It’s Wednesday afternoon, and a team of North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) volunteers is cycling through a steady line of anglers at the Avon Fire Station. Some are longtime competitors, others are first-timers—each signing up for the 16th Annual NCBBA Red Drum Tournament, collecting their packets of fishing goodies, and taking a moment to chat with tournament organizers and association leaders before heading to the beach.
Inside the station, the scene feels more like a family reunion than a formal registration site. The volunteers hand out shirts and hats, check off names, and point newcomers toward tables lined with raffle prizes and custom-built rods, all while trading stories from tournaments past.
By the time registration wrapped up midweek, 593 anglers had signed up—a record-breaking number in the event’s decades-long history, as the tournament has been held under different names for roughly 40 years.
Participants arrived from 17 different states and one foreign country, England, underscoring the tournament’s growing reputation far beyond the Outer Banks.
“We were hoping for 600 and came pretty close,” said Mike Regan, NCBBA Director. “It’s amazing to see how much this event has grown. People are traveling hundreds, even thousands of miles to fish here.”
Among the crowd this year were four women from Minnesota, who flew in after spotting the tournament on Facebook. “They showed up Tuesday night and said, ‘We’d like to fish,’” said tournament organizer Janice Regan. “They signed up on the spot—it’s their first time on Hatteras Island, and they were so excited to be here.”
A tournament built on tradition and teamwork
The Red Drum Tournament has long been one of the signature surf-fishing events on Hatteras Island, and behind its success is a small but devoted team of volunteers who begin planning a year in advance.
“We start right after the last one ends,” said Janice Regan. “We take notes during the event—what went well, what didn’t—and then we hold after-action meetings and send surveys to the anglers. The goal is to make each year better than the last.”
Preparation heats up in January, when registration officially opens online. By October, hundreds of packets are assembled and carefully sorted by hand—each containing a tournament shirt, hat, official measuring board, door-prize ticket, and locally made gear like tackle rigs handcrafted by Outer Banks residents. “We call them the bling packs,” said Janice Regan. “They’re full of local pride.”
The rules of the reel
The NCBBA Red Drum Tournament is a surf-casting competition spanning multiple ramps on Cape Hatteras National Seashore, running from Wednesday registration to Saturday’s award banquet. Anglers compete to catch and release the longest red drum and other eligible species, with all fish measured by a team of 60 judges stationed along the island’s beaches.
Each fish is measured down to the nearest quarter inch using official boards. The process ensures consistency and fairness across hundreds of entries. “We have videos on the NCBBA website showing exactly how to measure,” said Lee Barrett, a longtime tournament judge. “It keeps everyone on the same page, and it’s part of why people trust our results.”
Judging shifts are six hours each and run around the clock. “It’s not always easy to fill those late-night slots,” said Barrett. “But we’ve got more returning judges than ever—over 40 veterans—and a lot of new folks eager to get involved.”
Winners are determined by length, with cash prizes awarded in multiple categories. The longest drum of the tournament earns $2,000, and there’s even a special award just for the judges themselves—the “Judges’ Drum”—for those who serve in at least two sessions.
A zero-profit event with 100% local impact
For all is competitive spirit, what truly defines the Red Drum Tournament is its community focus. “This is a zero-profit tournament,” explained Mike Regan. “Every dollar that comes in goes right back into Hatteras Island.”
The event’s operating expenses—permits, supplies, and basic equipment—are covered first, but everything else is donated to local causes. “Last year, we raised about $45,000,” said Mike Regan. “And with the record turnout this year, we’ll exceed that.”
Funds are distributed to local school initiatives, youth sports programs, ocean rescue teams, and many more local nonprofits. The group also funds scholarships for Hatteras students and routinely donates to the fire departments and park service partners who help facilitate beach access. “We always find a way to spend it here,” said past president Al Adam. “That’s the mission.”
The tournament’s raffle table—lined with custom rods, reels, and tackle—helps fuel that mission. Each item is donated by local rod builders, many of whom craft one-of-a-kind pieces just for the event. “They donate their time and materials because they believe in what we do,” said director Tom Brueckner. “And when someone buys a ticket, that money goes straight back into the community.”
From clean beaches to adopted ORV ramps
The NCBBA’s impact extends far beyond tournament weekend. Founded in 1964, the organization has spent six decades promoting responsible beach driving, fishing access, and conservation. Its members were instrumental in the creation of the “Adopt-a-Beach” program, the first of its kind on the Outer Banks.
“Every ramp on the island is adopted now,” said Adam. “That started with NCBBA adopting the first ramp a year or so ago.”
Their volunteerism was especially visible in September and October 2025, when ten oceanfront homes collapsed along the Buxton shoreline. Within hours, NCBBA members were among the first on scene, helping remove debris and clear access areas. “That cleanup went on for weeks,” said one Brueckner. “We had teams at Ramp 23 and others scattered across the Buxton beaches. It was heartbreaking, but everyone came together.”
That same commitment to stewardship carries over into every event the group hosts—from quarterly highway cleanups to the annual tournament itself. “We’re more than a fishing club,” said Mike Regan. “We’re a community service organization that happens to love the beach.”
More than a tournament
At the Avon Fire Station, that spirit of service peeked through in every conversation. Between the raffle tables and T-shirt displays, longtime members greeted newcomers, swapped fish stories, and helped visiting families navigate the registration process.
One of those newcomers was Amy Cooper of western North Carolina, who has fished the tournament for over a decade but brought new friends this year. “Five of them had never fished in the ocean before,” she said with a laugh. “We just told them, ‘Come down, you’ll learn fast.’”
The camaraderie extends even to the youngest anglers. Thirteen-year-old Colton, fishing his first Red Drum Tournament, summed it up best. “I’ve been fishing for years,” he said. “But this is my first time here, and I just want to catch something big.”
Looking ahead
By Wednesday afternoon—before a single line had even touched the water—Janice Regan already had a page of notes for how to make the 2026 NCBBA Red Drum Tournament even better.
It’s become an annual ritual for the longtime organizer. For the NCBBA, the goal of creating a family-friendly, unforgettable tournament goes hand in hand with the association’s broader mission of service—giving back to the Hatteras Island community through local donations, youth programs, and volunteer projects. And that mission doesn’t end when the last fish is measured or the prizes are handed out.
“We’ll celebrate on Sunday,” Janice Regan said. “Then on Monday, we’ll already be talking about what we can do better next year.”
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