Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Dec. 12, 1991, edition 1 / Page 39
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Last Fishing Trip Of '91 Was Memorable One BY JAN1IK MILMKKN As I he temperature plunged into the 20s last week along lite South Brunswick Islands, the realization of winter hit me like a freight train. Gone are the warm afternoons of CAPTAIN after-work fishing. Gone arc the days when I knew JAMIE'S that if I could make Shallottc Inlet sea buoy by X:20 AeMUABe p.m. I could see well enough to find the markers anil OFFSHORE slip hack through this inlet that wears so many differ- FISHING ent faces. dcdadt I also remembered that there arc countless sport REPORT fishermen all over the state who probably feel the same emotions as the dreary days of winter drag by. It is for you guys that I was inspired to write this story about my last trip to the "blue water." ? ? ? ? Thanksgiving day afternoon found me and Rube Mc Mullen sitting on his back porch at Ocean Isle preparing for our last trip to the stream for 1991. Anticipation was at an all-time high as we heard from several sources that there was an eddy off the stream that had pushed to within 40 miles off the coast. We had also heard reports of ycllowfin tuna being caught off Georgetown. Tunas arc a great gamcfish and they have incredible strength. Visions of doing battle with these guys had us really pumped up. As I left Rube's thai afternoon to go to take on another load of turkey at Larry Hoklcn's, I couldn't wait for our 5:30 a.m. departure. I still never sleep well the night before a big fishing trip. It's kind of like a child at Christmas just too excited! ? ? ? ? As dawn broke we were already about 15 miles out. Rube commented as we watched a breathtaking sunrise that this was one of the things that he loved most about fishing, and in his words, "It is always a religious experi ence." I felt the same way. At the 35-mile mark I noticed that the water temperature had risen to 68 degrees-prime water temperature for king mackerel. But kings were not on target this day. At the 40-mile mark I noticed a vessel that appeared to be dead in the water. It looked to have a makeshift sail but obviously it was not under sail. We decided we had better investigate. As we moved closer toward this strange vessel we began to see literally hundreds of fins cutting the water around the stern and one man standing there observing them. My immediate thoughts were that we were just in time to offer assistance to someone who was surely in grave danger. This surely turned out not to be the case. This man was totally surrounded by porpoises and they were crowded in against his vessel like cattle around a feeding trough! We cased up, not knowing whether this guy could speak English or not and asked if every thing was okay? He spoke with a very heavy Caribbean-type accent and as sured us that he was okay but thanked us for stopping to check on him. We commented on all the porpoises and he seemed to act as if this was normal for him to have this entourage with him. We all waved goodbye to this truly free spirit and I felt very lucky to have encountered such a person. We nicknamed him the "Jolly Mon" alter a character that Jimmy Buffet created in song as well as in a children's book. ? ? ? ? Not long after that we were in the stream. Although our destination was a placcd called the "Steeples," we decided to stop and fish a very well-de fined weed line that was huge. This proved to be a gocxl move. As I ran the "Mako Mac" from the tuna lower and Rube and the resi of the crew pre pared skirted ballyhoo, I could sec all kinds of bait fish working in and out of the weed line. In a mailer of minutes a nice mcdium-si/.cd dolphin ex ploded on a bail. This dolphin did everything ihat you expect from them-brcathiaking beautiful leaps and line-turning runs. It was great to be back in the "blue water" again. Our ncxi strike was the one thai we all had dreamed aboul. Ycllowfin tuna hookup! Aaron, a 15-year-old from Atlanta, Ga., had ihe honor of wrestling this prize catch with a Penn 980 mag. reel mounted on a live bait rod. Boy, did he have fun. And it was all high-fives when thai bad boy hit the deck. The rest of the day was filled with more dolphin and even an occa sional king mackerel. ? ? ? ? When 3 p.m. rolled around Rube gave the order to recl-um-in and head ed for home. We all settled in for our 70-milc trip back not knowing that our course would carry us past the "Jolly Mon" and, perhaps not thinking that we would ever sec him again-bul we did. There he was, slowly moving south so we stopped again. This time we offered him fresh dolphin for his evening meal. He gladly accepted and he told us that he had been at sea lor 30 days. His last port of call was Boston, Massachusetts, and he was heading for Florida. He thanked us again for stopping and for the dinner and we all said our gcx)dbycs and pretty soon he faded from sight. The sun began to set as wc were aboul seven miles oul and, here again, it was a beautiful red sunset. Sure enough, another "religious experience." I toyed for days whether to write this story. I decided to write il for all of you who have salt water pumping dirough your veins and perhaps a litllc of the free spirit thai wc saw in the "Jolly Mon." This Week's Tide Table DECEMBER HIGH low I)?y l)?tc A.M P.M. A.M. P.M. Thursday 12 11:37 115* 5:19 6:01 I riday 13 12:19 6:09 6:49 Saturday 14 12:51 1:09 7:05 7:37 Sunday 15 1:44 2.05 *07 8:33 Monday 16 2:46 3:05 9:11 929 Tuesday 17 3:45 4.03 1 0:15 10.24 Wednesday 18 4:43 5:04 11.13 1120 ADJUSTMENTS SllALLOTTE LNUiT-add 17 min. high tide, add 32 min. low tide. I.OCKWOOD 1-OU.Y ? ?ubtr?u 22 min high tide, subtract 8 min. low tide. BAI.D HEAD ISLAND? subtract 10 mm. high tide, subtract 7 min. low tide. SOUTHPORT ? add 7 min. high tide, add 15 min. low tide. LITn J: RlVIiR ? add 7 min high tide, add 7 min low tide. Coastal Panel Meeting Today The Coastal Resources Commis sion (CRC) meets today (Thursday) and Friday, Dec. 12 and 13 at the Best Western Armada in Nags Head. Coastal residents may comment during a public hearing today at 4 p.m. on proposed setback criteria for large structures. Under the proposal, any structure larger than 5,(XX) square feet would have to meet the large structure setback. The change would simplify the current policy which considers use, size and number of units, said spokesperson Jcannctic Johnson of die N.C. Department or Environ ment, Health, and Natural Resources. I he CRC will also consider a plan to gather information on a 6,(XX)-acrc site in Pender County dial has been nominated as an area of environmental concern (AEC). The commission will make its ap pointments to the Coastal Resources Advisory Council (CRAC), after having reviewed applications from die 20 coastal counties and numer ous participating coastal towns for the past few months. The CRAC is an advisory board of citizens, gov ernment officials and businesses thai make recommendations to die CRC. Ms. Johnson added that staff will present art assessment of the state's coastal program and identify areas that still need improvement. They will also give a final report on mar itime forest protection. The CRC, as part of the Division of Coastal Management (DCM), has applied lor federal grant money to purchase maritime forest land on Bald Head Island (See related story in this issue.). The CRC is a state agency re sponsible for adopting rules and policies lor development in the coastal area. The DCM administers CRC rules and policies and is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment, Health, ami natural Resources. Forest On Bald Head Could Be Preserved A federal grant that could help North Carolina purchase undevel oped land on Bald Head Island has just been increased by the U.S. Senate. The National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants Program, which had previously aided states only 50 percent of the total price of a proposed piccc of wetlands, will now pay for 75 percent. The state would still be responsible for fund ing the other 25 percent. The amendment passed in the Senate in late November with the help of Sen. Terry Sanford, D-N.C. Bald Head Island has maritime forest totaling around 450 acres, and the N.C. Division of Coastal Man agement is interested in seeing that as much as possible be protected from future development. If the state purchases a piccc of land, it can't be touched by developers without per mission. North Carolina's application, filed by the state DCM in Raleigh, is "rat ed number one in the southeast," said Richard Shaw, the Division's assistant director for policy and planning, and he thinks that's en couraging news. The officials who run the Wet lands Conservation Grant program should announce a decision "by the first of January," he said in a tele phone interview Friday. The application, according to Roger Schcclcr, director of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission, was sent in more than two months ago. At the time news first broke on Nov. 27 about the grant increase, he said the federal agency had not released any information relating to award decisions. Shaw is not sure just how much of the forest can be purchased, but "wc will buy as much as the grant money will buy,"' if die word comes that the application has been ap proved. "What hasn't been made clear," Shaw said of rumors about the grant, "is that wc were always eligible for the grant; wc just would have had to put up more of it ourselves. Now, they're (the federal government) paying more." He also said that if approval docs come through for this particular pro ject, that the Division won't stop ap plying for grant money. "This is only the first year the grant has been around, and it is an annual thing, so we'll, of course, ap ply in future years," said Shaw. The proposed 2(X)-acrc tract that the slate is thinking of buying would cost around S5.3 million, which means that the federal grant will pay for S4 million, and the state would have to come up with the other SI. 3 million. Another part of the amendment to the grant allows the state to use funds from the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, which consists of in come from vanity license plate sales, to help out with part of die SI. 3 mil lion that would be left for the state to pay. Asxmas/^ Harrelson's Garden Center ?Norfolk Pines 'Christmas Cactus -Bulbs -Wild Bird Seed ?Poinsettias -Christmas Trees -Pansles -Rye Grass Beautiful tropical plants make super gifts that keep on giving. Hwy. 17 S. (Just off the bypass) Shallotte ? 754-6373 \\\\v.y.v.v.v.v.V ??????????a ? >???/ fli'A JONES FORD has moved to its new building Approximately one mile north of Shallotte on Hwy. 17 754-4341 HERE'S SOME NEWS WORTH CHEERING ABOUT: y/.vV7// ill XNJ HERE ARE SOME DEALS WORTH CHEERING ABOUT: NEW '91 ESCORT GT Stock #1706 LOADED ONLY $21 490 PER MONTH NEW '91 ESCORT LX 2-DOOR HATCHBACK Stock #1705 ONLY $1 7390 PER MONTH NEW '91 PONY Stock #1674 Great for First Time Buyer! ONLY $?) 3390 PER MONTH NEW '91 ESCORT GT Stock #1572 Equipped NOT Stripped ONLY $19-1 90 PER MONTH $400 down (cash or trade) plus tax & tags. Based on 10.75% APR 60 mo. with approved credit I0NES FORD J! I \\\ / / Hwy. 17 N., Apx. 1 mi. north of Shallotte, 754-4341 \\ / ?#?????? ?1991 THE BRUNSWICK BEACON
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 12, 1991, edition 1
39
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