Tournament report: Sarah James Fulcher Redfish Tournament
The sixth annual Sarah James Fulcher Redfish Tournament was held the weekend of August 11-13, once again from the tournament headquarters at Cedar Island Campground.
This tournament has a history of records, and 2023 was close to breaking another one, with an amazing 191 boats registered for Saturday evening’s event to enjoy the local waters, target the influx of citation red drum, and support a great cause.
The prize pool this year offered opportunities to win based on four different levels of entry: General, Release, Ramsey Big Bull, and Fulcher’s First Fifty-Three. All categories were based on one thing—catching one of the beautiful, trophy-class red drum that migrate into the Pamlico Sound area towards the end of summer.
In addition to big money and lots of boats, the Sarah Fulcher Redfish Tournament is also a family-oriented event with prizes awarded to the top Lady Angler and Junior Angler.
Charlie Neal, Kacey Neal, and Austin Parker, of Team Shorecatch, finished in second place in the Overall General category of the 2023 Sarah James Fulcher Redfish Tournament. Their winning red drum came from a popular shoal in the lower Neuse River.
The top payout for the event, the Ramsey Big Bull category, was won this year by Team Drum Wagon. Comprised of Winterville anglers Justin and Amanda Haddock, they were joined by Oriental anglers Blake and Tiffany Dunbar.
The team knew with so many anglers in the event, a lot of success was going to be aimed around the luck of who was able to find the right spot with the right bite. Pushing luck slightly onto their side was the experience of Justin Haddock and Blake Dunbar who both run guided trips in the area and came into the event with a plan on what areas they were going to target Saturday night.
They chose to stick close to their home waters, just south of Oriental, focusing on shallower depths (in the 3’ range) to possibly avoid some of the crowd and target a couple of areas they’ve had their eye on. Fishing with both mullet and menhaden, they ended up catching a total of three over-slot fish in the event. The eventual winner had a length of 46 5/8” and was landed by Justin’s wife, Amanda Haddock.
Team Shorecatch was made up of Newport, NC anglers Charlie Neal, daughter Kacey Neal, and Austin Parker. Another team of local anglers who had put some time in the river over the past few weeks, they also had a loose plan coming into the event. With a short tournament time window, the plan was to fish one spot and hope luck (and skill) was on their side.
After launching at Seagate Marina, they ran into South River to load up on some menhaden for the night’s efforts. Opposite of some teams, Shorecatch chose to run north to a fairly well-known shoal that may be popular but produces fish none the less.
They arrived at the target area with no other boats around and anchored up on their ledge to set out a three-line setup that they would manage over the next few hours. After some time, and after only producing bluefish, another boat arrived and set up-current from the team.
The new boat didn’t change the plan for the evening, but it may have changed their success. Shorecatch noticed this new boat’s chum slick was now drifting right down to them. Charlie suspected that this was going to be to their benefit, and he was right. At around 8:28 pm, they got the one and only bite that mattered. The citation red drum netted them second place in the Overall General category.
Team Drum Wagon, made up of Justin and Amanda Haddock and Blake and Tiffany Dunbar, took first place in the Ramsey Big Bull category of the 2023 Sarah James Fulcher Redfish Tournament. They found their winning citation drum (46 5/8″) targeting shallow water south of Oriental.
Team Super Soakes, led by Jackson Willis and joined by Cici Holton, Cole Carroon, and Cameron Lee, took home the top prize in the General category.
Between his local guiding experience and spending seven days a week on the water, Jackson knew exactly where he was headed when the fishing window opened. With the boat pointed upriver, they found their first spot on a shoal north of Oriental. For that evening’s effort, he planned on setting up shallow, fishing in water depths no more than one foot. They set out their bait spread of dead mullet and soon after had their first hookup.
Lady angler Cici Holt was first to the rod and brought in the large red drum that immediately launched the team to the top of the leaderboard, where they stayed the rest of the evening. The team’s first bite and first red drum not only won the event, but it brought Cici first place in the Lady Angler category.
The Sarah James Fulcher Redfish Tournament benefits the Sarah James Fulcher Foundation. Their mission is to promote inclusive access to our wonderful coastal resources, while encouraging community involvement and conservation of the local heritage.
The Foundation gives special thanks to all their volunteers who help throughout the year, the Ramsey Family, and the Cedar Island Fire Department for taking over the BBQ dinner this year.
To see the complete leaderboard and find out more about next year’s tournament and other great Sarah James Fulcher Foundation projects & events, go to SarahJamesFulcher.org or visit them on their Facebook page.
