Voice of the Roundup
Neblett named to Hall of Fame
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Voice of Deep Sea Roundup SOUTH JETTY FILE PHOTO Georgia Neblett, who has been the voice of the Deep Sea Roundup for years, is being inducted into the Port Aransas Boatmen, Inc. Hall of Fame. In this 2006 file photo she is being interviewed by KIII-TV' sports director Dan McReynolds.

Anyone who's been to a Deep Sea Roundup weigh-in has heard Georgia Neblett, named this year to the Port Aransas Boatmen Inc. Hall of Fame.

She will be honored during the 73rd Deep Sea Roundup Jully 3-6.

Neblett is the mistress of ceremonies, the person who announces weights of fish brought to the scale, the one who exhorts the crowd to applaud a particularly good catch, the lady who calls spectators' attention to boats coming in.

It wasn't always this way.

"Thirty years ago, Teddy Matthews said, 'I have a job for you.' I was asked to help weigh in fish," Neblett recalled.

Back then, things weren't quite as organized as they are now. Today, weighmasters use electronic scales and records are kept on laptop computers.

"For the first few years, we kept (records) on a green ledger sheet and used a meat market scale for weighins," she said.

Then, organizers decided to expand the tournament, and Neblett became the official mistress of ceremonies.

For a while, the Deep Sea Roundup ran a full week, she said.

"I clearly recall three days of fishing, and activities at the Community Center," Neblett remembered.

Back then, there was a Deep Sea Roundup Queen, a parade and the blessing of the fleet. There was also a special press area, because newspapers sent sports writers from Dallas, San Antonio and Houston to report on the tournament.

"Those days were the most fun," Neblett said. "We used to have wonderful bands (playing for the tournament). That's where all the children on the island learned to dance."

Things started getting more sophisticated one year when anglers kept bringing in what they thought were winning fish, but they had mis-identified the fish when they were caught. That's when organizers started keeping a copy of "Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico" at the weigh-in point.

"We used to have a line tester, and we tested the lines in the light tackle division (to ensure that the lines wouldn't hold more than their rated strength). Carlos Moore was the only one who knew how to braid a tail rope. Instead of an electronic scale, Rick Tinnin used to have to climb the pole (holding the scale) because he's tall," she said.

Digital electronic scales and computer programs have made it "a lot easier," Neblett said.

She also recalls the time when someone caught a huge shark and it was hoisted on the scale.

"Corky Furlow was the dock organizer," she said. "They put that big shark on the scale, and I got its stomach emptied on me. Corky just picked me up and threw me into the water."

After all that, why does Neblett keep volunteering?

"I suppose I keep coming back because Port Aransas Boatmen Inc. is such an anchor of the community," she said. "They take that money (from tournament fees) and put it back into the community for things that wouldn't get done if it weren't for the Boatmen."

And, of course, if it weren't for volunteers like Georgia Neblett.