Recap: Hatteras Shootout in Bahamas with GT70

The four-day Hatteras Shootout ran May 26-29 at the beautiful Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. Among the boats that entered were three Hatteras Yachts – CU+ Leader, a GT63; Stresproof, a 68 Convertible, and Kallianassa, a 68 Convertible. Hatterascal, Hatteras’ new flagship GT70, was on a private fishing excursion off the coast of San Salvador for the start of the tournament but made an appearance on the final day, to the delight of the anglers and onlookers at the resort.

The Hatteras teams made impressive catches during the tournament, including a 400-pound Marlin hooked by the crew of CU+ Leader after a 25-minute battle on the event’s second day. They also reeled in a dolphin near day’s end.

On the final day, the crew of Stresproof had a big dolphin run, hooking 11 fish in all. That’s a nice load of Mahi! The Stresproof team also won The Shootout raffle, scoring Hatteras Gear and a big Yeti cooler.

Capt. Skip Smith presents the raffle prize to members of the Stresproof team

The Shootout, which featured a total purse of $234,000-plus with cash prizes in a variety of categories, was one of many fishing tournament weeks this summer for Capt. Skip Smith, founder, and head of Skip’s Tournaments.

Skip is internationally recognized as one of the foremost organizers of fishing tournaments catering to the serious sportfishing enthusiast. Having captained two Hatteras sportfish during the course of his career, Skip said, “It’s quite an endorsement to our tournament to have Hatteras as a sponsor.”

Hatteras team members Doug Covin, Michela Noreski and Hatterascal Capt. Jeff Donohue, with Capt. Skip.