Barta Boys and Girls Club Billfish Tournament 2007
Releasing four billfish over the tournament’s two fishing days, Capt. Ken Miller’s “Outlaw,” from Hatteras, took the overall victory in the Fourth Annual Barta Boys and Girls Club Billfish Tournament, held July 19-21 on the Beaufort Town Docks. One blue marlin and three sailfish releases earned the “Outlaw” the 1600 points that propelled them to victory over the rest of the 122 boat field.
Aboard the “Outlaw,” a 57’ Island, for the event were Miller, his son Ken Miller, III, mate Doug Salomon, Ron Lowe, and Will Huntley. They also took the top spots in the pro (for boats with crewmembers paid to fish the tournament) division and in the circle hook division.
The “Outlaw” crew departed Hatteras Inlet Friday morning to fish their way south and end up in Beaufort that evening. They found fish considerably north of where most of the tournament’s boats were fishing.
“We left out of Hatteras yesterday morning,” Miller explained at the awards ceremony, “so we stuck around up at the 930 line.”
The northern strategy worked out for them early, as Salomon hooked a sailfish, fought it to the boat, and released it at 9:18 Friday morning. The sail ate a naked ballyhoo rigged on a circle hook and was the third billfish released in the event.
Things were quiet for the team until afternoon, when a blue marlin came into their spread around 12:45 as they trolled around the 930 line in 140 fathoms of water. Miller, III took the rod after the blue bit, and the fish leapt several times, then sounded.
“He went deep for about 15 minutes, then came back up top and we chased him down,” Miller recalled. “I’d say Ken fought him for about 30 minutes. It was on a little rod, a 20, so it took us longer to get him than it would have if he’d hit a bigger rod.”
In addition to the blue marlin and sailfish releases, the “Outlaw” crew jumped off another sail and lost a white marlin over the course of Friday’s fishing. In the Barta tournament, each billfish release, regardless of species, earns a team 400 points. The 800 points “Outlaw” accumulated Friday put them in the lead heading into Saturday’s fishing.
Saturday the crew departed from Beaufort and headed offshore in search of more billfish, but they found difficult fishing conditions. “It was very rough out in the deep water,” Miller said. “We went out to 100 fathoms this morning, and it was bordering on unsafe.”
After trying unsuccessfully to find fish in the rough water, Miller heard about a shallow sailfish bite, so he made the call to troll inshore.
“We started hearing Glynn (captain of the Frequent Flyer) was getting sailfish bites in 20 fathoms, so we decided to fish our way inshore,” Miller revealed. Heading inshore turned out to be a good decision, as Miller, III, and Huntley each released sailfish in quick succession while fishing in 25 fathoms.
Naked medium ballyhoo rigged on circle hooks accounted for all the “Outlaw’s” billfish bites. In addition to the hooked baits, the crew pulled squid daisy chains as teasers.
The second place boat “Miss Marilyn” also put together a 1600 release point total, but scored their last release about an hour after “Outlaw’s” final fish. Capt. Todd Saieed fished the event with his sons Christian, Connor, and Tommy, Luke Vandeguelle, Branson Patch, and mate Chris Elliot aboard the “Miss Marilyn,” a 36’ Luhrs based in Morehead City.
The “Miss Marilyn’s” point total came on the strength of four sailfish the team released on Saturday. Originally intending to fish offshore Saturday, the crew had to change their plans due to the 6-8’ seas.
“We caught those fish a little bit ENE of the 14 Buoy,” Elliot said. “We just went where the weather would let us.”
The four releases were spread out between 10:00 and 2:00 o’clock Saturday. Connor, Christian, and Tommy Saieed each released one of the sails, and Vandeguelle tallied the fourth release.
All of the “Miss Marilyn’s” fish fell for naked ballyhoo, and like the “Outlaw,” they trolled squid daisy chains as teasers.
Third place overall in the tournament went to Morehead City’s “Frequent Flyer,” captained by Glynn Loftin, with 1200 points. Angler J.D. Carter caught the team’s three sailfish Saturday and captured the event’s Top Junior Angler title for the second year running.
Along with Loftin and Carter aboard the 54’ Jarrett Bay were Sonny Carter, Chris May, and Martin Jones. In addition to third place and Top Junior, the “Frequent Flyer” topped the charter boat division.
The “Frequent Flyer” crew found their sails in 25 fathoms of water SE of Beaufort Inlet.
“There isn’t a name for the spot where we caught the fish,” Loftin insisted. “There really wasn’t anything there except a weedline and a color change.”
Carter released two of the sailfish in quick succession around 9:00 Saturday morning, and then caught the team’s final fish just after 1:00. Naked ballyhoo accounted for all the “Frequent Flyer” releases, and they drew the sails in by trolling dredge teasers.
In the amateur boat division (for teams with no crew paid to fish the tournament), the “Albemarlin,” a 41’ Albemarle captained by Clark Sneed, took the top honors with two sailfish releases.
In addition to billfish, the Barta Billfish Tournament features categories for the heaviest wahoo, tuna, king mackerel, and dolphin, both in Overall and Junior Angler Divisions.
A 23.12 lb. dolphin that Rose Leonard landed aboard the “Early Dawn,” with Capt. David Upchurch, earned first place in both the Junior and Overall dolphin competition.
The tournament’s largest wahoo was a huge 62.56 lb. fish that James Freeman caught aboard the “Jim Dandy,” a 45’ Hatteras captained by his father, Jimbo Freeman. Like Leonard’s dolphin, the big wahoo captured both the Junior and Overall prizes. The wahoo’s 62 pounds also earned the Freemans first place in the Volvo Penta Grand Slam category, for combined weights of a single wahoo, tuna, dolphin, and king mackerel.
The only tuna caught during the event was a 15.26 lb. blackfin reeled in by Wen Murphy while fishing on the “Bluewater,” a 64’ Viking captained by Harvey Shiflet. Wen’s tuna also topped Overall and Junior categories.
Katherine Smith caught the 31.72 lb. king mackerel that took the top honors in the Junior and Overall King division aboard the “Builder’s Choice” with Capt. Harris Huddle.
All Junior Anglers who fished in the Barta Tournament received medals, and the top 15 in each category received trophies. The fact that the Junior Anglers took the top spots in each of the overall meatfish categories should give an impression of just how many Junior Anglers fish the Barta Tournament.
Each of the beautiful trophies presented at the awards ceremony (and over 200 are given out) is handmade by Danny Azzato, of Fish Unlimited Taxidermy in Oakdale, NY.
The Barta Boys and Girls Club Billfish tournament really is about the kids, and not just the ones crowding the stage to receive their awards. As the name suggests, the event functions as a significant fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Boys and Girls Club of Coastal Carolina.
In the past three years, the event has raised over $375,000 for the clubs through revenue from entry fees, silent and live auctions, and donations. This year, the Calcutta Street Fair was added as a fundraiser, and two blocks of Beaufort’s Front Street were blocked off for the event.
Tournament Director Cynthia Barber wished to thank the tournament’s many sponsors, participants, and volunteers for making the event the annual success it has become.
