Shallotte Point VFD Flounder Tournament 2004
The 21st annual Shallotte Point VFD Flounder tournament was held on June 11th and 12th. Fishing boundaries limited fishing to a 20-mile stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway and associated waterways between Little River Inlet and Sunset Harbor. The weigh station was located at Tripp’s Fishing Center.
Fishing began Friday morning, and by noon Michael Hill, of Oak Island, brought a doormat to the scales. The fish weighed in at 8.47 lbs. Although a couple of nice 6 and 7 pounders were brought to the scales, this fish held the top spot on Friday. Late in the day, Fred Davis, of Carolina Beach, weighed in an impressive 18 total fish. The tournament’s total poundage for Friday was about 400 lbs.
With a cold front having moved through Friday night, fishing on Saturday was a bit slower with no early weigh-ins. As the fishermen began to trickle in to the weigh station at about 4:30, it appeared as though 8.47 might be the winner. Then Fred Davis rolled up with another cooler full. Eleven fish were weighed, and the last one tipped the scales at a whopping 9.71 lbs. And she was still breathing! It was the tournament winner and brought Davis $1500. The tournament’s total poundage for Saturday was about 200 lbs.
The third largest fish of the weekend was brought in by Billie Gray, of Lumberton. Her 3rd place fish weighed 7.74 lbs. The Lady Angler winner was Nita Starnes, of Albemarle, NC. Her winning flounder weighed 5.08 lbs.
The best part of the tournament came after weigh-in ended and everyone migrated to the firehouse to enjoy a belly full of fresh fried flounder and homemade desserts. Door prizes were given out, and the winners were announced. A total of 112 boats were registered with 50 of those weighing in fish. Total prize money was about $5,500, and nearly $10,000 was donated to the fire department. Mike Potts and the rest of the tournament committee put on a great tournament. Hopefully next year they’ll have those hoses ready if Fred Davis burns it up like he did this year.
