Welcome to the Hatteras Island Surf Fishing Challenge, an event that Fisherman’s Post is excited to once again bring to the OBX beachfront from Rodanthe down to Hatteras Village.
As everyone knows, Hatteras surf fishing is world class and legendary, and our hope is that our event adds to this dynamic surf fishing community by bringing our popular tournament format that is known for offering (1) individual competition and (2) big cash payouts.
Those that choose to fish with us in late September will stop by Registration on Friday, September 26, at the Camp Hatteras Conference Center (also the location of Sunday’s awards), check in and grab a wristband, and then go scout out spots on the sand anywhere from Rodanthe down to Hatteras Inlet.
Fishing takes place round-the-clock from 11:59 pm on Friday until noon on Sunday, and immediately following the close of fishing will be our Awards Dinner—a complimentary meal cooked and served by our good friends at Hatteras Island Meals.
Participants will be looking to weigh in the heaviest bluefish, black drum, sea mullet, and pompano over the course of the event. The five heaviest of each of the four species will earn slots on the leaderboard, as well as hefty prize checks.
We’ll also be offering a Slot Red Drum TWT that will reward anglers scaling the top three heaviest puppy drum (in North Carolina’s 18-27” slot) weighed in over the weekend.
However, if you catch and release a citation red drum during tournament hours, then we want to honor your catch, too. All citation anglers will have their name added to the Big Red Hall of Fame plaque that will be on display year-round at Hatteras Jack.
Hatteras Jack, based in Rodanthe right down the street from Camp Hatteras, will serve as one of the five weigh stations. Anglers fishing up and down the island will be pleased to hear that we’ll also have weigh stations in Avon (Frank and Fran’s), Buxton (Hatteras Style Custom Rods), Frisco (Frisco Rod & Gun), and Hatteras Village (Teach’s Lair), so there’s a weigh station convenient to anywhere you may choose to fish over the weekend.
To encourage participants to bring the whole family down to experience our event’s camaraderie firsthand, we have Junior, Senior, and Lady angler prizes, and the heaviest of any of the four eligible species weighed in by those anglers will earn a guaranteed $50 (in addition to any leaderboard money).
The tournament also features a raffle on Sunday, with numerous prizes to hand out including a factory-custom Century surf rod compliments of Ryan White and Hatteras Jack.
With a cash-based tournament, it’s important that participants believe in the integrity of the results, so to help make sure everyone plays fair, we will randomly select some of the top finishers to participate in a polygraph test on Sunday before we hand out any prize checks.
The checks and prizes that anglers will be walking away with on Sunday are only part of the story. The sense of community born out of these events is always a pleasure to see and feel for all involved. Participants, volunteers, and sponsors can also feel good knowing that all proceeds from the sale of all tournament fish (to Jeffrey’s Seafood) will be donated to Hatteras Island Meals, whose mission is to serve anyone on Hatteras Island who is unable for whatever reason to prepare nutritious meals for themselves.
The sponsors who support this event make everything we do possible, so please take time to thank the businesses that help us make the Hatteras Island Surf Fishing Challenge a success. And come see us at Camp Hatteras for Friday’s Registration to get in on the fun.
You may also like the following events from Fisherman's Post:
Also check out other
Sports events in Rodanthe,
Workshops in Rodanthe.
