By Ann Green • Photos by Scott D. Taylor 



A 



I Ys I head out of Beaufort Inlet into 

 the Atlantic Ocean with three veteran women 

 anglers, captain Elizabeth Dixon warns me the 

 ride could get rough. 



She's right. Each time we hit a wave, 

 I hold on to the back rail and bend my knees 

 for balance. It feels like being on a roller 

 coaster or wet ride at a water park. I grip the 

 rail tightly and hope I won't fall down. 



As we get farther into the Atlantic, I get 

 sprayed a couple of times with splashing 

 waves, and my hat blows off my head. 



When we reach the targeted fishing area 

 15 miles off Beaufort Inlet, the Atlantic is 

 almost 70 feet deep. Dixon expresses concern 

 because no fish are showing up on the depth 

 recorder, a device that monitors the ocean 

 bottom and sends images of fish. 



"We need one 20-pound fish to place," 

 says Dixon. "We need to keep anything 

 decent. With a southeast wind, we may not 

 catch anything." 



This is the fifth consecutive year Dixon 

 and her crew, Michele Cameron and Sarah 

 Frances Dixon, have fished together in the 

 Carteret County Sportsfishing Association 

 (CCSA) Ladies King, Spanish, Dolphin 

 Rodeo. 



"This tournament is as competitive as 

 any king mackerel tournament," says Skip 

 Conklin, president of the CCSA. "The ladies 

 are as capable as the men of catching big fish. 

 The tournament gives them an opportunity to 

 demonstrate their assertiveness in fishing." 



TOURNAMENT RECORDS 



Across the country, more women are 

 competing. Both Elizabeth Dixon and 

 Cameron fish side by side with their husbands 

 in Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) 

 fishing tournaments. In 1999, Cameron set a 

 SKA record, becoming the first woman to 

 catch a king mackerel over 60 pounds. 



"When Elizabeth and I started tourna- 

 ment fishing in 1 994, we were among the few 

 women on the fishing circuit," says Cameron, 



an art teacher in Craven County. "Only a few 

 tournaments had lady prizes. Now 90 percent 

 of fishing tournaments have lady prizes." 



Another North Carolinian also holds a 

 tournament record. In 1993, Kathy Keel of 

 Edenton set an all-time record in the Big Rock 

 Blue Marlin tournament in Morehead City 

 when she landed a 795-pound blue marlin. 



"It took Keel only 20 minutes to get the 

 fish to the boat," according to the Big Rock 

 Blue Marlin Tournament Web site. "Some 

 fights last more than five hours." 



Carol Marsh, an outdoor columnist for 

 the Wilmington Star-News, attributes the rise 

 in competitive women anglers to the increased 

 interest in outdoor activities. 



"You are seeing more outdoors programs 

 on television," says Marsh. "As the world 

 becomes more computerized, people want to 

 get outside more. It is nice to take your fishing 

 rod and go somewhere." 



Others attribute the increasing popularity 

 of women's competitions to more families 

 fishing together. 



"Fishing is a great sport," says Jack 

 Holmes, president of SKA in St. Augustine, 

 Ha. "It is something the whole family can 

 participate in. Technically speaking, women 

 make better anglers. They use more finesse in 

 catching fish." 



In North Carolina, there are several 

 women's fishing tournaments besides the 

 CCSA. They include the Long Bay Lady 

 Anglers King Mackerel Tournament on Oak 

 Island and the one-day Jarrett Bay Lady 

 Angler Tournament, which is a part of the Big 

 Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead 

 City and requires anglers to release all catch. 



One of North Carolina's largest women's 

 angler tournaments is the Alice Kelly 



Continued 

 Captain Elizabeth Dixon, right, and pal 

 Sarah Frances Dixon venture into the 

 Atlantic for a women's fishing tournament. 



12 HOLIDAY 2000 



