TJM Kayak Tournament
Joey Sullivan, Mark Patterson, and Nathan Raycroft, flanked by Hook, Line, and Paddle's Chris Tryon and Ryan Meddock, topped the Redfish, Flounder, and Speckled Trout categories at the TJM Celebrity Charity Kayak Fishing Tournament to earn new kayak packages courtesy of the event's sponsors Native and Heritage.
Boasting 55 participants spread out from Wrightsville Beach to Bald Head Island, the second annual TJM Celebrity Charity Kayak Fishing Tournament raised over $4,000 for Alzheimer’s research and sent lucky participants home loaded with new paddle fishing gear, including three brand new kayaks.
Hosted by Wilmington kayak outfitter Hook, Line, and Paddle, the event featured competition for the longest speckled trout, red drum, and flounder, and the anglers stepped up to the paddle with less than an inch separating the top three competitors in two of the categories.
Swansboro’s Nathan Raycroft topped the highly competitive speckled trout category, photographing and releasing a 17 ¾” trout to take home a brand new Native Manta Ray 12 kayak, an Accent carbon paddle, and a Dry Case.
“I came down specifically to chase trout,” Raycroft explained. “I wanted that Manta.”
He didn’t have to wait too long after paddling away from the Fort Fisher boat landing for his fish. Shortly after arriving at his spot the morning of the event, Raycroft had his first strike of the day.
“I hooked that fish in the second cribbings creek around 8:00,” Raycroft continued. “I’ve been on the same bait for a while. It’s a good swimbait with a big paddle tail on an 1/8 oz. jighead. The color’s called albino.”
His trout mission accomplished early, one might think Raycroft would shift his focus, but he stayed single-minded in his speck quest.
“I stayed with that one lure all day,” he said. “Other guys around me started catching some reds, and I wanted to catch a red, but I was sold on the trout.”
It worked, as the angler landed another, slightly smaller trout around 10:30. The second fish was his final action of the day, but his first squeezed by the second place speck by nearly half an inch, earning him the Manta Ray 12 he’d come out for.
Erick Bell’s 17 5/16” trout earned him second place and an Accent Elite FX paddle, a RAM rod holder, and a Dry Case. Ceila Nowicki took home third place and a Cannon Wave F.G. paddle, Flying Fisherman sunglasses, and a Dry Case for a 17 ¼” speck.
Mark Patterson, of Greensboro and founder of the NC Kayak Fishing Association (NCKFA), earned the event’s flounder title with an 18 5/8” flatfish.
“I came down here to support these guys. They put on a good show, and I wanted to see how they ran everything since we’re putting on a tournament in October,” Patterson said.
Launching at the Fort Fisher access as Raycroft had, Patterson caught some finger mullet with a cast net and put them to good use.
“I had a great day,” he explained. “I caught one red and five flounder from 16-18”, all on live mullet. I’m a live bait guy.”
Patterson’s largest flounder topped the second place fish by ¼”, earning him a Heritage Featherlite 9.5 Angler kayak, an Accent carbon paddle, and a Dry Case. In addition he was the fortunate angler to win the event’s premier raffle prize, a Native Ultimate 12 kayak with a redfish scale wrap. The NCKFA founder may have come to take notes on how to run an event, but he left with a handsome pair of new kayaks.
Joey Sullivan, from Cary, NC, topped the redfish competition handily with a 28 ¼” red to take home a Heritage Redfish 12 kayak, Accent carbon paddle, and a Dry Case.
Launching from the beach at Fort Fisher’s crossover 4, Sullivan paddled into the backwaters behind Bald Head Island but had tough fishing compared to the day before.
“I had four drum and a flounder yesterday,” he explained at the awards ceremony, “but today the first thing I hooked was a seagull.”
After disentangling the bird from the Rapala Skitterwalk topwater he was fishing, Sullivan got back to the task at hand. He finally spotted what he was looking for around 10:00.
“I saw that fish about 10 yards off to my right,” he said. “I cast to him, and he exploded on it.”
Sullivan hooked the fish in the middle of a flat, and he was immediately dragged along as it ran in search of cover.
“I got a good ride,” he said. “It took four or five good runs.”
When he finally put the red in the boat, the struggle wasn’t quite over.
“I was shaking a little bit after I caught it, and there was one point where he almost got away while I was measuring,” Sullivan said.
Bob Dainton’s 26.5” red drum earned him second place and a Cannon Accent Elite paddle, NRS Chinook PFD, and a Dry Case.
