It was a hectic Saturday morning on the rip. The leaderboard was a blur with lead changes. By the time lines out were called in the 21st annual Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament, 42 billfish had been released for the day, including 25 white marlin, 15 blues, a sailfish and a spearfish. Bi-Op-Sea, a veteran Manteo team and past VBBT champion, was the top boat with two verified blues and a white on its ledger, good for 470 points. Capt. Jesse Granitzki runs the 59 Spencer.
Sea Toy, another Manteo contestant and 2020 VBBT champion, also made a last-day rally. The crew recorded a verified blue, two whites and a sailfish Saturday, for a daily score of 410 points. Ross Tolson, son of Sea Toy skipper Bull Tolson, broke down the day’s events.
“We were just below the Norfolk Canyon around the 150 line,” he said, “with not any life at all. We caught all our fish before noon and it was a long day from then on. They were all singles, all on the long ‘rigger. We were sitting pretty after yesterday, so our expectation going into this morning was to win the tournament. We had an epic day and got what we needed.”
Ann Warrick, a 76 Paul Mann run by Capt. Brad Diaz, also had a strong final day only to come up just a little short.
“We were down there around the 100 line with the fleet,” Diaz explained. “We only scored one of two on the first bite when one pulled off. We had another double up on the third bite, but that second fish just wouldn’t eat. Our last one was in the afternoon. We needed a blue marlin today to place. We’re fishing with the best here, so those extra points are very important. We were close but no cigar.”
The VBBT is primarily a billfish release contest. Blue marlin verified by video score 200 points, while white marlin, sailfish and spearfish successfully released count for 70 points apiece. Crews typically rig with 20- to 25-pound test tackle and pull dredges and teasers to coax the fish into the spread. Once spotted, plain or “naked” ballyhoo baits rigged with circle hooks are eased back into the strike zone to entice a bite.
Even small blue marlin are a worthy adversary on light tackle and take longer to subdue. That’s why a verified blue earns extra points. Whites and sailfish are very acrobatic and often jump multiple times when hooked, so they are a good match on the finesse gear as well. Double and triple hook-ups are not uncommon.
The tournament does allow blue marlin to be weighed. They must top 400 pounds plus or measure 110 inches from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail, however. No blue marlin were boated this year.
The scales were busy on Saturday, nevertheless. William Wilcox, fishing aboard Cheryl Anne, a 65 Rybovich, recorded a 24.6-pound dolphin. A couple tuna were later checked but they didn’t crack the previous standings. Finally, Spiros, a 53 Jim Smith run by Capt. Ben Honeycutt, backed into the slip and angler Jeff Brown wheeled his prize to the hoist. That yellowfin tipped the scales at 62.6 pounds, vaulting the team into first place in the category. No wahoo were weighed this year.
The awards ceremony for the 21st annual Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament will be held later Saturday night. The late shuffle ensured several of the day’s top contestants will be taking home hefty payouts.