Capt. Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament 2006
The 7th annual Captain Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament, held each year out of the Bridge Tender Marina, attracted a group of boats willing to take on some unfriendly seas over the weekend of July 28-29.
In spite of inclement weather and other tournaments on the same weekend, there were 33 boats that fished this year’s all release sailfish tournament, an event setup with fishing boundaries to help smaller boats compete with bigger boats.
“Gottafly” was the overall winner. Lee Parsons and Dickie Burwell, both from Wilmington, found two sails on Friday that held on to win.
They were fishing a spot about 12 miles off the beach in 70’ of water. The sails hit naked ballyhoos with split bills on the flat line. Parsons explained that keeping it simple worked for them, “No dredges. No teasers. Nothing.”
The first release was at 8:48 (the first release of the tournament) and the second release was a little after 1:00. They went 2 for 3 on the day.
Friday they were fishing alone at their 12 mile spot, but after news of their two sails it was a different story on Saturday.
On Saturday, about 15 of the 33 tournament boats were at their spot. No sails were released (or sighted) by “Gottafly” or any of the boats fishing this area on Saturday.
Parsons and Burwell have been fishing this tournament together for 5 years in a row. This was their first win together. “Gottafly” is a 23’ Boston Whaler.
Parsons described Friday as “the seas were 6-8’ with an occasional 10’ wave thrown in. Winds were 15-20 mph with gusting 25 mph. It kept building all day.”
“It was fun,” said Burwell with a chuckle.
Saturday was 4-5’ with an occasional 6’ wave, and winds were 10-15 mph building to 15-20 mph in the afternoon.
“Haulin Ace,” a 36’ Contender, landed the first release on Saturday. Mark Strickland, Brent Elvington, and Pernell Roberts, out of Wrightsville Beach, found the sail at 9:00 at 23 Mile Rock. The sail hit a live, naked menhaden.
The team didn’t fish Friday. And they were two hours late getting started on Saturday due to problems with the boat’s automatic lift.
They cleared Masonboro Inlet a little before 8:30 and had a release by 9:00.
“We have a fast boat,” said Elvington.
That one sail was the only billfish they spotted. The rest of the day consisted of barracudas and sharks.
The last release of the tournament came from “Strip Teaser,” a 25’ Grady White out of Winston Salem. Capt. Royall Brown, Mate Thomas Eller, and Rand Williams (angler) found the sail between the 14 Mile Rock and the 18 Mile Rock.
“We found a current line and a temperature break there,” said Brown.
The sail hit a skirted ballyhoo.
Other boats recording a release were “First Down Pirates” and “Work Release.” Both boats had a sail release on Friday.
The Sportsmanship Award went to Jack Kilbourne.
The Capt. Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament raises money for several beneficiaries. This year they donated proceeds to Hospice, the Foundation for the Education of Children with Downs Syndrome, and Autism Speaks.
The tournament also finds a family in need each year to help support. This year they donated funds to Sawyer Cox’s family. Sawyer is a child who has already done battle with a kidney disease, a tumor on the heart, and intestinal complications.
A large part of the fundraising comes through the efforts of the John Boy and Billy Show and Big Show Foods.
