six fish up there,” Tucker continued. “All of them were 15-20 inches except the big one.”
When their big fish bit, Jordan Tucker was first to the rod.
“We knew that was a good one,” Tucker added. “When they start around and try to pass the boat, it’s a telltale sign of a big flounder.”
Big it was, as Tucker thought it might push 8 lbs. after netting the fish and putting it in the boat.
“It wasn’t a very thick fish,” he explained. “Still any time you catch one over 6 lbs. in a tournament you get excited.”
Though it was shy of his original estimate, the flounder still topped the leaderboard by over half a pound.
Shawn Kelly and team “MILF” took second place with a 5.28 lb. flatfish, and Kyle Jeffreys on the “Hemmed Up” secured third with a 5.03 lb. fish.
For more information on the Ocean Isle Inshore Challenge and a full leaderboard, visit www.fishermanspost.com.
