DATE: Saturday, October 11, 1997            TAG: 9710110517

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR 

DATELINE: NAGS HEAD                         LENGTH:   39 lines

OUTER BANKS SPORTFISHERS REEL IN RECORD 6TH TITLE

The Outer Banks Sportfishers won a record sixth Nags Head Surf Fishing Tournament on Friday by catching 29 fish and scoring 52 points.

No other team has won five times, and only the Elizabeth City Surf Fishing Club has four wins in the 47-year-old contest.

The Sportfishers are from Nags Head.

The two-day team competition annually attracts 80 six-person teams from throughout the East Coast, with fish scored by length.

Second went to the Hot Liners of Nags Head, who had 16 fish and 40 points. Coastal Ready Mix of Nags Head finished third with eight fish and 28 points.

The Hatteraskals, of Roanoke, Va., finished 11th overall, but their three fish and 10 points gave them the women's title.

The contest was one of the lowest-scoring ever, producing but 198 fish and 499 points. That compares with a record 7,824 fish beached in 1976 and a record 26,454 points scored in 1980.

Tim Willis and Dan Beall tied for largest-catch honors with 18-inch puppy drum, with a 17-inch croaker winning female honors for Donnis Parker.

Hank Griffin of the Sportfishers had the most fish, 15, and the most points, 25. Parker topped female anglers with seven points, while Alice Burton's three scorers led that category for women.

Competition continues today in an individual event, open to all, with divisions for adults and juniors. The tournament is hosted by the Nags Head Surf Fishing Club and headquartered at George's Junction.

Members of the Sportfishers team are Garry Oliver, Jerry Burch, Ed Griffin, Hank Griffin, Cliff Hanna and Art Levey.

The Hot Liners consist of Curtis Miller, Norman Bradford, Tom Burke, Louis Knoerzer, Charles Klinger and Jerry Hasty.

Fishing for Coastal Ready Mix are Fields Scarborough, Bobby Haywood, Bill Cox, Buddy Davis, Skip Dixon and Bobby Tolson.

The Hatteraskals: Sue Styron, Carol Dillon, Sue Jarrett, Arethia Journigan, Bonnie Koehler and Anne Styron.

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