The Monthly Members Meeting of the Sea Trail Fishing Club will be held at the Pink Palace in the Sea Trail Plantation at 6:30 PM next Thursday, June 19th.

Featured Speaker will be Stuart Creighton of the Coastal Conservation Association. The CCA of NC is a community of conservationists and recreational anglers working to promote sound management of public trust marine and estuarine resources to protect those resources for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

Stuart Creighton graduated from NCSU with a degree in meteorology before spending 25 years as a high school science teacher. Following that, he was the manager of River Neuse Suites in Oriental.  As his advocacy for restoring NC’s endangered estuaries grew, he became a member of the Coastal Conservation Association in 2015, and a life member in 2022.  He joined the CCA Board of Directors in 2021, serving as Fisheries Committee chairman and became the Vice President in 2024.  

Currently Stuart serves on the Northern Advisory Committee, one of the permanent advisory committees for the Department of Marine Fisheries.  He also has been a member of the most recent Speckled Trout and Striped Bass Advisory Committees and is a regular public commentator at the quarterly Marine Fisheries Committee meetings.

Stuart has been an avid angler all his life and has fished throughout the state.  Chasing trout and redfish on top is his favorite way to catch them.  

Also, Steve Heins will continue his discussion on “Local Fishing Spots”.

Don’t miss this meeting!

Hey Guys, Here is a tremendous outreach opportunity to help kids. If you signup, let John know you are from the Seatrail Fishing Club!

🎣 Looking for Help – Fishing Summer Camps (Myrtle Beach & North Myrtle Beach) ☀️

The Myrtle Beach Fishing Company is running land-based fishing summer camps in both Myrtle Beach (Thunderbolt Park) and North Myrtle Beach, Thunderbolt is in partnership with the City of Myrtle and North Myrtle is a privately stocked 2.5 acre pond — and due to the awesome demand from local families, we’re in urgent need of extra help!

If you or someone you know loves fishing, enjoys working with kids, and wants to spend the summer outdoors teaching the next generation of anglers, we’d love to connect.

🗓️ Camp Runs Weekly M-Th (June–August) 

7:30am – Noon and some afternoons from 3:30 – 7:30pm.

📍 Two Locations:

• Myrtle Beach – Thunderbolt Pond (near Market Common)
• North Myrtle Beach 

👦👧 Ages 6–17
🎣 Onshore fishing only (no boats)
🛠️ We provide all gear and training
💰 Paid opportunity + great experience & fun!

If you know a local angler, college student, teacher, or anyone reliable who might be a good fit, please tag them or send them our way ASAP. We’re looking to add team members immediately to keep up with registrations.

Link to information: https://www.myrtlebeachfishing.co/summer-fishing-camps

Message me directly if interested or for more info. Thanks for helping us make this an unforgettable summer for these kids! 🙌🐟

Myrtle Beach Fishing Company

john@myrtlebeachfishing.co

www.myrtlebeachfishing.co

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At the Sea Trail Fishing Club’s May meeting Ami Staples of NC’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources presented an excellent program about fish tagging and the benefits that the program has for recreational fisherfolk.

Division researchers at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries are studying the migration, growth, habitat use and population status of striped bass, red drum, spotted seatrout, southern flounder, and cobia in North Carolina.

Fish tagging programs are a vital part of a fishery manager’s tools for assessing fish populations. Conducted properly, tagging can yield a wealth of information about movement patterns, habitat utilization, population structure and mortality rates of fish.

Volunteers are needed in the Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach area!  If you are interested in becoming a part of this program or have questions about the North Carolina Tagging Program or volunteer tagging opportunities, please contact the Tagging Biologist, Ami Staples, at 252-948-3913 or Ami.Staples@ncdenr.gov.

All applicants must complete an in-person, hands-on training before becoming an eligible volunteer tagger and receiving your tagging kit. Training classes are offered twice a year during the spring and fall, and last about 3 hours. Division staff give a brief overview of the Tagging Program, discuss tagging procedures and how to record data, and demonstrate proper handling and tagging techniques with real fish specimens.

To submit an application, click on the link below:

Tagger Enrollment Program

Don’t miss Thursday’s speaker at the Sea Trail Fishing Club’s May Meeting to be held at the Pink Palace in the Sea Trail Plantation at 6:30 to 8:30 PM. If you have not attended any of our previous meetings, the ‘Palace’ is located at 295 Rice Mill Circle, Sunset Beach NC.

Ami Staples is the Marine Fisheries Biologist II for the Multi-Species Tagging Program at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF). Ami oversees daily operations of the Tagging Program from administration and research to public engagement and outreach.

Originally from Georgia, Ami received her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management and M.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia. She is a published author and illustrator.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is responsible for the stewardship of the state’s marine and estuarine resources. The DMF’s jurisdiction encompasses all coastal waters and extends to 3 miles offshore. Agency policies are established by the nine-member Marine Fisheries Commission and the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. North Carolina is a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

When not at work, Ami spends most of her time outdoors and her favorite spot is fishing on the dock with her husband and two daughters.

Her favorite part of the job is tracking fish movements and working directly with the angling public. Ami is always eager to speak with an angler about their tagged fish recapture, train volunteers on how to tag fish and collect scientific data, lead science activities for local school groups, and present to fishing clubs about marine fisheries programs and resources.

Everything that I didn’t know about fishing for bluefish from the pier.

The week-long tournament started today and ends on the 13th. SInce I do not have a ‘real’ boat capable of trolling or chasing down those speedy bluefish, I was very happy that the rules allow a ten percent add-on to the length of fish caught from pier, surf or kayak. I deemed my kayak too slow for trolling or chasing so decided to try the pier. After a brief research of techniques, I started out with a 7-ft Pinnacle Power Pro rod and a 4000 Shimano reel spooled with 30-lb Berkeley Big Cat mono. To say that the rig was a bit of over-kill would be putting it kindly, but I chose the rod because it had a long butt which I thought would be good for jigging off the pier. For terminal tackle I chose a saltwater Sabiki rig and a multicolored tube and worm rig.

I visited three piers and saw, or heard, about very few bluefish being caught. The biggest that I saw was about 9-inches. My sympathies for all of my fellow landlubber anglers. My first day experience tells me that that the 10 percent added length will not be enough to make us competitive. The only one that I caught was under 6 inches!

So what did I learn?

I talked to many experieced anglers on the pier and those behind the counters in the pier shops. Some thought the best times to fish would be on a falling tide; others said early morning or late evening would be best. The consensus of all was that the water was too cloudy and fishing would be better only when the winds calmed. Also, it was agreed that the fish are migrating from South to North, so picking a location on a Southward facing side of the pier is best.

Pier fishing is probably not for everyone, but it is a relaxing way to fish and a good way to meet and chat with fellow anglers. If you already have the gear, it is also relatively economical. I visited Sunset Beach Pier, Ocean Isle Pier and Cherry Grove Pier.

The Sunset Beach Pier is open daily from 6 AM to midnight. There is a $10 fee for one rod, $15 for two and parking is refundable. Ocean Isle Pier is open 7 AM to 8 PM, fishing costs $10 per rod and parking is free. The Cherry Grove Pier also has free parking with a $10 per rod fee plus a $3 Pier Pass (veterans exempted). Hours are 7 AM to 11 PM. Another great advantage is that fishing licenses are not required – so don’t hesitate to bring a friend or a guest!

If you have further questions about fishing from our local piers, please don’t ask me! I’ve a;ready told you everything that I know.

Mike Shannon

Friday, March 28, 2025

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will accept public comment on draft Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4 from April 1 to April 30. Draft Amendment 4 would expedite the sector allocation shift to 50/50 (commercial/recreational) by one year to 2025.

Morehead City

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will accept public comment on draft Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4 from April 1 to April 30. Draft Amendment 4 would expedite the sector allocation shift to 50/50 (commercial/recreational) by one year to 2025.

In-person comments may be made at any of three advisory committee meetings scheduled in April: 

Written comments may be submitted in any of the following ways:

• An online form accessible through the Information on Southern Flounder FMP Amendment 4 webpage.
• Mail to Southern Flounder FMP Amendment 4 Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.  

The deadline to submit comments is April 30, 2025.  Amendment 3, adopted in 2022, prescribed a shift in quota allocation from 70/30 (commercial/recreational) to 60/40 in 2025 and 50/50 in 2026. However, following two years with short recreational flounder seasons and one year with no recreational flounder season, the Marine Fisheries Commission tasked the Division of Marine Fisheries with finding ways to allow more recreational access while maintaining the stock rebuilding requirements in Amendment 3. Amendment 4 addresses this task by expediting the 50/50 sector allocation shift to occur in 2025 instead of 2026.

More long-term, comprehensive options for recreational access will be considered in Amendment 5, which is currently under development. A scoping period for Amendment 5 is open until March 31. More information on Amendment 5 is available at https://www.deq.nc.gov/information-southern-flounder-amendment-5.