Team Pelican kept a close eye on Friday’s leaderboard, but in the end the score held up to earn top-boat honors in the 41st annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament. Capt. Arch Bracher is the skipper of the 56 Paul Mann based at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. Pelican scooped up seven billfish, worth 1,000 […]
The action was again slow on the final day of the 41st annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, yet it was not without some high-seas drama. As expected, a couple boats added to their tallies, but in the end Pelican would retain its top lead. Sweet Spot, last year’s winner, released the only fish it encountered, […]
There was a significant shift on Thursday as the 41st annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament starts to wind down. Several boats made gains on the leaderboard, setting the stage for Friday’s final-day showdown. With $1.2 million-plus on the line, antacid tablets will chomped quicker than a chin-weight ballyhoo. Pelican, a 56 Paul Mann based at […]
It’s not due to lack of effort. Sixty boats (of the 84 registered) ventured offshore this morning in the hunt for tournament billfish. Most came back to the marina with bare outriggers. A few scored, usually in bunches. But the action is definitely atypical for this time and place. “It was slow, very slow,” said […]
Tropical Storm Debby is gone but certainly not forgotten. Inclement weather the last couple weeks limited the amount of fishing the local boats could do. So as the 41st annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament gets underway, the 84 teams entered will be playing a guessing game as to where the bait and fish might be. […]
It wasn’t a minor mishap on the Gulf Stream. Fender Bender cruised to the top boat honors and a hefty payout in the 35th Annual Alice Kelly Memorial Ladies Only Billfish Tournament, which wrapped up on Sunday. Anglers Emma Lowenstein, Becky Snider and Mary Beth Evans each released a blue marlin, good for 150 points […]
It speaks volumes that a life is still celebrated more than three decades after an untimely demise. Alice Kelly, a passionate angler and Outer Banks volunteer, lost her battle with cancer more than 35 years ago. Yet today, women who weren’t even born yet are celebrating her spirit by competing in the 35th Annual Alice […]
Weather is always the wild card with any big-game tournament. That looks to be the case again with the long-range forecast for the Outer Banks by next weekend. Hurricane Debby came ashore in Florida’s Big Bend on Monday morning, August 5, but the storm is expected to slowly march northeasterly and dump buckets of rain […]
In a month, the spot light will be shining brightly on the ladies, and rightfully so. The 35th Annual Alice Kelly Memorial Ladies Only Billfish Tournament gets underway on Saturday August 10 with the registration, kick-off party and all the festivities. The event has grown over the years to become one of the top ladies-only […]
All the angling action for the Alice Kelly Memorial Ladies Only and Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournaments occurs along the cobalt-blue rips and temperature breaks offshore. But everything else, from the scoring and weigh-ins to registration, meals, socializing and awards, takes place in the friendly confines of the Pirate’s Cove Marina and Pavilion in Manteo. The […]
