Fishing Page

A Hatteras Island team of anglers, The Sandfiddlers, won the annual Hatteras Village Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament, which was cut to only one session because of Tropical Storm Hanna.

The tournament began with a social event and captains’ meeting on Thursday evening. Fishing days were to be Friday and Saturday with two sessions each day.

However, once again an approaching storm wreaked havoc for the organizers.

Belinda Willis, who heads up the tournament for the Hatteras Village Civic Association, said that she did not find out until Thursday morning that the National Park Service intended to close the beaches at noon on Friday. At that point, she said, the teams were already on the way to Hatteras, so a decision was made to go ahead with the tournament with only one session of fishing on Friday morning.

A few teams were unhappy, Willis said, because the tournament wasn’t just cancelled and the entry fee refunded.

Eighty-four teams were registered, Willis said, and 74 showed up.

“Those people were really understanding,” said Katie Oden, a tournament volunteer. “Some people were grumpy, but they all came in happy after the morning on the beach and said they had a good time.”

The members of the Sandfiddlers of Buxton include Capt. Eddie Ochs and Buddy Jennette, Zander Brody, Andy Stephenson, David Carangi, and Rick Scarborough. The team caught 12 fish for 82 points.

Second place went to the F-Team from Kitty Hawk with one fish for 31 points. And the third place team was the Surf Casters and Bull Shooters from Virginia Beach with two fish and 30 points.

The first place women’s team was the Hatterascals of Hatteras village with seven fish and 13 points. The captain is Anne Styron and members are Carol McCracken, Carol Dillon, Rossie Jackson, and Roberta Midgett.

The Risky Reelers of Kill Devil Hills won second place for women’s teams, and the Girls Gone Fishing of Nags Head came in third.

Rick Scarborough of the Sandfiddlers had the largest scoring bluefish among the men at 15 3/4 inches. Rossie Jackson of the Hatterascals won for the women with a bluefish that measured 15 1/4 inches.

Largest scoring fish other than a bluefish went to Mark McDaniels of the F-Team with a 27-inch drum and Peggy Eason of Blackbeard’s Babes with a 13-inch sea mullet.

The award for the largest trash fish went to Hazel Basnight of the Showstoppers with a 20-inch stingray.

The benefits from the tournament are donated by the civic association to various community organizations.

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