In an exciting last-day finish, Sweet Spot, a 62 Spencer Yacht, earned top boat honors in the 40th Annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament after releasing a blue marlin to boost its points tally. Capt. Chris Kubik and his team won first place boat, second place in the Omni Blue Marlin category for releases, top boat […]
In what has shaped up to be a predominately sailfish tournament this week, blue marlin made the difference in the 40th annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament. White marlin are typically the most common catch this time of year, but a steady diet of Atlantic sailfish kept the leaderboard flipping faster than pancakes on a Waffle […]
In most normal work weeks Wednesday is considered “Hump Day” or over the halfway point to the anticipated weekend. But Tournament Week at the Pirate’s Cove Marina isn’t exactly normal and since the bulk of the fleet stayed ashore on Tuesday, Thursday is this year’s new hump threshold. It didn’t disappoint, as it’s now shaping […]
The sailfish are flying off the shelves faster than composition books and pencils on a back-to-school checklist. August is typically called the dog days of summer due to the oppressive heat, but if this pace keeps up, the teams fishing the 40th annual PCBT might rename it the Summer Sails Event. A total of 207 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The action during the 38th annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament wasn’t quite up to the usual pace associated with this event. But that didn’t stop Wave Paver from claiming victory over the other 98 competitors and capturing the biggest share of the more than $1.2 million in prize money. The 77 Bayliss released 11 billfish, […]
Anglers are a superstitious lot. Bananas on board a boat are taboo. Mates will never wash lucky hats. Special food, music and rituals are observed to maintain good karma. So when a boat does well on a bad omen day like Friday the 13th, it goes against common logic. The secret? Not realizing the actual […]
It was a mellow Thursday, compared to normal OBX August standards. Wave Paver, Mama C and Tarheel padded their leads. But there is still one more day of competition in the 38th annual PCBT and the 39 remaining boats will be trolling naked ballyhoo and pulling dredges and daisy-chain teasers Friday in hopes of a […]
It may have been the shifting moon phase, a more concentrated effort or simply the cosmic tumblers aligning. Whatever the case, the action was definitely more upbeat on the second day of the 38th annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament. But like fishing of any sort, boats had to be in the right spot at the […]
