NWWC TUNA REPORT: Ilwaco brings out record numbers for OTC
NEWAug. 4, 2009 / 11:30 a.m

ILWACO, Wash. - The merchants on the Ilwaco boardwalk are still recuperating from the wave that just came through town.

A record 78 teams registered for the second leg of the Oregon Tuna Classic, and teams of fishermen rode that wave into town late last week as they prepared for the Saturday morning shotgun start. A long line of boats filtered out of the Ilwaco channel in the 5:00 a.m. darkness, resembling a Christmas-boat parade as they made their way to the starting line. Once roll call was complete and everyone was in position, I gave the Coast Guard the word and the crew of a 47-foot motor lifeboat fired a parachute flare into the sky, signaling it was time to fish.

Where they went: Boats raced southwest where fish had been caught a few days earlier only to find scratch fishing, while another small fleet spread out and worked their way north halfway to Westport.
The ocean was calm and made running easy for most, which proved a blessing since you had to run 50 to 60 miles to find fish.

Some boats found them while others worked hard to get their required 5 fish to get on the board. At the end of the day 54 boats had turned in a little over 6,000 pounds of tuna for the Food Banks of southwest Washington and Clatsop County, in Oregon.

The weigh-in: A large crowd milling around for the Saturday market on the Ilwaco boardwalk soon gathered to watch the excitement at the weigh-in as boats started showing up back in the harbor at 2:00 p.m. By 4:00 p.m., the wait was over an hour for a chance to offload fish.

And the winners were ...: The top honors with a weight of 117.55 pounds went to Team Defiance, led by Bo Palmer.  My team - Team Daiwa/Bad to The Bone - came in second with 111.4.  Team Engage led by Steve Wilcox with 108.65, rounded out the top three places.

Team Daiwa/Bad to The Bone took home additional cash by winning the big fish pot.  The darling of their team, Megan Waltozs was awarded a new Shimano Trevala Rod & Trinidad reel for catching the largest fish with a Butterfly Jig.

The aftermath: Well over 500 people filled the tent for the BBQ and awards dinner put on by the Rogue Brewery, where stories were shared and new friendships were made. At 9:30 p.m. the generator sputtered and threw the tent into darkness just as the awards were concluding. The party spilled over into local businesses as some people were not ready to call it a day.

Looking ahead to 2010: A resounding success for running the derby out of Ilwaco this year now has the local merchants association and the port already talking about how they can make it better for us next year. Needless to say it looks like we’ll definitely be back there again.

OTC off and running in '09: The OTC is off to a great season, and after only two events they have given over 10,100 pounds of tuna to the local food banks with two events left on the schedule. The next event is in less than two weeks in Charleston/Coos Bay, with the season finale in Garibaldi two weeks after that.

Last year the OTC gave 13,200 pounds of tuna from three events, and based on the current pace, we could easily shatter that record, even in a season where the fish are running considerably smaller than last year.

These events just keep drawing more people and teams from all across the country and with a struggling economy we feel very fortunate to have such generous people willing to help in our efforts to “Reelin’ In Hunger”.

Backgrounder: The Oregon Tuna Classic, or "OTC" as some call it, is made up of volunteers who generously give their time with nothing expected in return other than the satisfaction that they are making a difference in someone’s life.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to see what all the buzz is about along the Oregon & Washington coast just show up at one of these events and join us either with a team or just have dinner and you’ll soon catch the fever too. Just ask 500 people who were Ilwaco last weekend how it feels !

Tight Lines
-Del Stephens
OTC Chairman

ILWACO OTC TOP 10
1. Team Defiance (Bo Palmer) - 117.55
2. Bad to the Bone (Del Stephens) - 111.45
3. Team Engage (Steve Wilcox) - 108.65
4. Team Road Builder (Dave McClean) - 105.95
5. Team Most Excellent (Tim Meier) - 105.10
6. Team WA Tuna Classic (Mitch King) - 104.60
7. Hawriders (David Hettinga) - 104.60
8. Team Tenacious (Ray Gannon) - 103.35
9. Team Terri Marie (Dave Gauthun) - 101.40
10. Seelicious (Bud Hosner) - 100.60