It’s been a day of bait rigging, boat maintenance and libations around the Pirate’s Cove Marina. With strong seas offshore, 86 boats chose to take a mandatory Lay Day on Tuesday. That means the bulk of the fleet (all but two) will be going hard the next three days. There is a new wrinkle to […]
Blue and white marlin, along with sailfish, are classified as pelagic species because they spend the majority of their time in open ocean waters near the surface. They also have powerful tails and fins, so they don’t hang around in any one location for very long. Which leads to the dilemma for the teams competing […]
The 163 teams of lady anglers found smooth sailing on Sunday off North Carolina’s prolific Outer Banks. The fleet released 162 billfish, with 147 of that tally being Atlantic sailfish. Seven blue marlin and eight white marlin were also released by the competitors. Country Girl, a 57 Buddy Cannady run by Capt. Charles Foreman, took […]
Country girls don’t need no Omni sonar. With less than a minute to go in the last hour of the last day, Capt. Charles Foreman relied on his vast local knowledge as a charter skipper to put his team on the winning fish. A sailfish vaulted Country Girl to the top of the leaderboard to […]
With the clock winding down on the last day of the 39th annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, Country Girl made it count with a minute to spare. The final fish put the 57 Buddy Cannady over the top for the win. “We had a triple blue marlin up first thing this morning but only one […]
Odds are really good the music playing aboard a certain sportfisher on Friday will be the melodic crooning of Willie Nelson. And the tune on the loop is guaranteed to be Blue Skies. That’s because Blue Sky, a 60 Spencer from Georgetown, South Carolina, scored three white marlin and one blue to take the overall […]
With the majority of the fleet opting to lay on Wednesday and fishing still slow for the dozen that ventured offshore, it was the perfect opportunity to walk the docks of the Pirate’s Cove Marina and admire the gorgeous sportfishers in their slips. A curious passerby tourist asked Tournament Director Heather Maxwell why all the […]
The Gulf Stream off North Carolina’s Outer Banks in August typically means lots of opportunities for white marlin on “dink” ballyhoo pulled behind dredges and teasers. But this is not a typical August, at least so far. The 86 boats in the 39th annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament are competing for $1,045,000 in prize money. […]
The 39th edition of the Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament kicked off Monday evening with refreshments, catching up with old friends and a discussion of the rules. As in years past most of the format remains the same. Only trophy-size blue marlin are eligible in the billfish weight division and the majority of the scores will […]
At the 33rd annual Alice Kelly Memorial Ladies Only Billfish Tournament, the bridesmaids walked down the aisle to the awards alter. After finishing second last year, Team Bi-Op-Sea captured the Billfish Jackpot and the top team trophy in 2022. The tally of two sailfish and one blue marlin releases based on time earned a jackpot […]
