Redfish Action Series 2008
The popularity of redfish tournaments is growing rapidly, and this trend was evident at the Cape Lookout Redfish Challenge’s May 3 tournament, the first event in a series of three scheduled for 2008. Competing in a redfish tournament trail certainly just got more popular for Rob Koraly and Andrew Brannan, the winners of over $3,000 in the 31 boat field of the Redfish Challenge’s inaugural event out of Harker’s Island.
Capt. Koraly, of Sandbar Safari Charters out of Swansboro, and Capt. Brannan, of Ballistic Charters out of Morehead, are fishing the Redfish Action trail together this year for Team Hooter’s, and their success in the first event suggests that it’s a good partnership.
They were second to check out on Saturday morning from Calico Jack’s, and were first to weigh in when the scales opened at 12:00. They had traveled about an hour to get to some familiar fishing grounds in the Swansboro-area, and the school they had been pre-fishing paid off for them with a two-redfish total of 13.62 lbs.
The larger of the two reds measured 26 7/8″ and weighed 7.1 lbs. The other measured right at 26″ and weighed 6.52 lbs. Both of the fish were caught on a 1/16 oz. Gamakatsu jighead with a 5″ Gulp smelt fluke.
“We caught probably a dozen fish,” said Koraly. “We had to release two that were 1/4 inch over slot. They were pigs, too.”
The morning went well for the team. “We fished for two hours,” said Koraly. “We got to our hole just before 8:00 and were done fishing by 9:45.” They worked only two different schools of reds on Saturday morning, and were quickly able to pull the one fish they wanted out of each school. In fact, the first cast of the day produced the smaller of the two fish they weighed in.
“It was fun slinging a 25-incher on the boat and saying ‘No, get out of here’,” added Koraly.
Team Hooter’s is a 21′ Sea Hunt Pro Bay with a 150 Yamaha 4-stroke.
Second place went to Andrew Arndt and Rennie Clark, Team R & D out of Wrightsville Beach. They brought in a two-fish total of 12.88 lbs., with both fish weighing a little over 6 lbs.
“We caught seven on topwaters to start the day,” said Clark, adding that he was casting a big Skitterwalk and Arndt was casting a small one.
Similar to Team Hooter’s, the day started well for Team R & D, with both catching a red on their first cast of the day. “We were catching fish within 30 minutes of check out,” said Clark. “Our two fish we weighed were in the boat within two hours of checkout. Everything happened in the first half hour.”
They had found the school the day before doing a little pre-fishing. On Friday they stopped at Swansboro and Morehead to fish some areas that they thought might hold some fish. They didn’t find the reds they wanted, so they checked out the Harker’s Island area late on Friday.
They had been thinking about making the run to Wrightsville Beach to fish on tournament day, but decided against it in part because they were using a boat they borrowed from a friend, a 19′ Sea Pro with a Yamaha 115 that would run about 40 mph (as opposed to the 60 mph Clark’s boat would carry them). The team was quick to thank Robby Garner for the boat loan, and they were happy with their decision to stay close. All of their fish on Saturday were caught within sight of Harker’s Island.
Lee and Chris Sykes, of Team Finn Addict out of Morehead, took the overall third spot with a two-fish total of 12.44 lbs. Their fish measured 26.5″ and just at 27″. They were fishing a 20′ Yamaha-powered Pathfinder and decided to make a run to a spot they knew held some reds.
They had pre-fished the Harker’s Island area, but all they fish they found were either 12-16″ or over 30″. They elected to make a run of a little more than one hour to fish a series of docks. Lee, on their location, smiled and said, “We were far to the west of here.”
At the docks, they tossed Berkley Gulp jerk shads and brought in a total of five drum and two flounder.
In fourth place was Team Fed Up, a local team based out of Harker’s Island, with an 11.58 lb. total. The NC Charter Fishing Team, of Capt. Jeff Cronk and Capt. Mike Taylor, took fifth with a two-fish total of 11.02 lbs.
The Cape Lookout Redfish Challenge is an artificial-only tournament, with teams of two weighing in their two heaviest red drum in the slot (16-27″). Anglers are encouraged to weigh in their fish alive, with a 0.5 lb. penalty for one dead fish and a 2.0 lb. penalty for two dead fish.
Tournament Director Lee Willis said, “I wanted to run it as a professional tournament and treat anglers as professional fishermen, and try to set up a professional environment.”
The tournament clearly focused on the little details, from providing each team with fish bags to carry their fish up to the docks, holding tanks to keep the fish healthy and alive during the weigh-in line, and a big platform and amplification to present the weigh in to the spectators.
The major sponsors of the series are Bay Rider Boats and Goose Creek Marine. The series enjoys support from a host of other sponsors, including EJW Outdoors and West Marine.
The next Cape Lookout Redfish Challenge tournament will be July 26, and the last of three will be September 20. All events will be held out of Calico Jack’s in Harker’s Island. Calico Jack’s has lodging, fuel, boat slips, and tackle, and they are offering special pricing for Redfish Action anglers. You call Calico Jack’s at (252) 728-3575 for more details.
For more information on the Cape Lookout Redfish Challenge trail, you can visit www.redfishaction.com or call Lee Willis at (252) 342-3074.
