Big Bend Sportsman Fishing Stories
Beer and Loathing
at Walker’s Cay
6th Edition Barta Blue Marlin Classic
By
Capt Wiley Horton
Prologue:
I entered the
inaugural BBMC six years ago and have fished it each year since. It
is held every year at Walker’s Cay in April. Tred Barta is the
founder and chairman of the tournament. The tournament’s mission is
to raise money for the IGFA’s junior angler program.
Last year’s crew
consisted of my wife, Doris, Capt. Sam Crutchfield, Michele Grey and
myself. Michele won the Ladies Grand Slam Cup and Doris finished in
fifth place for billfish releases. Michele was unable to make this
year’s event due to an eleventh hour crisis, so Doris, Capt. Sam and I
prepared to take on some of the best fishing teams in the world.
Friday and
Saturday, April 12th & 13th:
After weeks of
preparation, Doris and I headed to Ft. Pierce with our boat
TUNER in tow. We met Capt. Sam at his home and headed out to
dinner with him and a boat builder friend, Mark Willis. NOAA was
calling for winds out of the east at 20 knots with gusts to 30, so we
decided to take it easy on Saturday and visit Mark’s facility.
Saturday morning,
we launched the TUNER and fueled up. We then headed to
Stuart to eat lunch and look at Mark’s boat building enterprise. Mark
is currently building a 67foot sport fishing boat that will cost the
owner close to $3 million when completed. The hull is constructed of
triple layers of Okume plywood and finished with two layers of
fiberglass. It pretty much took up most of the building and will be a
piece of fishing art when finished.
Sunday, April 14th:
I was awakened by a thunderstorm and howling wind at 2am and figured
that Capt. Sam would not be anxious to make the crossing to Walker’s.
I was surprised when, at 5:30am, Sam knocked on the door and said,
“Let’s go to the Bahamas.” We didn’t have to be there until the
following Wednesday for the tournament, but all three of us were ready
to get out of Ft. Pierce.
At the marina, the
wind is 15-20 knots out of the East. NOAA is calling for the same
winds for the next five days. At 6:30am, we pass through the inlet
and immediately are greeted by standing waves of 4-5 feet. The boat
is loaded with fuel, ice, a 7 cubic foot freezer full of bait, food,
tackle, clothing and several cases of beer. I have the beer
positioned to ride comfortably.
Walker’s Cay is
115 statute miles just South of due east from Ft. Pierce. The Bahamas
Bank is 69 miles East. Covering 69 miles in a 29-foot boat into a
20-knot headwind can best be described as a grind. The Gulf Stream
was a virtual washing machine, with a large ground swell from the NE
competing with the head seas to see who could put the most spray over
the top of the TUNER. After 5 hours at 12-14 knots, we
reached the bank and the seas relented a bit. We covered the last 30
miles in just over an hour.
Capt. Sam cleared
customs while I unloaded the boat and Doris checked us into the
Hotel. The beer has safely made the journey. We run into Tred who
has caught several nice dolphin that morning and he invites us to have
dinner with him and his family. Capt. Billy Black, the pioneer
charter captain running the 53-foot Hatteras, DUCHESS at Walker’s,
joins us that evening. Listening to the tales from Tred, Sam and
Billy made me realize how much I have to learn about the art of BS.
At the same time, each man is very genuine in person.
Monday, April 15th:
Breakfast at the Hotel’s restaurant overlooking the barrier reef is
one of my favorite things to do at Walker’s. Capt. Sam and Doris are
anxious to do some bottom fishing so we head to Grand Cay to one of
Capt. Sam’s secret honey holes. On the way, a French sailboat begins
broadcasting a Mayday. He has run aground and bent his rudder shaft
badly. When we arrive, the sailboat is anchored comfortably in 15
feet of water and in no danger. We help him make arrangements to be
towed and the boat fixed on Grand.
The
fishing turns out to be an exercise in frustration. We hook several
fine mutton snapper and yellowtail only to have sharks consume them
and our hooks. We move to a spot North of Walker’s where the bottom
drops from 60 feet to 110 feet in a sheer cliff. Sam caught a fine 3
lb yellowtail and I got a 10lb Cero mackerel to take a top water
plug. The fishing was unusually slow and with dinner in the box, at
5pm we headed back to the island.
At the dock we
were greeted with the news that Billy Black’s wife had been killed in
an auto accident. She was on her way to the airport with their
children to fly to Walker’s to participate in the tournament. The
BBMC has become a real family affair and the sad news cast a pall over
dock.
Shortly before
dark, some friends from Charleston pulled into the marina in two
pretty Carolina custom boats. They joined us in the restaurant
to dine on the yellowtail and Cero prepared by the restaurant staff
and served with the classic Bahamian dish of peas and rice.
Tuesday, April 14th:
With 2 days left until the tournament starts, we once again enjoy a
relaxing breakfast and decide to try some blue water trolling to work
any kinks out of the boat, bait, rigging and presentation. The day is
uneventful, but we get a chance to figure out the spread we want to
run. Back at the docks, folks gather at 7pm for a memorial service
for Allison Black. Tred says a few words and reads a letter his
daughter wrote to Billy’s children. It was a moving moment.
Wednesday, April
15:
I enjoy the last
breakfast we will have on the island. The boys from Charleston want
to go bottom fishing. They are eager to try some of Sam’s secret
spots and invite us to fish aboard their boat. One of the boat’s
great features is the Eskimo ice machine. It pumps 600lbs per day
into a large, insulated box. We caught several nice fish, the
highlights being two mutton snapper over 15lbs. At 4pm we headed back
to get ready for the Captain’s Meeting at 7pm.
This
is Tred’s 6th tournament and he has become a much more
polished MC. After a moment of silence for Allison, Tred asks every
boat to contribute $300 toward a scholarship fund for the Black
children. Charter boat Captains have an old saying, “If you’re making
money, the boat knows it.” Despite his fame and fishing prowess,
Captain Billy Black needs our help. Before the end of the tournament,
the participants from 82 boats have contributed over $27,000 to the
fund.
As the
next order of business, Tred introduces Dr. Guy Harvey, Carey Chen, Be
Forbes, Caren Stevens and Al Barnes. Each artist will complete an
original work on the island and auction it off Thursday night. I run
into Jerry, a friend from North Carolina, and he and I head off to the
restaurant to meet Doris and Capt. Sam. Guy Harvey and his daughter,
Jessica, join us at the table. As you can imagine, Guy is an
interesting dinner companion. Jessica has her first oil painting
entered into the auction. She has a wonderful and precise British
accent. It is a memorable evening.
Thursday, April 16th:
The casual part of the trip is over and the tournament has begun.
Some of the best Captains, Mates and Anglers in the world have once
again converged in the waters around Walker’s Cay to fish for nothing
more than bragging rights. There is no Calcutta. There is no prize
money. Only single hook rigged mullet, mackerel and ballyhoo, you are
scored on your honor. This week, on this island, a man is as good as
his word.
I find
myself in a familiar situation. Out of 82 boats, my 29’ Mirage
TUNER, is the second smallest. I keep watering her and
perhaps someday she will grow. Only a 26’ boat from tournament
sponsor, World Cat, is smaller.
We begin the
morning by running down the inside of the islands to Stranger’s Cay
channel to avoid the bumpy ocean. The bigger boats don’t seem to
mind. Capt. Sam really likes fishing the canyons off Stranger’s and
we had great luck last year in the area. The radio was very busy with
a number of boats calling in hookups. Over the course of the day, we
had a shot a one white marlin and failed to get a hook in him.
Another team from Gainesville releases a blue marlin for 500 points.
At
6:30pm the auction is beginning with Capt. Sam as the auctioneer.
Numerous items including rods, reels, electronics, etc bring in some
money. Guy Harvey’s original painting of a blue marlin chasing a tuna
is the first on the auction block. After some spirited bidding, it
fetches $5000. Guy agrees to paint another original for the losing
bidder for an additional $5000. He seems pleased. Next up is
Jessica’s painting of a sailfish. While no match for her father’s
work, it is a nice piece. The bidding is hot and heavy, with some of
the big boys sensing an investment opportunity. The winning bid was
an eye-popping $8500 for a painting by an 11-year-old girl. Jessica
agrees to another painting to the losing bidder for $8500 and the
Harvey clan has raised $27,000 for the IGFA junior angler program in
10 minutes. At the end of the auction, the total raised by this
year’s tournament is approaching $200,000.
Friday, April 17th:
After a
frustrating Thursday, Capt. Sam makes the decision to head North to
find a temperature break reported by others. There is a 3-degree
drop, but it has become very diffused and spread over a two-mile
area. There is a westerly current and an easterly breeze of around 15
knots. On one side the waves are stacked up eight feet high and
cresting. The other side has gentle waves under 3 feet. As we troll
a weed line back toward the island, we make a decision that will cost
us some points.
At the
Northeastern edge of the Bahamas bank, we can head west toward
Matanilla reef or South toward Stranger’s. Sam feels our best shot is
south, so we head in that direction. At around 2:30, a white marlin
grabs a large swimming ballyhoo on the center rigger and jumps once
before tossing the hook back. The ‘hoo was mangled so badly that the
hook got turned around and lodged in its head. The folks that went
west had better days, with the eventual tournament winner releasing a
blue, 2 whites and 2 sailfish. The other boat from Gainesville,
LEGAL TENDER, has released another blue and is in second
place. Capt. Sam is haunted by the decision and vows to go West on
Saturday.
Friday night is a
casual evening with a buffet dinner under the large tent near the
Hotel pools. A projector is set up and the first screening is of the
pilot for Tred’s TV show titled The Best and Worst of Tred Barta. The
show airs Tred’s opinions on matters large and small and is set on
Long Island before a duck hunt. Love him or hate him, not many people
will be unaffected by the show. Guy Harvey showed some footage of
himself diving with billfish around the world, noting the feeding
habits that will help us understand and apply to our fishing
technique. I can tell you the TUNER fishing team was
paying attention.
Saturday, April 18th:
As
usual, we are among the first boats to leave the marina. We head west
using one of Capt. Sam’s triple secret routes through the coral. The
seas are light with large swells from the East. Every bait is
deployed within 45 seconds after the committee boat calls lines in.
Two boats close to us hook large fish and lose them quickly.
Finally I spot
fins behind our center bait. It is a small white marlin around
50-60lbs, the perfect size for a release tournament. We dropped back
to the fish several times but the hook never stuck. “Watch the right
rigger, whites love a big bait”, hissed Capt. Sam, upset that the fish
didn’t take the center bait. Five seconds later, the fish exploded on
the rigger as Sam predicted. After the drop back, the fish is fast to
the line. We’d called in our 2 previous hookups, so this time I
reported, “Due to the results of our prior calls reporting being
hooked up, we’d like to report that we are no longer not hooked up.”
Doris is the
angler, I clear the rods and Sam drives. The fish is very acrobatic,
but we manage a release in less than 3 minutes. As we put out the
baits, the LEGAL TENDER passes by and the crew waves.
As they troll away from us a huge blue inhales one of their baits and
makes a tremendous splash. After 5 minutes, the marlin makes a strong
run and catches the angler by surprise. The 30lb class rod snaps in
half and shortly afterward the line parts. The crew has just lost the
winning fish.
Lines are out at
3pm and the awards dinner starts at 6:30pm. There is a festive
atmosphere under the big tent. The BBMC has seen 82 fishing teams
come together and compete ferociously for nothing more than a
handshake and a slap on the back….did I mention there are some fine
trophies? A taxidermist has created some of the best-looking fish
trophies I’ve seen and they are stacked six places deep for every
imaginable category.
Tred has
encouraged the kids all year to obey their parents and make good
grades. Any kid who remembers to bring his report card is given a
signed print from all the artists. Junior anglers have caught all the
heaviest dolphin, wahoo and tuna of the tournament. Small fry anglers
released several billfish. Doris wins 3rd place in the
ladies division. The LEGAL TENDER comes in second for
the entire tournament. Gainesville has been well represented. The
last award is a beautiful trophy Tred presents to the handful of us
that have fished every year since the beginning. Love him or hate
him, he is one loyal sumbitch.
The BBMC has
become several things: 1) a premiere charity event, 2) a showcase for
sponsors and manufacturers, 3) a wonderful family event, 4) the print
media eats it up, 5) there is a camaraderie that exists in no other
tournament.
Sunday, April 19th:
It seems every year we beat into the wind getting to Walker’s Cay only
to have it switch and blow in our face on the way home. For 6 years
the weather has been miserable going home. That streak was broken on
this day. The day was sunny and calm with small wavelets under 1
foot. Running 25 knots, we made Ft. Pierce in just over 4 hours.
Epilogue:
Walker’s Cay is accessible, yet slightly exotic. It always kills me
to open the Christmas card they send Hotel guests in December, when
I’m shivering, and read, “We miss you… your friends at Walker’s”.
Over the years, I’ve fished dozens of tournaments on the Gulf and East
coasts and in the Bahamas. Many will not see me again. The BBMC is a
special time, with wonderful people, in a special place. I will fish
it ‘til I can’t fish anymore and maybe even then if they’ll have me.
If you have the opportunity, don’t pass up the chance to experience it
for yourself and take the family with you.
From a series of fishing stories submitted by Capt Wiley Horton
copyright Capt Wiley Horton
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