THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507180101
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
RICO HAMILTON LEANED forward, sweating and straining, fighting an opponent with a 200-pound weight advantage.
Rico paused, flexed his right hand and shook the perspiration from his forehead. He held on despite the 90-degree heat and humidity and his own thirst and exhaustion. His perseverance paid off. The struggle began at 8:30 a.m. last Friday and ended 30 minutes later.
Rico won.
The rising eighth-grader at Bayside Middle School is 12. The age of his opponent remains unknown. What is known is that Rico caught a 300-plus pound blue marlin and earned himself a citation in his first deep-sea fishing trip ever.
``Man, that's a big fish,'' said Rico, catching his breath and drinking a Coke.
Rico and three other students spent 12 hours aboard the Anna Lee III, a 52-foot sport-fishing boat owned by William Van Buren. They were getting ``Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs.'' That is the name of the anti-drug program coordinated by area schools and Leslie Creech, a Virginia Beach businessman who took four other lucky students on a second boat, the Pursuer.
Creech and the benevolent boat owners have been conducting the trips since 1991. The boats travel about 60 miles offshore, due east of Rudee Inlet. This year they had two blue marlin catches and one near catch.
The students were selected on the basis of essays they wrote about the rewards of fishing and the consequences of drugs.
The fish are caught, photographed alongside the boat and released.
Anna Lee III Capt. Tommy Powell has spent most of his adult life chasing big fish. He agreed with Rico's assessment about the blue marlin.
``It's very unusual to see that many blue marlin in one day,'' he said. ``I don't think I've ever seen three in one day.''
Powell piloted the Anna Lee through the Caribbean Sea last winter looking for such prize catches.
Nichole Hubbard, a high school sophomore, caught the second marlin, which weighed about 50 pounds more than Rico's.
Her blue marlin hit the ballyhoo bait in 300 fathoms, or 1,800 feet, of blue-green water near an area called ``The Cigar.''
``My hand is tired,'' she said. ``I'm fine. He was a strong fish.''
A third blue marlin hit the bait, but escaped before being hooked, said Powell.
Sam Rawls, 11, and Chris Cathlin, 10, made the trip on the Anna Lee also.
The students were accompanied by Red Mill assistant principal, Susan Torma, and her husband, Jim. Jim Torma and first mate Meg Denning instructed and assisted the children with their catches.
``We're just very proud of these kids,'' said Creech. ``The schools have been supportive and the boat owners generous with their boats and their time. It's a good, positive program and we hope the message will stick.''
Although the young fishermen on The Pursuer didn't catch any blue marlin, they did catch dozens of other fish.
Jessica Boggs, Brandon Moore, Randall Forbes and Kimberlee Hatfield were busy all day pulling in the lines loaded with fish. Jessica caught a 47-pound wahoo. At the end of the day, Creech had Jessica's catch cleaned and all eight children got to take some home for dinner. ILLUSTRATION: Rico Hamilton, center, is told how to use his fishing equipment
just before catching a blue marlin that was big enough to win the
rising eighth-grader a citation on his first deep-sea fishing trip.
Rico and three other students, including Chris Cathlin, spent 12
hours aboard the Anna Lee III.
Photos by GARY EDWARDS
ABOVE: Rico Hamilton snagged this 350-pound blue marlin.
RIGHT
Jim Torma and Meg Denning give instructions that later helped
Nichole Hubbard land a 350-pound marlin.
by CNB