NCBBA Red Drum Tournament
October 26-28th, 2017
Arrived on the island Sunday and didn't do much other than check in and hang out. David did meet up with Joey and they had a sand flea adventure. Joey invited us on the boat Monday AM so we got up early and me him at the harbor. Trout was the target but we got a little distracted with the red hot Spot bite!!! We finally concentrated on trout and caught a bunch with 8 nice keepers in the bunch.
beach and after dark acquired all the bait we would need for the tournament. With a blow on the way, it was nice to get that done with time to spare. Hit the sack early with plans to join Joey again for some Drum fishing but the
After our great fishing trip, we went out to eat, fished a little on the
weather was too nautical and we decided to hang out, fish the beach some, drink beer, eat and drink beer again.....my kind of day! Went to bed fairly early and spent all of Wednesday prepping for the tournament, checking in, tying rigs, getting food, gas and other things. Had a great meal at 4:30PM with Dad, Mom, myself, David, Jaime, Joey, Amanda and their daughter. We had smoked Blue Marlin, Cobia, Flounder, Speckled Trout, Sea Mullet and Red Drum. EXCELLENT way to start a grueling 3 days.
~TOURNAMENT REPORT~
Made it out to some nice spots we found and began the wait til midnight.....didn't take long after the start for Jaime's crowd to get in the meat! Anywhere he is on the beach flashers usually follow!!!
David and I had a few runs but nothing to call a judge about. The first session has never been our friend. Oh well....still a lot of fishing ahead! We left the beach on
Thursday morning for a nap and were back at it around 4:30PM. Thursday night we did not catch anything of note except for about 30 big Sea Mullet. David caught the winner that night with a 16.75" fish weighing 1.91 lbs. Mom reported she managed a nice Drum earlier in the day.
Friday Mom managed another Drum which tied one already caught in the Ladies division at 25.75". SO CLOSE to another win in a category she has won several times!
We did not do much by midnight and decided to head Jaime's way after he told me they were catching Bluefish and had a small puppy drum. Arrived and caught fish steady through the end of the tournament on Saturday at noon. We wound up catching 5 Drum there and David caught the winning Bluefish with a 19.75" stud! Jaime and gang managed a few small Drum as well. Great fishing for sure and wore us out!
When it was all said and done, it was really good fishing toward the end of the tournament. We had a lot of fun as usual and I hate I have to wait a year to do it again. David won two categories and I won most BBQ on a thin plate. Still reeling from that!
For some good fishing down there, give my good buddy Capt. Joey Vandyke a holler. Great guy, great fisherman and a heck of a great way to spend a day. Also consider joining the NCBBA. They always have been and continue to be one of the really good things in the State of NC. I will leave a few more pictures below for your viewing pleasure!
Me in my happy place
