Two mornings ago (Wednesday the 13th) Pam and I photographed boats heading out at the kickoff of the Hatteras Village Offshore Open 2026 fishing tournament. We returned to the docks that evening to see what was brought in. There were a lot of catch and releases, but two blue marlin came to the docks to be weighed. I show one here being filleted, bill cut off and dorsal fin soon to go for the mount to come, the steaks cut table. Many mahi-mahi (dorado, dolphin fish) were brought in, the largest weighed for contest competition and then off to the fillet station. Seen here is a can full of fish with tails up waiting for their time on the table. There were a lot of snappers being cleaned and the ‘dockside’ pelicans knew what was up. Trimmings flew off every now and then and the two pelicans jockeyed for position. As if the mates hadn’t already had a long enough day, prepping for the next day started right after boat cleaning and refueling was done. Here a deckhand rigs a ballyoo for the next day. It was a long but great day for them and us to photograph.
