2008 Barta Billfish
The Junior anglers releasing billfish in the 2008 Barta Billfish Tournament pose with their tophies, courtesy of Danny Azzato and Fish Unlimited Taxidermy.
Although a hastily developing Tropical Storm Cristobal threatened to bring heavy rains and moderate winds to the event’s final fishing day, the 108 participating boats in the 2008 Barta Boys and Girls Club Billfish Tournament, held July 17-19 out of the Beaufort Town Docks, managed to release 25 sailfish, 2 white marlin, and a blue marlin over the two days of the all-release tournament.
However, and more importantly, they managed to add even more money to the $400,000 the event has already raised for the Boys and Girls Club of Coastal Carolina in just four short years since the event’s inception in 2004.
This year’s overall winner, the “Sea Marie” crew, from Jamestown, NC, was one of three boats to release two billfish during the tournament, letting their second fish go at 8:39 AM to take the top spot based on time. “Sea Marie” owner and captain Allen Blake fished the event with his wife Cindy, daughter Brittany, son Winston, Austin Cordell, Brian White, Sam Caviness, Joey Caviness, and Bobby Rice aboard the 32’ Albemarle, and the crew’s first sailfish release, at 8:57 Friday morning, was also one of the tournament’s first.
“We were fishing in shallow water, 15-16 fathoms,” Blake said, “around some live bottom spots a few miles southwest of the 14 Buoy. The satellite shot showed some good blue water had moved in there.”
The Barta is an all circle hook, all naked bait tournament, and while trolling a “Christmas tree” teaser made of naked baits and a bulb squid/ Sea Witch daisy chain as teasers, the anglers jumped off one sail just before Caviness saw the second come up on one of the teasers and fed it a naked ballyhoo. After dropping back and hooking the fish, Joey Caviness took the rod and fought the leaping sail in for a quick release five minutes after they’d reported the hookup.
Shortly thereafter, another fish grabbed a bait, but the anglers were unable to get a hookup. They fished the area for the remainder of the day, but had little other action.
However, no boat had released more than one billfish Friday, so the “Sea Marie” was tied for the lead on points and in first based on release time.
“Fishing was pretty slow Friday,” Blake explained, “so we were feeling good.”
On Saturday morning, the captain pointed the boat for the same area, but found good water a few miles inshore. They again found action early on after deploying the spread of teasers and naked baits.
“Sam saw the fish come up on the left teaser,” Blake said of what turned out to be the event’s winning fish. “He put the left flat over to her, but she missed it. Bobby had the left short in his hands, dropped it back to her, and she came right to it.”
After Rice dropped back to the fish for around five seconds, he put the reel in gear and hooked up. Again, the anglers got the fish to the boat quickly. They called in the third release of the morning just before 9:00 AM, and learned they were the first boat to reach two releases.
They raised one more sail over the morning, but couldn’t hook it either.
“I feel like that’s typical of circle hook fishing,” Blake said. “It’s a big advantage to see the fish before they take a bait, and that proved to be true for us. We ended up two for five, and the fish we caught were the fish we saw early.”
With the tropical storm approaching from the south and a lot of small boats in the event (as well as a lot of kids fishing), the tournament committee eventually made the decision to cut the fishing day short and called the tournament at noon. Since no boat had released three bills over the event, the two early morning “Sea Marie” sails propelled the crew to the top of the leaderboard.
Sam Caviness prepares to release one of the two sailfish that earned Jamestown NC's "Sea Marie" crew the overall victory in the 2008 Barta Billfish tournament. The sail fell for a naked ballyhoo rigged on a circle hook a few miles SW of the 14 Buoy.
Finishing with a white marlin and a sailfish release and topping the tournament’s Junior Angler Division, Capt. Jeff Garner and the “Yellowfin,” a 56’ Buddy Cannady from Morehead City, took second place overall.
Like the “Sea Marie,” the “Yellowfin” had action early on in the tournament as they raised a white marlin around 8:45 Friday morning. They were trolling a spread with several natural dredge teasers in 30 fathoms due east of Lookout Shoals when the fish came up, and 11-year-old angler George Rose took the rod after the white ate a naked circle-hooked ballyhoo.
“It was a great fight,” Garner said. “That was an 80-90 lb. white.”
After it executed a number of jumps, Rose was able to tire the marlin out and bring it to the boat in around 20 minutes.
The white ended up as their only billfish encounter on Friday, but the “Yellowfin” returned to the same area Saturday morning. They were rewarded with more early action when they raised a sail around 9:30. Rose again took the rod after the fish ate another naked ballyhoo, and he was able to fight the sail to the boat in a little over 10 minutes. When the release was called in at 9:44, this secured his spot as the event’s Top Junior Angler and gave the “Yellowfin” the second place overall prize.
Another crew from Jamestown, NC, the “Sea Hag,” took home the tournament’s third place overall prize releasing two sailfish.
With the Ledford and Kirkpatrick families and Capt. Ken Kramer and mate Travis Fulcher aboard the 63’ Omie Tillet, the anglers fished a spot inshore of the Big Rock in around 15 fathoms Friday, and they had their first sail take a naked ballyhoo about 12:00.
Luke Ledford took the rod after the sail took the bait, and settled in for a decent fight.
“That was a nice big one,” Hank Ledford recalled. “He did a lot of jumping. Luke reeled him almost all the way up, then we backed down on him and got the leader.”
After releasing the first sail at 12:23, the anglers didn’t see another billfish, but they did catch several dolphin.
Saturday they returned to the same area, and this time they raised and hooked a sail shortly before 10:00 while trolling in 10 fathoms. John Kirkpatrick was on the rod for Saturday’s fish, which jumped at first and then took the fight deep before leaping again just as Fulcher was about to grab the leader. The 10:01 release positioned them third in the line of boats with two billfish based on time, and the “Sea Hag” was the final boat to release two by the time the tournament committee called the day.
Second place in the Barta’s Junior Angler Billfish division went to Capt. Cameron Guthrie and Morehead City’s “Impulse” for a sail that angler Harrison Hunter released at 8:28 Saturday morning, the event’s first billfish.
Richard Stafford, aboard the “Sea Witch,” was the event’s third place junior, turning loose a sail at 8:48 Friday morning.
The event’s largest dolphin was a 44.15 lb. fish that angler Edward Julian caught while fishing with Capt. Thomas Wood aboard Morehead City’s “Dancin Outlaw.” Caroline Poole, aboard the “Bluewater,” captained by Harvey Shiflet, took the 20.90 lb. top tuna. A 26.60 lb. wahoo earned first place in that competition for Capt. Lee Edwards and the “Chilly Water.” And Tony Wielicki, aboard the “Just One More IV,” caught the first place 22.10 lb. king mackerel.
The Barta Boys and Girls Club Billfish Tournament was born of a shared desire to host a fun and comparatively low-cost blue water event that would raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Coastal Carolina. Instead of checks, the tournament’s winners receive handcrafted trophies made by Danny Azzato, of Fish Unlimited Taxidermy, allowing the event to donate all the money it generates to the Boys and Girls Club.
This year’s event will bring the total donated to the club close to $500,000, and that unbelievable economic impact would not be possible without the tournament’s 70 sponsors and annual 100+ participating boats.
