Tournament Report – Nags Head Surf Fishing Club Invitational
With 480 anglers divided into 80 teams, the 67th annual Nags Head Surf Fishing Club Invitational Tournament was packed to the brim with serious surf anglers competing to catch the most quality fish from the beautiful beaches of the Northern Outer Banks. Bluefish, spanish mackerel, flounder, and just about every other species that calls NOBX home was reeled in over the two-session span of the tournament, which was formatted a little different this year than it has been in years past.
Normally, the NHSFC Invitational Tournament features four fishing sessions over two days. In 2018, beach erosion concerns prompted the club to change the four-session format (two in the morning and two in the afternoon) by dropping the afternoon sessions and extending the morning fishing time. This didn’t change the quality or quantity of fish caught, though, especially for the Eastern Virginia Surf Casters or Nags Head’s own Twisted Blues Sisters, who took first place in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.
The Eastern Virginia Surf Casters, which consists of team members Clay Culbreth, Randy Colthorpe, Ray Kahel, Mike Griffith, Charles Snyder, and Pete VanDeman, hail from Virginia Beach. Over the course of the tournament, they caught 60 fish and scored 132 points, with Mike Griffith scoring 39 of those himself (the best individual score out of all 480 anglers).
The Twisted Blues Sisters, made up of team members Margo Blakely, Libby Edwards, Candy George, Karen Kirchop, Sally Lopez, and Grace Wright, caught 14 fish for 44 points.
In the men’s division, 107 points and the second place title went to Old Mullet, from Kitty Hawk, while The Rising Tides, from Nags Head, took third with 72 points. Hatteraskals, of Frisco, won second in the women’s division with 33 points, and Richmond’s Frail Quails secured the third place spot with 32 points. Frail Quails’ Beth Downey also caught the most fish (10) and scored the most points (23) out of any other woman in the tournament, and she landed the biggest fish out of all 480 anglers, a 20.75” spanish mackerel.
