The catch heard ‘round the Carolinas: The top 5 outdoors stories of 2021
The fishing scene in Horry and Georgetown counties, along with Brunswick County, N.C., is always interesting and varied, and it’s tough to select the top five stories in a given year.
Some are amazing, some newsworthy, some just plain fun. Here are my five favorite outdoors stories for the year 2021:
1, Brayden McMullan, age 12, wins Fall Brawl
What 12-year-old Brayden McMullan accomplished in the Freeman/Yamaha Fall Brawl King Classic in October was flat out amazing, simply jaw-dropping.
Fishing with a last-minute partner aboard a re-tooled 18-foot center console dubbed King Slinga and limited to working a small area just outside Shallotte Inlet, the sixth-grader at Shallotte Middle School went out and pulled off an incredible angling feat.
Brayden landed a 52-pound king mackerel last Saturday with help from fishing partner Scott Schmitt to win the prestigious tournament over the other 333 boats fishing in the event out of Ocean Isle Fishing Center.
While most of the rest of the huge field, in spiffy center consoles powered by two, three or even four outboards, zoomed off to fish anywhere within the expansive tournament boundaries, from Swansboro, N.C., to the Winyah Bay jetties at Georgetown, Brayden and Schmitt eased out to the mouth of Shallotte Inlet to work Brayden’s boundaries.
Those boundaries were predetermined by his dad, Capt. Brant McMullan, the tournament director and one of the McMullan owners of Ocean Isle Fishing Center.
“We have a little boundary for (Brayden) to fish, a series of ledges and hard-bottom from the last set of cans out (Shallotte) Inlet, to about two miles out,” said Brant McMullan. “From the sea buoy out to that ledge, a two-mile circumference from the mouth of the inlet.”
With his required North Carolina Boating License aboard and a live well full of menhaden and bluefish, Brayden started thoroughly working over his limited area, slow-trolling the bait on Saturday morning.
Schmitt was along to assist Brayden if needed, or if trouble arose.
“He was there to handle any (boat) problems and handle any problems for Brayden while he was fishing,” said Brant McMullan.
After 2 p.m., some magic happened aboard King Slinga.
“First I saw my double pogy (rig) get nervous,” recalled Brayden. “I stood up on the back deck with glasses and I saw a silhouette of a fish. Then all of a sudden everything stopped and went back to normal for like 15 seconds, then he bites my bluefish on my mid-bait and ran for probably 600 yards.
“I almost got spooled, I saw the silver on my reel.”
“I felt head shakes and I knew it was a good fish,” said Brayden. “I got him up and I saw it was a really big fish. I told Scott ‘Get the big gaff.’ Scott gaffed it and pulled it into the boat. “I said ‘Oh my God, we’ve got a 60-pounder. I put the fish in the bag, and ran straight to the scales.”
News of Brayden’s big king spread quickly, and there was a crowd greeting the duo at the OIFC dock, including his mom and dad, his grandfather Rube McMullan and aunt Deborah Lathem. The youngster promptly took the lead with the 52-pounder.
After waiting a full day to see if the fish would hold on to first place, the King Slinga did, indeed, finish atop the huge field of boats.
2, Flounder Regulations
The South Carolina State Legislature approved a bill that created sweeping changes to flounder regulations in the Palmetto State, including lower daily bag limits, lower daily boat limits and an increase in minimum size limit.
In addition, an increase in saltwater fishing license fees was established to fund the creation of a flounder stocking program in the state.
The bill was almost unanimously approved by a 42-0 vote in the Senate and 111-1 in the House and went into effect on July 1.
“The process has provided a bill that represents a conservation win that technically ends overfishing of southern flounder via reasonably adjusted size and creel limits, (and) creates and funds a new program to aid and bolster a declining wild stock,” said Scott Whitaker, Executive Director of Coastal Conservation Association South Carolina.
The changes in regulations in the bill include:
*A 50 percent reduction in the daily bag limits to 5 flounder per person per day and 10 per boat per day. South Carolina’s previous limits were 10 per person and 20 per boat per day.
*An increase of one inch in the minimum size limit to 16 inches.
The bill includes an across-the-board increase in saltwater fishing license fees, with the additional funds earmarked to fund a flounder stocking program that is being established.
For South Carolina residents, an annual resident saltwater fishing license increased from $10 to $15 and a three-year resident saltwater fishing license from $30 to $45.
The new saltwater fishing license options for non-residents include a one-day temporary license for $10, a seven-day temporary license for $35 and an annual license for $75.
The bill states that a minimum of five dollars from the sale of each recreational saltwater fishing license must be used for the development and implementation of the flounder stocking program.
3, Kelly Baisch wins flounder tournament
The headline said it all:
“Kelly Baisch defeats 100 anglers in flounder tournament while husband works bait shop”
The girl from Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle headed less than a half-mile up Business Hwy. 17 to Crazy Sister Marina to compete in June’s Murrells Inlet Rotary Flounder Tournament.
Kelly Baisch and her husband, Capt. J Baisch, operate the local little bait shop just south of the Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk with part-time help from J’s dad, A.J. Baisch, and a couple nephews.
As the tournament approached, the couple decided that J would man the bait shop, giving Kelly free reign to go solo and compete in the 18th annual tournament, which switched to a catch-and-release format for the first time this year.
So on the morning of the tournament, Kelly Baisch headed out on the inlet in the Baisch’s bait-catching boat, an antiquated, beat up 16-foot center console, armed with Hudson jig heads and mud minnows.
By late that afternoon, Kelly Baisch left the weigh-in and festivities at Crazy Sister Marina with a handful of checks totaling about $2,200 and a resounding victory over 100 other anglers, most of them guys.
“I’m still in shock,” Kelly Baisch said with a laugh earlier this week. “With J running the bait shop, I just did it on my own. I guess I’m one of the boys now. It’s exciting, a little street cred. I’ve been taught well. J’s a good teacher.”
Kelly Baisch’s winning female doormat flounder weighed 4.53 pounds before it was released back into the inlet. The fish measured 22 ½ inches.
“No one came out with a bigger one and I came out on top,” said Kelly Baisch. “That was crazy.”
Kari Collins, tournament coordinator of the event, said “She’s my hero.”
4, Belky Bear Sails
Belky Bear is a well-known and heavily fished live-bottom area with a few ledges located 12-13 miles east-northeast of Murrells Inlet.
The Bear is a go-to spot for charter captains and weekend warriors looking to tangle mainly with king mackerel and large Spanish mackerel, but it has a knack for occasionally holding pelagic species typically found much further offshore. In 2020, during a stretch in mid-October, blackfin tuna, including several fish over 20 pounds, were caught at the Bear, plus a few dolphin.
The surprise catch in 2021 was sailfish. Over a period of three days, again in mid-October, four sailfish were caught and released at Belky Bear.
Owner Dr. Jason Rosenberg and Capt. Jay Sconyers released a sailfish aboard Rosenberg’s boat, Pain Killer on Oct. 13. A day later, Capt. Dan Connolly of O-Fish-Al Expeditions also released a sailfish.
One more day later, on Oct. 15, Capt. Tommy Werner of Outlaw Fishing Charters and Capt. Jason Burton of Murrells Inlet Fishing Charters were fishing alongside each other at the Bear and both hooked up with a sailfish simultaneously. “It was crazy,” said Werner. “Both of our fish hit within seconds of each other and we were 200 yards away. Jason’s fish aired out first, and as soon as that happened, my fish hit and marlin-walked. Both of them skied out of the water.” Both sailfish were released in good shape.
Werner has a theory on why offshore pelagics not normally seen a dozen miles out in 50 feet of water along the South Carolina coast may be showing up at areas such as the Bear.
“There are a couple of sails usually caught (further offshore) at the Parking Lot each year, but for them to push into the Belky Bear, I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been fishing here for 20 years,” said Werner. “It seems like any time we get a consistent east wind it pushes that clear water in. You will start to see your flying fish around 20 miles out, which will pull your pelagic fish in closer.”
5, Balmy December Kayak Trip
The ride through Murrells Inlet on the way to Pawleys Island was special on this balmy mid-December morning. Sunrise was well over an hour away, but the temperature had barely dipped below 60 degrees overnight, leaving patches of fog and mist along U.S. 17 Business through the inlet, then Litchfield Beach and into Pawleys Island.
Cars were few but, with Christmas Day one week away, red, green and blue lights were many, enhanced in their mystical glow by the foggy conditions. With the speakers smoothly playing Sirius XM’s Holiday Traditions, highlighted by Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song, the mood was festive on the ride south.
The occasion was meeting Rob Birchmeier for a kayak fishing trip to the sprawling saltmarsh area south of Georgetown and the goal was to launch just after sunrise. Birchmeier, owner/operator of Pawleys Island Beach to Creek Guide Service, is a prolific kayak angler who specializes in fishing excursions to local salt marsh and freshwater areas, along with surf fishing trips.
The sun had just risen over the horizon on the east bank of the Intracoastal Waterway when Birchmeier and I began pedaling away from a Charleston County ramp in his two Hobie Mirage drive kayaks.
No motor, just manpower, and the only sounds came from the sea birds and the water lapping at the bottom of the kayaks, in a largely undeveloped area rife with oyster racks and spartina grass along the banks.
The weather turned terrific as the fog burned off, the temperature rose through the 60s with partly cloudy skies as a moderate southwest breeze kicked in.
The lowcountry’s awesome population of spotted seatrout was on full display, as we wound up catching and largely releasing dozens of trout, plus a half-dozen redfish. We harvested little over a dozen trout, which produced, as Birchmeier likes to say, some tasty filets.
With the yaks secured on Birchmeier’s tandem trailer, the temperature had zoomed up to the mid 70s on the mid-afternoon ride back through Georgetown County. Not bad for the third week of December.
