Calcutta Wahoo Challenge Fall 2006
The “Weldors Ark” won big at this year’s Calcutta Wahoo Challenge, held out of the Morehead City waterfront over the weekend of October 19-21. Not only did “Weldors Ark” take home every major prize at the October event, but they also won the popular two tournament series that Calcutta introduced this year.
“Weldors Ark,” a 55’ Jarrett Bay out of Greenville, NC, owned by John Roberts and co-captained by Lou Roberts and Mike Taylor, started the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge on Friday by catching the day’s heaviest fish—a 51.50 lb. wahoo caught on the break at the Swansboro Hole. The hookup came at 9:00 am on the long line, with the 50 pounder hitting a ballyhoo rigged with a blue/white Ilander. The angler was Jim Willis.
Fishing conditions on Friday were 8-10’ seas and 25-30 mph hour winds out of the SW. Saturday was a little better, but not by much. The wind on Saturday was coming out of the north, but it was till blowing about 20-25 mph. And the seas only dropped to 6-8’.
On Saturday, it was “Weldors Ark” that once again had the day’s heaviest wahoo. This time it was a 71.75 lb. wahoo caught at the 300 line down deep on a planer rod with another ballyhoo and blue/white Ilander. Saturday’s angler was Vernon Mitchell.
Their two wahoos were the heaviest two fish of the event, taking both first and second place in the heaviest wahoo division. And the boat’s two-fish weight total gave the “Weldors Ark” team the tournament’s aggregate title.
In addition, the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge offers a two tournament prize (a boat’s one fish from the spring event added to one fish from the fall). The 30 lb. fish that “Weldors Ark” weighed in the spring Wahoo Challenge added to the fall’s 71.75 pounder gave them the series win.
The third heaviest wahoo in the tournament came from “Sea Venture,” a 50’ Hatteras out of Morehead City. Owner/Captain Larry Holler caught the 41.55 lb. wahoo on Saturday while fishing the 300 line. The strike came at 9:30 am on a ballyhoo and Ilander on the wire line. The angler was Fletcher Johnston, and the mate was Ryan Holler.
The “Sea Venture” also landed a 39.55 lb. wahoo on Saturday. It was brought in by Sharon Holler, who won the lady Angler title.
The fourth heaviest wahoo came from the Morehead, NC-based 61’ Jarrett Bay “Sea Striker” and Owner/Captain Adrian Holler. The angler was Ryan Small (age 14), who won the tournament’s Junior Angler award. They caught the 38.95 lb. wahoo on Friday about 15 miles southwest of the Big Rock in 50 fathoms.
The wahoo hit a ballyhoo and Ilander combo down deep.
Captain A. Holler passed all of the credit on to Vince Johnston, his first mate for 20 years, and angler Ryan Small.
Rounding out the top five was “Live Wire,” a 56’ Tommy Fletcher based in Morehead City. Owner Ken Ashlin, Captain Junior Johnson, Mate Pete Zook, and Angler Rick Ashlin landed a 36.6 lb. wahoo. They found the wahoo on Saturday at the Big Rock using a ballyhoo and Ilander on the long rigger.
Just behind Ryan Small’s first place finish in the Junior Angler Division was Ali Farrington. Farrington’s second place 26.75 lb. wahoo came while he was fishing on the “Double Down.” And Chris Burleson, fishing on the “Dancin’ Outlaw,” came in third place with a 21.85 lb. wahoo.
The Calcutta Wahoo Challenge was put together mainly to benefit two local organizations: Take A Kid Fishing and Hospice of Carteret County. The Take A Kid Fishing Foundation gathers over 1000 underprivileged kids from across North Carolina and brings them to Atlantic Beach and Carteret County for a day of saltwater fishing.
And the tournament’s main goal for Hospice, an organization that provides hope, care, and dignity to patients and their families who face life threatening illness, is to raise money and create a trust fund for a local Hospice House.
Calcutta is the tournament’s main sponsor, and Bill Raper, the Director of Product Development for Calcutta, said his company wanted to create and host the event for several reasons.
Raper first mentioned that Calcutta has always been a strong supporter of local charities in Carteret County, and the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge was a way for them to provide even more support for community organizations.
Second, they are a hometown company, with company headquarters located in the Morehead City area, so hosting a fishing tournament in their backyard was attractive to the company.
Finally, they wanted an event that would help promote the Calcutta product line. “We are now so much more than a south Florida bait company,” said Raper. He added that Calcutta has branched out to be a national company with products for east coast, west coast, and the central part of the country.
The Calcutta Wahoo Challenge will again be a two tournament event next year, with both a spring and a fall event in 2007. The spring event will be the third weekend in April, and the fall event will be the third weekend in October.
In addition to Calcutta, the tournament enjoys strong support from numerous sponsors. Two of the major sponsors in 2006 were Wachovia and Randy Bryant Builders.
For more information on the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge, you can visit www.calcuttawahoo.com.
