PCF Tournament Preview – July 2016
July Tournaments Heat up with Billfish, Redfish, Kingfish and Kayak Fishing
By
Capt. Jerry Dilsaver
Fishermen scored with large fish, especially billfish and redfish, during the June tournaments and several said they expected the catches to improve for the July tournaments. July brings more billfish, inshore and king mackerel tournaments, plus a kayak fishing tournament. Most of the July tournaments will be along the central and southern N.C. Coast, but billfishermen will visit the Outer Banks twice during July.
The July tournaments begin on July 6 and fill the month with four tournaments the final weekend. Except for the July 4th Weekend, there are tournaments every weekend, with most weekends doubled up and four tournaments, including two billfish events, one king mackerel event and one kayak fishing event, ending on July 30. Surely anyone who has interest in fishing competitively can find a tournament or two they like.
Point, Click, Fish will be streaming live from three tournaments during July. The first PCF Live tournament will be the Carolinas Redfish Series Tournament 2 for 2016. This tournament was originally scheduled to be held in New Bern, but has been relocated to Chasin’ Tails Outdoors on the Atlantic Beach Causeway in Atlantic Beach. It begins with the Final Registration and Captain’s Meeting on July 22, followed by fishing on July 23. Live Weigh-In coverage will begin at 2:00 P.M. July 23. The PCF Ultimate Fishing Truck and Mobile Command Center will be on site both days.
It’s a little far out to analyze the weather for any of these tournaments, except that it will be hot and humid. There will probably also be at least a small probability of rain and thunderstorms for all of them.
The Carolina Redfish Series tournament will be on a waning moon, halfway from full to the third quarter, with no strong lunar influence. The morning lunar major activity period will end just before fishing begins and the afternoon major won’t begin until the tournament ends. There is a lunar minor activity period during the mid morning, but it isn’t rated as a strong influence. In addition to the tournament prizes, competitors receive points towards qualifying for the Carolina Redfish Series Championship that will be held in September.
The PCF Team will be live streaming a doubleheader on the final weekend of the month. Tournament information and standings will be streaming from the Carolina Boatbuilders Tournament at Pirate’s Cove Marina in Manteo and the DU Band The Billfish Tournament on the Morehead City Waterfront in Morehead City. The Band the Billfish Tournament is the seventh of eight tournaments in the 2016 Governor’s Cup Billfishing Conservation Series. The Carolina Boatbuilders Tournament begins Thursday and includes a lay day, while the Band the Billfish Tournament begin on Friday and fishes then and Saturday.
During these tournaments, the moon will be waning and will have just passed the third quarter, so there won’t be much ambient light at night. Many fishermen consider the dark nights, which they believe makes it difficult for fish to feed, to be a good thing and look for an early bite with hungry fish.
These tournaments don’t have a strong lunar influence , but there is fishing time during the morning lunar major activity period. This adds to the speculation of a good early bite. The mid day minor and the afternoon major begin after fishing hours, so they shouldn’t be much influence. The lunar activity charts predict Saturday as the best fishing, as the morning major extends farther into fishing hours. Both tournament have records of strong catches, so it will be interesting to see how the 2016 versions shape up.
The PCF Ultimate Fishing Truck will be on display at the Carolina Boatbuilders Tournament and the Mobile Command Center will be set up for the Band the Billfish Tournament. The Ultimate Fishing Truck and Mobile Command Center are part of the tournament package 1-2 punch offered by PCF in fulfilling their goal of being the one-click link between fishermen and tournaments.
PCF tournament services begin with a website design team that can build tournament websites that handle everything from registration, to tournament news and live streaming weigh-ins, with instant leaderboard, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram updates. Then, for those tournaments who would like, the PCF Ultimate Fishing Vehicle can tow the Mobile Command Center to the tournament locations where it can be set up on-site to be tournament headquarters, the weigh center, and the stage for captains meetings and awards ceremonies. The Mobile Command Center also includes an interview room for media to meet and interview the tournament winners.
NOTICE: Two June tournaments were postponed due to weather issues caused by Tropical Storm Bonnie. The Junior Jolly Mon and the Jolly Mon Classic King Mackerel Tournaments from Ocean Isle Fishing Center in Ocean Isle Beach were rescheduled for August 25 to 28. For more information visit www.oifc.com.
ICAST 2016: While it is not a tournament, the PCF Team will be in Orlando, FL. from July 12 to 15 at the International Convention for Allied Sportfishing Trades or ICAST, as it is called in the industry. ICAST brings tackle manufacturers from all over the word to the Orange County Convention Center to show their lines, especially their innovations and additions for 2017. The International Fly Tackle Dealer (IFTD) show has been a part of ICAST for the past several years and this year there will be a Marine Accessories Pavilion for the first time. ICAST is a closed show, but the PCF team will be there doing interviews and reviews and posting them here each day. For more information on ICAST, visit www.icastfishing.org.
July 2016 North Carolina Tournaments
July 6 to 9: Hatteras Grand Slam, Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, Village Marina, Hatteras, www.hatterasgrandslam.com.
July 9: All American Flounder Tournament – Wildlife Bait & Tackle, Southport, 910-457-9903.
July 9 and 10: The East Coast Got-Em-On Classic King Mackerel Tournament, Carolina Beach Boat Docks, Carolina Beach, www.gotemonliveclassic.com.
July 13 to 16: Barta Boys and Girls Club Billfish Tournament, Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, Beaufort Town Docks, Beaufort, www.bartabillfish.com.
July 16: Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge, Wrightsville Beach Marina, Wrightsville Beach, www.fishermanspost.com.
July 16: CCCF Spanish Mackerel Challenge, The Boat House, Beaufort, 252-222-6222.
July 22-24: Cape Lookout Shootout, The Boathouse, Beaufort, www.capeshootout.weebly.com.
July 23: Carolina Redfish Series Event 2, Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, Atlantic Beach, http://pcflive.com/carolinaredfish.
July 27-30: Carolina Boatbuilders Tournament, Pirate’s Cove Marina, Manteo, www.pcbgt.com.
July 28-30: Ducks Unlimited “Band the Billfish” Tournament, Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, Morehead City Waterfront, Morehead City, www.bandthebillfish.com.
July 29-30: Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club King Mackerel Tournament, Jaycee Park, Morehead City, www.raleighkmt.org.
July 30: TJM Charity Kayak and SUP Fishing Tournament, Hook, Line and Paddle/Grace United Methodist Church, Wilmington, www.hooklineandpaddle.com.
* If any tournaments were not included in the list, we apologize, but we did not have any information on them. Tournament directors are urged to send their tournament information and press kit to Capt. Jerry Dilsaver at [email protected]
