Tournament Report – Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge
The 10th annual Fisherman’s Post Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge brought 450 anglers to the shores of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher in search of over $22,000 in prize money. Six categories of fish, along with an optional Red Drum TWT, provided fierce competition during 36 hours of around the clock fishing in some of the cooler temperatures of the year so far.
Andrew Crum was this year’s flounder champion, hooking a 2.9 lb. flounder while fishing in Kure Beach. Using both cut mullet and shrimp to target the species, the flatfish fell for shrimp. “Once we landed the fish, we thought we would be on the board, so we ran in to weigh in,” explained Crum, who was fishing the event with a friend. “Last year, my friend made the mistake of releasing a pompano that would have taken the win. We didn’t want to make that mistake again.”
Second place in the flounder category was Robert Noell, with a 2.5 lb. flounder, and Michael Sing weighed in his 2.3 lb. flounder to clinch third place.
Ben Horne, of Wilmington, was the sea mullet champion, and is a seasoned competitor in the Surf Fishing Challenge.
“I try to get in every competition if the weather is right,” he explained. Horne hooked the winning mullet on shrimp on the shores of Kure, where he was born and raised. When the 2.1 lb. fish hit the sand, Horne had a good feeling.
“I did think that I had a winning fish when I saw it,” Horne remembered
Jeffery Murphy took second place, with his 1.7 lb. sea mullet, and Jeff McCubbins was a close third place, with a 1.6 lb. mullet.
Saturday morning brought a winner to Tom Johnson’s line, as he landed a 4.0 lb. black drum to take the first place spot. “I was fishing with live finger mullet when I hooked up. I had caught little ones all day, but when I reeled this one in around 9:20 am, we drove him right in to the weigh station,” explained Johnson, of Raleigh. “I was smart enough to know it would place, but I didn’t think it would be first. It was 23 inches long, so I knew I was in a good position.”
Johnson has made the trip a tradition.
“My wife and her three sisters were coming every year,” Johnson noted, “and then I started to come with them. We look forward to it every year.”
Katie Thornburg came in second with a 3.5 lb. black drum, and Zach Brewer took third with a 3.2 lb. fish.
Dennis Watts, a Carolina Beach native, took home the biggest prize of the event, with a check for $2,900 for his winning 6.9 lb. red drum in the Red Drum TWT. Watts was fishing with cut mullet on Kure Beach when the fish struck around 2:00 pm. “I was hoping it was a winner, but I wasn’t sure,” said Watts, who was a first time angler in the tournament.
Keith Hall took home a large check as well, for his second place TWT fish of 6.7 lbs., and Gary Culp’s Fort Fisher red drum weighing in at 5.7 lbs. secured him a check for third place.
Dallas Elliot, of Wilmington, landed the winning bluefish over the weekend, with a blue weighing in at 2.4 lbs. Randy Dunn was second with a 2 lb. fish, and John Charron came in a close third with a 1.8 lb. blue.
Kelly Fowler, of Trinity, stuck with tradition and brought home a first place finish for the Fowler family with a 3.6 lb. speckled trout. The fish also earned her Lady Angler honors. Fowler’s speck was landed on the beaches of Fort Fisher, and she brought it to the scales a little after noon on Saturday.
Jim Nicholson, of Carolina Beach, was the clear winner of the pompano category with his 0.9 lb. fish. Many smaller pompano were brought to the scale that day, so the competition was tight for most of the early morning on Saturday. Dennis Curtin and Mikey Hall tied in weight, 0.5 lbs., with weigh-in times being the distinction between second and third places, respectively.
For more information on the Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge, and a full leaderboard, visit www.fishermanspost.com.
