 |
|
|
July 2, 2009
Hatteras Jack tackle shop will sponsor an
inshore tournament, geared to sound fishing By JOY CRIST  Ryan White, owner of the Hatteras Jack Tackle Shop in Rodanthe, has discovered a way to distract frustrated local and visiting fishermen from the headaches of the shifting summer beach closures. What’s his advice? Go west. “Fishermen need to check out the sound,” says Ryan. “Obviously, this whole area [Hatteras Island] is just tremendous for fishing, but the tip of the iceberg has only been scratched with what’s out here and what’s around.” To raise awareness and generate tourism, and to get more visitors dropping lines on the soundside where beach closures are scarce, Ryan has launched the First Annual Hatteras Jack’s Tri-Villages Inshore Slam Fishing Tournament, scheduled for Aug. 1-2. The tournament is open to 200 participants, and sign-up is available at Hatteras Jack or online at www.hatterasjack.com. The cost to sign up is $100 per person, and everyone is welcome, whether they are casting from the shore, wading, fishing from a kayak, or from a boat. “There’s a lot of fun to be had in the backwater,” says Ryan. “It’s pretty much something everyone can take advantage of, whether you’re in a kayak, a john boat, or a commercial charter boat. It’s a very diverse place to fish.” If all 200 entries get filled, Hatteras Jack is donating $2,000, or roughly 20 percent of all the proceeds, to the legal actions initiated by Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance and the Outer Banks Preservation Association to open up the beaches. Even if the tournament does not fill up, a 10 percent donation of all proceeds will still be made. “Basically, we want people to sign up because there’s a good chance for everyone to win money, it’s definitely going to be fun, and most important, it’s a great way to get the OBPA some money to fight the ‘evil empire’ that is hurting our businesses.” The road to the August tournament has been a long one. Ryan has made a name for himself for his long proprietorship of Hatteras Jack, his success in casting tournaments up and down the East Coast, and his custom-built reels. In January, he decided to parlay the shop’s good reputation into a sound fishing tournament, and months of hard work tying everything together and generating sponsors followed. “It’s turning out to be quite a project,” he says. Finally, everything is just now starting to come together.” Currently, the tournament has quite a few sponsors, including Daiwa, Holiday Ice (which will be giving a bag of ice for everyone in the tournament), Roy Allen of www.customrodsnreels.com, and Ryan himself who will be building rods for door prizes. Other sponsors include Flying Fish, which is designing T-shirts and posters, and Lloyd Smith of Pritchett and Burch, Attorneys at Law, who is donating prize money for the tournament. Any local Hatteras Island business that wants to donate prizes is welcome to join in and can contact Hatteras Jack’s via the phone or Web site. “I’m more than happy to take anything I can get, and that will make this tournament better,” Ryan says. Once the tournament begins, sign-in is from 5 until 6 a.m. at the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community Center, and lines can be in the water from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a weigh-in at the end of each evening at 7 p.m., also at the community center. While there are plenty of fish in the sound, the tournament is concentrating on four species -- speckled trout, bluefish, flounder, and puppy drum. The largest of each fish will get a $1,000 prize, and the fisherman who gets the largest total weight in a grand slam -- one of each four species of fish -- will win $2,000. “There are the four types the tournament is focused on,” says Ryan, “but there’s also a ton of other fish for every kind of fishermen. For example, sport fishermen can get out into the [sound] water and catch a hound fish, or a poor man’s marlin. They’re a gar and great fighters, which makes them lots of fun and quite a challenge.” A few entries have been filed so far, but Ryan is hoping that as the tournament date draws closer, more fishermen will find out about the tournament and catch on that there’s plenty of fun to be had on both shorelines of Hatteras Island. “I am extremely excited about it,” says Ryan. “I’m doing this because I want to show everyone how good the sound fishing is during the summertime, especially since we don’t have a chunk of the beaches right now. I also want to promote the area and see business grow, not to mention have a good time while giving money to a good cause. “Just the success of potentially filling up the tournament, and knowing that there are so many people willing to still come down here and spend their money and have fun,” continues Ryan, “makes me realize that despite the closures, we’re definitely going to keep the island alive.” FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information, call Hatteras Jack’s at 987-2428 or check the Web site at http://www.hatterasjack.com |
|
  |
|
|
|