Bluewater Classic 2007

Team “Faith” cleans house offshore during the 2^nd Annual Virginia Beach Sport Fishing Bluewater Classic.

Fishing the second day of the two day event, “Faith” knew what it had to do. Accompanied by eleven other boats in some rather sporty sea conditions, “Faith” set the pace by releasing a Blue Marlin angled by Colon Stewart at 9:15, earning them 200 points for the Billfish Level. Bill Hodges, Paul Hodges, Joel Pitts, Colon Stewart, and Russell Gammon finished the day with a meat slam, catching a couple Mahi, a Yellowfin and a big Wahoo. Back at the scales they would find out that Colon’s 29 pound Yellowfin would take Top Tuna and Russell’s 48.75 pound Wahoo would bring them a third check at the Awards Ceremony that night. “Faith” braved the conditions and took home $3925.00 for Top Tuna, Top Wahoo, and 1^st place in the Billfish Level. They were also awarded an invitation to fish in the IGFA World Championship in Cabo San Lucas in March 2008.

Top Mahi went to Team “Belly Dancer”, Craig Bosmans, Todd Beard, Micky McDonald and Keith. They decided to catch some fish early and then head home and that’s what they did. When they got back to the scales, they were pleased to see 20 pounds register on the scales, securing them 1^st place for the Largest Mahi and a check for $650.00.

“Billable Ours” had a Blue Marlin on for a while. On the fish’s second trip into the spread it finally committed to a bait and got hooked. Once it figured there was a hook in its mouth, it went for a run and dumped a near spool of line off a 50 Wide. The gold spool was visible at one time. Capt Dave gave chase and they were able to recover all but 75 yards of line before the fish surged and broke the line. “Reel Emotion” fished both days of the tourney. They had a Blue Marlin on for a while on Day one, but the fish had other plans. They also suffered a bite off form a nice sized Wahoo. The team on “Juggernaut” brought another nice Wahoo the scales that weighed in at 42 pounds. The guys on “Still Think’n” found a couple of nice Mahi that fell just shy of “Belly Dancer’s” 20 pounder. Team “Roll Tide” found a couple of Amberjacks out on the Fingers.

This year the Bluewater Classic added an Inshore Division. Awards for Largest Flounder, Cobia and Spanish Mackerel were all up for grabs. We had 6 boats enter the Inshore Division and we paid out for all three species. Mike Huddleston and the rest of Team “Patriot”, Augustus Huddleston, Tiffany Huddleston, Ryan Page, and Josh Malinowski, headed for the Bridge Tunnel Complex and scored several Flounder throughout the day. They hung Josh’s Flounder on the scales at Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle weighed 5 pounds 1 oz and earned them a check for $300.00. Todd Beck, Matt Proffitt, and Jim Edwards, all members of Team “Knot Wish’n” set out after the Cobia title. After catching some bait and several weighable Spanish Mackerel, they set up to hunt for the “Man in the Brown Suit”. They found them for sure. Boating 3 Cobias, they put their biggest on the scales at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center and took Top Cobia with a fish that went 36.25 pounds. They also took the Top Spanish Mackerel with a 1 pound 8 oz Mack winning a total of $600.00 for both categories.

We were honored this year to have Dr. John Graves from VIMS join us for a discussion on the importance of using circle hooks. His talk was very informative and provided everyone present a sense of the impact we can have on the survivability of billfish. Ric Burnely of “The Fisherman” and “Saltwater Sportsman” was not only a spectator , but a participant in the tournament. He fished with Capt Dave Wessner on “Billable Ours” and hopefully will return to fish with us again. Ric’s latest article in “Saltwater Sportsman” revealed some of the techniques used to catch doormat Flounder around the CBBT. 

The Bluewater Classic gave away over $8000.00 worth of door prizes and numerous raffle items provided by our gracious sponsors. The Charter trip donated by “Billable Ours” Charters was won by Bob Malkowski and the Guy Harvey signed limited edition print went to Matt Proffitt. The Bluewater Classic will also be donating $500.00 to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and $500.00 to The Billfish Foundation to help fund their efforts to protect our waterways and promote conservation-minded fishing in our offshore waters. We also gained several new members for both organizations.

A great time was had by all and we’re already planning for next year to be bigger and better. A special thanks to all our Sponsors, Volunteers, and most importantly, our Anglers. With out all of you, the tournament would not have been as successful as it was. So until next year.