Big dolphin pod dazzles fisherman, tourists off Little River coast

Tuesday morning was just another day on the ocean for Myrtle Beach resident Christopher Ossmann until he spotted a fin poking out of the water.

“I basically saw a fin come up in the distance, and by the time we got over there, one fin had turned into about 50,” Ossmann said of the group of dolphins swimming about 10 miles offshore of Little River. “I put the boat in gear because dolphins love to follow the boat, and for a quarter-mile they followed us and swam next to the boat.”

Ossmann, who owns Fine Catch Fishing Charters, was about to head back to shore after taking a group of tourists from Wisconsin fishing when he spotted the lone fin. An avid fisherman, Ossmann said he’s seen dolphins during his adventures at sea but has never seen a large group of dolphins so willing to swim so close to his boat.

“They were bumping into the boat while they were swimming,” Ossmann said. “You could have reached down and touched them.”

While Ossmann was thrilled to have that experience, he said his tourist group was even more amazed.

“They don’t get out in the ocean at all,” Ossmann said. “That is something they’ve only see on television but go to experience in person.”