Outdoors: Ron’s Reef established off Little River

Let’s just call it Ron’s Reef.

A fitting tribute to the late Ron McManus was put in place on April 22 as the Ron McManus Memorial Reef, located about five nautical miles south-southwest of the south jetty at Little River Inlet, was officially established.

McManus, who passed away on Feb. 13, 2014, at the age of 70, was largely responsible for turning the Jim Caudle Reef located off Little River into the most used artificial reef in South Carolina’s Marine Artificial Reef Program.

McManus established the Jim Caudle Reef Foundation which was named in honor of his friend, the late Jim Caudle, a well-known member of the Little River fishing community who passed away in 2000.

The amicable McManus worked tirelessly promoting the benefits a thriving near-shore reef would provide the North Myrtle Beach/Little River area. His hard work on behalf of the Jim Caudle Reef did not go unnoticed.

In 2010, McManus was awarded an Environmental Awareness Certificate of Excellence by the state of South Carolina after being nominated for the award by Bob Martore, Artificial Reef Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Ron’s Reef was put in motion last October when Permitted Area 04, or PA 04 in the S.C. DNR’s Marine Artificial Reef Program, was named the Ron McManus Memorial Reef.

The reef already had some structure on it. That site was approved because a 90-foot steel hull shrimp boat named Lady Geneva accidentally sank there several years ago.

On April 22, a barge-load of concrete structure was added to the site, located in 35 feet of water. Included in the structure were numerous 4-5 foot square concrete boxes made by Concrete Designs, Inc., in Surfside Beach along with 20-plus concrete reef cones.

In addition, a new buoy marking the reef was put in place. The numbers for the buoy are 3346.150/07835.900.

McManus was cremated following his death, and one of the cones placed on the bottom contained a portion of his remains. The cone also had a plaque commemorating McManus attached.

Close by, McManus’ son, Bob McManus, looked on from the McManus’ boat, the Bobby Lynn, as the material was dropped to the bottom from the barge.

Just as structure has relentlessly been placed on the Jim Caudle Reef over the years, rest assured more structure is on the way for Ron’s Reef in the years to come.

Ron McManus wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Spring Flounder Tournament

In a field full of salty, very experienced flounder anglers, 19-year-old Woody Curtis of Johnsonville came away the winner in the Spring Flounder Tournament Saturday in Murrells Inlet.

It didn’t take Curtis, a member of the Class of 2014 from Johnsonville High School, long to put the winning flounder in the boat.

About 30 minutes after lines in at 6 a.m., Curtis was trolling mud minnows on two-hook rigs he made himself near the jetties when he got a good bite.

Moments later, he boated what wound up being a 3.95-pounder that measured 21 1/4 inches.

“It was about 6:30 a.m. when I caught it and I had it in the cooler all day,” Curtis recalled . “I felt real good but I really didn’t think it would win the tournament.”

Indeed, Curtis did give the winning flounder a boat ride all day as he topped the field of 195 anglers that afternoon at the weigh-in at the parking lot adjacent to the Murrells Inlet boat ramp.

“It was a good feeling, I didn’t know how to act,” said Curtis, who took home the $1,500 first-place prize.

Curtis also won a Shimano rod-and-reel in one of the event’s raffles.

“I consider myself real lucky,” he said.

Michael Highsmith won second place and $600 with a 3.60-pound flounder in the 14th annual event staged by the Grand Strand Saltwater Anglers.

Rounding out the top five were Haslin Rogers (3.25 pounds), Wesley Williamson (3.25) and Mike Brady (2.70).

Gradyn Baisch won the Youth Division with a 2.65-pound flounder.

Meatfish Slam

The 7th annual Meatfish Slam out of Georgetown Landing Marina has been delayed by one day.

Now, the captain’s meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Friday with crews choosing to fish one of two days, Saturday or Sunday. Boats can depart from Georgetown, Murrells Inlet or Charleston but all fish must be weighed in at Georgetown Landing Marina.

The tournament benefits Kids Chance. For more information, call 843-546-1776.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Outdoors: Ron’s Reef established off Little River."