The North Carolina East Fishers of Men Firefly Weeknight Series held their eighth and final tournament of the 2024 season on the Little River, August 16, 2024. This was the showdown between Team Wallace/Sampson in first place and Team Meads in second place for the Points Championship. With one point separating the teams, this tournament was going to be a “nail biter”.

The afternoon started with temperatures in the high 80’s with sunny skies and a winds 10 to 15 mph from the South. Four teams participated in the tournament and all teams attended the pre-tournament meeting.

The meeting was started with a message from Kenneth Wallace, who is our Firefly Week -night Series Chaplain. Kenneth spoke about sin and how it separates us from God. We sin and promise not to sin again however it is something we can’t do! Shame hits us and it’s difficult to confess our sin for fear of being judged by others. At times it makes us feel good for the moment, we try to justify it and begin to think “is this really a sin??” and the googling starts to try to justify your actions. Kenneth went on by giving us the TRUTH.. Anything you need in your life is found in Jesus! God’s word tells us that nothing of this world even comes close to God’s Love. Romans 2:4 tells us that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. He spoke about getting rid of our sin referencing James 5:16 which tells us “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”. Kenneth tells us that Jesus died to give us his righteousness! Because we have accepted Jesus we are already in right standing with God. Jesus gave us his righteousness so you don’t have to work to be in right standing with God.. You are already there. He closed us in prayer! Another powerful message to get us primed for the evening.

After reviewing the rules highlights, our fishermen set out on the water in search of the winning catch. The fishermen found the 86 degree water making the bite a bit stingy.  There were 15 fish weighed for a total of 32.47 pounds. 14 of the fish were released back into the water for 93.3% release. The average number of fish per team was 3, average weight per team 8.12 pounds and the average fish weight was 2.16 pounds.  

When all the teams weighed in, our team of Chris Meads and Zach Meads, brought a five fish limit to the scales that weighed 10.87 pounds after a .25 pound penalty for a dead fish for First Place. They also had a nice 3.38.pound kicker fish that was the Big Fish for the tournament. They received a check for $140.00 dollars for the winning sack and $20.00 for the Big Fish.  Our second place finisher were Patrick and Isaiah Seigh who brought 5 fish to the scales that weighed 10.28 pounds with a 3.28 pound kicker.  Third Place went Kenneth Wallace and Jason Samson who brought four fish to the scales that weighed 8.22 pounds.  Due to the number of participating teams, only one place paid for the tournament.

The final tally for the Point’s Championship went down to the wire but at the end of the day, Team Meads ended with 1586 points for First place, Team Wallace and Sampson ended up in second place with 1585 points and Team Seigh took third place with 1562 points.  

We would like to thank all those who helped with making this tournament a success, especially Kenneth Wallace, Gary Sawyer, Isaiah Seigh as well as all our fishermen who helped and participated. Special Thanks to Firefly Outdoors for sponsoring this Weeknight  tournament series.

Fishers of Men would like to thank all our National Sponsors; Berkley , BassCat Boats, Abu Garcia, Mercury, Fenwick, Realtree Fishing, FireFly Outdoor & Marine, Power-Pole,  T&H Marine, Frogg Toggs, X2 Power and Jacobs Glass.

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	30973	Chris Meads Zachery Meads	5	3.38	11.12	0.25	10.87	200
2	30954	Patrick Seigh Isaiah Seigh	5	3.28	10.29	0	10.29	199
3	30953	Kenneth Wallace Jason Samson	4	0	8.22	0	8.22	198
4	31888	Gary Sawyer Terisa Sawyer	1	3.09	3.09	0	3.09	197
First Place Chris and Zachery Meads with 10.87 pounds. They are the NC East Weeknight Series Points Champions.