Tournament Reports – Topsail Inshore Challenge
The Topsail Inshore Challenge, the second of five qualifying tournaments in the Inshore Trail, took place on Saturday, June 27, at Sloop Point Marina. The 2020 Topsail Inshore Challenge featured a two-red drum leaderboard, as well as a Single Big Red Drum TWT, a Two Red Drum TWT, and a “Trash Fish” (oyster toadfish or lizardfish) TWT. With 60 boats fishing the Topsail event during a pretty weather, albeit high heat, weekend, the inshore waters were busy with anglers attempting to cull out their two best redfish.
Topping the leaderboard with a first-place finish, Mason Porter of Team Marine Warehouse Center scored two beautiful redfish totaling 14.26 lbs. As the owner and captain of Grand Slam Inshore Fishing Charters, Porter is no novice to southeastern North Carolina fishing. Along with his boat mates Richard Porter, Aaron Bryon, George Bryon, and Ashley Miller, his team has already recorded multiple tournament wins, coming off a top finish in the 2020 Ocean Isle Inshore Challenge.
Team Marine Warehouse Center took the top spot in the 2020 Topsail Inshore Challenge with a two red drum aggregate weight of 14.26 lbs. They caught their two heavy reds in some shallow bays in the Carolina Beach area.
In addition to the overall win in Topsail, Ashley Miller won the Lady Angler prize, and the team also placed first in the Two Red Drum TWT and second in the Single Big Red Drum TWT (behind Team Lunar Low).
On the event’s one day of fishing, Team Marine Warehouse Center headed south and launched from the Fort Fisher boat ramp. They fished a falling tide but found no luck there, so they moved on up to fish the back creeks around Carolina Beach. With still no solid bites, they waited for the tide to rise a bit and then headed into some shallow bays featuring 2-4’ of water.
Soon, a big school of reds moved in, and their lines started screaming. Using live minnows under popping corks, the team pulled in 7-8 upper-slot red drum. “Our big fish put up a hard fight that lasted around 15 minutes and didn’t stop until it was in the boat,” M. Porter recalls. Luckily, they found two reds in the school that were heavy enough together to secure their win.
Taking home second place with a 13.90 lb. aggregate fish weight were Sloop Point locals Corey Mazelle and Junior Hall, of Team Backwater Bandits.
Corey Mazelle and Junior Hall, of Team Backwater Bandits, took second place in the TIC with a two red drum aggregate weight of 13.90 lbs. They caught their fish on live bait off of oyster rocks in the Surf City area.
The team hooked most of their fish early on the falling tide in the Surf City area. Both of their winning fish were caught near oyster rocks on live tiger minnows and were in the boat by 8:00 a.m. Their biggest red fought hard and continuously swam through the oyster beds in an attempt to cut the line, but eventually the fish let up and was landed successfully.
“This was our first tournament ever fishing in. It certainly paid off,” says Hall. The team also placed second in the Two Red Drum TWT, increasing their overall payout.
Coming in third place was Steve Braton of Team Y-Knot with a 13.77 lb. total fish weight. Fourth place was earned by Greg Cundiff of Team Skiff with two reds weighing in at 12.64 lbs., and scoring fifth was Wayne Newkirk of Team Lunar Low with 12.51 lbs.
Steve Braton and Mason Braton, of Team Y-Knot, took third place in the TIC with a 13.77 lb. total fish weight.
For more information on the Topsail Inshore Challenge, as well as the season-long Inshore Trail and the next event in the series (the Southport Inshore Challenge), you can visit www.fishermanspost.com, or follow the Fisherman’s Post Facebook page.
