Cape Fear Sailfish Classic
A pair of sailfish releases on the event’s first day secured victory in the 2011 Cape Fear Sailfish Classic for Wrightsville Beach’s “18 Reeler” fishing team. The tournament was held August 11-14 out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, but the winning anglers elected to fish their home waters hoping to capitalize on the excellent sail bite off Wrightsville recently.
“18 Reeler” owner Vance Forbes was unable to make the crew on the first day, but he dispatched friend Bobby Bailey to run the boat.
Bailey, owner of Wrightsville’s Bailey Marine Service, brought his son, Garrett Bailey, his friend Travis Holst, and employee Ronnie Helms along on Friday, and the anglers headed for the 23 Mile Rock area off Wrightsville Beach, where boats have been reporting big numbers of sailfish encounters for over a month.
Reggie Abbot and the “Daddy Rabbot” crew struck first in the tournament, releasing a sail around 8:00 to capture the event’s First Sailfish Release prize
The “18 Reeler” anglers didn’t wait long before answering back and hooked a sailfish around 10:00 on Friday after they spied it on the surface.
“That first fish was free-jumping in front of the boat,” Bobby Bailey reported, “and we ended up catching it. You hardly ever catch those fish you see jumping.”
Trolling a ballyhoo dredge and squid daisy chain teasers and dink ballyhoo, the crew got in front of the fish and managed to tempt it to eat a ballyhoo.
Holst was up on the rod after the sail struck, and he held on while it took to the skies.
“That first fish put on a better show than the second,” Bailey continued. “It greyhounded for a solid 50 yards with its head out of the water.”
After the aerial display, the anglers were able to get the fish to the boat, and Holst, an eighth-grader, earned his first sailfish release flag.
The winning crew continued trolling the area, seeing a few more sails before their next hookup, around 2:00 in the afternoon.
“We actually had a double-header come up,” Bailey explained, “and hooked two dolphin at the same time. One of the sails dropped the bait, but we got the other one.”
Small ballyhoo behind the dredge and squid chains were responsible for the quadruple header.
Bailey took care of the angling duties on the team’s second sail. The fish made a few jumps, but was far less acrobatic than their first, and they soon had release number two on the leader board.
The event’s largest dolphin also came out of the quad hookup, and Garrett Bailey battled it to the boat.
Forbes joined the crew for Saturday, the event’s final and second day, and the anglers again headed for the 23 Mile Rock vicinity. The team raised several more sails before being chased off the water by thunderstorms in the early afternoon, but they were unable to tempt them to eat.
“We had a couple come into the spread on Saturday,” Bailey explained, “but they were really docile and lethargic and didn’t want anything to do with the baits.”
The other boats had similar luck Saturday, and the “18 Reeler” crew’s second fish also captured the tournament’s Last Sailfish Released honors.
The anglers aboard the “House Divided” took home the check for Largest Dolphin Day 2 with a 16.2 lb. fish.
The Cape Fear Sailfish Classic is an annual event designed to highlight the area’s undersung nearshore sailfishery and raises proceeds for the Cy’s World Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to introducing youth to the love of outdoor recreational activities and founded in honor of Edgar Clyde “Cy” Garber, who lost his life in late 2010.
