Adding a 3.79 lb. flounder to the tournament’s biggest single fish at 7.61 lbs., Wilmington’s Bob Carr and “Team AGB” posted a two-fish aggregate of 11.40 lbs. to easily rise above their rivals and take first place in the 2015 Fisherman’s Post Southport Inshore Challenge, held June 19-20 out of Southport Marina.
Carr, fishing with Dave Clem, Terry Wright, and Jeff Masnick, didn’t pre-fish before the tournament, but the anglers had plans the night before the event anyway.
“We had a Plan A and a Plan B,” Carr reported. “Looking at the weather we went with Plan B—it was a little too sporty for a bay boat in the ocean.”
After loading up with bait without much difficulty, the anglers headed for Carolina Beach to begin searching for some leaderboard-worthy flatfish.
“We’d caught some 16-17 inch fish and moved slightly a couple times by 8:30,” Carr said.
Dropping a live menhaden into some deep water near Carolina Beach Inlet, Clem got a strike and quickly set the hook. At first, the anglers didn’t think they’d hooked what they were looking for.
“Dave set the hook fast and we thought it might be grass or something,” Carr continued. “He said it hit hard, though. When it hit the top of the water there was grass in front, but we saw the tail slap and knew it was a big fish.”
With grass on the line and a big flounder using the current to its advantage, the anglers took their time working the flounder to the boat.
“I bet he fought it for 15 minutes,” Carr said. “It was hooked in the jaw, but you never know and we knew it was a big fish so we took it easy.”
When Clem finally worked the big flatfish close enough, Carr leaned off the bow and slid a landing net beneath it.
The “AGB” anglers continued to fish the area until around 10:00 that morning, when they decided to head for the Cape Fear River to search for more bait and check out a few new spots.
They’d stopped at a few spots and put another fish in the boat before they went to a favorite hole near high tide.
“We knew we wanted to be there by at least high tide,” Carr explained. “That spot usually produces for us on high falling water.”
The new area failed to disappoint, as Clem connected with the near-4 lb. fish that was the crew’s kicker less than 10 minutes after they began soaking baits.
Al Fulford and the “Flounder Nutz” secured second place in the tournament with a pair of flounder totaling 7.97 lbs. The “Canady 4” crew rounded out the top three with a 7.66 lb. two-fish aggregate.
Scaling a 6.69 lb. red drum to top the event’s Red Drum TWT were Capt. Scott Teeters and the “Marsh Fiddler” fishing team.
More information on the Southport Inshore Challenge and a complete leaderboard for the tournament and Fisherman’s Post’s five event Inshore Tournament Trail can be found at www.fishermanspost.com.