Cape Fear Blue Water Open 2007
The Cape Fear Blue Water Open is one of the area’s most established offshore fishing tournaments. This year boats were allowed to fish two of three possible days from Friday, May 18, to Sunday, May 20, before hauling their catch back to the scales at Wrightsville Beach’s Dockside Marina. There were 24 teams entered into the 2007 Blue Water Open, and nearly all elected to fish Saturday and Sunday due to the Friday’s rough weather.
The “Fish Dance,” out of Carolina Beach, took the top spot overall with a 53.7 lb. yellowfin tuna. The overall winner was considered to be the boat with the heaviest tuna, dolphin, or wahoo.
Angler Dan Snyder caught the tuna while fishing aboard the 43’ Sportfisherman with Capt. Keith Green and Mate Trey Styron. The team was trolling around the Same Ol’ when the fish ate a skirted ballyhoo at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. Snyder fought the fish for around 20 minutes before Styron was able to sink the gaff and boat the tuna.
Due to Sunday’s choppy seas, the “Fish Dance” crew was preparing to stop fishing and begin the long ride back to Masonboro Inlet when the tuna struck. “We just squeaked it by at the last minute,” Green said of the tournament-winning yellowfin.
As the top tuna in the tournament, the fish handily took Sunday’s daily tuna prize as well. “Fish Dance” also placed second in the Calcutta with a 96.8 lb. aggregate weight. The crew’s total winnings were $7,136.50.
Wrightsville Beach’s “Trophy” fishing team took second place overall with a 51.8 lb. yellowfin and the tournament’s top wahoo spot with a 44 lb. fish. Josh Lee caught the wahoo while fishing Sunday with Capt. John Horton, Derek Jarrett, Steve Smith, and Sean Dooley aboard the 46’ Egg Harbor.
The “Trophy” crew was trolling between the 140 and 150 lines when the big wahoo hit a purple/black skirted ballyhoo on top. Lee fought the fish for a solid 25 minutes before getting it close enough to the boat for Jarrett and Dooley to gaff it.
The near-52 lb. tuna “Trophy” brought to the scales was Saturday’s biggest. The crew also took first place in the Calcutta with a three fish aggregate weight of 119.9 lbs. “Trophy” pocketed a check for $5,412.25.
Third place overall and top Lady Angler honors went to the “Robin Hood VI,” out of Carolina Beach, for a 38 lb. wahoo. Angler Heather Farmer caught the wahoo while fishing Sunday with Capt. Don Pierce. Third place and top Lady Angler earned the “Robin Hood VI” crew $2,523.25.
The top dolphin in the Cape Fear Blue Water Open was a 31.4 lb. fish caught on Wrightsville Beach’s “Tuna Trappe” on Sunday. Greg “Smoothie” Monroe caught the dolphin while fishing aboard the 56’ Hatteras with Capt. Brian Smith.
The big dolphin struck a blue/white skirted ballyhoo, and it was one of numerous gaffers, tuna, and wahoo the “Tuna Trappe” boated on Sunday. Sunday’s dolphin prize was $300.
The tournament also featured an optional billfish release division paying two places. Wrightsville’s “SeaKer” released a billfish both Saturday and Sunday to take the top spot in the billfish category and a check for $1,023. Both the “Dog House” and the “Line Dancer” caught sailfish on Sunday, but the “The Dog House” released their sail first and took second in the billfish category and $441.
Carolina Beach’s “Large Time II,” captained by Mike Britt, was the only boat that fished in Friday’s extremely rough weather. Though they broke an outrigger while fishing in 10’ seas, the crew managed to catch a 35.7 lb. tuna and a 17.4 lb. dolphin to win both of those daily prizes at $300 each.
Wrightsville Beach’s “Celebration” caught Saturday’s largest dolphin, at 24.4 lbs., and also won $300.
This was the Cape Fear Blue Water Open’s 17th consecutive year, and as a result the boat weighing the 17th largest fish over the three fishing days won money. “The Dog House” took the 17th place honors with a 22.3 lb. dolphin and won a check for $591.25. Last place was also worth $591.25, and it went to Bob Heinisch for a 10 lb. dolphin.
The Cape Fear Blue Water Open is the Cape Fear Blue Water Fishing Club’s first tournament of the year, and it generates money for several beneficiary organizations.
Run for the Warriors is an organization that coordinates races generating money to support and provide recreational opportunities for soldiers wounded in Iraq. Camp E-Tik-Etu is an outdoor therapeutic program in Elizabethtown that provides education, counseling, and outdoor adventure programs for at-risk youths between 10 and 17.
Both programs benefit directly from money generated by each paid entry in the event, and several of the teams on the Blue Water Open’s leader board went a step further and donated their prize checks back to the charities.
