McLeskey looks to defend her White Marlin Open title
When Cheryl McLeskey reeled in a white marlin last August, she knew right away that it would tip the scales and that she would likely be taking home some prize money.
“In 10 minutes it was on the boat,” McLeskey said. “Someone had spotted it on the surface, we got it hooked and my adrenaline was just pumping. I got it in, the mates put it on ice. We knew it was a big one in weight, just because of the length.”
After the boat “Backlash” arrived back at Harbour Island Marina in Ocean City, McLeskey’s white marlin was strung up and weighed. It weighed in at 94 pounds, which was the heaviest white marlin of 2015, the third largest in the history of the White Marlin Open and just five pounds shy of the tournament record.
But McLeskey didn’t see 94 only as a winning number. The number reminded her of a special date.
Sept. 4 is the wedding anniversary of McLeskey and her late husband.
“He was an accomplished fisherman,” she said. “I could feel him with me out there. He definitely inspired me to become an angler.”
The woman Wayne McLeskey encouraged to become an angler became the first woman in 42 years to win the White Marlin Open. On her 63rd birthday last year, she took home a prize of $1.175 million.
And the reigning champ will be back to compete in the tournament’s 43rd edition.
McLeskey, along with Pete Manuel and her cousin Rachael Davanzo, will be aboard “The Delta Dawn” this year. It’s a 57-foot boat out of Raleigh, North Carolina, that will be captained by Steve Richardson. The boat is owned by Manuel.
“I’m so excited about getting back out there and fishing with my cousin,” McLeskey said.
Richardson captained last year’s "Backlash" too, and his birthday, like McLeskey’s, also falls during the tournament. He celebrates his birthday on Aug. 7 and – oddly enough – out of more than 300 boats that entered last year, “Backlash” was No. 87.
2015 was the first time McLeskey had ever fished in the White Marlin Open. It was her cousin, Davanzo — whose husband died in 2013 — who persuaded her to participate. Because of the recent family losses both of them had suffered, winning the tournament was so much more special, McLeskey said.
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McLeskey added that her husband never fished in Ocean City’s tournament. Wayne McLeskey died at 88 years old in 2012. He was a developer based in Virginia Beach and an avid fisherman.
“I was surprised to learn that he never fished in it,” McLeskey said. “(The White Marlin Open) is like the Super Bowl of sport fishing.”
McLeskey said her husband often fished near Cape Hatteras. Wayne McLeskey won the Big Rock tournament in Morehead City, North Carolina in 1982, and the Hatteras Marlin tournament in 1984.
Her father passed away last year too. In his memory, McLeskey donated $100,000 of her 2015 White Marlin Open winnings to a charity that pays for underprivileged Hispanic children to attend Catholic school in Virginia. Her father, a Spanish-American, fought in World War II.
What did McLeskey did with the rest of her winnings?
She split it up between herself and all of the members of Team Backlash. The anglers, the captain and the mates all got a cut of the $1.175 million. McLeskey said she donated most of what was left of her share to various charities.
This past year, McLeskey was inducted into the Hampton Roads Business Hall of Fame and continues to work as a developer in Virginia Beach. She’s also a pilot and an avid swimmer.
McLeskey’s only regret from last year’s tournament is not entering in the winner-take-all Calcutta division. This year though, she and her team will pony up the extra cash to do so.
“We’re going after the white marlin again,” she said. “We’re really focused on that.”
McLeskey said she isn’t sure what days of the tournament the anglers aboard “The Delta Dawn” will go fishing.
The tournament’s opening day, Aug. 8, is her birthday. McLeskey said they might take the first day off and celebrate before she attempts to defend her title.
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