ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 27, 1996 TAG: 9605280100
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: OREGON INLET, N. C.
SOURCE: BRUCE STANTON STAFF WRITER
One mighty bigeye tuna - a 150-pound scale-thumper - would make any charter- boat captain and mate feel they had a successful day in the warm, blue waters of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean. Two 150-plus-pounders, well, that's almost unheard of.
``That's rare. I've only seen that happen two or three times - ever,'' said mate Jim Andrews, who has been working on charter boats out of Oregon Inlet on North Carolina's Outer Banks for 15 years.
On a recent mid-May outing, Andrews saw the rare feat take place again.
As Capt. Jimmy Groce piloted the Madd Hatter into the Gulf Stream, where water temperatures shot up to 71 degrees from 58 degrees between the stream and the Carolina coast, a school of large bigeyes assaulted the bait on five of the seven lines trailing the boat.
``Did you all see those tuna hit the top of the water?'' said Andrews, big-eyed himself at the sight of the torpedo-like explosions from the fish crashing through the surface to take the bait.
Like a line of tumbling dominoes, the rods began to bow one by one as lunker tuna claimed the rigged baitfish at the end of each hook. And one by one, the anxious anglers began to grab a rod in one hand and crank the reel with the other.
The result was complete chaos. The five anglers - four from Roanoke and one from Amherst County - were at the mercy of the bigeyes. Line began to peel from each reel, rods began to thrust violently to and fro, and the heavy lines extending from each rod began to cross, as the anglers were unable to control the muscular fish.
``I can't do a thing with it,'' Jim Arthur said helplessly as he watched the thick, green line disappear from his reel and into the Gulf Stream.
In the midst of the confusion, Andrews barked instructions as he took charge of the situation.
``You! Move over here! ... And you! Get out of that chair and move under his line and to the other side of the boat! ... Put the rod in the holder and use your thumb to distribute the line on the reel!''
After several minutes of battle, three tunas claimed victories. They were free to roam the Atlantic again after powering off the line.
But two of the titanic tunas were hung for the long haul. The 161-pounder landed by Bob Brown of Roanoke succumbed after a 40-minute brawl. And the 150-pounder caught by Arthur was hauled into the boat after more than an hour.
``We only caught three that size all last season,'' an exhausted Andrews said after the lengthy battle had ended.
When the boat returned to Oregon Inlet after 10 hours at sea, a sizable crowd had gathered to view the day's catch from each boat. One only needed to hear the ``ooohs'' and ``aaahs'' and to see the craning necks and gawking eyes to know the pair of bigeyes was something special.
``That's the catch of the day,'' Andrews said.
And while it was not a typical tuna catch, Andrews said tuna fishing in general is very good off the Carolina coast right now. Because of that, most of the boats in the Oregon Inlet fleet have been busy most days of the week and are pretty much booked through July.
``The fish population looks fine to me,'' said Andrews, a Richmond native who has worked on fishing boats in Florida, Australia and North Carolina for the past 28 years. ``We've been catching fish all winter. These bigeyes, you can catch them 365 days a year. They don't care about the water temperature as much as the other tuna.''
But the other tuna species - bluefin, yellowfin and blackfin - all will make their way through the Gulf Stream, a two-hour ride by boat from Oregon Inlet.
``The Gulf Stream is like a conveyor belt,'' Andrews said. ``It keeps bringing stuff by us.''
That ``stuff'' includes blue and white marlin, dolphin and wahoo, among others, but charter-boat anglers are going after tuna more often than not, Andrews said.
``Nine out of every 10 parties we have want eating fish,'' he said. ``They want to catch them to put in the freezer.''
At $825 a trip, that's understandable. Anglers want something to show for their money, and a couple of coolers full of tuna can keep one in fish for several months.
And while there are easier ways to get your tuna - via the small cans in your local supermarket - there's nothing that can take the place of a day in the Gulf Stream, getting an eyeful of bigeye.
The Madd Hatter charter boat is based at Oregon Inlet, N.C. For information about fishing the Gulf Stream, call Capt. Jimmy Groce at 919-473-3012.
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. BRUCE STANTON STAFF Bob Brown of Roanoke tanglesby CNBwith a 161-pound bigeye tuna in the Gulf Stream. Brown and the party
of six on the Madd Hatter landed two monster tuna after having five
on the lines at one time. The charter boat, captained by Jimmy
Groce, is based at Oregon Inlet, N.C. color
2. & 3. BRUCE STANTON STAFF In top photo, a bigeye tuna finally
comes to the surface after a 40-minute fight with Roanoker Bob
Brown. The fish weighed 161 pounds. In right photo, mate Jim
Andrews of the Madd Hatter surveys the catch - bigeye tunas weighing
161 and 150 pounds. color
4. map showing location of Oregon Inlet. color ANDREW SVEC
STAFF