Morehead City, N.C. – Saturday October 16th, marked the fifth annual
CCA NC Inside & Out Tournament. In
spite of cold temperatures and gusty winds, dedicated teams from all across the state showed up to fish the event with proceeds
benefiting the N.C. artificial reef enhancement program. The event started on
Friday night with the captains meeting and Crystal Coast banquet at the Crystal Coast Civic Center.
The next morning saw lines in the water at 7am, despite of the steady wind and temps in the low
40’s. By three o’clock the weigh-in docks at Portside Marina came
to life as teams made their way to the scales. Smithfield’s own John Branch
guided Team Bite Me to a first place finish in the Inside Division with the help of a 5.4lb Redfish, which was the largest
of the event. A 7.15lb aggregate secured the 1st place prize of a
brand new Pro Series Power Pole, with installation provided by Custom Marine Fabrication in New Bern. Second place was awarded to the Crystal Coast’s own Bert Owens, who along with Rich Broughton brought
in an aggregate of 5.22lbs. The largest flounder of the day came via Team E-Z
Tackle of Goldsboro. The 3.65lb fish helped Capt. Matthew Waddell and crew come home in 3rd place.
With the North wind, several teams did decide to try out the king bite off the beach. Taking first place in this year’s event was Team Grady-White captained by Jim Hardin. The crew battled, and their efforts paid off with a 9.5lb smoker(!)
The team donated 100% of the 1st place prize back to CCA NC to be used towards the artificial reef enhancement
program. Many thanks to Team Grady White.
Second place, went to perennial favorite of Team Fishin Buddies of Greenville.
Capt. Bulow has got the kings dialed in as he has won or placed second in the last 4 events!
The festivities continued at Portside Marina, on the Morehead City waterfront, with an all you
can eat oyster roast by CCA NC Triangle Chapter member and master cook Mike Kalet and pig pick’n provided by Smithfield’s
Bar-b-que and Coastal Carolina Fishing Report TV Show. No one left hungry and
after a hard day of fishing and fishing stories, it was a great way to end the day.
Thanks to all of this year’s participants and we look forward to seeing everyone again next
year!
Many thanks go to Denard Harris and all the folks at Portside Marina for once again hosting.
A special thanks go to Grady-White Boats and Power-Pole as our gold tournament sponsors.
The tournament committee
also wishes to thank all of the silver sponsors: Star Rods, NC Sportsman Magazine,
Custom Marine Fabrication, R.A. Jeffrey’s-Budweiser, NCWaterman.com, Coastal Carolina Fishing
Report TV and Triangle RentACar.
