Tournament – Hatteras Village Offshore Open
The 24th annual Hatteras Village Offshore Open took place from May 15-19, opening the 2018 North Carolina Governor’s Cup Series and setting a strong precedent for the season. In the three day tournament, there were six categories of competition, and four of them involved blue marlin catches.
“The odds and per-boat rate of blue marlin catches during this tournament were phenomenal,” said Laura Young, who was in charge of the event. She wasn’t exaggerating about the odds—of the 22 boats that entered the tournament, 18 of them caught a blue marlin, and 8 of them left with some sort of cash prize.
A total of $72,420 was given out in prize money, and the tournament raised $35,000 beyond that. The money raised will go towards scholarships for high school seniors in the Hatteras Village area, as well as to other local charities thanks to the generosity of the Hatteras Village Civic Association.
The big winner of the 2018 Hatteras Village Offshore Open was Capt. Bull Tolson, who fished on his boat “Sea Toy” with Jimmy Vayne, David Bigg, Bob Swope, Wayne Enroughy, and first mate Catlin Peele, a group who Tolson described as quickly “becoming a team.” Tolson has fished every Hatteras Village Offshore Open in the past and, in 2018, took the win in the Heaviest Blue Marlin category with a monster 690.4 lb. fish, in addition to winning with 800 points in the Mandatory Billfish category (with two blue marlins scored at 400 points apiece).
The big blue was caught on a rigged spanish mackerel while trolling just south of the Rock Pile off Hatteras. Despite rough weather and choppy seas, Tolson said that “conditions are the key” when looking for a big billfish and that being able to read the ocean and concentrate efforts in the right areas are what led him to victory.
“Sea Toy” was the big winner in the 2018 Hatteras Village Offshore Open by scoring two blue marlins, including this tournament heavy 690.4 lb. blue.
This year saw some rule changes (blue marlin are scored differently this year to help encourage more releases) and a changing of the guard for the Hatteras Village Offshore Open with Young as the new Tournament Director, but the overall success of the tournament and the enthusiasm of the anglers who compete in it will keep the event going for a long time to come.
Registration for next year’s tournament will be on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, and Young is looking forward to it, saying, “We had a great turnout, a great time, and we hope to see everybody back next year!”
Young would also like to thank the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau in addition to the many other sponsors that helped make the 2018 HVOO such a success.
