NCBBA’s fourth annual Red Drum Tournament is Oct. 24-27

The fourth annual Red Drum Tournament, sponsored by the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association, will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 24, and run through Saturday, Oct. 27. 

Registration at Frank and Fran’s Tackle shop in Avon will begin at noon on Wednesday.

Fishing begins at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, and ends at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. All fishing must be between Ramps 23 and 38 on northern Hatteras Island.

The cost for the tournament is $100, which includes a T-shirt.  You can register and pay the fee online at http://ncbbaonline.com/.

All participants will also need a NPS beach driving permit, which costs $50 for a week or $120 for a calendar year.

The tournament is “grandfathered” in the seashore final ORV rule and plan, and the Park Service has issued a special use permit to NCBBA to allow tournament participants to fish on village beaches that are seasonally closed and in vehicle-free areas that are not closed for resource protection or for safety reasons.  That will allow fishing from the Rodanthe Pier south to the beach closure south of Ramp 38, which is just south of Avon.

NCBBA urges anglers to register as soon as possible, so the tournament committee can get an idea of how many will be fishing.  The group needs 200 anglers to break even after prizes.

Proceeds will go to the NCBBA legal fund to help offset the expenses incurred by the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance in its lawsuit against the Park Service that seeks to overturn the final rule.

Again, this year NCBBA asks for the donation of non-perishable food items for the Hatteras Island Food Pantry and will have a Toys for Tots drive during the tournament.

Last year, 235 anglers fished in the third annual tournament. Those fishermen included 21 women, 35 seniors (over 65), and 11 juniors (under 16). They came from 15 states and were competing for more than $12,000 in cash and prizes. They caught a total of 41 drum, 32 of which qualified for the minimum 40-inch length needed for a North Carolina release citation.

For more information, go to the NCBBA website at http://ncbbaonline.com/.