There’s still time to register for the 15th Annual North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) Red Drum Tournament

The 15th annual North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) Red Drum Tournament is scheduled for October 23 to October 26, 2024, and tournament organizers state that the 500 available spots are already filling up fast for this popular annual event.

“Registration is ahead of previous years to date, and if you want to enjoy the competition and 60 hours of wide open fishing, it would be wise to register now,” stated the NCBBA in an update.

Participants must also sign up by Monday, September 23, to receive a tournament T-shirt. “This is the latest that we can order T-shirts and have them in time for the tournament,” stated the NCBBA. “We may have some extra shirts for sale, but no guarantee of available sizes.”

The 2023 NCBBA Tournament featured a record 455 anglers, with 120 red drum caught and released.

The annual tournament offers miles of naturally isolated fishing grounds along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and anglers fish from ORV Ramp 23 to Ramp 45, if availability permits.

“Because of a King Tide and beach erosion we had to make some changes in the ramps that we were using for the 2023 tournament,” stated the NCBBA. “The addition of ramp 45 was well received and was very popular. We will keep that ramp as part of this year‘s tournament [and] we hope to have all the previous ramps available to us as well.”

During the 60 hours of wide-open fishing, anglers may fish where and when they wish, with no assigned stations, if the area is accessible by vehicle from midnight on Wednesday to noon on Saturday.

Judges are still needed for the tournament, and all are welcome to apply. If you choose to judge two 6-hour sessions, your entry fee is refunded and you will be eligible for a $1,000 cash prize in the “judges only” category, while also vying for all the additional prizes which totaled over $13,000 in value in 2023.

For questions about judging please contact Al Adam at al.adam@ncbba.org. For more information on the tournament and to secure a spot now before time runs out, visit https://www.ncbba.org/red-drum-tournament/.