They're having a sale at Pirate's Cove. Wait, that should say sail - as in sailfish
It’s shaping up to be another great week of fishing.
Unless you are a sailfish.
Billfish’s most elegant-looking member have been providing excellent action off the waters of the Outer Banks - with teams arriving in port displaying dozens of release flags.
That’s a good thing for the 94 teams competing for a total payout of $1.4 million in the 43rd annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament taking place out of Manteo and Oregon Inlet.
The competition started today with 79 teams hitting the water.
By noon, they already had caught and released 91 sails. That total had grown to 104 an hour later.
When the opening day was put to rest, Stream Weaver out of Wrightsville Beach, N.C., sat in the lead. Captained by Timmy Caldwell, the team concluded the opening round with 1,000 points on three blue marlin and one white.
The placement could be worth a half million dollars is things stayed as they are.
Trouble with that is that the fishing - especially for sailfish - has been outstanding.
Sandra D and captain Tom Krauss - a team that spend most of Tuesday in first place - finished second with 900 points on nine sails, possibly good enough for $131,827.
Tournament entry information listed no port of call for Sandra D.
At the end of the opening, day 153 total fish - 10 blue marlin, three whites, 10 dolphin, three blackfin tuna, two yellowfin tuna and a whopping 125 sailfish - had been scored.
And today left off where yesterday ended.
By 9:30 this morning, the number had climbed with 165 fish, including 10 more sails.
With offshore waters producing so well, and conditions forecast to remain the same, the next couple of days should continue to be productive.
And that means there is plenty more to come.
