Despite
monsoon rains over the weekend, 53 boats competed in the 2005
Tarpon Tournament Saturday and Sunday. There were 16 tarpon
caught (up from none caught last year), an average of one tarpon
for every 3-1/2 boats. One tarpon was tagged and 18 jumped off.
The Rotary
Club members are still counting - but Monday morning were pleased
at the scholarship money raised by the tournament. Folks seemed
to have had a good time, too.
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The winning Woosters - James(L) and Gene. That fellow
at right is Oriental Rotary Club member (and awards MC)
Gary Williams - he seemed to be always in the picture.
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Gene Wooster
of Mobile East Marine in Alliance and his son James took the
top prize. They caught 4 tarpon, three on Saturday and one on
Sunday. They take home the trophy. There was a suggestion that
they take home the Tarpon on a Trailer and start a new tradition
by keeping it in their driveway for a year.(That would save
the Rotary the challenge of storing the big fish.)
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Come on Gene - it would look good in the Mobile East Marine
parking lot!
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Three
anglers tied for second place, and the tie was broken by the
time at which they caught their fish.
George and Anna Beckwith took second place, thanks to Anna catching
the first tarpon at 7:19am on Saturday. (She says she caught
it a few minutes earlier and released it at 7:19). George is
a fishing guide - we notice that local guides are among the
top finishers every year. tarpon are not easy to catch.
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George and Anna Beckwith
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Third place
was Jeremy Cahoon and his crew.
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The Cahoon crew
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Fourth
was Len Banks from Lowland and Jeff Junak of New Bern.
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Jeff Junak, Len Banks (R)
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Fifth was
Ken Midyette, Sr. His crew was Wesley Ireland of Merritt.
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Wesley Ireland and Ken Midyette are all smiles
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This tournament
was the charm for Paul Miller of Oriental. He’d fished
in 8 Tarpon Tournaments and never even came close to a fish.
This time, he and three friends from Ohio had a tarpon jump
off and caught a skate. North Canton, OH now has something besides
the Football Hall of Fame to be proud of: Paul, and his crew,
Keith Fraser, Duane Duke and Lynn Herdlich (who snagged the
tarpon) took sixth place.
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Paul Miller (L) holds his hard earned award.
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Seventh
place went to Dan Roberts.
Eighth to Allen Propst and his crew, Rick Andrews.
Three others placed and received money prizes but no trophy:
Greg Voliva, Tim Rice and Derek Jordan.
Perhaps the most distinctive trophy was the one that did not
have a reproduction of a tarpon, but a replica of a skate. The
award for the “Pancake Tarpon” went to Frieda Hudson
of the Pamlico News team which caught 32 skate (28 on Saturday
and 4 on Sunday)
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Frieda Hudson and crew pulled in 32 skate!
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In the
Tournament Within The Tournament, Sportsman Category, Ken Midyette
and Terry Rice tied for first prize of $682.
In the Championship Category, there was a tie among the teams
of Beckwith, Cahoon and Banks. They each received $810.
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The Tarpon Tournament is held annually by the Oriental Rotary
Club to raise scholorship funds.
