Outdoors: Simpson’s flounder takes grand prize

Santa Claus came a little early for Brady Simpson of Surfside Beach and his wife Nancy.

Simpson, a 19-year-resident of Surfside Beach after moving from Charlotte, N.C., is a part-time employee of Surfside Pier and has occasionally served on the Grand Strand Fishing Rodeo’s Board of Directors.

Simpson was not on the board in 2011, so the 4-pound, 3-ounce flounder he landed to win the August award for Fish of the Month made him eligible for the event’s Grand Prize.

When Simpson’s bobber was selected from all the award winners of the seven-month long rodeo to culminate the banquet Friday at Springmaid Beach Resort, he was in a bit of a state of shock.

“I’ve been to the banquet four or five times and I hadn’t ever won anything (not even) a door prize,” said Simpson. “They called my number and I about passed out.’’

Simpson, 75, caught his flounder on a finger mullet off the Surfside Pier, where he fishes about 3 to 4 days a week. The $1,000 grand prize will come in handy especially this time of year.

“It was a good time, we had an enjoyable evening,” Simpson said. “That was a good Christmas present.”

Another pier and surf fishing veteran had a fishing season to remember in the 58th annual rodeo.

Steve Chanilo of Garden City works at The Pier at Garden City and caught two very quality fish in the surf that paid off for him.

Chanilo, a 35-year resident of the area, landed a 5-pound, 5-ounce spotted seatrout and a 4-pound, 6-ounce pompano that earned three separate awards.

Chanilo’s trout won Largest of Species and the October award for Fish of the Month. His pompano won the June award for Fish of the Month.

Chanilo wasn’t too specific about where he caught his fish in the surf, only disclosing he landed them between The Pier at Garden City and the north jetty at Murrells Inlet. He caught the trout on a Mirrorlure and the pompano while using sandfleas for bait.

The rodeo’s award winners follow:

58th Annual Grand Strand Fishing Rodeo Award Winners

Largest of Species

•  Black Drum | Larry Edwards, Glen Allen, Va., 9 pounds, 3 ounces.

•  Black Sea Bass | Joe Burnett, Conway, 4-1.

•  Bluefish | Justin Shell, Hays, N.C., 13-3.

•  Croaker | Merle Johnson, Surfside Beach, 1-11.

•  Dolphin | Walker Forrest, Irmo, 20-0.

•  Flounder | Frank Watson, Lexington, 9-10.

•  Grouper | Robert Strickland, Murrells Inlet, 27-1.

•  King Mackerel | Don Christy, Rock Hill, 26-1.

•  Pompano | Wayne Hill, North Myrtle Beach, 6-4.

•  Sheepshead | Luis Leonardo Barrera, Myrtle Beach, 8-0.

•  Spadefish | Craig Melton, North Myrtle Beach, 8-3.

•  Spanish Mackerel | Adam Kuryea, Surfside Beach, 6-12.

•  Triggerfish | Hunter Woodberry, Lake City, 9-7.

•  Trout | Steve Chanilo, Garden City, 5-5.

•  Whiting | Richard Rotella, Conway, 1-14.

Fish of the Month

•  Whiting | Frank Rhodes, Murrells Inlet, 1-13.

•  Bluefish | Justin Shell, Hays, N.C., 13-3.

•  King Mackerel | Dave Tompkins, Myrtle Beach, 12-4.

•  Pompano | Steve Chanilo, Garden City, 4-6.

•  Sheepshead | Wayne Fitzgerald, Surfside Beach, 6-13.

•  Flounder | Brady Simpson, Surfside Beach, 4-3.

•  Spanish Mackerel | John Honeycutt, Hamlet, N.C., 4-12.

•  King Mackerel | Wilson Cole, Powder Springs, Ga,. 25-8.

•  Trout | Steve Chanilo, Garden City, 5-5.

•  Whiting | Richard Rotella, Conway, 1-14.

Notes

•  Take A Kid Fishing | The annual Take A Kid Fishing Day was held on Oct. 22 on Grand Strand piers and the winners were recognized at the banquet:

• Najeh Alford, Maxton, N.C., Largest Fish of Age Category, 12-ounce black drum.

• Samuel Goodwin, Myrtle Beach, Largest Fish of Age Category, 2 pound, 9 ounce spadefish.

• Nicholas Rosaforte, Conway, Largest Fish of Age Category, 12-ounce whiting.

• Mason Mooneyham, Lugoff, Most Fish of Age Category, 8 fish.

• Jonathan Garris, Conway, Most Fish of Age Category, 17 fish.

• Alex Lease, Myrtle Beach, Most Fish of Age Category, 29 fish.

•  Note | The Gregory family of Norwood, N.C., received a special award for their participation in the Take A Kid Fishing Day. The entire family fished in the event including dad and mom Gary and Lori Gregory, daughters Breezy and Skylar Gregory and 18-month-old son, Colt Gregory.

•  Pop Honored | Pawleys Island resident Sergeant Steve Pop, in his 14th year on the water with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division, was one of only three finalists for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.

The award, presented at a recent SAFMC meeting in Raleigh, N.C., is awarded annually to the top state, federal, or U.S. Coast Guard fisheries enforcement officer in the four-state region of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida.

Florida Wildlife Commission Officer Clay McDonough of Volusia County won the award. USCG Officer Dustin Albertson, stationed in Marathon, Fla., was also a finalist.

According to the SAFMC, the award is “to recognize an individual who has exceeded, above and beyond, the duty requirements expected of the position held and who exemplifies the virtues of professionalism and dedication and has demonstrated a distinct pattern of service to enforcing fisheries regulations in the South Atlantic region.”

Pop mainly patrols Georgetown County including Murrells Inlet and Winyah Bay.

•  Balmy Holidays | What a difference a year makes. One year ago, the coastal Carolinas were locked into a very cold December weather pattern that dropped the water temperature well below typical levels, setting the stage for a large-scale kill of white shrimp and lesser amounts of spotted seatrout in local estuaries over the winter of 2010-11.

On December 15, 2010, the surface ocean water temperature according to the Apache Pier data station in Myrtle Beach was between 46 and 47 degrees, 46.71 degrees at 4 p.m. on that date to be exact.

On Thursday at 3:15 p.m., the same data station registered a reading of 58.75 degrees, up 12 degrees from a year earlier.

On the heels of back-to-back winters that were tough on shrimp and trout, the current weather trend is a welcome one for local fishermen as the prospects for avoiding a kill look much better for the winter of 2011-12 which starts on Wednesday.

“It’s good to see (the warmer-than-normal water),” said Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown. “We need a nice warm winter to help these fish out.”