Tournament Report – Cape Fear Anglers Spanish
Capt. Jeff Bruce, with first mate Mike Reilly and local angler Phill Ernst, comprising “Team Georgina,” clinched the win in the 5th annual Cape Fear Anglers Spanish Mackerel Tournament, with a single spanish weighing in at 2.2 lbs.
All tournament anglers took off into the ocean the morning of May 14, and most boats headed south and down from Carolina Beach.
Capt. Jeff Bruce, first mate Mike Reilly, and Phill Ernst with the winning fish in the 5th Annual Cape Fear Anglers Spanish Mackerel Tournament. The winning 2.2 lb. fish was caught on a pink and silver spoon with a #1 planer trolling in 35 of water north of Masonboro Inlet.
“We just kinda did our research, and we found out that everyone fishing was going south towards Kure, so we decided to go north towards Hampstead,” said Bruce. “And we got lucky going north.”
“Team Georgina” set out trolling in about 30-35’ of water, just along the coast, and their lines hit the water at 6:00 am. By 8:00 am, the team had about 25 fish in the boat, including the winning fish at 2.2 lbs. The fish fell for a pink/silver spoon behind a #1 planer.
“The bite was pretty hard from about 6:00 to 8:30 am, but then it slacked off until about 11:30,” said Bruce.
Feeling good about their haul of spanish, once the bite slacked off the team went out and bottom fished a bit before going into weigh-in.
Although their fish wasn’t incredibly big, it was enough to secure their win. This was “Team Georgina’s” first time fishing with the Cape Fear Anglers.
“We got a strategy, stuck to it, and tested the depth until we found the sweet spot. It was a great day fishing with friends and a great tournament,” said Bruce with a chuckle.
For more information on the Cape Fear Anglers, look them up on Facebook.
