Although the fishing was slow and no one caught a red drum, the weather was great and everyone had a super time.

The top prize went to Bryan Major of Richmond, Va. He landed the only legal-sized speckled trout of the morning, a 14–inch beauty.

“I’m surprised a fourteen inch fish took the whole thing,” he said.

Major said he nearly missed the tournament along with his yearly trip to the Outer Banks for Thanksgiving due to an operation he had Oct. 11.

A sergeant for the King William County Sheriff’s Office, he’s currently on short-term disability because he lost the bottom part of his left leg to cancer, but he and his brother Rob seemed to have a great time and they loved the sunny weather.

“He paid for me to come out and be in the tournament today,” Major said. “He pays and I win.”

With not much else happening with the game fish, the judges were creative in deciding who would win trophies in the all important exemplary category, according to Tournament Director Daryl Law.

“We were able to give the kids trophies for catches including a crab, a skate and a shark,” he said. “Fortunately, all of these animals were released alive and unharmed.”

Nearly everyone who recorded a catch walked away with a trophy and everyone who came to the awards ceremony left with a goodie bag stuffed with a hat, Gotcha lure and some tackle courtesy of Sea Striker.

The money collected from the $15 registration fee went back into the education department for future events, Law added.

“We hope to have an even bigger and better showing next year,” he said.

For those who registered early for the event, they were able to take advantage of a coupon book at Tanger Outlets during the holiday weekend.

Some of the parents fishing in the event took advantage of the Marine Camp offered by the education department at the same time Saturday morning.

At one point, these children could be seen on the pier pulling a phytoplankton net and learning how to read the clarity of the water, said Education Coordinator Christin Brown.

The additional game fish winners were: Matthew McKenna, 8–inch sand perch; Shane McKenna, 5.5-inch croaker; Chris Nein, 7.2–inch gray trout and Sam Jones, 11– inch black drum.

All total, there were seven members of the McKenna family of Southern Shores in the tournament. Nein hails from Chesapeake, Va. and Jones is from Williamsburg, Va.

In the exemplary category, Ben Rollason of Kill Devil Hills caught the largest of three skates measured – a whopping 34.5-inch long skate, which won a trophy.

Rollason, a season pass holder, has certainly put his time in at the pier so far this year.

Brendan Leadem of St. Augustine, Fla. also made the most of his catch, a 34-inch spiny dogfish, which also won a trophy.

The blow toads were also biting Saturday morning and Wes Gaddy of Kill Devil Hills and Major tied for first as they each scored a 9.5–inch fish.

Last but certainly not least, Aidan Shea-Roop of Winchester, Va. was awarded a trophy for his 2-inch crab.

Thanks to Ace Hardware in Nags Head, who donated a handful of wooden yard sticks to the pier, anglers could easily check the length of the speckled trout and other fish before throwing them back or scoring them.

Jennette’s Pier would also like to thank the Nags Head Surf Fishing Club and its head judge Ronnie Scott of Nags Head who also made their measuring sticks available for the tournament.

With that in mind, the education staff of Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head has planned a slate of six different classes for fishermen and women. Perhaps the most unique one offered this fall is Catch-it, Clean-it, Cook-it with pier staffer Charlie Brewer.

The three-hour class includes a session on basic fishing from the pier, then cleaning techniques such as making filets and then cooking the catch. Brewer also instructs folks on how to create several seafood side staples like hush puppies and coleslaw.

Just think of the old Southern Sportsman television show with Franc White.

And so far, the pier’s version has been a hit.

“I teach just the real basics, the other day it started off with bottom fishing and how to cut baits different ways,” Brewer said. He also showed them how to tie several types of knots.

If the blues are biting they may even jig fish with a Gotcha. Once the cooler has a few fish iced-down, they head to the cleaning stations. Brewer shows them how to “head and gut” a fish as well as how to fillet them.

“I let them do it – its real hands on,” he said. “Most of them just don’t know how, they think it’s harder than it is.

“The more you do it, the better you get,” Brewer added.

Perhaps the best part of the class comes in the kitchen, he said. Brewer starts off with his “rustic” homemade coleslaw he prepares with a knife, not a food processor.

“It’s my personal recipe,” he said.

And then it’s on to breading and frying fish. He uses different seasonings each time. Salt and pepper are typically in the mix. Brewer also likes Old Bay, lemon pepper and fresh lemons.

Hush puppies round out the meal and leave everyone full and happy.

“They were tickled to death,” he said. “One lady kept coming around all week talking about it and saying ‘hey, that’s my teacher.’”

“She had never even heard of a hush puppy.” Brewer said. “She said ‘it must be a Southern thing.’”

Catch-it, Clean-it, Cook-it is offered Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Call 252-255-1501, ext. 200.

That’s what Patricia Scott of Atlanta said about Educator Chris Crockett during a Surf Fishing class at Jennette’s Pier last Thursday.

She and husband Tom, who own property in Kill Devil Hills, were two of four anglers soaking up a boat load of knowledge Crockett shared with them on fishing in the surf.

The two-hour long class covers a number of important elements of beach fishing including how to read the beach, fish sloughs, catch bait fish with a cast net as well as what type of rigs and bait to use.

Crockett started with hooks and said he likes red hooks best and he doesn’t use the long shank type. He usually goes with No. 4 and No. 6 sized hooks and he doesn’t scrimp on the bait in ideal or “choice conditions.”

For him, double dipping means a strip of squid on the straight part of the hook and a “tag of shrimp on the hook tip.”

This is when Patricia perked up.

“It’s a smorgasbord – it’s like one of those seafood buffets – a squid strip, shrimp and Fishbites,” she said. “Chris, you talk like a fish.”

When they talked about rigs, Crockett explained that fish see red or orange beads as fish eggs and the spinner as a silver-side minnow. Add all of the baits together and fish just find it irresistible.

“It’s the simple chain of life all on one rig,” he said.

While red hooks are his favorite choice, gold are second because they flash. He also uses circle hooks and explains there’s no need to set the hook when using one.

Then he explained the best way to put a finger mullet on the hook depending on whether it was alive or not. If it’s live, don’t hit the brain when hooking it up.

Patricia again with another good question: “Do you catch your own mullets?”

Naturally, Crockett said “yes” and later in class, he showed everyone how to throw a cast net.

From hand-tying rigs to using a Bubble Box to keep bait alive in a bucket of sea water, Crockett covered such a wide variety of information, the students took notes and Patricia recorded the demonstrations with her phone camera.

As the secrets kept coming out, two of the anglers, Charlie Hanney and Bill Southworth, started to formulate their surf fishing plans for later that day on kill Devils Hills beaches.

The proud pair of self-described Green Bay Packers “Cheeseheads,” couldn’t wait to wet a line.

They both gave Crockett high marks for the class.

Hanney said he enjoyed Crockett’s personality and the way he came across as a “man of the street.”

“It was at a level everybody could understand,” he said.

Southworth said he was chomping at the hook to wet a line.

“[I learned] how to saltwater fish,” he said. “It’s really helpful to learn these saltwater fishing techniques.”

The Scotts each said they were impressed with the “breadth of knowledge” Crockett shared with the class.

Patricia again focused on how Crockett’s baiting techniques made “delectable morsels” for the fish.

Tom liked the way Crockett kept things moving.

“He went from one important thing to the next,” he said.

And that’s just the way he thinks … like a fish.

Taught by pier staffer Rick Rogers, the new class has been quite a hit with vacationers and residents alike Education Coordinator Christin Brown said.

Now, another new advanced class will be offered, she said. Pier security guard Charlie Brewer will offer Introduction to Jig Fishing every Thursday morning. He plans to teach his students how to jig for fish such as blues, Spanish mackerel and trout.

Participants will also learn different jigging techniques including slow, deep and vertical. Anglers will become skilled at tying leaders and learn how to determine the best season and water temperature for different fish species.

Both Rogers and Brewer are avid fishermen and each worked at the old Jennette’s Pier before it was damaged by Hurricane Isabel.

As for Roger’s Advanced Fishing class, he first set everyone up with a flounder rig on the deck near the pier house. Then, it was out to the end of the pier for pin-rig and live-bait fishing.

“We’ll get our pin rig set up,” first, he said.

Pin-rig fishing mainly targets cobia and king mackerel, Rogers noted.

He likes to fish the south side corner at the east end Jennette’s. That way, cobia swimming north along the beach from Oregon Inlet will get to the pier and go around his bait.

“We’ve got the best spot right here,” he said. “Cobia, he’ll trace the pier.”

But the seasoned angler let the folks know that there’s a reason it’s called fishing not catching.

“We’re not guaranteeing fish,” Rogers said.

With that said, he loosened the drag on the conventional reel coupled to a huge rod used for the anchor line.

“Get her swingin’ a little bit,” Rogers said and then cast the anchor overhand.

“That’s pretty good,” he said.

He used an old-style anchor weight with wire “legs” Rogers said was left over from the old pier days. He was careful to set the anchor just as a boater would do with a danforth-style anchor.

Then he showed everyone how the pin works. It attaches to the anchor line and releases itself easily when a fish takes the bait at the surface.

Speaking of the bait, Rogers scurried over to retrieve his bait bucket hanging in the ocean on a line from the pier.

He uses a wire leader and three hooks for the live-bait rig. Rogers hooked-up a blue fish and then sent it down the anchor line.

“Keep it right on the surface so it looks like a fish in distress,” he said.

Next, Rogers quickly set up a live-bait rig. He uses a large pyramid sinker with a leader to keep this live fish a foot or so from the bottom. Anglers should hook the live fish through its back just behind the dorsal fin.

Now, it was time to tickle some flounder into biting at the other end of the pier. First, however, Rogers said he needed someone to watch the two live-bait rigs.

Blake Houston, 12, said he didn’t mind watching them.

So, Rogers asked some of the other live-bait anglers to help Houston.

“Listen to these fellers – they’ll help you out,” Rogers told Houston.

At the other end of the pier near shore, the lighter rod and reel combos were rigged and ready. For flounder fishing, Rogers recommends uses an inline sinker and a regular hook.

It’s the bait and how and where you fish the line that matters most, he said.

After baiting up with some minnows that Rogers had caught with a cast net in the surf earlier, the rest of the seven anglers in the class tried their luck from the pier near the surf zone.

“I like to sling it up underneath,” he said, “use him almost as a lure.”

Before long, different members of the class were hooked up to various sized flounder. Next, the minnows ran out so Rogers showed everyone how to cut up a spot to look like a minnow complete with a tail.

The bites continued and even picked up with Roger’s special fillets.

Gavin Washburn, 14, of Newport News, Va. soon reeled one in.

“That’s the time I’ve ever seen a live flounder,” his dad Tony said.

“It’s the first one I’ve ever caught,” Gavin replied.

In the mix were plenty of blue crabs who have found fertile feeding grounds underneath the pair of fishing cleaning stations.

“The crabs are about to whoop us ain’t they?” Rogers asked.

“You got another one partner?” he asked one of his young students. “I’ll help you. It looks like you hooked him.”

Cameron Swanson, 9, and his dad Bobby Edwards of Bedford, Va. were having a grand time.

And Rogers was there to keep ‘em happy.

“Are you gonna try again?” he asked. “I got specialty bait for you.”

For the record, the class caught a half dozen or so flounder. As for Houston, who volunteered to watch the live-bait rigs during and long after class was over, Rogers waited until quitting time late that afternoon to reel everything in.

Houston had stayed out there by himself all day long waiting for the big one.

First, his daughter bought him a three day pass to fish on Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. Then, he hooked up to the largest fish he ever caught – a four foot long angel shark.

Latimer used one of Jennette’s landing nets to pull the shark out of the ocean and up onto the pier deck. After snapping several photos, he released it unharmed.

“I hauled it up myself using the pier net,” he said in an email. “It wasn’t easy and it took some time.”

Latimer also caught two skates that same weekend.

All in all, it was a great three days of fishing.

“I very much enjoyed the new pier and went home with lots of souvenirs,” Latimer said.

As well as a great story to tell.

The top female angler was Audrey Curles of Manteo with her 12-inch flounder. The top male angler was William Revis with a 9-inch pigfish. These two winners received two trophies; one for top angler and one for winning a category.

Every winner received a rod and reel combination complements of Jennette’s Pier. They also each won a trophy for winning their respective category.

Additional winners were: Devon Craddock, 7 -7/8-inch spot; Elise Gray, 11-1/4 sea mullet and Matt Swain, 8-1/8 sand perch.

Awards were also given for unusual catches: Sebastian Berruet, 49-inch sting ray; Danon McGee, 5-3/4 blow toad; John Mark Swain, 3-inch pigfish (smallest) and Kenneth Hardin, blue crab. Jordon Brozell was also a winner as he reeled in a spider crab, untangled the fishing line around it, and then released it.

Sea Striker donated a mess of giveaways and each family left with a goodie bag. Mark your calendars now for next year’s event, which has been tentatively set for Saturday, June 9, 2012, same time, same place.

Bryan “Dip Net” White of Virginia Beach, right, landed this big-time cobia while fishing from the end of Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head on Saturday, June 4 around 1 p.m. He’s pictured with his new pier buddy, Sebastian Berruet of Kitty Hawk. The fish weighed in at 43 pounds.

Richie Rode shows off the first fish caught on Jennette’s Pier after the grand opening ceremony May 21. Rode, who hails from Bridgeville, Pa., said he starting fishing on the old Jennette’s Pier some 30 years ago.