Bay Point Invitational Billfish Tournament

Excitement Builds on the Docks
July 11, 2008
As reported by Tim Owens, story reproduced by permission of WJHG-TV 7.

Watch Video (Video files are available for only a short time after the event.)

Dockhands Load Ice on the Plumb Crazy

There was a second straight party on the docks as the teams got set to head out into the Gulf. A few thousand folks came out to enjoy the festivities, the live music, food and drink, all the vendor tents, the kids play area. That's really been a big hit.

For the tournament boats and teams, shortly after 8 o'clock it was time to crank up the engines and head out into the Gulf of Mexico for two days of fishing for billfish, tuna, wahoo and dolphin.

This is what it looked like as they rode out under an impressive fireworks display. These teams will drop the lines Thursday night and Friday with the chance to weigh in Friday night from 6 to 10, then a similar weigh in period Saturday night.

We spoke with some of these anglers about what they'd be feeling as they shipped out.

Jon Gonsoulin, Done Deal owner, said, “When we come to these big tournaments the adrenalin level is on the rise as it gets closer to the time to leave, preparations that we're making, planning, and where we're going to fish and how we're going to go about things. It's just a real exciting time.”

Debbie Hyman, Plumb Crazy angler, said, “Everybody's fired up and ready to go. It's very exciting.”

Buell Polk, Share-E owner, said, “The heart rate goes up, the blood flow increases, it's redness and, you know, excitement. I'd like to say static people excited, wanting to go and just trying to get there. Who can be first to get there and catch that fish. It's like the big kickoff at a football game.”

Scott Templeton, Borderline Crazy captain, said, “They got the fireworks going off and all the horns and people making noise. All the anglers are all fired up, you know, everybody just getting excited about it, seeing all these boats head out at one time.”

So the stage is set, hundreds of thousands of dollars up for grabs, we'll see who gets the big money here at the scales the next two nights.