A Wild and memorable year for the 2025 DIFF Fishing Tournament!

DIFF President, Lance Brown with his winning Red Drum 

Fishing tournaments are always full of fun and excitement — but this year, Mother Nature decided to make things really interesting. Between the wind, rain, flooding, king tides, and even a government shutdown, the 2025 tournament tested everyone’s patience and perseverance. If you weren’t there, let’s just say… you missed quite a challenge!

But despite it all — we still had the tournament. I can’t thank our Board of Directors and volunteers enough for making it happen. Their dedication kept everything running smoothly, no matter what the weather threw our way.

We had 227 total entries, including 22 youth participants — and I’ll say it again: keep bringing those kids and grandkids! Our future in fishing depends on them.

The week started off with some fantastic fishing and plenty of big drum being caught. Even as the weather turned, the big drum bite stayed hot. However, the strong northeast wind and current made things tricky for those chasing sea mullet, bluefish, and black drum — many of us watched our bait drift away faster than we could cast it!

A few anglers discovered the “pond” on Shark Island, which formed over the summer and was connected and open for fishing this year. A lot of our weighed-in catches came from that new spot.

Our big winner this year was none other than Lance Brown, member of the famous Yadkin County Boys and our current DIFF President. Lance landed an impressive 50” x 26” drum, and even caught three drum in the 50-inch class prior to the tournament! Congratulations to Lance and to all of our winners who battled the elements and came out on top.

Thanks again to everyone who participated, volunteered, and supported this year’s event. Despite the challenges, we made some great memories — and we can’t wait to see everyone again next year!

Brian Trotter

Tournament Director