NC Flatfish Championship
The Turn it Up anglers--Leah, Fred, and Bethany Davis--with the $4,157 winners check in the 2010 NC Flatfish Championship. Their 13.50 lb. pair of flounder bested the competition by nearly two lbs.
Capturing not only the top spot on the tournament’s leader board, but the first place money in all three TWT’s and a host of other prizes, Wilmington’s Fred Davis nearly swept the prize field at the 2010 Fisherman’s Post NC Flatfish Championship, held September 18 out of Inlet Watch Marina. Davis, fishing with his daughters Bethany and Leah, paired a 10.10 lb. flounder with a 3.40 lb. fish to win the 2-fish aggregate tournament by nearly 2 lbs. and pocket over $4,000.
After catching mullet and pogies on the morning of the event, the anglers, fishing aboard the 20’ Triton “Turn it Up,” embarked on the game plan they hoped would put a tourney winner in the boat.
“We figured we’d hit the cut early,” Davis revealed, “and fish the tide, then head to the river and fish the grass banks.”
Landing only one fish in Snow’s Cut, the trio made their way into the Cape Fear River midway through the morning of the tournament. They quickly got on a bite of solid flatfish, but not quite leader board solid.
“We caught 8-9 fish in the river,” Davis continued, “mostly 2-3 pounders. We were fishing pogies in the river because it seemed like that’s what they were eating.”
Their river fish included a 3.40 lb. flatfish that Bethany landed, which ultimately became the ‘kicker’ fish that pushed them past the competition.
“We came back into the cut when the water started getting higher,” Davis explained, “but still had some of the tide to go.”
After returning to the cut, the anglers decided to fish a spot where they’d had some success in the past.
“We actually hit a spot I haven’t fished in a long time,” Davis said.
The spot, a ledge in around 14’ of water that created an eddy in the powerful current of Snow’s Cut, quickly proved it still had some life on it.
“I caught a decent fish there right off,” the winning angler continued, “and then I threw back in there and got thumped.”
Davis didn’t have to let the flounder enjoy its meal for long.
“It was a pretty standard-sized finger mullet,” he explained. “He hit it, and I didn’t let him eat for long at all.”
After setting the hook, Davis knew he had a decent fish, but he had no clue it would break the double-digit mark.
“That fish stayed deep after I hit it,” he said, “so I thought it might be a decent fish. I was thinking maybe a 5-6.”
Davis worked the flatfish to the surface, but it apparently was still a little green to get in the boat.
“I got him to the net,” Davis explained, “and Bethany got him in, but he jumped out before she could pick it up.”
The fish’s struggle was short-lived, as Davis again worked the fish to the net.
“She got him that time,” he recalled. “I still didn’t think it was as big as it was, but Beth had a little trouble picking up the net, so I started to get an idea.”
A pair of citation flounder including this 6.64 lb. fish weighing 11.75 lbs. earned second place for Al and Teresa Fulford and Lynn and Dedee Creech. Their fish fell for live pogies along a Cape Fear River grass bank.
With the big flatfish in the boat, the anglers began to debate about its size.
“I said he was at least 8, maybe 9,” Davis said. “It had some width and length, but it wasn’t that thick a fish. Bethany said it was bigger than a 9 that got weighed in a Got-Em-On points tournament a few weeks ago. I always try to guess under, but I had no idea that fish was 10 lbs.”
After putting the big flounder in the boat, the anglers continued fishing Snow’s Cut until heading to the scales for the official weight.
At 10.10 lbs., the flounder handily topped the Single Big Fish and High Roller TWT’s, anchored their win in the Two Fish TWT, earned Bethany and Leah the event’s shared Lady Angler title, and won the Got-Em-On and Bell Hart/Mercury prizes as well.
Combining citation 5.11 and 6.64 lb. fish for an 11.75 lb. total, Holden Beach’s Al Fulford earned second place in the event, also pocketing a substantial chunk of TWT change.
Fulford fished with his wife, Teresa, and Lynn and Dedee Creech aboard a 25’ Sea Chaser, and the anglers set their sights on the Cape Fear River on tournament morning.
“We were on our spot right at 7:00,” Fulford explained, “waiting for the time to fish.”
As soon as 7:00 passed, the anglers began casting to a grass bank on the Cape Fear River between Southport and Snow’s Cut.
Casting live pogies at the bank, the anglers had both their tournament fish in the boat by 8:30.
“I caught the 5.11 first,” Fulford continued, “then got the 6.64. They hit pretty hard, but they usually do in the river there.”
The angler gave each fish plenty of time to swallow its pogie before hooking and bringing them to his wife’s waiting landing net.
“We weighed them both in dead because they swallowed the hooks,” he said.
The second place crew continued fishing their grass bank until the tide dropped enough that they had to leave or risk getting stuck. They landed 10 more fish over the course of the day, but none that could rival their early pair of citations.
Hauling the event’s second largest flounder to the scales, Ralph Freeman, of Carolina Beach, weighed in an 8.41 lb. flatfish and backed it up with a 2.17 pounder to take home third place on the main leader board and the tournament’s Senior Angler prize.
Freeman fished with Mike Britt and Dean Holt aboard an 18’ Clover Craft, and the anglers fished a single spot in Snow’s Cut for the majority of the tournament day.
Fishing an area dropping to 20’ of water from the bank, the anglers had something of a slow day.
“We actually only caught two fish that day,” Freeman explained, “and Mike caught them both. He must have had the lucky seat. We got one on the rising tide and one on the fall.”
Britt landed the smaller fish first, around 10:30; then around 2:00, the crew’s big fish struck.
A live finger mullet fooled the 8-pounder as Britt was casting to the deep water.
“He knew he had something decent when that fish bit,” Freeman said. “He actually came up pretty easy, though. We stayed on the anchor. When he came up he had a little strength left, but we got him on the second pass. We stayed calm until we actually had him in the boat.”
Mike Britt with an 8.41 lb. flounder that anchored the 10.58 lb. third place weight for him, Dean Holt, and Ralph Freeman. Like the winning fish, this one struck a live finger mullet at a deep ledge in Snow's Cut.
Certain that the big fish would be earning some money, the anglers fished a few more spots as they worked their way back to the scales.
“We would have weighed that one in if it was by itself,” Freeman said. “We knew he’d place somewhere pretty good.”
Bolivia, NC’s Adam Sellers secured fourth place in the tournament with a pair of fish weighing 9.32 lbs., and Jake Scuorzo rounded out the top five with two flounder totaling 8.04.
A 3.84 lb. flounder earned Chase Davis, of Wilmington, his second consecutive NC Flatfish Junior Angler title.
Proceeds from the NC Flatfish Championship benefitted the Cape Fear Community College Marine Technology program, whose students provided volunteer support for the event.
Fisherman’s Post would like to thank all the event’s sponsors for their contributions to the event’s continued success, and all the anglers participating.
