Bluefish, Beer, Beach: OISFT in Full Swing
Professional angler Gary Oliver, who fishes with team Diawa, is someone who fishes hard, said head judge Woody Billings. Others focus on the camaraderie, the many parties surrounding the tournament, and what's in those coolers besides bait.
The Crooked Hooks have a rule that everybody drinks a beer before the first cast, at 8 a.m., explained Ross Hawkins.
A group of women from Maryland comes every year not to fish, but to take part in all the fun, said Woody.
Elsie Dowdy has been fishing with Sam and Omie's Different Drummers since 1979. "We love each other off the beach, but when it comes to fishing look out," she said.
"Here's the Howard's Pub team," said Woody. "They'll have a lovely buffet later." Her teammates all say Barbara Jemison is their most serious angler.
"I like the people I fish with. Have a ever caught a fish? No," said Cindy Fiore. By the afternoon of the second, final day, the Pub team will have a big group of people washing down food from the renowned buffet with mimosas.
Teams have six members and one alternate. 24% of this years teams, like the Pubettes, are all women.
Now in its 29th year, OISFT began as an initiative to bring in some early season business to Ocracoke. Most of the teams return year after year. The $420 entry fee covers the books, buttons, T-shirts, beer truck and pig pickin' Friday evening, which the whole community is welcome to attend.
There are about 50 teams on the waiting list, and "maybe one team comes off a year. Maybe," said Woody. Don't have 50 years to wait? Your best bet is to make friends with existing teams, and you may be asked to join when a member retires.
Lindsey Howard is the last original member of the O'Croakers. His son William is either the best or the luckiest fisherman on the team, depending who you ask. And "Dan [Garrish] is the best fisherman with a net," said Bill Gilbert.
The 2012 tournament teams enjoyed terrific weather. Sometimes it is chilly and raining sideways, and everyone is in waders, said Bill. This year people stripped down to swimsuits, and cooled off in the 70 degree water between casts.
"It's the first year they've put me in charge of the weather," explained OISFT co-chair Richard Perkins, with characteristic modesty.
Teams of judges from both on and off the island, wearing T-shirts that say "Size Matters," volunteer their time. Woody has "total faith in the integrity of the judges," who are "absolutely allowed to accept food and beverages" from the anglers.
The Thursday morning session was light and sporadic. "I've caught me a crab, a mullet, a shark and a string ray. The crab pulled harder than anything," said Jamie Jackson. His team was preparing the grill for an afternoon BBQ.
Fishing picked up with the incoming tide Thursday afternoon, when some good sized bluefish were caught. A 56" cobia is the largest fish ever caught, by the Nags Head Outcasters.
At 83, Carol Dillon of Hatteras, who was the real life inspiration for the terrific children's book Taffy of Torpedo Junction, is the oldest angler in the tournament.
Frank originally came to Ocracoke on a birding trip in the 1990s, and has since come each year from Geneva, Switzerland to fish the tournament. The most challenging part of his long trip is getting past Homeland Security. "They want me to have a sporting visa," he explained.
Last year OISFT donated $6000, to the OVFD, Boosters Club, Ocracoke Child Care, and the Sigma Willis Scholarship Fund at Ocracoke School. Sigma was one of the original organizers of the event. The OISFT Board hopes to give $10,000 to community organizations in 2012.
OISFT is looking for people to join its fun board, said Woody. "We meet four or five times a year over lunch," to organize the event.
Thank you to OISFT photographer Trudy Austin for sharing her photographs.
