MISFIT MERMAIDS: Me, Rhonda, Sarah, Jennifer, Vera, Jenny


The 28th Annual OISFT is now history but a good time was had by all. There were lots of sunburned faces at the pig picking and awards party on Friday night.

The weather was pretty good overall considering what it has been in past years. The first set on the first day was mostly sunny but windy...kind of cool. Actually it was warmer in the water than on the beach. The afternoon set was absolutely beautiful. You could not have asked for a better beach day! Warm temps, not hot...light breeze, turquoise colored water...fantastic! Of course, this weather is usually not conducive to catching fish but that is ok.


First morning on the beach. Look closely above my head and
you can see 2 fishing lines...we were serious!!

The second day was slightly less pleasant...weather-wise...It was cooler and the wind blew pretty good all day. It was sunny though and that helped keep it from being too cold. The surf and the current was a lot rougher than it had been on the previous day. The first fishing set of the second day is when it happened...Vera caught a fish!!!! Not just any old fish...a 33 1/2 inch bluefish!! Woo Hoo!! Talk about some happy girls...49 points for the Misfit Mermaids. We were on the board. One fish put us in first place in the Women's Division and 4th place overall. This was also the biggest fish caught by a female in the tournament. This certainly gave us the fever to catch more fish! However, if we didn't catch any more fish, we still had to make it through the rest of the day without anyone beating us.


Let me now take a moment to introduce the Misfit Mermaids. Our team captain, Jennifer Esham, is the owner of Blue Heron Realty. She is one of the first people I worked with when I first came to the island oh so many years ago.
Team member Sarah Fiore is the owner of Bella Fiore Pottery, located on the Back Road next to the Back Porch Restaurant. Sarah also works at Cafe Atlantic and is another long time friend.
Team member Jenny Mason manages Ocracoke Trading Company located on Highway 12 next to Ride The Wind Surf Shop. Jenny rents her home (Sea Glass) out in the summer months through Ocracoke Island Realty. I have known Jenny and her family since right after moving to the island.
Team member Rhonda Mason (Jenny's Aunt) works at the Variety Store, owns and helps operate Corky's Clams. She is also known as Sugah Mamma.
Team member Vera Attaway...first time fisher person...is a North Carolina girl who is settled in Ocracoke (for the moment). She works at Gaffers Sports Pub.
I love all of these girls!!
And then there is me. Ocracoke Island Realty maintenance coordinator and blog writer. Also first time fisher person.

We had a great time on the beach this year! I am already looking forward to next year! Vera is the only one on our team who caught a fish but there is no "I" in "team" so we all shared in the glory!!
Each team has 6 members and may have 1 alternate.
There are 17 pairs of judges. Each pair patrols a marked stretch of beach making sure all teams are following the rules and checking each fish that is caught.
All fish caught are required to be released if possible.
Last year there were 668 total fish caught. This year there were 175 total fish caught. That just goes to show how bad the overall fishing was this year.
Ocracoke's radio station, WOVV (90.1 FM), covered the entire fishing tournament. Dave & Bill were all over the place doing interviews, sharing information and commenting on the action.

The last day of the tournament the Carolina Boys went down the beach to each station providing sausage on loaf bread. It was delicious! These guys also cooked and served the BBQ dinner at the awards party and let me tell you that was some good food!

After dinner was served and devoured it was time for the raffle drawings and the awards ceremony. Here are the winners:

Overall Winners

1st Place: Oceanside Anglers (for the second year in a row)
2nd Place: Team Diawa
3rd Place: Ocracoke Internationals

Top Female Teams

1st Place: Showstoppers (49 points with a 33 1/4 inch bluefish...won the tie breaking coin toss)
2nd Place: Misfit Mermaids (49 points with a 33 1/2 inch bluefish...lost the tie breaking coin toss...7th place overall)
3rd Place: Fishin' Pelicans

Most Fish

Male: John McGee of the Oceanside Anglers with 5 fish
Female: Ginger Wojciechowski of the Outcasters with 4 fish

Largest Fish

Male: Emery Pajer of the Ocrajokers...35 inch bluefish
Female: Vera Attaway of the Misfit Mermaids...33 1/2 inch bluefish

Session Winners

1st Session: Cape Hatteras Anglers
2nd Session: Ocrajokers
3rd Session: Oceanside Anglers
4th Session: Team Diawa


Proceeds (after expenses) are divided between 4 Ocracoke non-profit organizations...Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, Ocracoke Youth Center, Ocracoke Child Care and the Sigma Willis Memorial Scholarship Fund for Ocracoke School.

All in all we had a great time on the beach fishing, spending time with good friends, laughing and, yes, drinking.
Thank you, Misfit Mermaids, for inviting me to be a part of your team. I am looking forward to next year!!