Wet 2015 has lasting effect on Grand Strand outdoorsmen
The year 2015 produced a variety of stories in the outdoors scene along the Grand Strand. Some were devastating, some very newsworthy, and others simply amazing. Here is my take on the top five outdoors stories of 2015:
Unprecedented October flood event
That is Capt. Mike McDonald's take on the devastating rains that fell on Horry and Georgetown counties and across the state of South Carolina from Oct. 1-5.
The 69-year-old McDonald was born and raised in Georgetown, and for all of his nearly 70 years on earth he has lived there, near the shores of Winyah Bay.
Winyah Bay is considered the third largest watershed on the East Coast, and the majority of the rain that fell during the five-day stretch — in upward of 20 inches across much of the coastal plain and into the Midlands — flowed through the Waccamaw, Black and Pee Dee rivers into the bay on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
“I've not seen a rain event like this,” McDonald said, “and I don't know anybody who has.”
The veteran captain, who operates Gul-R-Boy Guide Service, expects changes in the topography of the bay.
“There's no way to predict how long this thing will last, we've never had anything like this,” said McDonald in the aftermath. “It may take a month before the Black River gets back within its banks.
“One thing is for certain, when it's done, Winyah Bay will be changed, the topography of it will have changed. There are islands that won't be there because (the flood water) is running at a fast pace.”
Above normal rainfall has occurred across the state since the October deluge. A late December fishing trip in the bay and adjacent North Inlet showed that water conditions still remained very dirty, almost three months after the historic rain event.
Georgetown Rising As Tournament Destination
When the Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex on the Sampit River opened in 2010, the City of Georgetown had a venue suitable to host regional — and even national — fishing tournaments.
The complex features 200 parking spots for boat trailer parking, with its location on the Sampit River offering access for saltwater fishermen to the main feature of the area, Winyah Bay, and nearby North Inlet. Anglers can also head south down the Intracoastal Waterway for more fishing options. Winyah Bay of course flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
There are also three main rivers — the Waccamaw, Pee Dee and Black — that flow into Winyah Bay, which is the third largest watershed on the East Coast, providing numerous fishing spots for freshwater fishermen.
In 2015, Georgetown began reaching its potential as a tournament fishing destination.
A pair of IFA Redfish Tour events and the B.A.S.S. Nation Southern Divisional Championship were among the tournaments held out of the Campbell Complex in 2015.
A new year brings a more promising outlook, along with the potential for added economic impact for Georgetown County.
Two more IFA Redfish Tour events are set for Georgetown in 2016. Georgetown County Administrator Sel Hemingway also was able to add a big one to the venue’s 2016 schedule — the Bassmaster Elite Series.
“To fishing, this series is what the PGA Tour is to golf,” said Georgetown County Administrator Sel Hemingway. “Being selected to host an event of this caliber is a huge achievement for our community and an honor. This is the chance the county has been looking for to prove we can host a large scale, national event and not only compete with but outdo other jurisdictions that are competing for this type of event.”
Deer Bill
Major changes to South Carolina’s white-tailed deer hunting laws became a possibility in 2015 as Senate Bill 454, sponsored by Sen. Chip Campsen III (R-Charleston) and Sen. Ross Turner (R-Greenville), was filed in February and approved in March.
The bill currently resides in the House of Representatives, where it will be considered when the 2016 legislative session begins later this month.
The bill proposes a limit of four antlered bucks per year and that all deer harvested must be tagged. The Antlerless Deer Quota Program (ADQP), utilized by numerous landowners and hunt clubs, would continue to be available with quotas being issued for both bucks and does.
Currently, only the state’s two Upstate game zones have a limit on bucks (five per season). The rest of the state, comprised largely of the Midlands and coastal plain, has never had a limit on bucks.
South Carolina is considered to be the only state in the U.S. that does not have a statewide limit on bucks.
Getting the bill passed and put into law is “an agency priority,” said Charles Ruth, S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Deer and Wild Turkey Program coordinator.
Since around the year 2000, the harvest of deer in the state has decreased by around 35 percent, a clear indication of a declining population.
“Reasons for the decline include habitat changes related to forest management, extremely liberal deer harvests over the last two decades and the colonization of the state by coyotes since the turn of the century,” Ruth said.
Miss Wy Wins At Georgetown
Let's just say it was a fun day for Capt. Matt Wilkinson and the crew aboard Miss Wy on the final day of fishing in the 48th annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament in May.
Miss Wy, from host venue Georgetown Landing Marina, released three blue marlin the morning of the final day to win the opening tournament of the 2015 South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series.
Miss Wy's feat was part of a doozy of a final day of blue marlin fishing in the Georgetown tournament, the longest-running billfish tournament in South Carolina. The 41-boat field released 15 blue marlin on the day, to go with three white marlin and two sailfish.
To Wilkinson, who operates Miss Wy for owner Ed Holder, it was just another day at the office.
“We had a good time, it was a fun day,” the veteran captain said about the come-from-behind win.
Miss Wy earned 600 points for each blue marlin release for 1,800 total points, topping Petrel, which finished second with 1,400 points after releasing two blue marlin and a sailfish.
The final numbers for the tournament were record-setting for the Georgetown event.
A total of 23 blue marlin were released, which tops the 21 that were released in the tournament in both 2013 and 2008.
According to DNR records dating back to 2000, the most blue marlin released in a Governor's Cup event was 31 in the Charleston Harbor and MegaDock tournaments in 2006.
Great White Episode
Over the years, Capt. Jay Sconyers has run into some sizable sharks on autumn fishing trips while catching and releasing bull red drum on hard-bottom spots near the beach.
The biggest sharks are usually tigers or hammerheads that either take a big piece of cut bait intended for redfish or attack a hooked redfish.
This episode was different for Sconyers, who operates Aces Up Fishing out of Murrells Inlet.
On the morning of Nov. 13 — which coincidentally happened to be Friday the 13th — Sconyers took Andrew Nelson of Conway, Woody Rogers of Beaufort and Dave Hegler of Kershaw to his favorite spot to catch bull reds, located about a half-mile off the beach at Surfside Beach in 20-25 feet of water.
As usual, Sconyers put big chunks of fresh fish, usually whiting, croaker or menhaden, down for bait on a standard Carolina rig.
Only about 10 minutes after Sconyers anchored up and the baits were dropped to the bottom, they got the bite they had been looking for, and Nelson took the rod. The 4-hour trip was only the second in the ocean for Nelson, and he was battling his first red drum.
Nelson worked the redfish, estimated to weigh about 30 pounds, to near the stern of the boat. Sconyers grabbed the net and Rogers grabbed his camera.
“Just a couple more turns (of the reel) and I can get him,” Sconyers recalls telling Nelson.
Then, it happened.
As Sconyers was about to reach out with the net, a sizable shark launched itself from below to inhale the big redfish before splashing down and disappearing.
As they stood there, stunned at what they had just witnessed, visions of The Discovery Channel danced through the crew's heads.
“It was a great white,” Sconyers said. “It was just like you see when they hit seals on The Discovery Channel. It was like an explosion, it was insane. It looked like a bomb went off in the water.”
Sconyers has seen his share of sharks, and he got a close-up look at this one.
“I saw his face and his teeth when it came out of the water, the triangular teeth,” Sconyers said, estimating the shark to be in the area of 10 feet long. “I couldn't see the redfish and his mouth was open. He just swallowed it, and that was a 30-pound redfish.”
This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Wet 2015 has lasting effect on Grand Strand outdoorsmen."