The North Carolina East Fishers of Men Fenwick Local Legends Weeknight Series held sixth tournament of the 2026 season on Yoepium River, Friday, July 24, 2026. The weather was overcast after an all morning rain that muddied up the creeks and a cool breeze with East to North East winds 10-15 mph that made for a rough ride for those teams that left the river in search of that winning sack. Seven teams participated in the tournament and all the teams attended the pre-tournament meeting.

Our message was provided by our Chaplain Kenneth Wallace. The scripture verse came from Ephesians 4 vs 32 which says “Be kind to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  If we have ever learned anything in bass fishing, we know one thing: patience matters. You can't force a bass to bite. You study the water, the conditions, choose the right lure, make your cast, and wait. Sometimes you catch the fish of a lifetime. Other times you go home with nothing but stories.

Our walk with Christ can be a lot like that. Jesus often used fishing to teach His disciples. He told fishermen they would become "fishers of men." While many of us enjoy bass fishing for fun, it can also remind us how we should treat people.Think about it. When we're fishing, we don't get angry at the water because the fish aren't biting. We don't throw all our rods and baits in the water because it's taking to much time. We stay patient. We keep casting.

What if we showed that same patience with people?

Everyone we meet is fighting battles we may never see. Some people are carrying grief. Others are struggling with fear, loneliness, or disappointment. Some people feel like no one listens to them. A kind word, a smile, or a helping hand might be exactly what they need that day.

We won't always agree with everyone, but a difference in opinions should not equate to hate or thinking someone is dumb.

Let me share a story.

A man was fishing alone one Saturday morning on his favorite water. He got caught in a long line of boats launching and was missing the morning bite. Just as he was about to get in his boat and go, he noticed another fisherman nearby struggling to launch his boat by himself. The man sighed, tied back to the dock, walked over, and spent fifteen minutes helping the stranger get everything launched and parked.

By the time they were done, they had missed the early morning bite. Neither of them caught many fish that day.

They ended up coming back to the ramp at the same time, the stranger said, "Thank you. I lost my wife a few months ago. This is the first time I've been out fishing since then. I almost gave up today—not just on fishing, but on believing anyone cared."

That fisherman probably went home thinking he had an unsuccessful day on the water.

God knew it was an extraordinary day because kindness caught something more important than a bass—it caught a hurting heart.

We often measure success by what we catch: the biggest fish, the most money, the promotions, or the accomplishments. God often measures success by how we love people.

When you release a bass back into the water, you're giving it another chance to grow. In a similar way, when we forgive someone, encourage someone, or show kindness to someone who's struggling, we're giving them hope for another day.

People may never remember if you won or not or how big your fish was.

But they will remember how you treated them.

So the next time you're standing on a boat, sitting on the bank, or making that perfect cast, remember that God has also placed people in your path. Some need encouragement. Some need forgiveness. Some simply need someone to notice them and listen.

We should be just as intentional about casting kindness into the lives of others as we are about casting a lure into the water. Because the greatest catch we'll ever make isn't a trophy bass. It's helping someone experience the love of Christ through the kindness we choose to show.

After reviewing the rules highlights, our fishermen set out on the Yoepium River in search of the winning catch. The fishermen found the bite to be pretty tough with muddy water from all the rain however as always, someone’s going to catch em.  There were 17 fish weighed for a total 27.30 pounds. 17 fish were released back into the water for 100% release. The average number of fish per team was 2, average weight per team 3.91 pounds and the average fish weight was 1.61 pounds.

When the teams came to the scale, Justin Chamblee and Josh Powell, brought five fish to the scales that weighed 8.29 pounds for First Place with a nice 2.14 pound fish to anchor his bag. He took home $195.00 dollars for first place.  Second Place went to the team of Brandon Jackson and Jackson Richards with a five fish limit that weighed 7.64 pounds.  Real Tree Big Fish honors went to Jim and Greg Dick with a nice 3.05 pound fish.  They took home $35.00 dollars for the Real Tree Big Fish. Jim and Greg also secured Third Place with 5.84 pounds. There were only two place paid due to the number of boats entered in the tournament.

We would like to thank all those who helped with making this tournament a success, especially Kenneth Wallace, Gary Sawyer, Eric Ball, and Isaiah Seigh and Josh Powell as well as all our fishermen who helped with set-up and take down of the scales and equipment.   We also would like to thank all the Fishers of Men sponsors; Falcon Boats, Mercury, RealTree Fishing, Power Pole, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Fenwick, TH Marine, E3 Apparel and Frogg Toggs. We are very appreciative for their support!

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	32787	Justin Chamblee Josh Powell	5	2.14	8.29	0	8.29	200
2	39787	Brandon Jackson Jackson Richards	5	1.9	7.64	0	7.64	199
3	30952	Jim Dick Greg Dick	3	3.05	5.84	0	5.84	198
4	30953	Kenneth Wallace Jason Samson	3	0	4.06	0	4.06	197
5	32785	Gary Sawyer Eric Ball	1	2.78	2.78	0	2.78	196
6	30954	Patrick Seigh Isaiah Seigh	0	0	0	0	0	195
7	39615	Hunter Mason	0	0	0	0	0	195
First Place Justin Chamblee and Josh Powell with a five fish limit that weighed 8.29 pounds with a nice 2.14 pound fish to anchor their wining weight Second Place Brandon Jackson and Jackson Richards with a five fish limit that weighed 7.64 pounds Third Place Jim Dick and Greg Dick with 3 fish that weighed 5.84 pounds that included the Real Tree Big Fish for the tournament that weighed 3.05 pounds Kenneth Wallace displays 3 fish that weighed 4.06 pounds Eric Ball holds a nice 2.78 pound fish