Paradise Landing Inshore Tournament 2004
Chuck Mercer and Paradise Landing Marina hosted their 6th annual Inshore Fishing Tournament on the first weekend in October. The two-day competition, created to support inshore fishing in the Sneads Ferry area, featured 18 boats this year. Prizes were awarded for the largest flounder, the largest speckled trout, and the heaviest gross weight after two days of fishing.
Jeff Cronk took first in flounder with a 6 lb. 5 oz. flatty. He was followed by Fred Davis with a 5 lb. 12.4 oz. fish. Dottie Sigman took third and the Lady Angler with 4 lb. 6.4 oz. flounder. Cronk said he fished with a modified Carolina rig (a three foot leader with a knot 10 inches below the swivel holding a bead and a light round weight, ¼ to 1 oz) and finger mullet, bumping docks in the waterway. “They’re so thick in Bogue Sound,” he added.
Brent Banks took the trout category with a 3 lb. 9.4 oz. speck. Second place went to Ron McElheney with a 2 lb. 14.2 oz. trout. Richard Peterson took third place with a trout weighing 2 lb. 13 oz. Banks said he fished Carolina rigs in Brown’s Inlet. He added, “It ain’t no secret. Everybody was there.” Banks went on to say that he caught all of his trout in clean water, and they were unresponsive in the cloudy stuff.
The gross weight category went to Fred Davis with a total of 53 lbs. 1 oz. of flounder over two days. Brent Banks took second in the overall weight with 40 lbs. 1 oz. of speckled trout, and Jeff Cronk came in third with 27 lbs. 15.4 oz. of flatties. Fred Davis said he and mate Hank Martinez caught 29 lbs. on Saturday and 24 lbs. on Sunday. They fished the right side of Brown’s Inlet and caught most of their fish on the slack tide. Martinez was the angler of the 5 lb. 12.4 oz. second place flounder.
Tournament Director Chuck Mercer gave a special thanks to Pirate’s Cove Restaurant, Outrigger’s Marine, New River Marina, and Boaters World for their support in making this tournament a success.
