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October 28, 2009
Anglers catch 151 drum in NCBBA’s first annual Red Drum Tournament
 Three
hundred anglers registered to fish in the North Carolina Beach Buggy
Association’s first annual Red Drum Tournament, which ran from
Thursday through Saturday of last week. The entrants included 26 women,
10 juniors, and 33 seniors.They were rewarded with three days of good fishing and caught and released 151 red drum, in addition to other assorted fish. The overall winner in the longest red drum caught category was Danny Fletcher of Elizabeth City with a 50-inch drum. Second place went to 13-year-old Matt Hooper of Salvo with his 46.5-inch fish. The longest run drum caught by a junior (under 16) angler went to David Holland of Downingtown, Pa., for his 25.25 fish, and Jeanne Griffin of Moncure, N.C., had the longest drum in the senior category – 25 inches. Mike Frick of Nashville, Tenn., registered the most red drum overall in the tournament. Some say he never left the beach and caught 15 fish. This is the first year that NCBBA has sponsored the Red Drum Tournament. Frank and Fran Folb of Frank and Fran’s tackle shop in Avon sponsored the tournament for nine out of the last 10 years. However, Folb said the contest was growing more quickly than his small staff could handle. So this year, he and Fran handed it over to NCBBA, and he said he couldn’t be more pleased with the results. “They did an exemplary job,” he said. “It was just a super, super job.”  “We
were very pleased with our first effort,” said David Joyner,
NCBBA vice president who was also the tournament director.“All of the drum were released alive,” Joyner reported. To be counted in the tournament, the red drum had to meet the legal length of at least 18 inches and be released alive. He said anglers came from 19 states to fish, some from as far away as Tucson, Ariz. The fishing frenzy started at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and ended at 4 p.m. Saturday. The fishing area was limited to about 19 miles of seashore beach on northern Hatteras Island, from 2 miles north of Ramp 23 to 2 miles south of Ramp 38. “It’s got to have boosted the economy of the island,” Joyner said, noting that the 300 anglers and friends and family who may have accompanied them visited tackle shops, bought gas and groceries, and ate at restaurants. In addition, anglers contributed a small mountain of non-perishable food and other items for the Hatteras Island Food Pantry. The tournament ended with an awards banquet on Saturday evening at Cape Hatteras Elementary School. At the banquet, Jim Keene, president of NCBBA presented a check for $10,000 to the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance, an umbrella group that raises funds to defend free and open beach. Joyner added a special thanks to the volunteer judges. “Without them,” he said, “this tournament could not have been held.” Complete tournament results are:
NCBBA’S FIRST ANNUAL RED DRUM TOURNAMENT
LONGEST RED DRUM OVERALL TOURNAMENT DANNY FLETCHER – 50 INCHES ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. 2ND LARGEST RED DRUM OVERALL TOURNAMENT MATT HOOPER – 46.5 INCHES SALVO, N.C. LARGEST RED DRUM DAILY DAY 1 1ST TOM CAHALL - 29 “ GEORGETOWN, DEL. 2ND GLENN ALLEN – 26.5” CLAYTON, N.C.--25.75” DAY 2 1ST TOM CAHALL – 29.25” GEORGETOWN, DE L. 2ND LARS NESTVOGEL – 28.75” ROCK HILL, S.C. DAY 3 1ST CHAD CLEGG – 44.5”GREENSBORO, N.C. 2ND JOHN FARTRO -- 26.75” FREDERICKSBURG, VA. MOST DRUM REGISTERED OVERALL TOURNAMENT MIKE FRICK – 15 RED DRUM RELEASED NASHVILLE, TENN. LONGEST BLUEFISH OVERALL TOURNAMENT JEANNE GRIFFIN – 19 INCHES MONCURE, N.C.LONGEST STRIPER OVERALL TOURNAMENT (NO WINNER) BIGGEST SEA MULLET OVERALL TOURNAMENT BY WEIGHTDAVID GRIFFIN --18 INCHES 2 LB 9 OZ HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. LONGEST RED DRUM – LADY ANGLER JEANNE GRIFFIN – 27.5 INCHES LONGEST RED DRUM – JUNIOR ANGLER (UNDER 16) DAVID HOLLAND – 25.25 INCHES DOWNINGTOWN, PA. LONGEST RED DRUM – SENIOR ANGLER (65 YRS. OLD OR OLDER) JEANNE GRIFFIN – 25 INCHES MONCURE, N.C. For more information on the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association or to join, go to the Web site, www.ncbba.org |
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