Long Bay Lady Angler 2005
The Long Bay Lady Angler, the annual “ladies only” king mackerel tournament hosted by the Oak Island Fishing Club, had a weather forecast of 1 to 2 foot seas, but they were greeted with a day of 3 to 5 foot waves. Over 70 boats took to the waters, and nearly half of the boats weighed in fish.
At the top of the leader board was “Strictly Business.” LeAnne Crouch and Keri Crouch, both of Bolivia, brought in a 31.62 lb. king and took home over $9000 in prize money.
They started the day by getting bait by Battery Island before checkout. The tideline in the river channel was about 4-5 miles out, and that’s where they started trolling with only three rods. At 9:30 after about an hour of trolling, the first fish of the day hit. It would be the tournament winning 31.62 lb. fish.
It struck a pogy in the prop wash, took about three good runs, and LeAnne had it in the boat in 25 minutes.
Keri, who was awarded the Junior Angler Award, reeled in the next strike, a 12 lb. king that hit the long line. And then LeAnne took the third strike, a 26 lb. king that was foul-hooked and took about 45 minutes to bring in.
It was after this third king that they decided to head to weigh-in, where they waited for the scales to open and were the first boat in line.
“Miss Sue” came in second place with a 27.42 lb. king. Sue Irving, from Winnabow, was the angler. She was fishing with Diana Benson, Frank Irving, and Don Benson. They caught the king in the river channel with a live pogy on the bottom.
The king took 45 minutes to bring in, due in part because it only had one treble hook in the top of the king’s head. Second place paid out almost $5000.
Third place went to “Showtime.” Valerie and Hannah Wallace, from Oak Island, and Kim Anderson brought in a 27.42 lb. king. Hannah Wallace also took home second place in the Junior Angler Division (up to 12 years old). They caught the king in the river channel with a pogy on the outrigger.
In fourth place was Ginny Callihan on “Widespread.” Callihan brought in a 25.58 lb. king.
“Rock Candi” and Rebecca Smith came in fifth with a 24.78 lb. king.
Jordan Croom, on “Crown Royal,” was the top Sweet Teen (ages 13-16) with a 22.70 lb. king.
The Forever Young Award (55+) went to Brenda Harrell for a 22.42 lb. king caught while fishing on “On The Edge.”
The rest of the top ten include Pattie Craney on “Big Bait” in sixth with a 23.90 lb. king; Erica Morgan on “Money Talks” in seventh with a 22.46 lb. king; Ellen Rhyne on “Two Turnin” in eighth with a 20.58 lb. king; Harriet Edwards on “Abagail” in ninth with a 20.40 lb. king; and Michelle Belk on “Amber Lady” in tenth with a 19.94 lb. king.
