Carousel Flounder 2008
The flounder fishing powerhouse team of Wilmington anglers Fred Davis and Hank Martinez added another victory to an already impressive tournament record, weighing in a 6.1 lb. flounder to take home first place, a copper flounder trophy from Bluewater Copper Works, and $1000 in the sixth annual Carousel Center Flounder Tournament, held June 21 out of Inlet Watch Yacht Club at Carolina Beach. Not only did the big fish, which Martinez landed, take first place, Davis weighed in the 3.80 lb. fifth place flounder.
Fishing aboard the 19′ Triton “Turn It Up,” the winning anglers put their big fish in the boat early.
“He probably bit about 9:00,” Davis explained. The fish struck a Carolina-rigged finger mullet while the anglers were anchored up and fishing some structure in Snow’s Cut.
After allowing the fish to eat the mullet for a short time, Martinez set the hook, and immediately the anglers knew they hooked something worthwhile.
“We knew he was a keeper,” Davis said with a grin. After a brief but strong battle, Martinez pressured the flatfish to the surface, where Davis was waiting with the net.
Fishing the area until some thunderstorms moved in midday, they then headed for Wrightsville Beach after the storms had passed around 2:00 to search for another big flatfish.
“I actually caught him at the jetty,” Davis said of the fifth-place fish. The anglers were working the south side of the Masonboro jetty wall with their trolling motor when Davis’s fish struck another Carolina-rigged finger mullet. The fish came up fairly easily, and Martinez slid a net beneath it when it surfaced.
Seth Hewlett, of Wilmington’s Reel Bait and Tackle, weighed in the 4.8 lb. second place flounder. Fishing with Capt. Bruce Fields, of Flat Dawg Charters, and Richard and Tom Banks aboard Fields’ 24′ Carolina Skiff, Hewlett pocketed $500 and the second place plaque.
“We got him about 2:15,” Hewlett said. “We were just bumping around some docks towards the boat ramp in the ICW.” Knowing he had a good fish after the strike, he waited for around two minutes before setting the hook after the fish engulfed a Carolina-rigged peanut pogy.
“I set the hook, and he was peeling drag,” Hewlett said. After turning the fish away from the dock, Hewlett worked it to the boat where he had the net in hand.
“As soon as Bruce netted that fish, the hook popped out,” he said. The second place fish was one of four flounder, a speckled trout, and a few drum the anglers landed, all at docks off the ICW at Carolina Beach.
Chris Smith weighed in the third place flounder, at 4.3 lbs., earning a plaque and $250. Smith fished the tournament with Hobie Weaver aboard a 21′ Nauticstar bay boat.
Working a series of grass points in the Cape Fear River with the trolling motor, Smith hooked the third place flounder around 8:30 the Saturday morning of the event.
A Carolina-rigged peanut pogy fooled the third place fish, and after setting the hook, he brought the fish to the boat quickly. Weaver was ready with the net, and scooped the fish into the boat.
Continuing to fish the river’s grass points, the anglers landed at least a dozen more flounder to the third place fish over the day.
A 4.1 lb. flounder gave Dennis Durham the tournament’s fourth place prize, $100, and a plaque.
Durham fished alone in his Mitch Craft center console.
“I caught that fish around 7:30 this morning,” Durham said. “That was my first bite of the day.”
The fish bit a Carolina-rigged peanut pogy while Durham was anchored up and fishing the point where Carolina Beach Inlet meets the ICW. After letting it eat, Durham battled it to the surface and slid it into the net.
He fished the Cape Fear River after riding the late morning storms out at Joyner Marina, catching four more flounder, but none larger than his first fish.
As the name suggests, the Carousel Center Flounder Tournament raises money for Wilmington’s Carousel Center, an organization working with abused children. This year’s event attracted 81 anglers, and addressing the crowd at the awards ceremony, Carousel Center Director April Pickett wished to express her gratitude to all the anglers who fished and to Tom Banks, of MTS Services, who puts the event on each year.
“He’s done this for six years now,” Pickett said. “We’re still counting the contributions for this year’s event, but it goes up a couple thousand dollars every year. I’d just like to say thank you on behalf of the staff of the center to everyone who fished, to the sponsors, and of course
