Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open
Robert McNeill and Adam Prince prepare to release a 175 lb. class blue marlin that earned the “Safari” team 400 points and the win in the Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open, held May 7-10 out of Wrightsville Beach Marina. The blue bit a pink trolling plug and was battled to the boat by Matt Bork.
After raising a blue marlin and putting together a solid haul of gaffer dolphin for points on the Thursday, May 8, the event’s first fishing day, the crew of Wrightsville Beach’s “Safari” had a game plan heading into the second day of the 2014 Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open. They again loaded up on dolphin and raised a blue marlin, but they hooked and released their Day 2 fish to earn 400 points and secure victory in the event, held May 7-10 out of Wrightsville Beach Marina.
Aboard the 68’ Hatteras sportfisherman for the event were Capt. Kevin Gaylord, Robert McNeill, Adam Prince, Matt Bork, Frank Spencer, and a crew of friends.
The anglers set out on Thursday morning for some water they anticipated would be productive around the 270 Loran line, and their hopes were confirmed soon after they began trolling.
“There was stacked up grass all over out there,” McNeill reported. “We had all the mahi we wanted.”
Once they were satisfied with their haul of dolphin, the anglers pointed the big Hatteras’s bow offshore and changed up their trolling spread to seek out a billfish encounter.
“We put out some bigger stuff and headed out toward 100 fathoms,” McNeill continued.
A blue marlin showed up to raise the boat’s collective pulse not long after, but the encounter was brief.
“He came up on the right long rigger,” McNeill said, “But didn’t want to bite. Any time you get one in the spread you get excited. It gets all hands on deck.”
Their brief glimpse of the fish was the last of the billfish excitement for the day, but it gave the anglers plenty of reason to return to the area the following morning. Upon deploying the baits, the “Safari” crew again found all the dolphin action they desired and headed offshore with the marlin spread in tow.
This time they found a hungry marlin, however, and the fish attacked a pink-skirted Black Bart lure on their shotgun line.
“Kevin saw the bite,” McNeill explained, “and as soon as we hooked up he started greyhounding.”
Bork was on the rod as the fish began its aerial acrobatics, and he held on while the marlin continued the display.
“He stayed up jumping all over the place the whole time,” McNeill said. “That fish put on a pretty good show.”
The jumping routine tired the fish fairly quickly, and Prince was able to get a hand on the leader around 20 minutes after the bite, giving “Safari” an official blue marlin release and 400 points for the leaderboard. He and McNeill soon freed the estimated 175 lb. fish and sent it on its way.
The marlin release was the crew’s last action for the day, but proved to be the tournament’s only billfish release and handily secured the win for the “Safari” crew.
The “Reel Quick” crew, out of Fayetteville, NC, scaled the event’s heaviest dolphin aggregate to earn second place in the tournament, and Wrightsville Beach’s “Tuna Trappe” rounded out the top three with their dolphin aggregate.
As the name suggests, the Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open serves as an annual fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America, and the event raised over $13,000 for the organization this year. More information on the event can be found at the tournament’s website, www.bsagulfstreamopen.com.
