Tournament Report: Topsail Inshore Challenge
Fisherman’s Post held their annual Topsail Inshore Challenge on the weekend of June 24-25, with Registration at East Coast Sports and Weigh-In and Awards at Sloop Point Marina. Tournament anglers were on the hunt for a combined weight of two slot red drum.
Fishing began on Saturday, with lines in at 6:00 a.m. Anglers were allowed to use live, dead, and artificial baits, and have as many anglers on their boat as they wished.
Team Kook Tacos, comprised of Tim Disano, Tripp Hooks, and Jimmy Deaver, took home the championship with a stout 13.77 lb. bag. The Kook Tacos crew started their day by catching finger mullet, live shrimp, and pogies. The team then ran to the Sunset Beach area, where they fished a creek that featured a deep muddy drop-off from a grassy bank. Tripp Hooks caught both of the reds the teamed weighed, drifting live shrimp under a cork off the bank. The spot produced around eight red drum total, and all of their fish were caught by 7:30 a.m.
Kook Tacos took the top spot in the 2022 Topsail Inshore Challenge with a two-fish aggregate of 13.77 lbs. Both fish came from the Sunset Beach area on live shrimp under a float rig and earned the team over $3000.
Kook Tacos also won the Two Red Drum TWT, as well as the Single Red Drum TWT with a single red drum weighing 7.32 lbs.
Team Bossy’s Sinkers, captained by Bossy Fitzsimmons, earned the second place finish with an impressive final weight of 16.68 lbs. Fitzsimmons and fellow teammates DJ Klutz and Billy Cumbee caught their fish using live finger mullet near some creek mouths between Topsail and Wrightsville Beach. The bites came at the turn of a complete dead tide.
Bossy’s Sinkers also had the tournament’s second heaviest single red drum at 7.20 lbs., taking second in the Single Red Drum TWT (and second in the Two Red Drum TWT).
Team Scales, captained by Will Callihan, of Whiteville, NC, rounded out the top three with their two-fish weight of 13.46 lbs. Callihan began his day by searching for live bait, and pogies were the main target. A strong morning wind made catching bait difficult, but they eventually found some birds diving on a school that would provide them for bait for the day.
The team first ran to an area of the Cape Fear River near Snows Cut, but after no bites, they ran towards Carolina Beach at around 10:00 a.m. During the last hour of a falling tide, Callihan and fellow angler Jordan Carter found a great school of fish that were rounded up in a small drop-off outside a creek mouth.
Callihan and Carter sifted through the school of upper-slot fish finding their heaviest two fish and then made their way to Sloop Point Marina.
In other prizes, the “Trash Fish” TWT was won by Team Killin’ Time with a 1.86 lb. oyster toad. The title of Junior Angler went home with Sophia Brown for an impressive 6.28 lb. red drum, and Tiffany Banks won Lady Angler with a 6.38 lb. red drum.
Team Bossy’s Sinkers finished in second place in the Topsail Inshore Challenge with a two red drum aggregate of 16.68 lbs. They caught their fish on live finger mullet between Wrightsville and Topsail.
The weigh-in and awards were broadcast live on the Fisherman’s Post Facebook page, where you can also see more pictures and details.
The Topsail Inshore Challenge benefitted the Wilmington Elks, who continually invest in the community by providing programs for children that share the benefits of living a healthy and drug free lifestyle.
More information on all of the Fisherman’s Post events, including the upcoming Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge (one red drum leaderboard) on July 22-23, can be found by visiting www.FishermansPost.com.
