Outdoors column: Pair of fishing tournaments on tap next weekend in Georgetown County

Next weekend will be a busy one on the waters of Georgetown County.

A pair of tournaments are on tap – an IFA Redfish Tour stop at the Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown and the 5th annual Spanish Mackerel Derby based out of the Mullet Hut in Murrells Inlet.

IFA Redfish Tour

For the second time this year, the Redfish Tour will make a stop in Georgetown at the Campbell Marine Complex.

Both of the tour’s 2015 Atlantic Division events were scheduled for Georgetown, including an event in May.

Each Redfish Tour stop features two tournaments, one for power boats and one for kayaks.

While the Redfish Tour event is regional in nature and will attract seasoned competitors from around the Southeast, Georgetown County Administrator Sel Hemingway has a message for local anglers.

“All you local guys who always tell me how easy it is to catch these redfish, go out there, catch you two nice ones and go home with a boat, motor and trailer,” said Hemingway, who is shooting for 100 boats to enter the boat tournament.

Hemingway was referring to the fully-rigged new Ranger flats boat powered by Yamaha valued at $25,995 that is awarded to the winner of each regular-season Redfish Tour event. The winner of the kayak tournament earns a $1,500 cash prize.

The public is invited to attend the weigh-ins. Each two-angler team can weigh in two red drum that measure within South Carolina’s 15-23 inch slot limit, with the heaviest two-fish aggregate winning the event.

All fish weighed in are released after the weigh-in.

The power boat tournament’s activities begin on Friday with registration from 5 to 7 p.m. followed by the captain’s meeting at the Campbell Marine Complex.

Anglers will launch at safe light on Saturday (Aug. 29). Check-in times will be assigned at Friday’s captain’s meeting with anglers returning to Campbell Marine Complex for the weigh-in at 3 p.m.

Registration for the kayak event is 6 to 7 p.m. on Saturday (Aug. 29), with captain’s meeting to follow at the Campbell Marine Complex.

The kayak anglers will launch Sunday (Aug. 30) from the location of their choice. Weigh-in time and location is to be determined.

Entry forms are available by calling the IFA Redfish Tour at (478) 836-4266 or at www.ifatours.com/redfish-tour/. Entry fee is $250.

Spanish Derby

The 5th annual event continues to grow, with first place for the largest Spanish weighed in earning a $5,000 cash prize.

The tournament also features numerous tournament within a tournament award categories, including the separate Donnie Griffin King Mackerel Tournament.

Registration is 5 p.m. Friday at the Mullet Hut, located on the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, with the captain’s meeting to follow. Entry fee for the tournament is $50, with tournament within a tournament entries separate.

On Saturday (Aug. 29), participating anglers can begin to use cast nets to catch bait at 7 a.m., with lines in at 8 p.m. Lines out is at 5 p.m. and boats must be within sight of the Mullet Hut for the weigh-in at 6 p.m.

The awards ceremony and a fish fry follow at 8 p.m.

For more information, call 843-651-1666.

Flounder Scrutiny

In a Wednesday press release, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources noted agency biologists will be undertaking a concerted effort to better track the movement, abundance and population trends of flounder in South Carolina waters.

In recent years, some commercial and recreational fishermen have voiced concerns to (S.C.) DNR officials about the status of South Carolina’s flounder populations, the release said.

Findings from this work will help inform long-term management strategies developed with the help of partner organizations such as the Coastal Conservation Association.

“Recreational fishermen from across the state have been reporting a noticeable change in the flounder population for several years now and many believe that an adjustment in management measures is warranted; some of the state’s latest data assessments even indicate that recreational anglers are catching two flounder or less daily in parts of the state,” said Scott Whitaker, Executive Director of Coastal Conservation Association South Carolina (CCA SC). “CCA SC has been, and will continue to work very closely with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to address this important issue.”

One component of this research effort is a study focusing on the prevalence of gigging, which involves using a single- or multi-pronged spear, or gig, to catch flounder. Gigging invariably takes place at night, when bottom-dwelling flounder are easier to spot with the aid of high-powered lights.

In 2006 and 2009, when the last surveys of the gig fishery took place, giggers harvested more than half of the annual flounder catch. The new survey will help researchers determine if that proportion has changed.

“We’ll be observing catches and asking anglers questions about their gigging experiences,” DNR biologist Brad Floyd said.

Another research team has recently begun work to fit flounder with acoustic tags, small devices that transmit signals, or “pings,” to acoustic receivers in the water.

These tags will allow biologists to track flounder movement throughout South Carolina’s waterways, which is not well understood, as well as the natural causes and rate of death for flounder species.

A high-value reward will encourage fishermen to return acoustic tags they find in flounder, which will provide information about flounder mortality due to fishing versus natural causes.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Outdoors column: Pair of fishing tournaments on tap next weekend in Georgetown County."