Carolinas fishing tourney directors assess how to run events during COVID-19 restrictions

The arrival of spring along the Carolinas coast brings with it the start of fishing tournament season.

There are numerous events annually staged beginning in April and scattered through the calendar until well into autumn that target a variety of species including blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, wahoo, dolphin, tuna, king mackerel, redfish and flounder.

Most tournaments feature large gatherings for captains meetings, weigh-ins, after-tournament parties and awards ceremonies, which don’t exactly fit in well with the current social distancing requirements related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Not to mention how many people will be allowed on a boat considering S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has allowed authorities to disperse groups larger than three people.

There is much uncertainty among tournament directors regarding whether their tournaments will be held as scheduled, postponed or canceled.

“This is the beginning of the tournament season, and we don’t know how things are going to be,” said Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center (OIFC) in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. “Tournament directors are trying to make plans, there’s a lot involved in setting up a tournament. We’re all wondering, do we do this planning?”

Ocean Isle Fishing Center hosts several major tournaments each year, and McMullan is using his first event to experiment with a format enabling it to be held despite social distancing restrictions. McMullan has a plan to make the event, as he says, “Covid compliant.”

McMullan’s Far Out Shoot Out targets wahoo, tuna and dolphin and will be held April 18-May 16, with competing boats able to fish two out of the 29 eligible days. The fishing team that finishes with the largest combined weight of one fish from each species will be declared the winner.

Here’s where the event will differ from so many events in past years - there will be no captains meeting and fishing teams will sign up online. Each boat will weigh-in their catch at the OIFC by 8 p.m. of their declared fishing day or by noon the next day. As McMullan points out, at no time will more than six people be gathered within six feet of each other.

“People are already fishing, we’re just adding competition that a lot of them enjoy and doing it in a way that is compliant with our new world restrictions,” said McMullan on Wednesday. “We hope, we hope (the restrictions change), but we’re just puppets in this world and that’s the way we’re being treated.

“My opinion is we’ll have it under this format and I’m hoping the fishermen will respond and will enter, and it will provide a minimum path forward. That way any tournament director will know they can hold their tournament at minimum under these guidelines and the fishermen will accept it and will show up.”

McMullan considers his format an effort to provide some normalcy to the fishing community in a tumultuous time.

“I consider this an early attempt to provide some hope and some light in this time of oppression,” said McMullan. “It’s a way forward.”

Time is running out to enter the Far Out Shootout, as entries close at midnight Friday. For more information, visit www.OIFC.com or call 910-575-3474.

▪ Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament: When the 53rd annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament will be held is still up in the air thanks to the social distancing restrictions that are in place.

The oldest billfish tournament in South Carolina is currently scheduled to be held May 20-23, as always at Georgetown Landing Marina. If restrictions are lifted and the tournament is held then as planned, it would be the opening tournament in the 2020 South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. The Bohicket Marina Invitational Billfish Tournament was originally scheduled to be the series opener but was postponed to July 29-Aug. 1.

If the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament Is postponed, the new dates for the event would be Aug. 12-15.

The dates of all four tournaments in the Governor’s Cup series could be affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“As it stands right now, the Governor’s Cup Advisory Board and the Department of Natural Resources are taking it one tournament at a time,” said Amy Dukes, Tournament Coordinator of the series. “We’re monitoring it very closely. We absolutely want the series to continue but we have to make sure the health of the participants and staff remains our priority.”

Ed Keelin, manager of Georgetown Landing Marina, expects to have a final decision on the dates of the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament by May 4.

▪ Yellowfin Flashing: There is good news for meatfish tournaments such as the Far Out Shootout and billfish tournaments with tuna categories such as the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series.

Yellowfin tuna have made a solid showing compared to recent years with scattered catches in the last few weeks in the offshore waters from Wilmington, N.C., to Charleston. The biggest splash came last Saturday when Callisto, fishing out of Georgetown Landing Marina, landed six yellowfin in one flurry.

“They were trying to catch a blue (marlin), and they saw the tuna come up,” said Keelin. “They (trolled) over a school, seven rods went down and they caught six. They were (fishing) to the south in 800 feet (of water).”

Keelin would love to see a return of the yellowfin, which were much more common in local offshore waters decades ago but have been scarce.

“There might be more than just one lost school,” said Keelin. “That would be excellent if we got some yellowfin back. It has got plenty of people’s attention, got plenty of people ready to go (offshore) when the next window of opportunity presents itself.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 3:00 PM.