Tronquet and Hildreth Win Couples Fishing Tournament
Rough seas didn’t stop the fishing fun. 22 couples aboard nine boats braved less-than-romantic sea conditions to compete in the 2005 Quick Pics Couples Fishing Tournament, hosted by the Virgin Islands Gamefishing Club on February 13.
“It was pretty rough out there, but we caught fish all morning,” said Marcia Griswold, who - with Capt. Howard Griswold, owns the St. John-based sports fishing charter boat, Gone Ketchin.
Gone Ketchin, a 32-foot Rampage, ended the event as Best Boat when the three couples aboard caught a total of 18 fish for 87.5-pounds. Couple Chris Tronquet, Gone Ketchin’s mate, and Tarn Hildreth, boated 63.5-pounds of this booty to win as first-place couple.
“We used a combination of lures and bait, anything that Capt. Grizz and Chris thought would work best,” Grizzwold explains. “The catch for the boat included mahi mahi, kingfish, blackfin tuna, cero mackerel, little tunnies and barracuda. The barracuda was the last one and I think that was the topper, the one that gave us the winning weight.”
Less than six pounds separated the top couple from the second-place finishers, Bob Rapuk and Nancy Pavuk, aboard Capt. Red Bailey’s Abigail III. Rapuk and Pavuk reeled in 57.8 pounds of fish, while the other two couples contributed another 15 pounds to land Abigail III as the 2nd Best Boat.
“We went to the north and it was really rough. But we caught all of our fish on the north and to the west,” Rapuk says.
The weigh-in and celebration party for this half-day fun tournament, designed to bring more ladies into fishing, was held at Honeymoon Bay on Water Island. 40 fish total were caught in this event that kicks off the annual Small Boat Tournament Series for the year.
The next event hosted by the Virgin Islands Gamefishing Club will be the Dolphin Derby, set for April 24. For more information, call: 340-775-9144.
RESULTS
COUPLES
1. Tarn Hildreth and Chris Tronquet, Gone Ketchin, 63.5 pounds
2. Nancy Pavuk and Bob Rapuk, Abigail III, 57.8-pounds
3. Marielle Brandon and Joseph Ledee, Sea Witch, 17.5 pounds
4. Jojo Stewart and Byron Newland, Abigail III, 10.1 pounds
5. Deborah McDan and Tony McDaniel, Black Pearl, 8.1 pounds
BOATS
1. Gone Ketchin, 87.5 pounds
2. Abigail III, 73.2 pounds
3. Sea Witch, 30.4 pounds
4. Mixed Bag, 28.8 pounds
5. Black Pearl, 13.8 pounds
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