Capt. Dave Lear’s PCBT Blog
Please welcome Capt. Dave Lear who will be covering the event and posting photos each day. Capt. Dave Lear has been covering big-game fishing for more than two decades, first as the editor of Marlin magazine and later as an award-winning freelance writer and tournament correspondent. The former executive director of The Billfish Foundation was also the 51st angler to gain membership in the IGFA’s exclusive Royal Billfish Slam Club by catching and releasing all nine species of billfish. Learn more about Dave at www.captaindavelear.com.
Keep in mind that official scores will not be posted until after 9PM each day. ALL APPS, REAL TIME SCORING, TWITTER INFORMATION AND WEB CAM WEIGH INS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE ONLY! We are welcoming back Tournament Control to score our event and as the rules state teams won’t actually earn points until they turn their scorecard in (on time) and it is accepted by tournament staff.
Pirate's Cove Billfish Tournament News
Ringer
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 […]
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Late Charge
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 […]
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Subtle Shift?
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 […]
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Carolina Flare
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 […]
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Sail Away
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. […]
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Level Playing Field
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 […]
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