Cayman fishing has a budding rivalry between fishermen from the eastern districts.
Gary Rutty and Douglas Ebanks both pride themselves on nabbing dolphins and recently took centre stage at the 2012 Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament. Both had catches of 44.6 pounds, heaviest in the competition.
Rutty earned the most props as he hooked his fish first, half a mile off the Wreck of the Ten Sails in East End using naked ballyhoo on a Penn 80lb reel. His Still Chasin crew, consisting of domino legend Billy McLaughlin and twins Adrian and Adroy Ebanks, nabbed US$7,000. The East End native states the rivalry with his North Side compatriot is a friendly one.
“It panned out the way I like it,” Rutty said. “It was down to the last hour. We caught our fish fast, within the first two hours of the tournament. We knew it would be hard to beat. With dolphins, anything over 40lbs is hard to beat.
“There is a big rivalry between me and Douglas. East End has a long-time fishing heritage and has long been claimed to have the best fishermen and seamen. Douglas and I talk alot but he has a long way to go. He’s won a few tournaments but I’ve been a good teacher for him. My success speaks for itself. I’m going to have to add more walls to my office, there’s only four now.
“Douglas is a good fisherman and I love him like a brother. I had the Bird Catcher initally, a 26 foot Panga. He saw it, liked it and bought one like it, which became the Blue Moon. He took his fishing to another dimension, another level over the years.”
Ebanks did pretty well in the tournament. Alongside his son Keiron Ebanks and crime fighter Edward Azan, he earned US$5,000 (US$2,000 for being the heaviest dolphin in the 26ft and under boat category and US$3,000 for being the second heaviest dolphin in the entire tournament). The Blue Moon crew also received the Orman Whittaker Memorial Sportsmanship award for aiding the Bird Chaser crew after they had problems with their high-performance diesel engines two miles offshore in Bodden Town.
Then again, Ebanks states his mission is to outdo Rutty, who he affectionately calls ‘Peanut,’ in the next competition.
“To Peanut and Still Chasin, this is not over yet,” Ebanks said. “This goes back for years. We’re the best of friends but when it comes to fishing we’re the worst of friends. With Peanut being a East Ender, that only puts more fuel in it because I’m a proud North Sider.”
Both men figure to battle again in the 2012 Cayman Brac Jackpot, slated for this weekend, 18-20 May. Anglers are eligible to fish around all three of Cayman’s islands. Fishing hours are 7am-4.30pm with weigh stations being open 4.30-6pm at Carib Sands dock in the Brac and George Town’s Barcadere Marina. Over US$10,000 worth of prizes are on offer for the Jackpot. The biggest award is US$4,000 for the heaviest eligible fish caught in the Sister Islands.
Rutty, the managing director for Burger King in Cayman, states the Jackpot is one of many tournaments on his radar this year.
“I’m doing the Jackpot this weekend, whether I’m here or in the Brac I’m not sure. After that I’ll be doing the Stanford Rankine Memorial tournament in East End, which keeps getting postponed. After that, I’ll hang up my rods until October.”
It should be noted that the Jackpot is a Cayman Islands Angling Club-sanctioned event and International Game Fishing Association rules apply. No wire lines are permitted and the minimum eligible weight for wahoo and dolphin is 15lbs while tuna catches must be at least 20lbs. Anglers can compete in Grand Cayman for all prizes except the $4,000 award and the Lawford Tatum Memorial. That fact is comforting for Ebanks, who states he would avoid a Brac visit.
“Time is a factor and there are other restraints like that. I just love Grand Cayman and I know the waters well. Plus, the waters can become congested when people pick up and go to the Brac.”
Aside from Ebanks, Rutty figures to have competition from the Blue Diamond crew. Chris Kirkconnell, alongside crew members Nick Nowak, Gerry Kirkconnell, Daniel Kirkconnell and Jordan Hartmann, had the third heaviest overall dolphin with a 39.4lb catch. The international tournament saw other big catches like Arthlee Evans’ 68.8lb yellowfin tuna on Brasserie and Perla Hatch’s 42.2lb wahoo on Down The Hatch.
Rutty states his rivalry with Blue Diamond is arguably deeper than the one with Ebanks.
“Blue Diamond were running neck-and-neck with me. They had their work cut out for them and they didn’t succeed. Blue Diamond is in the mix and no one wants to win more than each crew. But if one don’t win they don’t mind if the other one wins.
“The rivalry runs deep in the family. Gerry is my first cousin and is married to one of the Wight sisters and the Wights are cousins of mine too.”
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