Tournament – Pleasure Island Team Surf Fishing Challenge
The inaugural Pleasure Island Team Surf Fishing Challenge kicked off on Friday, April 20, at midnight with members from 38 different teams of up to four anglers hitting the surf in Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher.
The tournament featured four fish divisions—bluefish, red drum, black drum, and sea mullet—giving anglers various chances to place on the leaderboard and win prize money. The leaderboard was based on a team’s heaviest three-fish aggregate per division.
Teams also competed for the Team Aggregate TWT (based on heaviest weight of a team’s single heaviest fish from each of the four divisions), and the Team Hall of Fame Award (going to the team with the heaviest total of all fish weighed in).
With a hefty three-fish aggregate of 23.40 lbs., Team “4 Amigos,” of Sophia, took home first place in the bluefish division. They caught all of their bluefish on cut mullet in the Kure Beach surf, just north of Fort Fisher. Team “4 Amigos” was closely followed by Team “Culp Boys” in second place with a 20.85 lb. aggregate weight of bluefish. Third place was taken by Team “Slot in the Dark” with a total of 13.45 lbs.
The “Laurel Hill Anglers”, of Laurel Hill, with their catch, including the redfish that brought them first place in the red drum division and the Academy Sports heaviest red drum division.
A single redfish weighing 5.15 lbs. was all it took for Team “Laurel Hill Anglers” to take first place in the red drum division. They pulled the slot redfish out of the Fort Fisher surf on a shrimp-tipped bottom rig. Coming in second place with a 4.45 lb. fish was Team “Lobelia Hookers 1.” They were the only two teams to weigh in a red drum.
“The Castaways,” of Wilmington, claimed first place in the black drum division with a total of 7.35 lbs. Their three fish came from the Fort Fisher surf on a double bottom rig with fresh shrimp. Right behind them were the “Damn Yankees,” with a combined weight of 7.15 lbs., and “The Broke Fishermen” took third with 6.75 lbs.
Team “Tres Pescadores,” of Wilmington, brought in three sea mullet weighing a combined 2.65 lbs., good enough to take first place in the division. Bottom rigs baited with shrimp landed their fish on the falling tide. “Island Girl Outdoors” took second with 2.30 lbs., and they were followed by “Men with Beards” who had 2.0 lbs.
The “4 Amigos,” of Sophia, with some of the catch that brought them first place in the bluefish division, along with the overall Team Hall of Fame Award, in the inaugural Pleasure Island Team Surf Fishing Challenge.
Team “Fowler,” of High Point, was able to claim the first place in the Team Aggregate TWT with a total weight of 13.2 lbs. For the Academy Sports Single Heaviest Fish prizes, the “Culp Boys” took heaviest bluefish with a 12.5 lb. bluefish. “Laurel Hill Anglers” claimed heaviest red drum with their 5.15 pounder. “Damn Yankees” took first with a single heaviest 3.75 lb. black drum, and the “Shrieking Eels” won with a sea mullet weighing in at 1.35 lbs.
The “4 Amigos,” who placed in three categories on the leaderboard, were able to claim the Team Hall of Fame Award, earning never ending fame via their team name on a plaque to be placed year round on the wall in the Lazy Pirate.
For a full leaderboard and more details, you can visit www.FishermansPost.com.
