Bogue Inlet Pier Tourney 2006
The Bogue Inlet Pier’s annual fishing tournament draws so much interest that the organizers host a lottery to determine who the 36 participants will be. The tournament was held Monday, October 2nd-Friday the 6th this year, and over 50 people entered the drawing for slots to fish in the event.
Anglers selected to fish the event pay an entry fee of $30, and are eligible for prizes in these categories: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd heaviest king mackerel; 1st and 2nd largest spanish mackerel on artificial lure; 1st and 2nd heaviest spanish on live bait; largest bluefish; and largest fish of any species.
The big winner of this year’s Bogue Inlet Pier Tournament was James Morris, of Snow Hill, NC. Morris decked a 23 lb. king mackerel on Thursday afternoon, the only king caught in the event. He pocketed $500 for his big king; $300 for topping the king division, and $200 for biggest fish overall.
Roger Brown, from Swansboro, NC caught the largest spanish mackerel on a lure at 1.5 lbs. He took home $200 for the achievement. Second place in the spanish on artificial division went to Bill Ludwig, who caught a 1.1 lb. mackerel worth $100.
No spanish mackerel were caught on live baits during the tournament.
Delmer Burgess, from Mebane, NC won $100 for catching the largest bluefish, which tugged the scales down to 2.7 lbs.
Overall the week of the Bogue Inlet Pier tournament was marked by sunny skies, gentle winds and generally beautiful weather. Just before the event came to a close at 5:00pm on October 6th, a series of thunderstorms on the leading edge of a cold front moved in, and the awards presentation took place in the rain, wind and thunder.
