Weekly Column - May 29, 2006

Many of our residents and visitors to our area enjoy boating. To say we have an abundance of saltwater is obvious -- we live on the coast. What may not be so obvious is just how important public access to that water is to our economy. Public beaches, marinas, boat ramps, boat channels and inlets are all key to supporting our recreation, tourism, and seafood industries.

The Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) offers protected waters for boaters traveling up and down the coast (or just locally). The Army Corp of Engineers maintains the depth of the ICW and the inlets that connect it to the ocean. The inlets need to be dredged periodically to remove sand and mud that accumulates.

The Coast Guard maintains the navigation buoys that guide boaters safely along these channels. They can only do this if the channels remain open and safe for use. The dredging is funded mainly by the federal government, but it is often supplemented by state and local governments.

Unfortunately, funding for these types of projects has been on a steady decline, and local areas are scrambling to find new sources of revenue. An example is the recent removal of the channel markers in Topsail Creek, one of the channels that connect the ICW to the ocean via New Topsail Inlet. The channel had shoaled to a point that the Coast Guard could no longer maintain the buoys for safe navigation, and so they had to remove them.

This of course impacts tourism, local recreation and commercial fishing. Many people count on these inlets and channels being available. If they are not, those people will go elsewhere -- they take their money with them, of course. And those of us who live and work here spend more time and money on gas finding alternate channels to use.

Public access to boat ramps and marinas is another area vital to local boating and related activities. Surf City has a very well maintained public boat ramp and sound side pier. It certainly is a drawing card for tourism and a staple for local folks. Topsail Beach recently took action to acquire the old Bush’s Marina boat ramp rather than allow it to be closed to the public.

Laws were enacted in North Carolina years ago to preserve public access to our beaches. These have served our communities well. I hope our local governments and communities take notice and act quickly to preserve public access to our waters and waterways. It is vital for our economy -- and to our way of life.

Catching report

The fishing has been spectacular lately. If you haven’t been fishing yet this year, now is the time. Grab a pole and go!

Inshore the bigger flounders have begun to move into the creeks and marsh areas. The red drum action has been HOT with lots of action near the docks in the ICW. Many fisherman are having success using a Carolina-style rig with live bait on a braided line to pull the drum from under the docks.

Pier and surf fishing are producing plenty of blues and Spanish mackerel. Some pompano, flounder and mullet are also being caught. Some drum are still being caught in the surf. Look for the kings to show up on the piers any day now.

The king fishing has been picking up with some smaller kings being caught just a few miles out, and the bigger ones are turning up not much farther out. A few cobia have been caught near the inlets and artificial reefs. Further out, the mahi and sailfish bite has been very good.

Tight lines to all!