I distinctly remember my first summer of fishing the complete “tournament trail.” I was a rising sophomore in high school and my two best friends and I made a commitment to fish all of the local inshore tournaments while on summer break. At that time there were a total of 5 big tournaments, I cannot remember all of them now but I do remember the series kicked off with the Charleston Coastal Anglers Tournament and the summer wrapped up with the Allison Oswald Memorial Tournament. The series were all what I call, “t-shirt tournaments,” because each one gave out a shirt per entry and entry fees averaged around $25. Prizes were never huge, but walking away with a cool t-shirt, perhaps a cooler, or rod and reel combo and bragging rights was huge for us!
That first summer my dad was kind enough to let us use his 17-foot Boston Whaler and it was just us kids, no adults, chasing the entire plethora of eligible species. We spent just as much planning and preparing as we did fishing. We would spend the entire day before rigging, pre-fishing and catching bait. Tournament day started typically at 5:30 am so we could have lines in no later than 6. We would have the entire day planned out according to tide and species. 8 am high tide at jetties hit Kings for 6-10, 10 am hit the outgoing tide just off the beach for Spanish and Blues, 11:30 to 1 drift for Sharks off Morris Island, 1 to 3 hit the jetties for Red and Trout etc., etc.
Through the years the tournaments have changed and unfortunately some of them have ceased to exist. Many just don’t realize just how much hard work goes into putting together a good tournament. For those t-shirt tournaments that are around these days the entry fees have gone up slightly but so have the payouts and quality of prizes. The Charleston Coastal Anglers Tournament has stood the test of time as they go into their 33rd year and if you have ever fished it you know why. These guys put their heart and soul into this event and it really shows. From a fun and welcoming Captains