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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 Goodmon $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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Early start: Frank Fitzpatrick and his crew aboard “Fitza’s Folly” leaving the Whittaker Pointe Marina saturday morning. Boats headed to the fishing grounds just after dawn so they could have their lines in the water for the tournament’s 7:00a start.

LeveLLand played at Sunday night’s cookout. Here, Alden Kenney requests “Ring of Fire” from band member Tom “Mac” McWilliams. Holding Alden’s hand is Sarah Kenney. McWilliams obliged.

Rotary president Al Herlands reports a sell-out crowd showed up at Saturday evening’s cookout. Over 450 plates of barbecue were served.

While some folks enjoyed a plate of barbecue after the first day’s fishing, this couple takes in Bob Laverty and his band.

The view from the Whittaker Pointe Marina clubhouse.

We have a winner! Captain Larry Walker calls the winner of the Rotary Raffle. The prize was an 8-day captain’s course donated by World Wide Marine Training of Oriental. The recipient of Walker’s call was Erin Wallace of Raleigh.

18 teams graced the first results board….

and it took a second one to list the remaining 16.

Posted Monday August 2, 2010 by Bernie Harberts