Capt. Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament 2005
The winner of the 2005 Capt. Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament was also the first boat to catch and release a sail over the weekend. There were 48 boats in this year’s tournament, and a total of six sails were released-three on Friday and three on Sunday-with no single boat releasing more than one sail.
John Boy’s (of the John Boy and Billy Show) 32′ Donzi, the “Duh Huh,” took top honors by being the first boat to release a sail. They caught the sail south of the 30/30 on a naked ballyhoo in 80′ of water at 12:30. The “Duh Huh” team included Capt. Tripp Bryce, John Boy, Chuck Walker, Ron Thigpen, R.C. Shackleford, “Spanky,” and David Whisnant. The boat crew also credited Chef Cobb Melton, as well as Gerry Compeau and Kit Taylor (who both served as the “boys in the shop”) for aiding in the team’s victory.
The “Duh Huh” also won prize money by weighing in the second heaviest dolphin.
John Boy and John Boy and Billy’s Grillin’ Sauce have been a sponsor of the tournament for the past 5 years, but this is his first time fishing the event. The “Duh Huh” crew donated their $7,000 winnings to Bayley Smith, an 8-year-old attending Eaton Elementary who has been sick for the past 1.5 years with a kidney condition. Bayley Smith and family were one of the beneficiaries of this year’s Eddy Haneman Tournament.
The first sailfish on Saturday was caught by “Whipsaw” out of Wrightsville Beach. Capt. Robbie Wolfe and Mates Bobby Clark and Jeff Johnson were part of the team that released the sail at the 23 Mile Rock.
This is the sixth year of the Capt. Eddy Haneman, and the tournament paid out to the sixth sail caught and released over the weekend. This year the sixth sail of the tournament was also the last sail of the tournament, and it came from “Reality Check” in Wrightsville Beach. Owner Ron Petty, Capt. Teak Bell, Angler Jim Hardee, and Mate Richard Seer found the sail south of WR-4 on a little ballyhoo with a pink skirt.
The tournament also paid out for the heaviest dolphin of the weekend. “On Edge” landed a 15 lb. class dolphin to take the top spot. Owner Mike Hagerty and Capt. Bryce Morrison Jr. caught the fish at 14 Mile Rock.
Three other boats caught and released sails over the weekend.
Wrightsville Beach’s “Blue Horizon,” with Capt. Robert McNeill, Bret Goulding, Ben Raison, and McCray Dunn, released a sail on a ledge off of WR-4 on a blue and white Ilander.
Capt. Rob Wright, Angler Burke Saunders, and Brent Wright, all from Raleigh, released a sail offshore of the 30/30 on a naked ballyhoo. They were fishing on the “Retriever.”
Capt. Jimmy Vass and Mate Will Hodges, fishing on the “Fortune Hunter,” released a sail at 23 Mile Rock. The angler was a charter from out of town, and he had never been fishing before. The sail jumped 20-25 times in the 30 minutes it took him to bring the sail in.
The Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament has boundaries to make it competitive for smaller boats. The boundaries are roughly Dallas Rock to the north, 23 Mile Rock offshore, and Frying Pan Tower to the south.
In addition to the Bayley Smith Foundation, portions of the proceeds went to Hospice and the Foundation for the Education of Children with Down Syndrome.
