Tournament Report – Southport Inshore Challenge
Adding a second 3.93 lb. flatfish to their single big flounder weighing in at 5.7 lbs., Sam Daughtry and “Team Parker” took home first place with a 9.63 lb. aggregate weight in the Southport Inshore Challenge. The event was held August 5-6 at the Southport Marina.
Going into the event, Daughtry thought the day would be challenging. “It was windy and the water was dirty in the river, so we went offshore,” he explained.
Daughtry picked up his fishing partner, Jamie Obermeyer, around 5:45 am, and they gathered bait in Whiskey Creek before heading to the nearshore reefs and wrecks.
“We started catching flounder right away, within 15 minutes of putting lines in the water, and we kept catching them all day,” said Daughtry, putting an emphasis on his fishing partner. “Jamie had the hot hand. He caught all the fish we weighed in.”
Sam Daughtry, of Team Parker, took home first place in the Southport Inshore Challenge, held August 5-6 at the Southport Marina. Daughtry weighed in two flounder for a total aggregate weight of 9.63 lbs.
The team picked through fish as they moved between spots off Kure Beach and near Fort Fisher, and they caught their biggest flounder close to 2:00 pm. It was the second to last fish landed of the day. “We had to pick through four fish that were all close in weight before heading to the scales,” explained Daughtry.
Jordon Carter, of Team Scales weighed in two fish for a total of 7.8 lbs., and took second place in the Southport Inshore Challenge.
Carolina rigged mullet was the ticket to hooking up with all of their flounder, as well as their red drum, and the duo took home not only the top prize on Southport’s two-flounder leaderboard, but they also won every TWT, including the Red Drum TWT with a 7.07 lb. fish.
“We caught that drum in the first hour of fishing. There were several others caught throughout the day, but the fish we weighed in was the only one we caught within the slot,” said Daughtry.
Coming in second with an aggregate weight of 7.8 lbs. was Will Callihan and Team “Scales,” and Ray Dixon and Team “Flounder Fix” came in a close third with a 7.5 lb. aggregate weight.
The single big red TWT was a close call as well, with Scott Teeters and team “Marsh Fiddler” weighing in a close second place fish with a 7.03 lb. redfish. Team “Whatever it Takes” with Bobby Thompson took third, with a 6.55 lb. red drum.
More information on the Southport Inshore Challenge (including a complete leaderboard for the tournament), as well as Fisherman’s Post’s Inshore Trail (including the upcoming Carolina Beach Inshore Challenge on September 9-11), can be found at www.fishermanspost.com.
