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his year’s Rotary Tarpon Tournament lived up to the saying “Wind in the east, fishing is least”. Over the two-day fishing competition, 34 teams caught (and released) only 5 tarpon. 4 tarpon were hooked but jumped off before anglers could bring them boat-side. While some may have viewed the prevailing winds as unfavorable, they didn’t seem to affect Doug Sulc’s efforts. Sulc and his team landed 2 tarpon to walk away as tourney winners.

The winners: George Link, Tarpon Tournament director, presents Doug Sulc and team mates Bobby Pace annd Tommmy Pace with the first prize plaque – and a healthy check.

For Sulc, who hails from Washington, North Carolina, catching a pair of tarpon at the tournament is nothing new. He landed the same number of fish at 2008’s competition. That year, he finished eighth and took home a check for $306. This year, the same number of fish earned him the top spot – and a much larger payout of $2040.

The Tarpon Tournament is hosted by Whittaker Pointe Marina. This is the scene Sunday afternoon before the awards were presented.

While the number of tarpon caught was low, it wasn’t for a lack of fish. Participants reported seeing plenty of the large silver creatures. They just weren’t taking the bait.

Wind direction may have explained why so few tarpon were caught.

George Beckwith, who has won the tournament multiple times (he didn’t fish this year), says the saying “Wind in the east, fishing is least. Wind in the west, fishing is best”, might have come into play. Saturday and Sunday brought north-east winds. While they brought cooler than average temperatures, they may have also dampened the tarpons’ willingness to take a baited hook.

The tournament was held at the Whittaker Pointe Marina. Al Herlands, Rotary Club president, says that while the tournament used to be solely for the fisherman, “over the years it’s turned into a community event”. Over the weekend, three bands, two cookouts and at least one raffle kept participants and community members fed and entertained. Event proceeds went toward the Oriental Rotary Scholarship Fund.

Bryan Thomas and his fishing mates claimed the second spot.

Third place, and a check for $510, went to Kandice Kelley and her team.

While tarpon may have been scarce, the skates made their usual appearance. But even their numbers were down. In some years, over 500 skate are caught during the two days of fishing. This year, under 200 were landed. One team, though, reeled in almost a quarter of the entire haul. Wade Gaskins and his fishing mates landed 42. For that, they won the Pancake Tarpon award.

Pancake Tarpon Award: Wade Gaskins won the award for the most skate caught.

Final Results
Of the 34 teams that entered the tournament, 8 went home with a check.

1) Doug Sulc $2040
2) Bryan Thomas $1020
3) Kandice Kelley $510
4) Derek Jordan $408
5) Jimmy Goodman $357
6) Gary Culp $306
7) Matt Deaton $255
8) Wade Gaskins $204

Teams could qualify for additional cash prizes by entering in a separate Tournament Within a Tournament competition. In this format, 90% of the fees are re-distributed to the winners (based on fishing results) and 10% are retained for charity.

In the Championship division, open to all participants, the winners were:

1) Doug Sulc $1275
2) Bryan Thomas $765
3) Kandice Kelley $255
Retained for charity: $255

In the Sportsman Division, open to teams that had never won the Tarpon Tournament before, the winners were:

1) Bryan Thomas $520
2) Gary Culp $325
3) Rob Bizzell $195
4) Brad Haley $130
Retained for charity: $255

Keri Delisle and Chris Daniels of CK Full Circle performing at Saturday evening’s cookout.

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Posted Monday August 2, 2010 by Bernie Harberts

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