Tournament Report: Southport Inshore Challenge
The Fisherman’s Post Southport Inshore Challenge, with tournament HQ at Morningstar Marina, fell on August 18-19, and anglers were met that weekend with the same conditions they’ve become all too used to over the past few months—hot weather and hot water.
The top prizes on the leaderboard were awarded based on the total weight of each team’s two heaviest red drum. With all Fisherman’s Post events, there are plenty of opportunities to win. This includes optional TWTs (tournaments within a tournament) including a Single Big Red Drum TWT, a Two Red Drum TWT, a “Trash Fish” TWT (lizardfish or oyster toad), and a High Roller Single Big Red Drum TWT.
The event also awards the top lady, junior, and senior angler, as well as offers prizes for SeaTow anglers or for landing a red drum closest in weight to designated weights ranging from 2.5- 4.0 lbs.
Team Wet Bandits, captained by angler Michael Martin and joined by Bobby Canipe, Dustin McGiniss, and his dad Mike Martin, took top prize with a two red drum combined weight of 14.10 lbs. The two-fish aggregate consisted of a Fisherman’s Post all-time tournament record slot red drum weighing in at 10.07 lbs., and it was paired with a 4.03 lb. red drum.
The Belmont, NC area anglers made their trip down to the coast a couple days early to spend some time on the water scouting areas of interest.
Wayne Newkirk and David Langley, of Team Lunar Low, finished in second place in the 2023 Southport Inshore Challenge with a bag weight of 14.02 lbs. (7.37 and 6.65). They found both fish using Carolina-rigged mullet in the Cape Fear River.
Tournament day started off a little slow for the team. Throughout the morning, they had landed a handful of lower-slot reds as they targeted a few marshy areas, but they knew these 23” class fish wouldn’t be good enough for any place on the leaderboard.
As the tide turned, it was about 1:00 pm when Michael pulled a sluggish menhaden out of the livewell and hooked it onto their “special” Carolina rig. By special, he meant a variation on the classic rig that they learned from an episode of the Fisherman’s Post Podcast Series with Capt. Matt Littleton (Friendly City Fishing Charters).
That bait was picked up almost as soon as it hit the water by a large fish they thought for certain was going to be over the slot limit. They were all surprised when the fish they brought in not only fell into the slot length but weighed a staggering 10+ lbs. on the digital scale they had onboard.
The fish was diagnosed with lordosis, an abnormal curvature of the vertebral column, which naturally caused the tail to go down and up (be bent), rather than protruding normally. This bend caused the fish to be shorter than would a normal 10 lb. red drum, and this abnormality produced a unicorn red drum for a slot red drum tournament.
Team Lunar Low, led by Wilmington anglers Wayne Newkirk and David Langley, took second place with two red drum weighing 7.37 and 6.65 lbs.
The team started with a slow morning in the Cape Fear River fishing a variety of points, oysters, and shorelines with no success on either artificials or live mullet. By 10:00 am, with the plan falling apart, the team chose to just relax and enjoy the day. They spent the next few hours casually fishing different areas like it was any other Saturday afternoon, and an hour later, David hooked into a solo red drum that ended up being their largest fish (7.37 lbs.) using a Carolina-rigged mullet. Shortly after noon, they found another group of fish that provided the second fish in their bag.
Team Marine Warehouse Center, with Mason Porter, Richard Porter, Carver Porter, Aaron Bryan, and George Bryan, walked away from the weekend with third place for their 7.01 and 6.70 lb. red drum.
Team Wet Bandits, composed of Michael Martin, Bobby Canipe, Dustin McGiniss, and Mike Martin, with the two red drum that took the top spot in the 2023 Southport Inshore Challenge. Their heaviest single fish, weighing in at 10.07 lbs., is an all-time Fisherman’s Post record for a slot red drum weighed in in a tournament.
The team started around Fort Fisher with the lower incoming tide. They bounced around oyster beds and banks using Carolina-rigged live finger mullet with some success, but nothing that would help them on the leaderboard. They kept finding over-slot reds that were fun fights but not what they needed for event success.
As the tide rose, they started hanging finger mullet under popping corks and casting along grass edges. Whether it was the tide change or tactic change, the team hooked into a few upper-slot fish around 10:00 am with angler George Bryan landing the two fish that put Team Marine Warehouse Center on the final leaderboard, as well as solidifying their lead in the regular season standings of the Inshore Trail.
The Southport Inshore Challenge benefits the Wilmington Elks who give back to our community through youth programs and honoring the service and sacrifice of our veterans.
To see the complete leaderboard, visit FishermansPost.com or check out their Facebook page.
The next event on the calendar is the Carolina Beach Inshore Challenge, featuring a single big red drum leaderboard and hosted over the weekend of September 8-9. Then the Inshore Trail Championship will be hosted the next day on Sunday, September 10, for qualifying boats.
