Boy Scouts Gulf Stream Open
The “Chicken Ship” fishing team of Capt. Adam Thompson, mate Karl Allen, and anglers Ken Roberts and Denny Lanier took first place in the Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open with several gaffer dolphin and a blue marlin release. Roberts battled the marlin to release after it struck a naked ballyhoo in 65 fathoms off Wrightsville Beach.
Capt. Adam Thompson and the “Chicken Ship” crew had more to celebrate than letting go one of the first blue marlin of the season off Wrightsville Beach earlier this month, as the 400 release points the fish earned the team handily carried them to victory in the 2nd Annual Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open, held May 8-11 out of Wrightsville Beach Marina.
Aboard the 54’ Jarrett Bay Sportfisherman with Thompson for the tournament were mate Karl Allen, Jamie Rushing, and Ken Roberts and Denny Lanier, of Wallace, NC. Thompson studied some satellite sea surface temperature shots the night and morning before they fished, identifying a temperature break he liked a bit north of Wrightsville.
“There was some good water up that way in the mid-200’s,” Thompson explained. “We got up there and I was kind of feeling like I was out to lunch since we were the only boat up there the first half of the morning.”
Trolling dredge and squid daisy chain teasers, along with naked and skirted ballyhoo, the crew had a steady pick of gaffer dolphin in their spread throughout the morning.
“We actually ran away from them a couple times,” Thompson continued. “They were tearing up my dredges and we were looking for billfish for points.”
The dolphin action continued throughout the morning, but the anglers hadn’t yet seen a billfish by noon, when fellow Wrightsville Beach boat “Gamekeeper” showed up in the same area.
“Ken (Gamekeeper captain) came up from the south and was picking away at dolphin the whole way,” said Thompson. “He was staying a little inshore, and I decided since we were looking for a blue one to stay out deeper.”
The strategy worked out around 12:30, as the crew was trolling in 65 fathoms.
“That fish came up window-washing on the squid chain under my rigger,” Thompson continued. “I had some 80’s out for a blue, but of course that fish came up and jumped on our smallest rig out, a TLD 20 with a circle-hook rig.”
Ken Roberts took the rod after the bite and was soon doing battle with his first blue marlin.
“Thankfully that was a smaller fish,” Thompson said, “about 125 or 150 lbs. It went to jumping right away, and we just backed up to it.”
The crew had the leader in the rod guides within 15 minutes, signifying an official catch, but the fish soon sounded and the battle continued.
“I wanted to get him back to get some pictures and make sure I’d identified the correct species,” Thompson explained.
The deep battle lasted another half-hour before the crew was able to bring the fish boatside for photos and a release.
Along with the 400 points the marlin earned, “Chicken Ship” scaled three dolphin weighing 38.05 lbs. to earn 438.05 points in the event.
A generator issue forced them to stay on land for the event’s second day of fishing, and Thompson was a bit nervous another boat would best their point total.
“There was a lot of pretty water and a lot of good teams fishing,” he explained. “I thought someone would catch another blue or two or a few whites or sails.”
Fortunately for “Chicken Ship,” the crew released the tournament’s only billfish, nearly quadrupling the runner-up’s point total.
The “Great Escape” team scaled six dolphin weighing 104.65 lbs. over their two fishing days to earn second place. “Safari” took third with 89.6 lbs. of dolphin.
A Youth Pinfish Tournament was conducted on the last day of the event and won by Natalie Hanson (age 4).
The Boy Scout Gulf Stream Open generates proceeds for the Cape Fear Council of Boy Scouts of America, and this year’s event produced over $32,000. For more information on the event, visit www.bsagulfstreamopen.com.
