Morehead City Father/Kid Offshore Kickoff 2006
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Each spring, the waters off Morehead City host some of the best offshore fishing, in terms of variety and productivity, in the world. This spring, Morehead also hosted North Carolina’s first saltwater fishing tournament of the year. Organized by Bill and Nicolas Pino, of Squid Nation Lures, the first annual Morehead City Father/Kid Offshore Kickoff was as the name suggests, a tournament designed to encourage parents to introduce their children to the sport of offshore fishing while taking advantage of the fantastic spring bluewater action off Morehead City.
“We were on the way home from the airport after fishing in Mexico,” explained Bill Pinot, “when Nicolas asked me: ‘Why don’t more dads take their kids offshore fishing with them?’ I didn’t have an answer, and we decided to do something about it.” Do something they did, harnessing the power of the online fishing community, particularly the fishing forum at Sportfishermen.com, to organize the event.
The weekend of March 31 and April 1 was chosen for the event, and four Morehead City captains and were hand-picked: Capt. Lee Parsons on “Bite Me,” Capt. Pete Zook on “Energizer,” Capt. Shane Brafford on “Second To None,” and Capt. Brian Harrington on “Run-Off.” In addition, Capt. Frank Pettolina and the “Last Call,” from Ocean City, MD, made the trip down to Morehead to be the fifth boat fishing the event.
Each day, a random drawing assigned the three father/kid teams to the boats they’d be fishing on. Prizes were awarded in dolphin, tuna, wahoo, and largest overall fish categories. Flat seas and fair skies dominated the weekend of the tournament, enabling the young anglers to land some impressive bluewater fish while enjoying smooth rides to the fishing grounds and back.
Overall, the largest fish caught in the event was a 60 lb. yellowfin tuna that Thomas Watkins landed aboard the “Second To None” on Sunday. The tuna ate a ballyhoo rigged with a blue/white skirt, and it battled Watkins for around 20 minutes on 50 lb. tackle. Watkins won a custom stand-up rod from Fin-Razor Rods and a sailfish tile art piece by Rick Bogert for catching his big tuna.
In the tuna category, a 56 lb. tuna also caught on the “Second To None” on Sunday took top honors. Garrett Klunk, the young angler, won a custom copper tuna sculpture from Bluewater Copper Works. A 52 lb. tuna Katie Adkins caught aboard the “Bite Me” on Saturday took second place. She was awarded a signed yellowfin tuna print by Vinnie Myers. Third in the tuna division and another signed Myers tuna print went to Ernie Eckerade, fishing aboard the “Run-Off” on Saturday, with a 30 lb. tuna.
Jason Maraveyias took first place in the wahoo division, catching a 52 lb. wahoo on Sunday aboard the “Energizer.” He was rewarded with a custom Bluewater Copper Works wahoo sculpture. Anthony Pino’s 42 lb. wahoo, caught on the “Run-Off” on Sunday, took second place and a signed Vinnie Myers wahoo print. TJ Sohn caught a 40 lb. wahoo on the “Second To None” on Saturday, taking third in the wahoo division, and winning a signed wahoo print as well.
A 32 lb. dolphin Clay Corey caught Saturday on the “Energizer” topped that division, earning Corey a signed Vinnie Myers dolphin print. Shane Malek scaled a 16 lb. dolphin, also caught on the “Energizer” on Saturday, to take second place and a dolphin print. Third place dolphin and another print went to Nicolas Pino, fishing on the “Second To None” on Sunday, for an 8 lb. dolphin.
In addition to the artwork, the winners of the dolphin, wahoo, and tuna categories received $100 gift certificates to JPR Custom Rods and $50 gift certificates to Melton International Tackle.
Any questions as to whether the Pinots succeeded in their mission to promote father/child offshore fishing were instantly resolved with one look at the smiles on the participating kid’s faces on the boats, at the dock, and at Sunday’s awards ceremony. Plans are already in the works for next year’s Squid Nation Father/Kid Offshore Kickoff, potentially with a division for private boats with parent/kid teams.
