Hatteras Village Offshore Open
Capt. Guy Herring and the crew of the "Galot 3" earned first place in the Hatteras Village Offshore Open with this 515 lb. blue marlin. Their big fish struck a blue/pink trolling lure in 1000 fathoms near the 800 Line off Hatteras Inlet.
After losing a large marlin on their first day of fishing, Capt. Guy Herring and the crew of the Atlantic Beach-based “Galot 3,” proved their resilience, coming back the next day by boating a 515.9 lb. blue marlin that ultimately earned them victory in the 2012 Hatteras Village Offshore Open, held May 16-19 out of Hatteras Inlet.
On their second fishing day, Herring, fishing with mate Josh Easterwood and Ray Snead, Lee Edwards, and Brian Wilson aboard the 63’ Winter sportfisherman, returned to the area where they’d lost their big fish on the event’s opening day.
“We usually get a Roffer’s shot,” Herring explained, “but we didn’t this time. We fished down in the 800’s the first day. It’s an area where we’ve had good luck in the past.”
After returning to the area, the anglers put out a spread of large marlin lures, with even larger lure teasers.
“We had pitch baits ready to go,” Herring said, “but we were just pulling lures.”
Right around 10:00 that morning, the crew had their second marlin encounter of the event.
“The fish came in on the short rigger,” Herring reported. “And it took some work from the mate to get it to eat, but Josh finally fed it the long rigger bait.”
The big blue finally committed on a blue/pink trolling lure, and after Easterwood coaxed it into eating, the battle began, with Snead taking the chair.
The fish put on a show on the surface after taking the lure, but never leapt clear of the water.
“He was thrashing around back there,” Herring continued, “and throwing a bunch of white water, but the fish never showed its whole body.”
Without getting a good look at the fish, the captain thought it was much smaller at first, and the crew were hoping for some release points before they finally got a good look at their adversary.
“I didn’t think it was big enough to kill,” Herring said, “but I finally got a good look at it behind the boat and saw the whole fish and I told them to get the gaffs ready.”
Snead managed to work the big marlin to the boat after just 20 minutes, and Easterwood was ready with the gaff.
“We put the flyer in it and put it in the boat,” the winning captain said.
While most blue water teams would head for the scales after landing a quarter-ton fish in competition, the “Galot 3” anglers returned to the troll.
“We fished until about 2:00,” Herring said, “trying to catch another one.”
When they made it to the scales, their fish eclipsed the 461 lb. fish that the “Waste Knot II” weighed in, and the “Galot 3” took the lead. Several boats fished in worsening weather over the following two days, but no one was able to best 515 pounder, and “Galot 3” took home the winner’s check.
The “Waste Knot II” fish was good for second place, and “Wired Up” scaled a 429 lb. blue marlin to round out the top three.
More information about the event and a full leaderboard are available at www.hvoo.org.
