THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504160176
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTERAS LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Although they were miles from the nearest road, everyone was sure what they had just seen was some kind of small car.
Had to be. With its size and speed, it couldn't have been anything else.
However, clearer heads eventually prevailed. There was no way a car would be cruising around in these parts - in about 100 feet of water, 20 miles out to sea.
So this gigantic thing had to be a fish of some sorts, but darned if it didn't pull on the line like some kind of automobile.
And rest assured that Skip Wilkins would have bet the house that he was hooked up to the bumper of something racing around in overdrive.
But he wasn't. The wheelchair athlete and motivational speaker from Virginia Beach had hold of a bluefin tuna - and a mighty big one. Bob Sumners, skipper of the For Play N, estimated it at 500 pounds. A quarter-ton of raw, fighting muscle that didn't think much of Wilkins nailing a hook in its jaw.
With this size fish, Wilkins had considerable trouble - even with the aid of Sumners' ``Geezer Gadget'' - a spring-loaded gimble that turns fighting fish from a pulling motion to a pushing one - letting the springs pull back after they are loaded up from the push.
But even with it, Wilkins needed a little help from friends Dan Wommack, his son Michael Wommack and Randy Bregman.
``Crank him for me for a few minutes, Randy,'' Wilkins said. ``I'd say he's holding on to something down there.''
As absurd as that might sound, nobody on the boat argued.
When these large bluefins hit, it's almost torture to bring them up.
But Wilkins' fish soon surrendered to the fight and was brought alongside the boat, where mate Aaron Wright held him for photographs before removing the hook and letting the giant warrior swim away to fight another day.
``That's great,'' Bregman said to Wilkins, patting him on the back. ``Pretty work.''
Being able to fish at all is an obvious reward for Wilkins, a former Princess Anne High football standout who was injured in a water-skiing accident a few days after graduation.
But personal rewards aren't the real reason Wilkins fishes. With the help of things like the Geezer Gadget and Velcro-adapted fly rods, Wilkins is sending the message that anybody - no matter what their handicap - can fish.
``I grew up freshwater fishing,'' Wilkins said. ``After the accident, I came to learn how to fish again and made adaptations to present technology to help me do so.
``Randy kind of shoved me into saltwater fishing, and it's been a great way to show what can be done. Showing people what they can be doing is far more rewarding than any of the gold medals or world records.''
While the tuna off Hatteras this winter weren't of world-record size, they were big by anybody's standards. And this year's showing was one of the best ever.
And one of the biggest thrills had nothing to do with catching these fish. Just being out there watching them attack baitfish on the surface was the most exciting aspect of a trip.
``There didn't seem to be this many fish last year and you just don't know if they'll be there again next year,'' Wright said, throwing large menhaden at swirling fish just a few feet behind the boat. ``It's an awesome thing to see these fish.''
And the good word is that these tuna are living to fight again, despite widespread rumors that the catch-and-release methods being employed were causing lots of them to die.
Research by the National Marine Fisheries Service has all but dispelled such rumors.
``If you fight them on heavy tackle and get them to the boat as quickly as possible and don't put the fish in the boat, they all seem to swim off pretty healthy,'' Sumners said. ``I didn't think there was a problem, and I'm glad to hear there isn't.''
TALKIN' TURKEY: The spring gobbler season opened Saturday, and hopes are high for a good - if not record - kill this season.
Shooting hours are from a half-hour before sunrise until noon each day, and the season continues through May 20. Hunters can keep one bird a day and no more than two a season. They can't use shot larger than No. 2 fine, and no dogs or electronic calls are allowed.
All that technical stuff aside, there are a few equally important aspects of turkey hunting.
The biggest reason for accidents during gobbler season is hunters mistaking one another for birds. Crazy as it may sound, it happens - especially early in the morning, when movements by other hunters can easily play tricks on your eyes.
Rex Hill, hunter education coordinator for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries offers a few helpful tips that might just save a life or two:
Avoid using a gobbler call, and don't stalk the birds.
Carry all gear in a blaze-orange sack. And if you get lucky, put the bird in one, too.
Let approaching hunters know you are there with your voice. Motions might be mistaken for a bird.
Make sure you can see your surroundings, and try using camouflage paint instead of a mesh hood.
And while blaze orange isn't required during gobbler season, it's a good idea to at least mark the tree you are sitting at with a strip of blaze cloth about 4 inches wide. Hunters will see it and know you're there.
Happy - and safe - hunting. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Skip Wilkins
by CNB