by Miss Libby
Posted on Thu Apr 25 2019
On April 16th, TUFF Club members enjoyed our fifth fishing excursion to Perkins Pond with eleven First Baptist Church youngsters. We enjoyed PERFECT weather and an astounding 71 fish including five bass were caught and released in less than two hours!
Unfortunately the weather was chilly and very windy at our April 20th "Fish for Fun" event at the CTCC dock. We had 28 folks from the Carolina Trace community drop by to brave the elements and see what the Lake Trace fishery had to offer. The dozen "Kid Casters" who attended reeled in a total of 15 white perch, bluegills, red ear sunfish and catfish. Click on the big pictures in the Photo Gallery below for more details. Special thanks to Escalante, the Carolina Trace Country Club owners for opening this event to the entire CT community!
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Posted on Sun Mar 24 2019
Save the Date: Saturday April 20th, 9:30 a.m. to noon
Location: Carolina Trace Country Club docks
Weather permitting, enjoy two hours with TUFF teachers during our 10th Annual Spring Break Fish for Fun lesson. Last year this event took place in March and if you check the Blog posts, you will see that the weather was windy & cold and the fishing was less than spectacular.
We are expecting MUCH better fishing off the dock in 2019. Youngsters 8 and under MUST be accompanied by a parent or grandparent. We have a dozen rod/reel combos available on a first-come basis if you can’t bring your own equipment and bait. For participants, we’ll also have a random drawing for a Shakespeare rod/reel donated by Julee Snyder of Southwind.
Join the fun! Any questions, call “Miss Libby” at 919-499-1300
Winter fishing updates: Double digit bass have been caught and released in the shallow areas of Lake Trace near the Traceway bridges and Harbor Creek area, although no official registrations with length/girth measurements have been received. To register your catch, click on Catches and go to New Catch form (non-members). If you get lucky, PLEASE handle these big pre-spawn females gently and release quickly. Good luck!
Our seasonal Derby runs every year from March 1st to November 15th, so "game on" folks! You don't have to be a member of TUFF or the Country Club to register for prizes. We have four categories (Bass, Crappie, Bream & Catfish) in the Adult and Youth (16 & younger) Divisions. Click on Derby to see past winners and where, when & how they caught their fish. Trace reside ... Read Moreby Miss Libby
Posted on Thu Nov 29 2018
The brief 2018 TUFF Derby Awards Ceremony took place November 24th at the Carolina Trace Gatehouse. Last year the weather outside was sleeting for our annual December awards event and group photo op. So this year yours truly decided to have it during the Thanksgiving holiday when the weather would be warmer and nicer. Right?? Park at the turn around, take a picture of the group with our beautiful Lake Trace in the background?
BUT NNNOOOOO. It poured torrential rains on that Saturday a.m. after Thanksgiving. Too soggy for that shoot, but thanks to CT Gatehouse who let us set up in their conference room! Plus many thanks to our 2018 winners who braved the weather and got together to claim their prizes and talk about their fishing adventures.
Back row: Don Facciolo (MC) with the new “Golden TUFF” Award for winning first place in all categories, including 1st Place Bass for a 13 pound, 13 ounce largemouth caught May 27; David Zorn (SM), 2nd Place Bass. Front Row: Sarah Bender (LT), 2nd Place Silver/Catfish; Elizabeth Bender, 1st Place Gold/Catfish; Nathaniel Koliba (SM), 2nd Place Silver/Crappie; and Gabriel Koliba, 3rd Place Bronze/Crappie. Not shown: Caroline Lee (EN), 1st Place Gold/Bass; Waylon Cox (SL), 1st Place Gold/Crappie.
Be sure to click on the big pics in our Photo Gallery to see details of who caught what, where, when and how! Youth Division winners (pics & details) are in the next blog.
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Posted on Thu Nov 29 2018
We had six youngsters who registered their catches and won a prize during our 2018 TUFF Derby which runs every year from March 1st to November 15th. Pictured above is Elizabeth Bender (LT) who reeled in this eleven inch catfish during our March 31st Spring Break "Fish for Fun" lesson at the CTCC dock. Last year Elizabeth was a 3rd place winner with a 10.5 inch catfish. Now she adds a 1st Place Catfish gold fish medallion to her bronze one from last year. Way to go Elizabeth!
Any Carolina Trace owner or renter, their family members or guests can enter to win a handsome engraved plaque (Adults) or beautiful Gold, Silver or Bronze Fishing Medallions (Youth 16 & Under) in Bass, Crappie, Bream or Catfish Categories. You don't have to be a member of TUFF or the Club to participate.
To register your catch, measure its length/girth, take a pic, and release your fish where you caught it. If you don't have a cloth tape measure, cut a piece of your fishing line to measure the length and cut another piece of line to measure the girth (the fattest part around the middle). In the Youth Division, we just need the length in the Crappie, Bream or Catfish Categories. For bass entries, also measuring the girth really helps us gather data about the fishery. To register online, click on Catches above and click on New Catch Form (non-members). Call Libby at 919-499-1300 to get posted on the TUFF Scoreboard or if you have questions.
Besides the coveted TUFF awards, in 2019 you can win the new "GOLDEN TUFF" fish trophy which will be awarded to any (16 or younger) TUFF Derby participant who registers a fish in all four Categories! Check out our Photo Gallery below and click on the big pictures for captions for details
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Posted on Thu Aug 16 2018
Three TUFF members helped three First Baptist Church teachers help 14 "Kid Casters" from the FBC Summer Program to go "Fish for Fun" at the fabulous Perkins pond off Route 421. This was our third outreach adventure with middle school children from this church, and we are so looking forward to the next time we get invited. Over 65 fish were caught and released. (During 2017 FFF trips we had 75 and 56 sizeable sunfish/bass caught and released at this AWESOME POND!)
Remember to click on the big pictures in our Photo Gallery to see captions. ... Read More