Perfect timing, Mother Nature! A late summer cold front has lowered temperatures in Virginia Beach and ushered in northeast breezes. That’s good news for the contestants in the 21st annual VBBT, which kicked off festivities Wednesday evening. White marlin, the dominant target of this marquee event, enjoy cooler water so fingers are crossed in dozens of cockpits and salons that the bite will be brisk for the next three days.
“I think this weather will help the fishing,” says Capt. Ben Honeycutt, skipper of Spiros, a classic 53 Jim Smith Monterey. “We are down in Hatteras early in the season, then return to Virginia Beach in late June. We fish a couple times a week and the whites are just showing up. Smaller blues, too.” Spiros will be pulling the standard big teasers, meat dredges and be ready with pitch baits for whatever pops into the spread.
“This is a really good tournament,” he adds. “It always draws a nice crowd. We like the non-sonar rule. We enjoy that part of it.” VBBT does not allow the use of Omni 360-degree directional sonar by any of the participating boats to keep the competition even. Omni sonar systems are expensive and have a large installation footprint, so many smaller and charter boats are not equipped with the system.
“I’ve been fishing this tournament every year since I moved here 14 years ago,” says Bryan Austin, the mate on Kelly VI. Capt. Carl Beale runs the 60 Hatteras. “It’s my favorite one of the year, We always come home, ‘cause we love our prime rib,” Austin adds with a laugh.
Kelly VI is a best friends team of experienced anglers. Austin is prepared for the action.
“When I felt those upper 50s temperatures, I cracked open a case of ballyhoo,” he explains. “They’re going to chew this week. This cold snap is what we need.” Austin says the team follows the typical light-tackle routine with nothing fancy, just employing teasers, dredges and pitch baits.
“I hope we’ll have a big blue one this week. One’s due. If the fishing busts loose, the crew that takes advantage of the opportunities will rise to the top. But luck plays a factor as well.”
The VBBT is primarily a release billfish tournament. Sailfish, spearfish and white marlin are release only and count for 70 points each. Smaller blue marlin verified by video count 200 points. Blues eligible for the scales must measure 110 inches from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail or weigh 400 pounds or more. Boats are penalized if they fail to meet those latter requirements. Tuna, wahoo and dolphin score one point per pound of weight.
Seventy teams will fish two of the next three days with one declared mandatory lay day. At stake is $810,500 in cash prizes and bragging rights to one of the top sport-fishing events on the Mid-Atlantic coast. It’s time to chill out!