And the beat goes on ...

As you faithful readers are aware, my 2024 fishing season has been a bust so far, and my head boat trip that has been booked since midwinter did not break the mold.

It did not begin on a good note, as I overslept my usual 3 a.m. wakeup alarm by 40 minutes because I am deaf without my hearing aid, which was on the charger. Fortunately, I had everything laid out the night before, so while I was late, it was within my margin of error.

When you are running late and there are no other cars on the road, it is very tempting to speed. Having spent many years driving through the early morning hours delivering the Fisherman Magazine, I found out that is the worst time to go fast. Police officers have very little to do during that time of night. The partygoers have made it home, and most criminals have gone to bed. The police officers are just sitting in their cars waiting for some fool who is running late to catch a head boat to come speeding through Dewey, Bethany or Fenwick Island. So, while it is hard, I set my speed control right on the limit for whatever town I’m in, all the way down to Talbot Street in Ocean City.

The Angler boards by reservation on its 10-hour trips, and I was No. 10. That allowed me to secure a spot on the stern and a seat at one of the two tables inside the boat. I noticed as the mates called out the numbers that some folks didn’t show up. They were the smart ones.

As we were waiting for our numbers to be called, there was some discussion about the weather. It was blowing quite a bit above the forecast of 10 knots from the northeast, and it was cold. Some of us who were familiar with the Atlantic Ocean on a northeast wind feared we would not have a good time.

Capt. Chris got underway right on time at 6 a.m., and as soon as we cleared the inlet, we headed into some nasty seas. We ran for about an hour before the captain called it a day and gave everybody a rain check for another trip. The ride back to the dock was smooth as glass with a following sea. That is, unless you happened to be the captain trying to keep a single-screw keelboat running true in said following sea.

Cast for a Cure tourney - The annual Cast for a Cure Surf Fishing Tournament was held May 18 out of Old Inlet Bait & Tackle. There were 25 teams, and all proceeds benefited Beebe Medical Foundation - Tunnell Cancer Center Patient Special Needs Fund.

According to Clark Evans, co-chair along with Brandy Timmons, fishing was slow in the morning with an outgoing tide and lots of grass. Anglers did catch a few small blues and one 32-inch striped bass. After lunch, the tide was coming in, and fishing picked up. Bluefish to 33 inches along with a 19-inch trout, a 19-inch flounder and a 27-inch black drum were caught.

At the end of the day, it was Team OTW Sand Sticks (Chris Barton, Scott Aiken Sr., Scott Aiken Jr. and Guy Miller) in first place with 144 points. Taking second place was Team DMS (Deb Weichardt, Bill Weichardt, Jim Haug and Mike Walker) with 92 points. In third place was Team One More Cast (Bob Zak, Sporto Gray, Lance Cochran and Tim Wallace) with 62 points. The Bluefish Calcutta was a tie between OTW Sand Sticks and Bayless and Sons, and was worth $230 each. Both teams donated the money back to the tournament.

The Striped Bass Calcutta was won by OTW Sand Sticks and was worth $420, which also was donated back to the tournament. As you can see, no money went to any of the fishermen in this contest. All entry fees and Calcuttas were donated to the charity.

The winners do receive something that many, myself included, consider more valuable than money. That is a special trophy handmade by Brandy Timmons, who spends countless hours creating these trophies just for the Cast for a Cure Surf Fishing Tournament. Each year is a completely different design, and if you happen to visit her Facebook page, you get to watch as she experiments with different materials and ideas. Having absolutely no artistic talent myself, I am fascinated to watch the process develop.

That is two fishing tournaments over two weekends that have raised thousands of dollars for medical charities. I believe those who participated in these contests can be proud of what they have done.

Correction - Several readers have pointed out my mistake, noting that the Highly Migratory Species Permit is no longer free. The cost is currently $27.