Every angler who has fished the Cy’s World Rodeo, now in its eighth year, knows that Bone Crusher is the team to beat, and Brandon Sauls and Clay Morphis have once again taken first place in the two-fish tournament, which in 2018 was held on November 24 out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center.
While the tournament allows anglers to weigh in any two-fish combination of red drum, flounder, or speckled trout, Bone Crusher chose to focus solely on the reds. Sauls explained that the duo did a lot of pre-fishing in preparation, adding that the secret to their wins has been “persistence.”
They also knew they had to fish fast.
“We only had two hours before the rain hit,” Sauls said. Both of the redfish, which were almost identical at just over 5 lbs., were caught on “ol’ trusty Gulps.” The first came from the Shallotte River, while the second hit near a dock in the ICW behind Ocean Isle Beach. Their two-fish aggregate weight was 10.30 lbs.
Tripp Hooks, John Cooke, and Shane Britt, of 229, came in second place thanks to a 3.5 lb. and 3.25 lb. speckled trout, for a total of 6.75 lbs. Both of the trout were caught on Saltwater Assasin Sea Shads in the Little River.
The Cy’s World Rodeo is held in honor of Edgar “Cy” Garber IV, who passed away at 17 and was an avid outdoorsman. Cy’s World is a nonprofit organization created to enable underprivileged youth in southeastern North Carolina to experience the great outdoors that Cy loved so much.