Red Fish Brand brings back the Duck Coat

The fashion world occasionally sends a hail mary pass to the garments of yesterday in order to revive classic clothes, and in this case the Red Fish Brand went deep and scored a equivalent of a vintage touchdown. One gentleman from Hilton Head has taken his vision for everyone to be able to enjoy cotton duck canvas clothes again and made it become reality in the form of the Lowcountry Coat. Pants and shorts are coming in the near future but for now, the canvas coat stands out as the type of accessory that a sportsman would want to have both in the field and at home. To read the feature story in the Charleston Mercury click here. To visit their website visit www.RedFishBrand.com

PhotosByJeffDenis: Watering and feeding the birds, Talking turkey with friend Jerald Sholar, my vintage J.C. Higgins duck coat right next to the new and authentic Red Fish Brand duck coat

Migratory dolphin make return off S.C. coast

On the calendar, May 7th always marks the end of the first full week in May, but it also signals the fact that migratory dolphin have had time to work their way North. By the end of the second or third week in May the dolphin migration can reach a peak, with 20 or more fish caught per day not being out of the ordinary. A mighty fleet of offshore fishing boats made their way towards destinations like the Georgetown hole, the 380 hole and the Edisto banks in search of dolphin, wahoo, tuna and maybe an early season billfish. Governor's Cup board member Pete Loy fished Lil 'Bit on this day as a way to prepare for the first billfish tournament of the summer which takes place at Bohicket Marina May 11 - 14. While a few dolphin came to the gaff on a day which began with a 4-foot ocean swell, the real catch came in the form of bluewater fishing where a variety of fish might strike at any time. Knocking the rust off of the bait spread is something that all anglers have to do and the lure of fresh mahi mahi is one of the best reasons to start fishing!

To view past blog entires about migratory dolphin in May click here.

VideoByJeffDennis: Glenn Allen reels in a nice dolphin

PhotosByJeffDennis: My Costa Fantails saw me get my hook into some fresh fish; Pelagic gloves help when a dolphin comes over the transom like this lit up specimen; Glenn Allen hoists his mostly white mahi; William Dotterer makes a gaff shot on a greenie

East Cooper CCA 2011 Conservation Banquet

With some beautiful spring weather in effect, the annual gathering of sporting anglers took place at Alhambra Hall on May 5th, with little Cinco De Mayo fanfare involved. Arriba! A well-organized East Cooper chapter put on a great event with good food, silent and live auctions and a humdinger of a view off the back porch where most everyone gathered to enjoy their cocktails. Some conservation topics included offshore fishing trips and speckled trout mortality, as the crowd was full of advocates for our natural resources like Rep. Chip Limehouse, SCDNR board chair Carolina Rhodes, and Gov. Cup Director Wallace Jenkins.

To view my blog from the 2010 CCA East Cooper banquet click here.

PhotosByJeffDennis: Capt. Mark Phelps donates flies to the auction that Ron Silverman bought to use with his new fly rod; Kevin and Laura Shuler enjoy the porch at Alhambra Hall; Jimmy King and John G. from Charleston Bay Gourmet, Janell and Ted Nettles from Lowcountry Fish Scales

2011 Criterium Cycling Race - Speed Week

It was another perfect spring evening in the Lowcountry and the CRITS Speedweek streaked through downtown Walterboro, and it seemingly helped to showcase all that is positive in the county seat of Colleton County. Several exciting races were held beginning with a 'masters' age class race, and finishing with a men's pro race that had the deepest field of competitors. The Colletonian newspaper was a sponsor of the event but in particular the women's pro race. The top ten lady racers got the pole position on the starting line and then competed on an hour-long race around a course that was mapped out on Hampton and Washington streets in downtown Walterboro. An amicable crowd enjoyed the free cycling race, and those that wanted to help support the race financially enjoyed a VIP area. Riding a bike, whether in competition or not, is a great example of how folks can get outside and enjoy our Lowcoutry outdoors.

To view past blog entries from the Criterium Cycling Speed Week click 2015 - 2014-  2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010, - 2009 

PhotosByJeff Dennis: Lady racers about to start their race; the top three lady racers on the winner's podium; The Colletonian's Reaves McLeod with the second place finisher from the ladies race at the post-race hospitality tent that served food and drinks to the lady racers.

SCSSA Early Bird Tournament

The 2011 offshore fishing/tournament season got underway on April 30 for the S.C. Saltwater Sportfishing Association. Ten boats fished under sunny conditions for tuna, dolphin, king mackerel and wahoo. No kings were weighed in and only a few wahoo cut offs were mentioned. The mahi and tuna fishing was pretty good though and SCSSA had a good weigh-in at the City Marina from 5:30 - 7 that evening.

To see a past blog entry on SCSSA click here.

PhotosByJeffDennis: Herman Ray and Priscilla Comley with a dolphin and bluefish that they caught from Top Priority; Adam Rabinovitz with a fine mahi caught from Glory Days; Captain Arthur Simmons and the Freeman boatworks crew display a few April dolphin.

2011 Charleston Inshore Anglers sheepshead tourney

The 2011 CIA sheepshead tourney was fished under sunny skies and calm conditions on Saturday, April 30. Roughly 150 registrants fished the event that awarded cash prizes for the top ten places. Carl Hitchcock had fished the event for three years before having a breakthrough this year, weighing-in an 8.62-pound beast of a sheepshead to win the $1000 first place money. Second place went to Robert Olsen (for an 8.42-pound convict) who also took time from his day to guide three other fisherman to enter a fish in the top ten. That's right, four of the top ten came from Olsen's Knot @ Work spot at the 4KI reef. Steve Joy collected the third place cash of $200 for his 8.12-pound bait stealer. The weigh-in was held at the King St. Grill on J.I. and the SCDNR was there to make sure that otoliths and other biological info was retained from the sheepshead. Proceeds from the tournament go to local families who are in need of charitable donations.

To view past blog entries from the CIA sheepshead tourney click 2009, 2010. 

PhotosByJeffDennis: The t-shirt from the 19th annual CIA tourney; Gene Broderick holds a redfish and son Alex (9) holds a sheepshead; Bill Roumillat removes an otolith for SCDNR research purposes; that's a nice mess 'o sheepies

Cannon Park floral beautification

The grounds of the old Charleston Museum are now known as Cannon Park, and the four iconic columns at the corner of Rutledge and Bennett streets are a well-known landmark. For residents south of Calhoun Street this park is easily accessed from Rutledge or Ashley Avenue and has become a popular dog park. The City of Charleston maintains the grounds to an adequate degree for residents and their canine friends to utilize, but now the Charleston Parks Conservancy has raised the bar by breathing new life to an old flower bed at the base of the four columns. Taking care to bring in fresh topsoil, a proper compost fertilizer and at least 50 pots of plants, their team of 'Angels' completed their work on Saturday, April 31 - thus bringing some floral beautification to the Lowcountry Outdoors in downtown Charleston.

PhotosByJeffDennis: A dumptruck brings in topsoil for the weathered flowerbed; Angels putting in some sweat equity to improve Cannon Park for all to enjoy