Tournament Report – Carousel Flounder Tournament
Dominating their competition with an 8.30 lb. flounder, Wilmington’s Jordan, Justin, Devin, and Karl Anderson easily secured the win at the 2015 Carousel Center Flounder Tournament, held June 13 out of Inlet Watch Yacht Club.
The winners of the Carousel Center Flounder Tournament with their fish and trophies. Jordan Anderson captured the event’s big flounder, an 8.30 lb. fish that bit a live menhaden on the west bank of the Cape Fear River.
“There was somebody already there everywhere we wanted to go,” Karl Anderson explained, “so we ended up heading for a spot on the west side of the [Cape Fear] river.”
Fishing a drop-off along the river’s west bank, the anglers found action fairly quickly on tournament day.
Their big fish bit around 10:30 that morning, but each angler aboard had already had some luck that morning.
“We were culling fish at that point,” Anderson continued. “Everybody had one to weigh already.”
A live menhaden fooled their big fish, and Jordan Anderson was the lucky angler who got the bite.
At first, the anglers didn’t think they had anything particularly special.
“It surprised us when we saw the tail come out of the water,” Anderson said. “That’s the biggest one I’ve seen on that side of the river. We had the usual excitement when you see a big one.”
With Devin Anderson reaching out to try and net the fish, Karl urged the group to remain calm.
“I told Jordan to keep it in the water until we could get the net on it and Devin just to hold on and let it get close,” Anderson reported.
The fat flatfish was soon in the net, and the anglers grew excited once again.
“Everybody was trying to guess the weight,” Anderson said. “I knew it had to be eight pounds and I said that if someone beats us with an 8-pounder this time of year, good for them.”
Andre Demoux secured the second place finish in the Carousel Center Tournament with a 5.85 lb. fish. John Donovan’s 5.4 lb. flounder was good for third, and Kyle Jefferys was close behind with a 5.15 lb. flounder. Elbert Fussell rounded out the top five in the event with a 4.25 lb. flounder.
The Carousel Center Flounder Tournament is an annual event to raise funds for its namesake, a non-profit organization working to assist abused and neglected children and provide critical care services to children throughout the region. More information can be found at www.carouselcenter.org.
