Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament
Capt. Ralph Griffin, mate Jonathan Oglesby, and Georgia Murray, Dawn Maynard, Debbie Campbell, Laurie Huff, Ashley Herring, and Holden Royal--the crew of the "Chainlink"-- took first place in the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament, releasing seven white marlin in two days fishing to amass 875 points and earn the $29,560 winners' check.
Adding a sextet of white marlin releases to the sole white they released on the event’s first fishing day edged Morehead City’s “Chainlink” crew into the winner’s circle at the 2011 Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament, held June 29 to July 2 out of Wrightsville Beach Marina.
Capt. Ralph Griffin and mate Jonathan Oglesby fished an all-female crew on the 54’ Jarrett Bay for the event, consisting of Georgia Murray, Dawn Maynard, Debbie Campbell, Laurie Huff, and Holden Royal.
“We had a great day Friday,” Griffin said. “Three of those ladies have fished this tournament with us for five years, one for four, and one for three, and they’ve endured a lot of mess. We’ve had sorry weather the last five years, and they just go fishing. They’ve really paid their dues and earned it—I love them to death.”
On their first fishing day, Thursday, the anglers headed for a patch of water that Griffin found on a satellite surface temperature shot, but he had to stop short because of strong thunderstorms.
Fishing on the 160/170 Line in 100 fathoms, they landed a 25 lb. dolphin and released their first white, with Campbell doing the angling duties.
The crew pulled a dredge, a squid daisy chain, and an Ilander chain for teasers, with a trio of blue marlin plugs and dink ballyhoo for hook baits. It was a dink bait that fooled Campbell’s white.
The marlin and dolphin were it for the “Chainlink” ladies’ action on the first day.
“Yesterday we were able to get where we wanted to be,” Griffin reported at the awards ceremony. “We fished out towards the Same Ol’ Hole in 100-120 fathoms.”
The crew’s day got off to a fine start when Maynard and Royal battled a pair of white marlin to successful releases after they attacked the dink baits just before 9:00.
“We had pretty enough water,” Griffin continued, “but there was so much grass in it. Eventually we found a little bit cooler water with less grass. The majority of the billfish seen in the tournament were in about a two-mile square right there.”
The action quieted down until around 11:00 that morning, when another pair of whites entered their spread and committed to the dink baits, and Maynard and Royal were again on the rods.
John Horton and the crew of the "Trophy," out of Wrightsville Beach, released three white marlin and five sailfish over two days of fishing to tie for points, but take home second place based on time in the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament.
“Those fish went in different directions,” Griffin explained, “so we put Dawn on the bow and went after the closest one. We got the leader on that one, got Dawn back in the cockpit, and got the second fish.”
With four white marlin releases before lunch, the anglers were already having a banner day, but it got even better when another pair of white marlin fell for the crew’s dink baits less than a half-hour later.
“Laurie and Georgia were on those fish,” Griffin explained.
Again the marlin took off on opposing vectors, and this time, Huff went to the bow.
The anglers and crew performed another successful “white marlin shuffle,” backing down on Murray’s fish for a quick release, then bringing Huff to the cockpit and scoring a release on her fish three minutes later.
The anglers saw one more white marlin that tried unsuccessfully to eat a blue marlin lure.
“The girls wanted to catch a blue marlin in the worst way,” said Griffin, “but we just couldn’t find one Friday.”
Seven white marlin over two days and the tournament’s $29,160 winners’ check was a good consolation prize for the ladies, however, and the “Chainlink” crew’s spirits were running high at the awards ceremony.
Tying the “Chainlink” crew with 875 points but tallying their final release a few hours later were John Horton and Wrightsville Beach’s “Trophy” fishing team. Their five sailfish and three white marlin releases were good for the $14,580 second place check.
Like the winners, the “Trophy” anglers released a sole billfish on Thursday, a sailfish, and went on to have a banner day on Friday, tying “Chainlink” on points by turning loose four sails and three white marlin over the course of the day.
Doug Adams and the “Peggy” crew, of Raleigh, secured third place in the event with a single blue marlin they released Saturday morning.
Topping the tournament’s meatfish leader boards were a 35.9 lb. dolphin caught on the “Stream Machine” and a 41.5 lb. wahoo landed by the “Great Escape” crew.
More information and a full leader board are available at www.capefearbluemarlintournament.com.
