Carousel Center Flounder Tournament
Doug Farlow, of Durham, NC, and Tom Banks, of the Carousel Center, with Farlow's 5.00 lb. flounder that earned first place in the 2012 Carousel Center Flounder Tournament. The winning flatfish bit a live menhaden near Southport while Farlow was fishing with Billy Goss.
Durham angler Doug Farlow landed his first citation flounder on the right day, bringing the 5.0 lb. flatfish to the scales at the Carousel Center Flounder Tournament, held June 16 out of Inlet Watch Marina at Carolina Beach, to take home first place and $1,000.
After a yearlong absence from saltwater fishing, Farlow and a friend decided to enter the event, and the winning angler was quick to give credit to his angling partner.
“I was fishing with Billy Goss,” Farlow explained, “and if not for him, I wouldn’t have caught that fish.”
Fishing together on an 18’ Maycraft, the anglers headed south on the Cape Fear River on the morning of the event and filled their livewell with menhaden.
“Bait was scattered in the morning, but we ran down to Southport and got some,” Farlow said.
The anglers stayed in the area and were rewarded with a 3 lb. flounder early in the day.
They’d moved to a rockpile along the Southport waterfront when Farlow got his big bite.
He was casting a live menhaden to the rocks in around 7’ of water when the flounder struck.
The fish initially swam towards the boat, but betrayed its size as it neared the vessel.
“As soon as she saw the boat,” Farlow continued, “she started running away. That was my first big flounder, but I knew it was a good fish then.”
Goss grabbed the landing net while Farlow worked the fish back towards the boat, and after around five minutes of give-and-take, he had the fish close enough for Goss to put it in the boat.
Catching the big flatfish in a tournament was reason for celebration, and the anglers weren’t shy.
“I think everybody on the waterfront there heard us screaming and hollering,” Farlow recalled.
After landing the flounder, the anglers continued fishing, working their way towards Carolina Beach as morning turned to afternoon.
“The boat started acting up when we got up that way,” Farlow explained, “so we went ahead and weighed in. I think we were the second boat at the scales.”
After weighing the flounder in, the anglers barely made it back to the boat ramp.
“We were just about out of gas,” continued Farlow. “I was pumping the bulb to get us back to the ramp.”
They put their boat on the trailer and headed back to Oak Island, and it wasn’t until Farlow thought to call tournament director Tom Banks that he learned they’d taken first out of 120 anglers.
“I was surprised when he said we had first,” Farlow said. “I knew it took a 6+ last year.”
The $1000 winner’s check was enough to motivate Farlow to drive back to Wilmington to pick it up in person.
A 4.15 lb. flounder earned second place in the event for Wilmington’s Leah Davis, and Jeremy Russell scaled a 4.10 lb. fish to round out the top three. Kyle Jeffreys secured fourth place with a 3.95 pounder, and Crystal Willets’ 3.90 lb. flatfish took home fifth.
TheCarouselCenterprovides critical care and support to victims of child abuse throughout NC’s 15 southeastern counties. The annual flounder tournament is one of the Center’s principal fundraisers. More information about the organization is available at www.carouselcenter.org.
