The seventh annual Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic fishing tournament packed the Oak Bluffs harbor over the weekend as sportfishing fishing vessels hailing from up and down the Eastern seaboard hauled in the largest catch the tournament has seen to date.
The 62-foot sportfishing yacht Lights Out took first place overall with a 116-pound swordfish, two white marlins and a 235-pound bigeye tuna. With the win, Lights Out of Pocasset and Capt. Rob Carmichael took home 70 per cent of the $38,000 purse and earned an invitation to fish in the Offshore World Championship in Costa Rica this December.
It was a big weekend for offshore deep-sea fishing. Marlin, roundscale spearfish, swordfish, yellow and bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, mahi-mahi (dolphin) and wahoo all crossed the scales over a two-day weekend that saw favorable weather, with temperatures in the low 80s and light winds.
A total of 41 boats registered; 37 went out on Friday and Saturday.
“All species got caught,” tournament organizer Damon Sacco said, although he said some — including 15 white marlin, one blue marlin and two bluefin tuna — were caught and released.
The tournament took over for the Monster Shark Tournament, a long-running tournament that eventually grew controversial and ended in 2014. Most of the fishing takes place in the Northeast Canyons about 130 miles offshore, Mr. Sacco said.
“There’s more yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin tuna around here than there has been in 50 years,” he said. Most of the catch is sold on the Vineyard and the Cape, save what the captains keep for their crew and themselves, Mr. Sacco said.
The tournament historically raises money for the Island Autism Group of Martha’s Vineyard and the Massachusetts General Hospital colon cancer research fund. Additionally this year, some proceeds from the tournament, which totaled $8,000, were donated to the Island Food Pantry.
Mr. Sacco said in seven years, the tournament has raised more than $100,000 for charity.
With the favorable weather on Friday and Saturday to fish, weigh in Saturday night lasted until nearly 11 p.m.
For onlookers and fishermen who had to wait, there was entertainment. An Elvis Presley impersonator turned the bulkhead along New York avenue into a stage, dancing to the King’s classics in the humid night air.
Biggest fish caught were as follows:
• Albacore Tuna, 57 pounds, Speculator, Palm Beach, Fla.
• Bigeye Tuna, 288 pounds, ’Gotta Do, Woods Hole.
• Mahi-Mahi (dolphin), two at 22 pounds each, Keep Dreaming, Lighthouse Point, Fla., and Loose Cannon, Hyannis.
• Swordfish, 116 pounds, Lights Out, Pocasset.
• Wahoo, 53 pounds, Criteria, New Castle, N.H.
• Yellowfin, 91 pounds, Miss Wilder, Osterville.
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