Outdoors: Murrells Inlet Spring Flounder Tournament on deck

Back in 2002, a fledgling little fishing club called the Grand Strand Saltwater Anglers Association decided to stage a flounder tournament in Murrells Inlet to help kick off spring fishing.

Over the years, the tournament and the club have grown to where the Spring Flounder Tournament itself has become a bit of a rite of spring in the inlet.

The GSSAA will stage its 14th annual Spring Flounder Tournament on April 25 out of the public boat ramp in Murrells Inlet.

Flounder action got off to an early start in the inlet as they have been caught since late March, which is a good sign for the tournament.

All anglers fishing in the event must attend the captain’s meeting and registration, which will be held at 6 p.m. on April 24 at the Beaver Bar in Murrells Inlet.

Entry fee is $45 for the adult division and $20 for the youth division (ages 14 and under).

Fishing begins at 6 a.m. on April 25, with weigh-in to follow at the Murrells Inlet boat ramp from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Anglers can weigh in only one flounder, with the largest flounder in the tournament earning $1,500. The top 10 finishers will receive a cash prize.

A legal-size flounder (14-inch minimum size) has been tagged and released into the inlet and any angler catching and weighing in the tagged flounder will earn $1,500.

For more information on the tournament, call Bill Cash at 843-237-9987 or Chick McDaniels at 843-651-2076.

Lowcountry Redfish Cup

After 10 years of near misses, Capt. Rob Beglin and his fishing partner Eric Gobbett finally came out on top.

The duo – Beglin of Pawleys Island and Gobbett of Georgetown – have had eight top-five finishes on various redfish tours during the 10-year stretch, but broke through to win a Lowcountry Redfish Cup event Saturday in Mount Pleasant.

Beglin and Gobbett weighed in a pair of slot red drum measuring just under the top end of South Carolina’s slot limit of 15 to 23 inches. The two fish weighed 4.75 and 4.04 pounds for a winning aggregate of 8.79 pounds.

With only 45 minutes of fishing time left, the duo spotted an active group of reds chasing bait onto a bank in Bulls Bay. Throwing Category 5’s Manic Minnow, they upgraded the two reds they had in the live well four times in the last 25 minutes, said Beglin, who operates Inshore Xtreme Fishing Charters.

For more information on the series, visit www.lowcountryredfishcup.com.

Waterway cleanups

In the last month, I’ve gotten a couple stark reminders of the need to keep our waterways and beaches clean.

First, in early March, a not-so-common leatherback turtle beached itself on South Island near Georgetown and made national news. The end result was great, with the turtle – dubbed Yawkey – being released in good condition after a stint of rehab at the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital in Charleston.

But Yawkey’s beaching was undoubtedly from ingesting plastic bags or plastic bottles that made their way into the ocean. Since the diet of leatherbacks consists mainly of jellyfish, the turtle likely mistook the plastic for its typical food source, a common problem for sea turtles.

Then, last Sunday, I noticed badly overflowing garbage cans at the large beach access at the south end of Pawleys Island. Beachgoers had simply placed trash, including plastic bottles, on the sand beside the full trash cans instead of taking it with them and disposing of it personally.

With this type of careless behavior from humans, it’s no wonder harmful trash makes its way into the ocean and puts valuable marine wildlife at risk.

A couple of upcoming events are designed to help combat that problem and remove trash from local beaches and waterways.

Spring Tide 2015 is focused on cleaning up Murrells Inlet and will be held Sunday, with participants to meet at Morse Landing Park, adjacent to Hot Fish Club, at 10 a.m.

For more information, call Murrells Inlet 2020 at 843-357-2007 or visit www.murrellsinletsc.com

The fourth annual Little River “River Sweep” will be held on April 25, focusing on cleaning up the waterways and beaches in the Little River area.

Participants will meet at 8 a.m. at the Johnny Causey Boating Facility in North Myrtle Beach. Boaters and kayakers are welcome to participate. Free rides to Waits Island aboard the Getaway Dolphin Cruise boat are available for participants.

Visit Little River South Carolina “River Sweep” on Facebook for more information.

NWTF banquet

The Murrells Inlet Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will stage its annual fundraising banquet on Tuesday. The event will be held at Longbeard’s Bar & Grill, located at 5040 Carolina Forest Blvd.

Tickets are $55 per person or $90 per couple. The event includes a silent auction, live auction and raffles to go with food provided by Longbeard’s and an open bar.

For more information, call Chris Hawley at 843-455-0371.

SALTT tournament

The final of six tournaments in the Student Angler League Tournament Trail (SALTT) will be held Saturday out of the Campbell Landing on the Sampit River in Georgetown.

Students in grades 6 through 12 can fish in the series, which targets red drum. All fish weighed in are released on the trail. For more information, call Coach Rayburn Poston at 843-902-4274.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Outdoors: Murrells Inlet Spring Flounder Tournament on deck."