July 15, 2001 – For catching kingfish Sunday, the Lady Marie was the place to be. The boat, its captain and its three anglers among themselves reeled in all seven of the top prizes in the 14th annual Bastille Day Kingfish Tournament at Hull Bay.
Capt. Larry Aubain had "been preparing for this event for over a month," Lady Marie angler Ruth Gomez said.
Aubain and anglers Gerald Greaux and Alvin Turbe spent much of Saturday rigging their baits, a combination of ballyhoo and flying fish brought in from St. Croix. At 3:30 a.m. Sunday, the anglers and crew met in Frenchtown to make last-minute preparations and launch the Lady Marie, a 24-foot Answer. "We wanted to be in just the right spot for lines in at 5:30 a.m.," Gomez said.
Barely an hour into the Northside Sportfishing Club event, Turbe hooked into the 36.7-pounder that would win him the $2,000 largest kingfish prize, sponsored by Coors Light. Turbe later caught a 23.87-pounder that won him the third-largest kingfish prize, too — $500, also sponsored by Coors Light. Greaux, who caught the largest kingfish last year, reeled in the second largest Sunday (27.72 lbs.) to win the $750 prize, sponsored by FedEx.
Aubain won best boat and best captain honors as his anglers landed a total of 13 fish, six of them kingfish adding up to 126.02 pounds — a tournament record. The best captain prize, donated by Offshore Marine Services, was a 9-foot Caribe inflatable dinghy with an 8hp Yamaha engine.
Gomez earned her fourth best female angler title, with 81.25 pounds of fish, while Turbe took best male angler honors with 60.76 pounds.
In the separate judging of younger anglers, Adam Turbe won best junior male with 27.59 pounds of fish caught from the Mary B., while Tiffanie Bryan was named best junior female with 20.62 pounds caught from Firefly.
Tiffanie also caught the largest jack (11.15 lbs.). Mike Rosener reeled in the largest barracuda (28.26 lbs.) from the Flying Sausage. Louis Ledee caught the largest bonito (5.13 lbs.) aboard The Ballet. Howard French, fishing from Sajudis, caught the largest tuna (16.45 lbs.). Brandon Consolvo had the largest mackerel (7.93 lbs.), from Breezin.
A total of 77 boats and 275 anglers, including 41 juniors, took part in the tournament. The catch of 162 fish included 47 kingfish.
The other winning angler prizes included round-trip airline tickets, overnight stays at local hotels and dinner certificates. Meantime, on land, Larry Greaux won the Coors Light can toss and took home a cellular telephone, while Jim Jameson was the Coors Light can stacking winner, earning a portable CD player.
The annual fun day at the Hull Bay beach also included other games, health screenings, face painting and a bake sale. There was music by the New Creations band from St. Barth's in the afternoon and by Obsession at night in the Hull Bay Hideaway. Beneficiaries of the Northside Sportfishing Club tournament this year are the Joseph Sibilly School, St. Thomas Rescue, the local chapter of the American Red Cross and the Victim Advocates Program.
