Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic Blue Water Division 2008
Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic President Dan Webb and Tournament Director Tyler Bowery present the first place prize in the blue water category to Capts. Paul Spencer and Chuck Lindner and the crew of the "Honey Hush," who released six sailfish over the event's two days of fishing.
After releasing a single sail on Thursday, Morehead City’s 62′ Spencer “Honey Hush” pulled up to the docks Friday with five sailfish release flags rippling in the breeze, doubling the number of releases tallied by the second place team and earning the top prize in the inaugural Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic, held August 27-30 out of Beaufort’s Front Street Village. The six billfish releases earned the crew over $23,000.
With boat builder Capt. Paul Spencer acting as a guest captain of the “Honey Hush” along with usual Capt. Chuck Lindner and boat owners Bob and Rob Warren, Daniel Spencer, Mike Marshall, and Keith Henry aboard, the anglers headed out of Beaufort Inlet on Thursday with sailfish on the brain.
“We weren’t even really looking for a marlin,” Spencer said. Since the tournament awards 400 points for any billfish, the captain’s plan was to try to tally as many releases as possible, hoping to capitalize on the usually abundant sailfish this time of year.
“We were going to run up north to look for them,” Spencer explained. “We ran all over the ocean looking for something, but we never really found it. We picked up and steamed up a couple times, and finally found a fairly appealing tideline in 50 fathoms.”
Putting out their trolling spread a few miles offshore of the Big Rock, the “Honey Hush” quickly raised a pair of sailfish. “We caught one out of the double,” Spencer recalled.
The two sails were the only billfish they saw Thursday, but the anglers thought it an encouraging enough sign to go looking for the same water again on Friday.
“I went looking for the same conditions again Friday, and we found them somewhat,” the captain said. Although they managed to hook and release another pair of sails fairly early, the crew trolled for a few more fish-less hours in 50 fathoms before deciding to head for some new water.
“We found a rip that looked good in 37 fathoms right on top of the Big Rock,” Spencer said. Again deploying the spread, the “Honey Hush” team almost immediately raised three more sails, releasing two to bring their total to five for the event.
Adding one more release before they had to head for the docks, the “Honey Hush” ended up with an impressive 6/8 total of sailfish released to sighted. All their fish fell for small naked ballyhoo rigged on circle hooks, and they were raised by natural bait teasers Spencer described as “very elaborate dredges.”
Finishing second in the blue water billfish release division with 3 sails, Capt. Edgar Styron and the “Hatt-A-Boy,” a 45′ Hatteras from Morehead City, released three sails over the course of the event. Also hailing from Morehead, the “Frequent Flyer,” captained by Glynn Loftin, released two sails to finish third.
Anna Smith, of Beaufort and fishing aboard the “We III,” took home the tournament’s Ladies Lay Day release prize by releasing the first billfish by a lady angler. It was a sailfish she brought to the boat at 11:23 Thursday morning.
When the boats in the blue water division of the Beaufort Offshore Celebrity Classic returned to dock each night of the event, they were treated to parties featuring catered food, an open bar, live music, and camaraderie with much of the Beaufort populace who turned out for the festivities.
The event also benefitted the United Way of Coastal Carolina and the Carteret Community Foundation, organizations dedicated to improving the lives of citizens in the immediate region.
