Belhaven Trout Tournament

In just its second year, the Belhaven Trout Tournament, held over the weekend of October 4-6, offered what might be the largest payout in a trout tournament in North Carolina, with prize money totaling between $35,000-40,000.

The event attracted 57 boats for two days of tournament trout fishing (Friday and Saturday). The goal each day was to bring to the scales a team’s heaviest four fish, and weigh-in on both days was held at the Belhaven Boat Access. 

This year’s champions were Corey Durako, Brandon White, and Richard Gillagan, of Team DTF out of Wilmington. On Day One, they covered about 20 miles of territory, working several locations to try and find quality trout, as the bite was a bit of a struggle, but at the end of Day Two, they had amassed a two-day total weight of 29.19 lbs.

While the trio landed about 30 keeper fish over the course of Day One, it wasn’t until lunchtime that they brought in their first three-pounder of the day, one of the four fish they would weigh in. Two weeks prior, the team had found success throwing topwaters, but on tournament weekend, the trout preferred hard jerk baits and Slick Jrs.

Fishing their way back to the scales, it was later in the afternoon when they landed the event’s single heaviest trout of the weekend, a 7.52 lb. speck they found off a deeper point and fairly close to the scales. 

Their Day One total was 15.80 lbs., made up of the 7.52 lb. speck and three other trout in the 3-pound class.

Josh Sutton, of Team UFO-Pamlico, holds up his team’s single heaviest trout of the weekend at 4.38 lbs. Team UFO-Pamlico took second place in the 2024 Belhaven Trout Tournament with a two-day total of 28.37 lbs.

On Day Two, the team had anticipated a different wind direction, and so they had left alone some spots on Friday that would be better suited for Saturday’s new wind direction. A different wind direction did happen, and so they were able to focus on these untouched spots, locations that weren’t blown out and dirty. The fishing was better on Day Two numbers-wise for the team, as they landed about 100 trout, but their four-fish total was less, totaling 13.80 lbs. The trio mostly threw the same lures, hard jerk baits and Slick Jrs., but Day Two required the anglers to have more finesse, so the Slick Jrs. outperformed the hard jerk baits.

Team DTF donated a portion of their winnings to East Carolina Inshore Club, the organization running weigh-in for this event, as the club does a lot for the community and is also raising funds to help western North Carolina efforts.

Finishing in second place was Team UFO-Pamlico, comprised of Zach Bland, Josh Sutton, and Keith Nuttall, with a two-day weight total of 28.37 lbs.

On Day One, they ran to the sound in the Swan Quarter area, but after a couple of hours among a number of boats and without much action materializing, they went on the move to focus on a specific area where they had pre-fished.

Using mostly jerk baits and popping corks, the team landed approximately 25 keeper trout on the day, including the event’s second heaviest trout of the weekend, a 4.38 lb. speck that anchored their Day One four-fish total of 13.41 lbs.

Like Team DTF, the UFO-Pamlico team faced a different wind direction on Day Two, switching from NNE at 15-20 on the first day to SW 15-20 on the second day. After once again spending the first two hours of the day checking out the conditions at several spots, they then moved to the location of their bigger fish from Day One. The spot was basically unfishable with the change in wind direction, so they moved around the corner and within one mile to a leeward bay where they could cast with the wind at their backs. 

Corey Durako, of Team DTF out of Wilmington, with the 7.52 lb. speckled trout that anchored their Day One total and eventual overall win in the 2024 Belhaven Trout Tournament. Their two-day total was 29.19 lbs.

The first stop was under where two eagles were perched, and they began catching trout immediately. While Team UFO-Pamlico continued to have success with popping corks, they also generated activity on topwaters and MirrOlure MR28s, with the heavier MirrOlures producing the better-quality fish.

The team landed well over 100 trout on the second day of fishing, and their four-fish weight on Day Two was 14.96 lbs., including two in the 4-pound class. 

The Belhaven Trout Tournament has quickly become a successful fundraiser for the Belhaven community. The event donated $40,000 last year to Beaufort Community College and its marine industry programs. This year the event expects to donate over $50,000 to both Beaufort Community College and western North Carolina.

The event will likely be held once again in early October in 2025, and more information on this year’s tournament (and soon on next year’s) can be found at www.belhaventroutfest.com. 

by Fish Poster