Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge
Paul Arvidson with the 4.33 lb. flounder that earned him Top Junior Angler and the “Troublemaker” crew third place overall in the Fisherman’s Post Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge.
Topping the field on what was by all accounts a tough day of fishing, Southport’s Ricky Evans and “Redemption” teammates John Ballantine and Eric McMahan hauled a 5.23 lb. flounder to the scales to take home first place in the 2013 Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge, held July 19-20 out of Wild Wing Café and Wrightsville Beach Marina.
Winds approaching 30 mph and high lunar tides conspired to make the first part of the trio’s day tougher than they’d planned.
“The tide was high, the water was nasty, and we couldn’t see the bait in all that wind,” Evans explained. “We ended up throwing the net under docks and catching a bunch of croakers.”
After baiting up, the anglers began fishing a seagrass bed near Southport and landed a solid flatfish in the 4 lb. range. The wind soon grew too much for the crew, however, and they decided to head for more sheltered waters to look for their winning fish.
“We headed up a creek out of the wind,” Evans continued, “the same place where we caught our fish in the Fisherman’s Post Southport tournament.”
The area’s been good to Evans since he and his wife discovered it last year, landing four citation fish to 8 lbs. the first time they fished it.
Casting a Carolina-rigged croaker into the spot, an area of old pilings in around 7’ of water, Evans got a solid strike around 9:30 that morning.
“I knew it was a decent fish when I first set the hook,” Evans reported. “It took a minute to come to me, and it came in down low.”
Hugging the bottom for a few moments around the boat, the flounder finally made a move towards the surface, and Ballantine stood ready with the net.
“He finally came up to the top,” Evans said, “and John scooped him up. And then we got excited.”
The 5 lb. flounder was a solid fish, but Evans feared the competition might muster something larger.
“I knew we’d get our money back with that one,” he explained, “but didn’t think it would be a winner at first.”
As the day wore on, calls from fellow anglers gave the “Redemption” crew a bit more hope.
Sam Daughtry with a 43″ red drum he caught and released before his brother Mark landed the 7.01 lb. red drum that topped the TWT at the Fisherman’s Post Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge. The reds fell for live mullet at some bottom structure off Frying Pan Shoals.
“People started calling us,” Evans said, “asking where bait was, saying there were no fish, complaining about the wind, and I said to the boys that this fish might hold out.”
The crew continued fishing their spot till early afternoon, landing more keepers but nothing to rival their big fish. They decided to head for Snows Cut around 1:30 that afternoon after McMahan made another valuable catch.
“I’d lost my anchor that morning because I didn’t tie it off well,” Evans said. “We were about to head to the cut when Eric said he thought he’d hooked the anchor rope. He caught it and we got it back.”
South winds made for a rough ride up the Cape Fear River and to Wrightsville Beach, but the discomfort proved worthwhile when their fish remained at the top of the leaderboard after the weigh-in ended. The trio also got some assistance on the return leg of their trip.
“I’ve got to say thanks to Jason McDowell on ‘Uncle Jake’,” Evans said. “He let us piggyback off him all the way back to Southport and slowed down so we could keep up.”
A 4.76 lb. flounder secured second place in the event for Michael Danzeisen and the “Salt Life” crew (which earned Jamie Danzeisen Top Lady Angler), and Eric Arvidson on “Trouble Maker” took home third with a 4.33 lb. flatfish (good for the Top Junior Angler prize for Paul Arvidson).
Topping the tournament’s Red Drum TWT with a 7.01 lb. drum were brothers Sam and Mark Daughtry on team “Parker.” The pair braved the winds to fish some structure off Frying Pan Shoals where they’ve had plenty of success with reds in the past.
“We’ve caught a slot fish over 7 lbs. the last four times we’ve been down there,” Sam Daughtry explained.
Upon arriving, they began steadily catching reds, but all were over the 27” top of the slot limit (up to 44”). Around 10:30, they got another solid bite on a live mullet.
“It was my rod and my bait,” Sam said, “but I had a line in my mouth and I told Mark to grab it.”
This fish fought a bit more like a slot red, and when Daughtry netted the fish it proved to be just under 27”, a perfect red for the TWT.
Dirty water from the Cape Fear River pushed over the shoals soon after they landed their tournament fish, killing the bite, but the Daughtry brothers had already landed what they’d come for. Capt. Jamie Rushing and Dak Millis, on the “S.S. Wonderbread,” took home second in the TWT with a 6.54 lb. red, and Bryan Wilder captured third with a 5.65 lb. fish.
More information on the tournament (and all Fisherman’s Post Inshore Challenge events) and a full leaderboard are available at www.fishermanspost.com.
