2026 Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge
The 2026 Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge, held July 17‑18, saw both hot midsummer temperatures and a hot red drum bite, with the top three teams each catching at least ten fish on that Saturday.
The Wrightsville Beach event, like all Inshore Challenge events, are scored on a boat’s single heaviest red drum, with numerous TWTs and secondary prizes rounding out the payouts. This year, the event’s registration, weigh‑in, and awards were all hosted at Bridge Tender Marina.
The Jimmy Boys, led by Cole Bachman of Wilmington and joined by younger brother Harrison Bachman of Greensboro and longtime friend Colton Goodwin of Jordan Lake, claimed first place with a 7.54 lb. red drum.
The team launched at first light and quickly filled the well with 4-5” finger mullet before running through Snow’s Cut into the Cape Fear River. Their first spot produced a heavy flounder bite, landing nearly twenty in the first hour, but no redfish.
As the tide began pushing back into the marsh, they crossed the river and set up over deep structure off a set of islands. They caught a few flounder and hooked a redfish that broke off. Then a few minutes later, they had another bite, kept it pinned, and were able to bring it to the boat, producing what would be the tournament winning fish at 9:45 am.
Harrison Bachman, Cole Bachman, and Colton Goodwin, fishing as Team Jimmy Boys, took the top spot in the 2026 Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge with a 7.54 lb. red drum. Their winning fish came from a live finger mullet over deep structure in the Cape Fear River.
After releasing several over-slots and breaking off two more, the bite faded and they pushed south toward Bald Head and fished Buzzards Bay. The bite slowed around midday during peak high tide. Cole had been soaking finger mullet and realized he hadn’t yet fished a pogie in a spot they had been working, so he cut one up and put it on a 1/4 oz. jig head. That change produced their second weighable fish.
The Jimmy Boys took first place in the Single Big Red TWT, as well as second place in the Two Red Drum TWT with a 13.84 lb. combined weight.
Team Parker, featuring brothers Sam and Mark Daughtry, secured second place with a 7.16 lb. red drum caught at 7:45 am. The duo launched before sunrise and quickly loaded the well with menhaden and mullet, gathering close to two hundred baits near Washington Acres. With only one livewell, they dumped the pogies and committed to mullet for the day.
Sam Daughtry (pictured) and his brother Mark, of Team Parker, weighed in a 7.16 lb. red drum to finish in second place in the 2026 Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge and take home over $3000 in prize money. Their fish hit a live mullet in the Rich’s Inlet area.
Their first stop was a bust, but by 7:30 am, they reached a drained bay where twelve acres of marsh funnel into a one‑acre pool at low water. Sam picked off three fish there, starting with a 24‑inch red and then a 26 7/8‑inch drum that became their biggest of the day.
From there, they worked through roughly a dozen spots in a tight three‑mile stretch around Rich’s Inlet, moving quickly between flats, drains, and small pockets they have fished for years. Around midday, they slid into a place Sam hadn’t fished in three years, and on his second cast, he stuck a 26 1⁄2‑inch fish that locked in their aggregate weight.
Their two fish totaled 13.94 lbs., earning them first place in the Two Red Drum TWT. They also claimed first place in the High Roller TWT.
Team Salt Air Fishing Charters, made up of Christian Hairr and his dad Jeff Hairr from Holly Ridge and teammate Blake Boyd from Hampstead, finished in third place with a 6.78 lb. red drum.
Launching from Sloop Point, the team worked the south Topsail area and started their morning around New Topsail Inlet. They opened with topwaters but quickly switched to live mullet after a slow early bite. The team finally put their first fish in the boat around 9:00 am.
Team Salt Air Fishing Charters took home third place in the 2026 Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge with a 6.78 lb. red drum they hooked on the south end of Topsail Island. The team is made up of Christian Hairr, Blake Boyd, and Jeff Hairr.
Once the tide rose enough to reach their planned spot on the south end of Topsail, they found a large school staged on oyster structure, grass islands, and creek drains. The bite stayed steady, producing twenty to thirty fish, including over-slots and several low six‑pounders.
They pulled both of their weighable fish from this school, including the 6.78 lb. drum that earned third in the Single Big Red Drum TWT. Their two fish totaled 13.53 lbs. for third in the Two Red Drum TWT, and they also finished second in the High Roller TWT.
More information, including a complete leaderboard, can be found at www.FishermansPost.com.
The next event on the 2026 Inshore Trail is the Southport Inshore Challenge hosted out of Morningstar Marinas Southport on August 14‑15, followed by the Carolina Beach Inshore Challenge (featuring a split leaderboard of flounder and red drum) out of Inlet Watch Marina on September 11-12.
