Calcutta Wahoo Challenge Spring 2007
Winning an offshore sportfishing tournament takes a combination of extreme skill, dedication, preparation, and a good bit of luck. The crew of the “Weldon’s Ark”, from Morehead City, NC, put all those elements together to win the first event in the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge Series…for the second year in a row.
The tournament, originally scheduled to be a two fishing day event, was held Saturday, March 21, 2007 on the Morehead City Watefront. Rough weather forced organizers to cancel fishing on Friday.
“We’re elated”, “Weldon’s Ark” owner John Roberts said about his team’s second consecutive Wahoo Challenge win. “We’re good at catching wahoos,” he added with a grin. Roberts was fishing Saturday aboard the 55’ Jarett Bay sportfisherman with his brother, capt. Lou Roberts, capt. Mike Taylor, Ed Macdonald, Glen Kroschick, Jason Haws, and Doug Mitchell.
The crew was trolling the Gulf Stream south of Morehead City around the 250 line when the 51.55 lb. winning fish struck around 10:30 Saturday morning. The wahoo ate a ballyhoo trolled under a pink/ blue Ilander Hawaiian Eye behind a planer. Angler Ed MacDonald took the rod, but the fight didn’t last long, and Roberts explained why: “With the planer rod, you usually bring them in pretty quick.”
As soon as the fish was in range, Roberts gaffed it. Due to the short fight, “when he came on board he was green. He didn’t want to come on board at all.” Despite the fish’s resistance, the winning wahoo was soon in the fish box, joining a 38 lb. fish Kroschick had caught earlier that would have placed “Weldon’s Ark” fifth had they not caught the first place fish.
At the awards ceremony, the “Weldon’s Ark” crew was presented with a check for $24,294 for topping the tournament and TWT (tournament within a tournament) leaderboards and a wahoo sculpture from Bluewater Copper Works.
The Morehead City-based “O Lucky Me” took second place, weighing a 43.95 lb. wahoo Saturday evening. Angler Greg Pierce was fishing with Robbie and Paula Sikes, Greg Nelson, Randy and Debbie Brice, mate Raleigh Watson, and capt. Rocky Hardison aboard the “O Lucky Me”, a 60’ Custom Carolina sportfisherman.
The second place wahoo struck a pink skirted ballyhoo behind a planer at 12:30 Saturday. Pierce fought the wahoo for around 15 minutes before Watson could gaff and boat it. The fish brought the “O Lucky Me” team a check for $10793 for second place in the tournament and TWT.
Second place wasn’t the “O Lucky Me” team’s only honor; Paula Sikes caught a 31.25 lb. wahoo to win $1000 and the tournament’s Lady Angler division. Her fish also hit a pink skirted ballyhoo behind a planer, and the bite came around 10:30.
The “Diamond Girl,” a 61’ Spencer also from Morehead City, secured third place in the Wahoo Challenge with a 39.95 lb. fish. Curtis Struyk caught the fish while fishing with brother Russell Struyk, Greg Thomas, John Thomas, Alan Scibal, and capt. Donny Lee.
The “Diamond Girl” was pulling baits south of the Swansboro Hole when the near 40 lb. wahoo struck around noon. It ate a ballyhoo beneath a pink/black skirt trolled in the long shotgun position. After a quick 10 minute fight, Scibal was able to gaff the fish, which earned the “Diamond Girl” crew a check for $6969 in regular and TWT winnings.
Continuing a hometown sweep, Morehead City’s “Impulse,” a 58’ Custom Carolina sportfisherman with Capt. Cameron Guthrie at the helm, took fourth place, weighing a 39.05 lb. wahoo. 14 year old Tyler Dean was the angler, and took the top Junior Angler spot as well.
The “Impulse” fish struck around 10:00 Sturday morning as the boat trolled between the Big Rock and 500 line. After a 45 minute fight punctuated by several jumps, mate Richard Wright gaffed the wahoo. The “Impulse” also released a 300 lb. class blue marlin Saturday.
A check for $1100 was the “Impulse” team’s reward for fourth place, and Tyler Dean also took home a Calcutta Fishing Prize Pack for the top Junior angler finish.
Beaufort’s “Water Damage” caught the fifth-place, 32.60 lb. wahoo. Joe Hubert caught the wahoo while fishing aboard the 33’ World Cat with Capt. Troy Pate and mate C.L. Lupton.
A ballyhoo underneath a black/blue/mylar skirt fooled the fifth-place fish into striking around 10:30. The “Water Damage” was trolling around between the Rise and the Swansboro Hole. Hubert fought the fish for a quick 10 minutes before Lupton gaffed and boated it. Fifth place was worth $507.
Daily prizes for the tournament were planned for the largest wahoo caught each day that didn’t make the top five overall. Since Friday’s fishing was cancelled only one daily prize was given, and it went to the “Jay Bird” of Carolina Beach. Their 31.80 lb. wahoo won them $432.
The Calcutta Wahoo Series is in its third year, and benefits Hospice of Carteret County and the Take A Kid Fishing Foundation. The tournament is the brainchild of Dale Britt, Bill Raper, and Curtis Strange.
“We knew that Hospice needed some help trying to get some money for Hospice House”(a planned free standing hospice facility), Raper explained, “and it’s extremely expensive carrying a thousand kids fishing in two days, and we knew we needed something to raise money for those, so we came up with this idea of doing a wahoo only tournament. We sat down and put the first tournament together in less than six months.”
That first event raised over $70,000 for Hospice and Take A Kid Fishing, and with last year’s tournaments, the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge has generated over $150,000 for the charities.
The Wahoo Challenge awards banquet was a festive scene, featuring excellent food from Floyd’s 1921 of Morehead City, drinks, and a fundraising raffle with a variety of prizes including an original wahoo painting by Mark Ray. Anglers can look forward to great wahoo fishing and similar camaraderie at the Calcutta Wahoo Series fall event, held October 18-20, 2007.
Neither the huge amounts of money donated to Hospice of Carteret County and the Take A Kid Fishing Foundation nor the fun-filled tournament and celebration would be possible with the Calcutta Wahoo Challenge’s sponsors. The tournament and its participants owe a debt of gratitude to Title Sponsor Calcutta Fishing, National Sponsor Wachovia Bank, Jolly Roger Sponsor Randy Bryant Builders, and all the other sponsors.
