2026 Topsail Inshore Challenge

The 2026 Topsail Inshore Challenge took place June 26-27, serving as both a standalone event and the second stop in this year’s season‑long Inshore Trail. Registration was held at East Coast Sports in Surf City, and weigh‑ins and awards took place at Sloop Point Marina in Hampstead. 

Fisherman’s Post red drum tournaments follow a relaxed format, allowing teams to fish with as many anglers as a team wishes, use natural or artificial bait, and no live weigh-in requirement. The leaderboard is based on a team’s single heaviest red drum, with several TWTs available, as well as closest‑to‑target weights, live fish bonuses, specialty prizes, and the Trash Fish Division (oyster toad and lizardfish).

Phil Ivins and Sean and Sydni Moore, of Team Days Off, won the event with a 7.91 lb. red drum. Ivins said the win felt overdue, explaining that he has fished these events for over five years and has been on the leaderboard many times but never a first place finish. 

The team launched out of Wrightsville Beach, ran south, and started their morning catching mullet near Carolina Beach Inlet and menhaden in the Cape Fear River before heading straight to their fishing holes in the lower river and Southport area. 

Nearly every stop they made centered around oysters with current and bait. They eased in and out of spots throwing artificials, mainly Sev7n Baits paddle tails with underspins, and switched to popping corks with live menhaden or mullet as the tide changed. 

Team Days Off, made up of Phil Ivins and Sean and Sydni Moore, with the 7.91 lb. red drum that earned first place in the 2026 Topsail Inshore Challenge. The fish ate a menhaden under a popping cork in the Cape Fear River.

The winning fish ate a menhaden under a popping cork around 1:00-1:30 pm, right as the tide changed. 

Team Kook Tacos, featuring Hunter Williams, Tripp Hooks, Tim Disano, and Jimmy Devers, earned second place with a 7.61 lb. red drum and also finished second in the Two‑Red TWT with a 14.05 lb. total. 

Hunter said that the team had saved several spots for tournament morning. Their first two stops produced nothing on the high‑fall tide. Then as they moved toward their third area, Tripp suggested giving a small stretch of waterway a quick try. Jimmy pitched a cut pogey, and within seconds hooked a heavy fish. They stayed on the spot briefly but never found another bite, and Jimmy’s fish would later weigh in at 7.61 lbs.

Their fourth stop was a mid‑fall shell bank area. The structure included grass, shells, and a large rock ledge, and fish were holding deeper than usual in 10-12 feet of water. The team caught 13-14 fish there, mostly 26-27 inch drum that were healthy but skinny. Their second weigh‑in fish, caught at 11:57 am at this fourth stop, weighed 6.4 lbs. After securing two solid fish, they made the long two‑and‑a‑half‑hour run to Topsail through heavy boat traffic.

Hunter Williams, Tripp Hooks, Tim Disano, and Jimmy Devers, of Team Kook Tacos, took second place in the 2026 Topsail Inshore Challenge with a 7.61 lb. red drum that hit a cut pogey in the ICW.

Team Wake and Bait, led by Bill Mowery and fishing with his longtime tournament partner Dalen Fusaro, finished third with a 7.48 lb. red drum. Bill said the morning started slow. They launched from Sloop Point Marina and ran toward North Topsail, beginning the day throwing topwater and soft plastics around Turkey Creek and Kings Creek. The wind was worse than expected, and they didn’t put a fish in the boat until approximately 7:30. 

Around 8:00 they shifted to live bait and cut bait, fishing docks and creek mouths. The bite stayed quiet until late morning, and Bill said the day didn’t turn around until the tide dropped and storms began pushing through. Several fronts rolled across the area, and once the tide reached dead low, the fish finally started feeding. 

After finding bait, they moved south toward Rich’s Inlet, and the best action came near Rich’s, where fish were schooled up in deeper creeks and inlet drains. From late morning into early afternoon, they caught 12-15 drum in the 24-26 inch range, plus several fish brushing the 27-28 inch line. Their winning fish was caught between 11:30 and noon on the backside of the low tide. 

For a more complete leaderboard, as well as information on all of the Fisherman’s Post tournaments, please visit www.FishermansPost.com.

by Fish Poster