Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge
The 2026 Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge brought anglers from across the Carolinas to the beaches of Pleasure Island from October 16-18 for a weekend of challenging conditions and hard-earned catches. Strong winds, rain, rough surf, and rapidly changing weather tested competitors throughout much of the event, forcing anglers to battle not only the fish but the elements as well.
The Pompano Division was won by Andrew Burton, of Wilmington, with a 0.5 lb. fish caught between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning at Freeman Park. Fishing his first-ever Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge, Burton landed the winning pompano roughly an hour after low tide while working the north end with fresh sand fleas on a hand-tied two-hook rig.
“A lot of people left by lunchtime,” Burton said. “I was fishing in the rain all day.”
He credited sand fleas as the key bait, gathering many of them several days before the tournament and fishing them on small circle hooks.
Burton’s winning fish came during a particularly tough weekend for pompano anglers, with rough water and dirty surf limiting catches across the field.
In addition to winning the Pompano Division, Burton also finished fourth in the Sea Mullet category, making for an impressive tournament debut.
Tony C. Watts, of Tabor City, claimed the Bluefish Division title with a 5.3 lb. bluefish caught around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Fishing with a croaker head, Watts landed several bluefish during the tournament, with the 5.3-pounder proving large enough to remain atop the leaderboard through the end of competition.
Trey Pittman, of Goldsboro, claimed top honors in the Trout Division with a 1.6 lb. gray trout caught shortly after the tournament began. Fishing near the Kure Beach Ocean Front Park and the 21st Avenue lifeguard tower, Pittman landed the winning trout at approximately 12:53 a.m. on Saturday using fresh shrimp.
Knowing poor weather was forecast for later in the weekend, Pittman focused on making the most of the opening hours of competition.
“I knew the weather was going to turn bad,” said Pittman. “I figured if I could get something done in those first few hours, the weather might discourage some other people.”
The victory came during Pittman’s second appearance in the Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge and earned him his first tournament championship.
Michelle Brianne, of Floral City, FL, topped the Sea Mullet Division with a 1.2 lb. fish caught near the Oceaneer Motel. Beginning her tournament fishing at midnight on Friday, Brianne fished with live sand fleas in the wash and quickly found steady action despite the difficult conditions.
Fishing through the overnight hours, Brianne caught several smaller sea mullet while also releasing croakers and undersized black drum. One of those sea mullet ultimately proved large enough to top the division leaderboard and secure the victory.
Mike Adams, of Benson, NC, claimed the Black Drum Division with a 2.2 lb. fish landed shortly after 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Fishing near the 32-mile marker on the south end of Pleasure Island, Adams battled the challenging conditions alongside his brother, sister, and grandson to put together one of the more productive weekends of the tournament.
Using a homemade rig tied with small, short-shank hooks and baited with shrimp, Adams caught a variety of species throughout the event, including croakers, spots, flounder, bluefish, and several undersized black drum.
When Adams brought his biggest black drum of the weekend to the beach, he knew he had one worth weighing. Then while preparing to head to the weigh station, Adams discovered a pompano on his second rod that eventually earned him a second-place finish in that division as well.
The black drum victory, combined with his second-place pompano finish, helped Adams earn more than $2,200 in prize money during the weekend.
The Red Drum TWT title went to Jeff Williamson, from the Wilmington and Carolina Beach area, with a 6.9 lb. red drum landed during the final hours of competition on Sunday morning.
A tournament regular, Williamson has made a tradition of spending his birthday weekend fishing the Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge.
After fishing through the wind and rain, he eventually left the beach for a few hours of sleep before returning to Carolina Beach at daybreak on Sunday. That decision paid off almost immediately.
Fishing a simple two-hook rig baited with sand fleas, Williamson had just made his first cast of the morning and was preparing another rod when the first line came tight.
Using light hooks intended for sea mullet, Williamson knew he couldn’t rush the fight. Instead, he carefully followed the fish down the beach through the heavy surf, allowing the red drum to tire itself out before bringing it to shore.
All of the fish weighed in in the Pleasure Island Surf Fishing Challenge are donated to First Fruit Ministries, a non-profit that began in 1998 and has grown to serve over 20,000 hot meals, provide emergency groceries to over 5,000 households, and shelter over 24 homeless women and families annually.
A complete leaderboard can be found at FishermansPost.com, along with details on next year’s tournament and the other four annual surf fishing competitions that Fisherman’s Post hosts.
