Wine, Women & Fishing

Sorry for the late update, I didn't get official results until after we were into the VBBT...and then we got a little busy.

The WWF attracted around 21 boats and definitely got into some fish. The leaderboard looked like an ad for Viking as 1, 2, 3 all went to those rides. For the second time Bluewater's Ann Black nailed the Top Angler title aboard Tommy and Ann Hunnicut's Triflin with Captain David Peck once again at the helm. She reeled in a white and a sail, followed by her teammates Ann Hunnicut and Susan Palmer with a sailfish a piece. Their four releases were good for top boat. Second place went to Wayne Sawyer's Victory Lap & Captain Milton Sykes with 3 sails and third to Susan & Dwight Wolf's Sea Wolf, also 3 releases for Captain Carl Beale and his crew.

The top junior angler was no surprise as Sniper's own Hunter Bayne took home another trophy with a sailfish release, with her dad Jimmy on the wheel. The much loved "Crazy Crew" award went to Wave Runner II --hoping to get some pictures for this one?? (hint hint)

On your mark, get set....

The tent is up and the girls are doing their thing already! The Wine, Women and Fishing kicked off last night and all 30 boats are out there right now. We'll post the results tonight, so stay tuned. The fishing has been pretty fantastic from Ocean City down to Oregon Inlet--and a few spots in between, so we want to see some flags girls!
Congratulations go out to the Viking 68 and our own Bluewater for racking up the release points in Ocean City two weeks ago. And just last week there was quite a shoot-out with Sea Toy and Caroline taking 1st and 3rd in Pirate's Cove--that was some seriously pretty work. Rest up, 'cause we can't wait to see ya'll up here in a few days.
And yes, the VBBT is shaping up nicely, but there are a few spots available--so call me or Paula and we'll get you hooked up. The countdown is on...sharpen those hooks, boys!
~D.

The fishing season has already been awesome! Just to catch you up on a few bits of VB news....

Congratulations to the Tippecanoe for winning this year's Virginia Beach Invitational Marlin Tournament! Capt. Ernie Bailey and mate AJ took Bob Stanton and crew for a total of 7 white marlin and one blue marlin release!

The Complete standings:

1st Place overall: Tippecanoe- Captain Ernie Bailey w/ 800 points
2nd Place overall: Gee Daddy- Captain Garrett Holden w/ 700 points
3rd Place overall: Wahoo- Captain Bryan Peele w/ 500points
1st Place meatfish: Tippecanoe- Captain Ernie Bailey
2nd Place meatfish: Juggernaut- Captain Calvin Hanchey
3rd Place meatfish: Special D- Captain Steve Sadowski

22 Boats fished and a total of 46 billfish were released during the two out of three day event.

Great work guys!

Mixed Bag

We are counting the days now!
Good luck to the Virginia Beach Tuna Tournament Participants and thank you, BOB!
Don't forget tonight's the "Luau" pre-registration party for the Virginia Beach Invitional which takes place next week, stop by and say hi to Paula!

Tough Day in Rudee Inlet

We lost a good one.

Wish we were talking about a grander,

but in his way, he was.

We called him the King.

But as kings go he was more "no shirt, no shoes, no problem" than any you'd imagine.

Jim Sculley was a part of Rudee Inlet and had a big hand in giving us what we have today.

She won't want to mention it, but our girl Paula probably wouldn't be here putting this all together without him--he is the one who had enough faith in a 24 year old girl to make her the Dockmaster at Fisherman's Wharf Marina, couple of years back...

Thanks Jim.

We owe you still and we miss you more.

Hearts go out to the Sculley family--Ingrid, Jimmy, Sissy and all the rest who loved him.

Used to be a good joke that every time Jim left town the blue marlin would start snappin...It got bad enough that he stopped calling for fishing reports after he got on a plane--got him too worked up.

They'll probably show up here in a day or two....we'll get one for you--wish you were here.

First Blue of the Year!

Well as we said things are heating up and this past weekend just goes to prove it. Even on a holiday the boats who went got into the fish! Gaffer dolphins everywhere and the dolphin fingers are flowing (call Paula for a good recipe for fried 'phin fingers if you're interested!) Local charter operator Captain Nolan Agner on the "Knockdown" had a really good day on Sunday and released Virginia Beach's first Blue Marlin of the year...In his own words:
We were fighting two gaffer's when the Blue exploded on a long rigger and preceded to dump a 50W. I turned and chased the fish at 15 kts and narrowly escaped being spooled (we literally saw gold at the bottom of the spool). We continued the fight for more than 1.5 hours and finally got the leader. We were able to get the fish close to the surface before popping the light 130# tuna leader. We estimated the fish between 400 and 500#s. We also had 30 gaffer Dolphin up to 26#s and three Yellowfin Tuna to 37#s. We missed numerous gaffers and we had at least a dozen tuna bites.
So its on.
And its right here.
Season is looking good already! Just to keep you all updated right now we have received entries from Smoker, Reelin N Dealin, Sea Toy, Tippecanoe, Alexis, Caroline and Victory Lap. Of course the local marinas are booking slips like crazy--please get your reservations in to them as soon as possible and then get that entry into the PO Box...we need to make Paula smile!
If you want to fish and the boat is down or your buddy let you down, there are some charter boats who are still open for the VBBT. Please give Paula a call if you think you might be interested. And if you are a boat looking for a crew, do the same!
The fish are here, and the season is looking right. Life is too short to miss out on this one. What are you waiting for?
Keep an eye on this spot and we'll keep you posted on what's going on out of Rudee. And if you go fishing--and catch 'em, let us know! www.vbbt.com

Welcome to Rudee...

Thought that this might be a good way to stay in touch with all of you...The weather is on it and the fishing is starting to happen around here! We just sent out our early invitations for the 2009 Tournament and come June 1 we will open up the remaining slots. So send them on in!--Paula is hitting the PO Box a couple a times a day and gets pretty worked up when we get an entry---seriously bummed if not ---even though its only been a couple of days!
Congratulations to Smoker and Reelin & Dealin, our first two entries!
And please take note of the Gift from the Heart option---it could make all the difference this year!
The 2008 tournament video went out and we also dropped a couple off at our favorite hang-outs...check it out at 15th Street Raw Bar, Sam & Omie's, Hurricane Mo's, Big Sam's, GF Keagan's, Chicks Oyster Bar or Waterman's! And if you want your own, call and we'll get it to you.
Steve Goione is working on this year's artwork, and it should be another gorgeous view of Virginia Beach--and since you asked, we do have prints available from 2005 to 2008, just call Paula.
98 days and counting until the Kick-off! See you there.