Ed Sewell Speckled Trout Tournament 2007
A five trout stringer weighing 14.42 lbs. earned John Gainey and partner R.D. Benedict the top spot out of the 43 boats competing in the fifth annual Ed Sewell Memorial Speckled Trout Tournament, held November 3-4 out of Hammock’s Beach State Park in Swansboro. The pair’s 4.12 lb. trout also took third place in the event’s big fish competition.
The anglers, who fished the event aboard a borrowed 24′ Pathfinder, began their day fishing in the White Oak River around the Moon Rock. Casting live shrimp beneath slip floats, the pair began catching fish soon after the day began, and enjoyed fast action until they made the decision to head towards Bear Inlet in search of larger fish around midday.
At around 2:00 Sunday afternoon, Benedict hooked what would turn out to be the team’s big fish of the day, and it didn’t give up easily. “He fought that fish for a good 10 minutes,” Gainey explained. “When he got it close, I netted it.”
To amass their winning total, the anglers weighed the five largest of the 45 trout that Gainey estimated they caught on Sunday. All their fish bit live shrimp fished beneath floats, and they caught their shrimp by castnet in the White Oak River and Queen’s Creek.
Proving that sibling rivalries don’t die out in high school, Buddy-John Gainey’s brother-was fishing with his son Jake Gainey, and they were edged out of first place by only 0.03 lbs. Tempering the fact that their 14.39 lb. five trout bag narrowly missed first place was the fact that the 4.4 lb. trout that Buddy caught took first place in the event’s big fish pot.
Buddy and Jake Gainey fished the tournament on Buddy’s 18′ Action Craft Flatsmaster, and they also fished in the White Oak River before heading to Bear Inlet to finish out the day.
The second place team began catching trout at Bear Inlet towards the end of the incoming tide, and Buddy hooked the event’s big fish just before 3:00. He subdued the trout after a quick fight, and he and Jake culled their 14.39 lb. total from the 20 fish they kept on Sunday.
Fishing alone, Capt. Brent Banks, of Specktacular Charters, took third place aggregate weight with 5 trout weighing 13.68 lbs. and second place in the big fish division with a 4.2 lb. speck.
Banks started his day near Brown’s Inlet, but didn’t have much luck at first. He made the call to move to the Bear Inlet area and soon began catching trout as he fished a slough near the inlet.
Banks’ big fish was his first of the day, and he caught six more before the action slowed down. Like the other top teams, all his fish bit float-rigged live shrimp.
Ashley Melton’s 12.99 lb. five fish aggregate was enough to take fourth place in the event, and Jeff Cronk, Jason Guthrie, and Graham took fifth with a 12.18 lb. total weight.
David Behan was the event’s Top Junior Angler, weighing in a 2.99 lb. speck. Chrissy Taylor took the top spot in Lady Angler competition, weighing in 4.82 lbs. of trout.
