We were just little kids when we started fishing. Trolling for flounder in Cherry Grove was where we started and from there, as we became more exposed to the marina scene, bigger boats were all we could think about. Its funny to think about now, but we bought some rods that were big enough to catch kings and we fished the Little River tideline in a 14' john boat when it was calm enough. We actually caught some fish, too.
Later, in 1989 or 1990, Mark and I found an old 23' SeaOx in the back of a boat yard in Shallotte. It had a pair of 115 Evinrudes on it. Dates are a little foggy and I've forgotten a lot, so if you see any mistakes here, please give me some latitude. Anyway, the guy wanted 10 grand for the boat. We figured out a way to finance it, primarily with dad's help of course. That little boat is what really started the whole thing.
For the next two years we ran the bottom paint off of it. Rebuilt a motor in the process. We'd catch enough kingfish to cover our fuel and the guys at the fish house, thankfully, would always buy from us. If memory serves, $2.50 a pound was the going rate. We took that boat offshore many times and caught tuna and dolphin. We managed to run out of fuel once, but that's a story for later. Next thing we knew, the guys with the big boats took notice, Jim Caudle being the first to show interest in us. Now we were big time. All other priorities were a distant second.
SIDEBAR - It was Jim Caudle that got us interested in the inshore fishery. He taught us how to use live bait and artificials for spottails, trout, and flounder in the creeks and out at the jetties. And he murdered the sheepshead. THAT was the guy. He took techniques from Florida and applied them here. It was what Jim taught us that Mark applied when he started his guide service.
The offshore scene continued for a couple of years for Mark but his interest in the kingfish circuit ultimately pulled him away. And for several years, Mark and Rhett (our other brother) fished the SKA circuit travelling all over the coasts of NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, and Mississippi. Mark was so deep in it, he started dating a gal who was a director of the SKA and he moved down to Brunswick GA with her. Mark was fishing with Wendell Vereen the year he won the circuit. Back then, those guys were fishing 21' Hydrasports with single 200hps and they'd run those things into anything. The 27' and 31' Fountain had just come on the scene. I'm not sure if Wendell had bought a bigger boat by the time he won the circuit, but soon after he had a Fountain.
It was around 96-97 when Mark started his charter operation. Believe it or not, he started with a 20' SeaArk john boat. By the mid 2000s, he was sponsored with a boat and motor deal. In 2011, I went up to Little River for a weekend over the 4th of July. Mark got over 100 calls that Saturday. And he had two other boats running for his operation, Shallow Minder Fishing Charters. Mark was THE first to open an inshore guide service by several years out of Little River Inlet and he fished from north of Ocean Isle Beach into the Cherry Grove creeks. That operation is still running with Capt. Jessey Vereen at the helm. Jessey and my niece are to be married soon. We look forward to that.
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Originally Posted by Glenn
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