Team Outdoor Line Fishes the Ilwaco OTC 6

After weeks of watching forecasts for rough offshore weather and waiting for the opportunity to get out and tuna fish we finally got the chance this past weekend.  It also happened to be the Ilwaco, Wa. leg of the Oregon Tuna Classic so the boys and I invited Bear Holmes along to fish the event with us.  The event kicked off Friday night with the captains meeting and 80 teams registered for the event.  After the meeting, different factions got together and strategized for the next days fishing.  There is quite a bit of good natured back and forth between the Oregon and Washington boys but when it comes time to compete, the intensity rachets up.  For the second year in a row, a team from Washington took top honors.  Team Just Keep Fishing weighed in their top five fish for a total weight of 126.25 lbs.  Team Green Lightening Laundry took second with a total weght of 122.65 lbs and team Key West was third with 120.30 lbs weighed in.  Of the 80 teams that registered, 67 fished and 49 turned in fish at the end of the day.   Team Outdoor Line finished in the top 20 with an over 22 lb per fish average.   The results for the rest of the field are below. 

4th..Team Robertson & Olson Construction..118.8
5th..Team Shake N Bake..118.55
6th..Team Lowrance..117.75
7th..Team Day Island Boatworks..115.5
8th..Team Offshore Adventures..114.25
9th..Team Daiwa "Bad To The Bone"..113.95
10th..Team G.Loomis..113.45
11th..Team Tenacious..113.4
12th..Team Gangfishkhan Fish..113.15
13th..Team Seelicious..112.6
14th..Team Defiance..112.5
15th..Team Tuna Terminators..112.45
16th.. Team Columbia River Bait Co..111.1
17th.. Team Defiance / The Cornfed Show..110.75
18th.. Team See Ya..110.65
19th.. Team Outdoor Line..110.6
20th.. Team Engage… 110.4
21st.. Team Terri Marie..110.15
22nd.. Team Second Season..109.8
23rd.. Team Tuna Time..109.5
24th.. Team Albacore Section..108.35
25th.. Team Kingfisher..108.05
26th.. Team Winner Tuna Dinner.. 107.8
27th.. Team Red Dog..107.1
28th.. Team Fat Cat..106.95
29th.. Team Pera-Linn..105.95
30th.. Team Elle's Anglers..105.3
31st..Team Wildcat… 104.5
32nd.. Team Nmotion..104.05
33rd.. Island Time / PNW Hernia Center..103.9
34th.. Team Allstate #1..103.05
35th.. Team CR Tuna Mafia..102.95
36th.. Team Waves of Newport..102.8
37th.. Team Nalu Charters..102.7
38th.. Team Miss Kelly..102
39th.. Team Allstate #2 / Grand Slam..98.45
40th.. Team Chillabit..95.75
41st.. Team Gales Creek Tuna Gaffers..94.95
42nd.. Team Sterling Bank/ Time Out… 93.55
43rd.. Team Road Builder..93.3
44th.. Team Doherty Ford / Aqua Velvet ..75.1
45th.. Team Tuna Tanglers… 58.3
46th.. Tuna Federalbies..54.8
47th.. Team Bayfront Wireless..37.75
48th.. Team No Bail..36.2
49th.. Team Tunaholics… 33.7

One of the great things about competing in the Oregon Tuna Classic is the benefit for local food banks. The five fish from each team are donated to the local food banks and this years event netted 5,505 pounds of fresh albacore for the Ilwaco and Clatsop County food banks. The Oregon Tuna Classic does a great job of putting on an event and offers great fun and competition for anglers. 

Watch the shotgun start of this years event.

The Dinner before the awards ceremony on Saturday night.

The Outdoor Line, sponsor.

Del Stephens, a.k.a. "Tuna Dog" starting the awards ceremony.

Tuna on deck after a live bait stop.

Blood on the Deck!!

Bear, Madden, and Mason.