For a great cause!

BY: ALAN BEASLEY

Sometimes you find yourself wanting to fish and you just don’t have the gumption to go.

It’s hot, the wind is blowing hard or you just had a hard week at work and getting in a boat in the sun and heat just doesn’t appeal to you.

You’d rather be in the A/C and cooling it. Well, welcome to normal! It’s rapidly reaching the dog days of summer and the heat is unbearable at times. I know I’m there with you! The deal is though, the fish are biting! They are in the prime time to feed and it’s time to get it on if you want to catch some fish.

The live bait has grown to a great size for catching either Flounder or Red Drum if you’re into that and the Ocean Pogies are and have been perfect size for catching King Mackerel or Spanish Mackerel. They are the key live bait needed to catch many of our local Fish. Mullets and Pogies are the main live bait used by most tournament fishermen. Speaking of tournaments, my favorite two tournaments are upon us. They are my favorites and are both worth supporting.

Here is the scoop –

The Sheriff John Ingram Flatfish Roundup Tournament

August 22^nd at the Southport Marina

This tournament is a fun tournament to fish, that supports the re-election of Sheriff John Ingram. This one also benefits others as well.

“The fish that are caught are kept and served at a fundraiser fish fry that takes place on August 28^th from 11AM till 1PM. The proceeds support the members of the Sheriff Department and their families that have a life altering event” says Captain Laurie Watson. For example funds are used to support department families affected by house fire, injury, financial hardship or other worthy causes. The thing to remember here is that these are the folks that are out on the street, day and night, dealing with all kinds of crime, disaster support, injury, community support and so much more. They do this for a living and seldom do they get the kind of support they should from our community. In many cases you never know of the hardships they encounter themselves that deserve a financial helping hand so these funds can go a long way to help in times of need for a deputy suffering from an unfortunate event for example.

I appreciate the job our Sheriff has done and the job each of his staff does on a regular basis. These people have the hardest job I know of and they get very little praise for doing a great job for all of us. This tournament is a way to send a message of thanks as well as support for Mr. Ingram’s re-election. You’ll be able to meet and get to know these folks at the Captains meeting and on tournament day. These are our sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, all working to keep us safe every day!

So let’s rally around them and make this the best Flatfish Round Up- to date! Oh and by the way, the phrase “Flatfish Roundup” came from the term used to describe the” Drug Dealer Roundup” that the Sheriff’s office has from time to time. I thought that was interesting because both “Roundups” can be a challenge especially since Flounder and Drug Dealers are really good at hiding and being hard to find. So here is another opportunity to use your fishing skills for a worthwhile cause.

Find out more at www.sheriffjohningram.com/flatfishroundup or on their Facebook page.

The Bay Creek Classic Flounder Tournament

September 19^that the Oak Island Wildlife Boat Ramp

The Bay Creek Classic Flounder Tournament is a Benefit Tournament for a local fishing legend and good friend of mine and many others, Mr. Brandon Matthews. If you’re a local fisherman that has been around for 20 years or more you probably know Brandon. He’s a local fishing legend that had a tragic hunting accident that left him in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. Brandon has many serious health issues and has to go to battle every day against the current health insurance system. His battle doesn’t end and he needs the support of others, all the time.

This year the 9^th Annual Bay Creek Classic Flounder Tournament will be held on September 19^th at the Wildlife Boat Ramp on Fish Factory Road, Oak Island NC. There is always great food and fellowship at this event. Last year the community rallied around Brandon to help purchase a Sportsman Wheel Chair that gave Brandon the ability to stand upright as well as go over almost any terrain. At over $10,000 dollars, the money was raised by way of donations in only a few weeks! This was an amazing display of love and support for Brandon. It’s time to come together again this year to support Brandon. His health is not good right now so we may or may not see him this year but that won’t slow us down! Please find a friend with a boat, if you don’t have one and sign up for this Tournament. It’s so important to support this one by fishing, sponsoring, donating time or money to help with this event. Please visit the website at www.baycreekclassic.com or go to the Facebook page to find out more or to get involved.

So for now go fish, good luck and be safe! Life is short, fish hard!

Capt. Beaz