Point Breeze finishes second as ‘Ultimate Fishing Town’

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 May 2013 at 12:00 am

‘We all worked together to bring up the awareness of the good fishing down here.’ – Todd Fannin, owner of Lighthouse Restaurant

Photo by Tom Rivers – Point Breeze won the northeast region as the “Ultimate Fishing Town,” and then finished second overall behind Cape Hatteras, NC. This picture from Wednesday shows the Oak Orchard Harbor and the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.

POINT BREEZE – The Point Breeze community nearly pulled it off – the title as the “Ultimate Fishing Town.”

After winning the northeast region in an online voting contest by the World Fishing Network, Point Breeze can in second for the top crown among the top 10 in five regions. (Click here to see the Point Breeze page on the WFN.)

Cape Hatteras in North Carolina received 47,147 votes in a three-week contest that ended yesterday. Point Breeze and the Oak Orchard Harbor were next with 32,053 votes. The World Fishing Network is reviewing the votes and expects to declare Cape Hatteras the winner on June 4. The winner receives $25,000 to promote its fishing industry, as well as free publicity on WFN.

Point Breeze, as a regional winner, is due $3,500 to promote its fishery.

For the past three weeks, and during the regional competition before that, the local community has been voting for Point Breeze, and encouraging their friends to log on and show their support.

“It’s brought the community together for a reason and a purpose,” said Todd Fannin, owner of Lighthouse Restaurant at the Point. “We had a good run.”

He was among the cheerleaders, trying to round up votes for Point Breeze. He said many of his customers followed the daily leaderboard online.

The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association, Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum, Orleans County Tourism, Chamber of Commerce and other local groups all tried to rally votes for Point Breeze.

“We all worked together to bring up the awareness of the good fishing down here,” Fannin said. “It’s been a very good thing for the community.”

He expects local stakeholders will discuss how to spend the $3,500 prize to promote a fishery already well known for brown trout, salmon, steelhead and cohoes.