The North Carolina East Fishers of Men Firefly Weeknight Series held their third tournament of the 2023 season on the Yoepium River Friday August 25, 2023. The weather posed some tough conditions for our fishermen with temperatures in the high 90’s with a heat index over 100 degrees and winds out of the southwest 15-25 mph. 14 teams participated in the tournament and all teams attended the pre-tournament meeting.

The meeting was started with a prayer and our Chaplain Kenneth Wallace providing the message. Ken referenced Mathew 13:44-46 and Romans 5:8. He asked who wanted a $20.00 bill he held in his hand because it had value. He went on to say even though we mess-up and at times are sinful, we too value to God. Jesus gave up his life for us because we have value no matter what our condition. Special thanks to our Chaplain Kenneth Wallace for the inspirational message to begin our tournament evening.

After reviewing the rules highlights, our fishermen made their way Yoepium River in search of the winning catch. The fishermen found the wind to be a factor when running to their starting spot.  There were 39 fish weighed for a total of 89.8 pounds. 35 of the fish were released back into the water for 89.7% release. The average number of fish per team was 2, average weight per team 6.42 pounds and the average fish weight was 2.30 pounds. When the teams came to the scale, Chris Meads and Zachery Meads had the winning catch that weighed 12.33 pounds with a 4.10 pound kicker. The first place prize was $400.00 dollars. Second place was awarded to Jason Smith and Sam Spruill who brought 11.35 pounds to the scales, with a 3.57 pound kicker. They took $90.00 dollars home for their efforts. Third place with a five fish limit that weighed 9.96 pounds was Isaiah Seigh and Patrick Seigh. Due to the number of boats, only two places were paid.   The big fish award for the tournament went to the team of Tim Fallon and Richard Griswold Jr. who weighed a nice 6.09 pounds fish.

We would like to thank all those who helped with making this tournament a success, especially Kenneth Wallace, Gary Sawyer, Isaiah Seigh, Tom Houlroyd and Bruce Simons as well as all our fishermen. We also would like to thank all the Fishers of Men sponsors; Bass Cat, Mercury, Realtree Fishing, Power Pole, Firefly Outdoor and Marine, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Spiderwire, TH Marine and X2Power.