2025 Topsail Island Fall Surf & Pier Fishing Challenge
The 2025 Topsail Island Fall Surf & Pier Fishing Challenge was hosted November 7–9, with Tournament Headquarters once again set up under the big tent beside East Coast Sports in Surf City.
Anglers were greeted with crisp fall mornings and steady conditions across the island. A total of 244 surf anglers and 92 pier anglers came together to compete, continuing the tradition of family‑friendly competition and camaraderie along the Topsail coastline.
Participants registered in either the Surf Division (bluefish, sea mullet, black drum, and trout) or the Pier Division (bluefish, sea mullet, black drum, and red drum), with a Surf Red Drum TWT and a Pier Trout TWT available. Special awards also recognized the top Lady, Junior, and Senior anglers, while the coveted Pier Cup honored the single heaviest fish weighed from a pier.
In the Surf Bluefish division, Thomas Latham, of Canton, GA, weighed in a 2.3 lb. bluefish on Saturday morning. Fishing the south end of Topsail near the Sea Vista Motel access, Latham’s winning fish struck a piece of cut mullet tipped with mullet‑flavored Fishbites on a Carolina rig. Casting nearly 130 yards out into the trough, the bluefish hit about an hour before full high tide.
Tree Reaves, of Holly Ridge, NC, took first place in the Pier Red Drum division, with a 5.8 lb. redfish landed from Surf City Pier using cut shrimp. Reaves and her fish also took the Pier Cup title.
The Surf Trout division was won by Keith Baughton, of Anderson Creek, NC, with a 2.4 lb. speckled trout caught off North Topsail. His leaderboard fish came at 3:19 a.m. on Saturday morning on a bottom rig with live shrimp. Baughton and his girlfriend also hooked several red drum and mullet during the night, though none held on the leaderboard.
The Surf Sea Mullet division went to Woodrow Hudson, from Chapel Hill, with a 2.3 lb. sea mullet. Hudson found his winning fish on the south end of Topsail Island. He was using bloodworms on a bottom rig placed right in the breakers.
The Surf Black Drum title was awarded to Michael Gainey with a 4.5 lb. black drum.
Aaron Watkins, of Thomasville, NC, won the Surf Red Drum TWT with a 7.3 lb. red drum landed Saturday just after dark in Surf City. The fish struck a piece of shrimp on a double rig, but instead of hitting his heavier setups, it bit on a lighter, short rod targeting the suds, which made the fight more challenging. The catch came around 6:30 p.m., as the tide pushed water back over the sandbar and drew fish onto the bar, a window Watkins had been focused on.
He also weighed in a large sea mullet that briefly held first place before being bumped to second, finishing the weekend with both a TWT victory in red drum and a runner‑up finish in the Surf Sea Mullet division.
The big money winner of the Topsail Fall Surf & Pier was Aaron Watkins, of Thomasville, NC, who took home over $2000 in prize money for his 7.3 lb. red drum pulled in from the Surf City beachfront.
On the pier side, Joshua Sloop, of Surf City, claimed the Bluefish division with a 1.4 lb. catch from Jolly Roger Pier. The winning fish came just 15 minutes into Saturday morning, while Sloop was targeting trout by floating live shrimp. The rest of the weekend brought challenging conditions, with hundreds of undersized speckled trout caught. Despite the abundance of fish, a southwest wind shift slowed the bite, leaving Sloop’s early bluefish as the one to beat.
Tree Reaves, of Holly Ridge, NC, earned the Pier Red Drum division title with a 5.8 lb. red drum landed from Surf City Pier early on Saturday morning. Fishing the falling tide with cut shrimp tipped with Fishbites, she landed the fish close to the pier with the help of a fellow angler.
“This is the first time my name has stayed on the board after the contest ended,” Reaves said, thrilled by the result after years of close calls.
Sean Simpson, of Sneads Ferry, NC, won the Pier Sea Mullet division with a 1.9 lb. catch from Seaview Pier. Simpson dug sand fleas the day before and used them on a two‑drop bottom rig with kale hooks, landing the fish just after sunrise on Saturday. Later that morning, he hooked a 5.2 lb. red drum in nearly the same spot, earning second place in that division. His sand flea strategy produced consistent bites, adding another strong finish to his tournament record.
Thomas Latham, of Canton, GA, weighed in a 2.3 lb. bluefish early on Saturday from the surf on the south end of Topsail Island that held on for the win in that division.
The Pier Trout TWT went to Mark St. Claire, from Taylorsville, NC, with a 1.5 lb. speckled trout. St. Claire landed the winning trout from Jolly Roger Pier at about 6:00 on Sunday morning. He was bumping a double trout rig along the bottom, and the 16-inch speck hit a 4-inch Gulp mullet.
“We probably landed 100 trout from 11-13 inches,” said St. Claire. “That trout was the only keeper.”
All of the fish weighed in over the tournament weekend were donated to First Fruit Ministries, a Wilmington food bank.
To see the complete leaderboard from 2025 and find out more about next year’s Topsail events (Topsail Spring Surf & Pier on May 2-4, 2026, and Topsail Fall Surf & Pier on November 6-8, 2026), visit FishermansPost.com.
