Tournament Report – Pleasure Island Fall Surf Fishing Challenge
The Fisherman’s Post Pleasure Island Fall Surf Fishing Challenge took place on October 16-18, and 552 anglers entered to fish the surf trying for one of the many ways to earn a spot on the leaderboard. This tournament primarily paid out the top five heaviest fish in each of the five fish categories (bluefish, trout, black drum, pompano, and sea mullet), as well as a Red Drum TWT.
First place bluefish winner Cory Weisner, from Lexington, NC, weighed in a 6.2 lb. blue that he caught late in the fishing timeframe, on Sunday morning between 3:00-4:00 a.m. “I started fishing Friday night along the beachfront and fished all the way through to Sunday,” voiced Weisner.
Early Sunday morning, the winning fish ate his cut mullet hooked on a bottom rig and took off. Weisner recounted, “It felt like a giant red when it hit. It took out at least fifty yards of drag before I could even start reeling it in.” When he pulled the fish onto the beach, he was surprised to see that it was a bluefish.
“I’ve fished this tournament for more than eight years, and it’s always been a good time,” he continued. “The bite was great the whole time I was out there. I must’ve caught at least thirty redfish before that blue.”
The trout category first place victor Edwin “Eddie” Wester Jr., from Sanford, NC, fished in a small group near the South End/Fort Fisher area. They battled brutal winds and a ripping current only to find a slow bite throughout their time on a beach packed with anglers. “The fish were few and far in between,” said Wester. After catching nothing but a small trout on Friday night, his luck picked up Saturday morning when his big fish hit.
Eddie Wester, from Sanford, NC, took the top spot in the Trout Division of the Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge with a 2.6 lb. trout that hit a piece of chunk mullet.
Wester had a thick chunk of cut mullet rigged to an 8 oz. weight looking to hook a red when the 2.6 lb. trout that won him first place bit it. “I thought it might be a bluefish the way it hit, but once it got up to the first bank, it started pulling harder and gave a nice little fight at the end,” described Wester. “The key is to get out there early and get on the right spot before anyone else does,” he advised. This year was his twelfth time fishing in the tournament.
The first place spot in the black drum division was secured by Chris Simpson, from Moore County, NC. He, too, is a longtime tournament angler, this being his sixth year fishing. He found himself setup in the same group as fellow winner Eddie Wester, near the south end of the island by Fort Fisher.
“The wind and heavy currents were a huge factor in how we fished,” Simpson said. “Once the cold front came through, it kept getting tougher.” He kept his double drop rig baited with shrimp in the breakers hoping to hook into something good. After having no luck for the entire first day, the 4.8 lb. black drum that gave him his victory finally took his offering after dark on Saturday.
“It was a really light bite, so I thought it might be a whiting,” depicted Simpson, who didn’t realize the size of the fish until it got into shallower water and started to take off. “That’s when I knew it was a good size drum,” he finished.
The first place pompano weighed in at 0.4 lbs. and was caught by B. Cauble, and the first place sea mullet weighed in at 1.5 lbs. and was caught by R. Busby.
The winner of the biggest single payout of the weekend went to C. Oldham who weighed in an 8.0 slot redfish. The round and somewhat football-shaped fish brought in over $4000 in the Red Drum TWT.
Kure Beach Pier is the tournament’s long-standing Junior Angler sponsor. This year, combined with a last-minute gift of four $25 gift cards to Island Tackle from the Fowler family, six Junior Anglers were able to be awarded. This year’s first place Junior Angler was Chris Shoemaker, who reeled in a 3.4 lb. bluefish. The 2nd place runner up was Jacob Britt, who weighed in a 2.5 lb. bluefish. Third place went to Allen Strickland for his 2.4 lb. trout. John Love IV won fourth with his 1.6 lb. bluefish. Tracy Wooten took home fifth with a 1.4 lb. black drum, and sixth place went to Marienna Adams for her 1.0 lb. mullet.
Chris Simpson, from Moore County, NC, won the Black Drum title in the Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Chalenge with a 4.8 lb. fish caught on a double-drop rig baited with cut shrimp.
Two Lady Anglers were honored this year, Marilyn Rice scored first with a 2.6 lb. bluefish and runner up Melissa Hunt weighed in a 2.0 lb. blue.
The two named Senior Anglers were Bill Nance in first with a 4.4 lb. bluefish and Rick Klemann in second with a 3.7 lb. bluefish.
Because of COVID-19 regulations that limit social gatherings, the usual event that includes catering by A&G Barbeque and Chicken could not occur this year. Award winners did not need to be present to accept their award, and raffle prizes were available to be picked up at Island Tackle after the virtual Awards Ceremony.
Tournament Director Gary Hurley said, “Thank you so much to all our anglers for showing up en masse this year, in a COVID crazy year. We very much miss your stories, your personalities, your color, and we can’t wait until this event brings us together again soon.”
For more information on this event and upcoming tournaments, visit www.fishermanspost.com.
