Otlis— He’s
the Most
Moreliead man operates
largest sport fishing fleet
on the east eoast.
By OLD TRUDGE
To the various and sundry superla¬
tives claimed by North Carolina, add
another one: Largest sport-fishing fleet
on the eastern coast operated by one
man. Maybe in all America. Ottis
Purifoy’s "Lucky Seven" actually is
comprised now of nine boats with an¬
other building. It operates out of
Morehcad City, and has made history
in the fast-growing sport fishing indus-
try.
It started when Ottis as a boy of
eight stowed away on a fishing boat.
His interest has never lagged since he
fished with Captain "Pappy Joe"
Fulcher, dean of Morchead guides.
In that time he has seen sport fish¬
ing in North Carolina grow from a two-
month enterprise to an 8-month busi¬
ness. And whereas only hard-bitten
sportsmen once were customers, now a
typical party may include greenhorns,
families, honcymooncrs. or even all¬
ladies.
Ottis* fleet has several economic
advantages. In addition to providing
boats and guides, he also has a fish
house where he can clean and ice the
catch. He operates a commercial fish¬
ing fleet too. and when his guests can¬
not take edible fish home (such as
blues or mackerel) he will buy it from
them for his seafood business.
Weather is the imponderable in this
business, and sometimes a promising
season is wrecked by a succession of
impossible week-ends. Nevertheless,
over a season. Ottis figures on a mini¬
mum of 100 charters per boat. While
the fee is S85 a trip, the various ex¬
tras (cleaning, packing, etc.) boost the
average to around SI 00.
In 1959. as a sample, the nine boats
made 1.270 trips, carried 7.620 peo-
Ottb Puriloy checks o»er his booking sheer. At a glonce he con fell whether
о
certoin boot is open
tor fishing on ony doy.
pie. and caught 315,233 pounds of
fish. That's an average of 141 trips
per boat, a total revenue of over
SI 25,000. Ottis figures he nets SI 5 per
trip, giving a 1959 net of around $19,-
000, not counting his commercial fish¬
ing interests.
When the boat doesn’t sail, the cus¬
tomer pays nothing and Ottis gets no
revenue. But neither docs he have cur¬
rent expense, for skipper and mate are
paid only for sailing days.
To cut down on "no-shows,” a de¬
posit of S25 is required for reserva¬
tions, and Ottis says he has surpris¬
ingly few fall-outs. Drunks constitute
a minor nuisance, but there never has
been a fatal accident on the Lucky 7.
Ottis doesn’t send his boats out in dan¬
gerous weather.
Alone among the charier boat peo¬
ple. he keeps an accumulative record
of catches, and over the years the
poundage of fish brought in is
astronomical. In 1960, for example,
the boats landed 334,000 pounds from
1.183 trips.
The fishing guide business in North
Carolina, fortunately, is still highly in¬
formal. It still is with Ottis. but he has
introduced some services and reliability
pleasing to the customers without sacri¬
ficing the folksy ways of Carteret.
UP IN MAGGIE
Those returning to Maggie Valley
this season will find several new im¬
provements, including four new house¬
keeping cottages opened by Robert
Dixon on Jonathan Creek, and named
"Cool Water Cottages.” A new motel
is the 12-unit Meadow Lark, operated
by the Carl Painters. The John Med-
fords have six new units at their motel.
Biggest news up there is the building
of a Howard Johnson restaurant, first
one west of Asheville.
PALMER MUSEUM
A little bit of something for every¬
one is the stock of Arthur Palmer's
museum at Marble, between Murphy
and Andrews. It contains minerals, In¬
dian artifacts, and pioneer tools and
implements.
NEW WESTERN COURT
A luxurious new court opened near
Cherokee — the Carriage Inn. on the
Bryson City road.
YEAR AROUND NEWS
About trovel in North Corolino b the
job of Old Trudge. Follow him in THE
STATE — every b»uc.
W I L S
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36
THE STATE. AUGUST 5. 1961
