I was asked what I enjoy most about working and living in Southeastern North Carolina. Simply put, I love to fish and have enjoyed it since I was about 10 years old.
Unfortunately, I don’t do it enough. Things in life always seem to get in the way.
My first memories of fishing involve my dad taking me fishing at a lake near my home in Brentwood, Tennessee. He paid a man a few dollars for us to head out along the banks of the lake and fish. Of course, as a four-year-old kid, I didn’t care much about fishing and was more interested in looking for turtles, snakes or anything else that distracted me from the task at hand. If I was allowed to bring a friend, we ended up running around and chasing each other or throwing rocks in the lake. I’m sure this annoyed my father to his core.
I’m not even sure we ever caught anything out of that lake, except for the small snapping turtles that I would catch to take home as a new pet, but not for long. My mom would have me immediately take them down to the creek on our road and let them go.
At about the age of 10 is when I caught the fishing bug. I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house and farm in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. There was a little cow pond on the property, and my cousins and I would spend a lot of hours there. Both of my kids caught their first fish there, too.
Fast forward to 30 years ago when I moved here and lived out at Wrightsville Beach, I could walk out on the dock along Banks Channel and cast a line. Every now and again, I would catch a flounder that would make for a great dinner. Yet, I really just liked being out near the water.
Even though I no longer live close to the beach, I've still been blessed enough to fish the waters off our coast with my family or go fishing at a pond on a friend’s land in Burgaw. Either way, I love it and can do it until my arm gets tired of casting.
During the pandemic my wife and I purchased a Carolina Skiff that I jokingly named the "Pam-Demic" after my wife, Pam. I couldn’t wait to get out on the water with my family and share my love for fishing. As it turned out, no one in the family wanted to fish. They would give it a try for a bit, but then they’d go for a swim, explore the island we were near, or took a nap on the boat. At least, we all shared a love for the Intracoastal Waterway. While all of that was happening, I would still try to fish.
We ended up selling the boat, but I purchased a Native Slayer fishing kayak that I’m growing to love. I also still fish with my long time friends. We do some inshore fishing or go off the coast to see what we can catch.
My mother-in-law recently asked why I had so many rods and reels. I responded, “Because I never know which one I might need.” But it’s actually more than that. Fishing makes me happy and has given me so many memories with my family and friends. I’m so thankful that there are so many places to fish in our community.
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