AC repair in Pine Harbor, GA

Click here for important updates to our privacy policy.

COLUMNS

DARIEN – After a weekend here, I came away with new friends and an insight into the life and times of a seaside community which has experienced the vagaries of life — some good, some bad — but now appears headed for headier times.

Darien will be a place to visit for a variety of reasons. You can come here to commune with nature. You may choose the seat of McIntosh County for unsurpassed scenic beauty or to hunt and fish. Premier golf courses in the area are as prevalent as boat docks.

For sure, if you haven’t done so, you need to take a respite here for the blessing of the fleet the third weekend in April. That would be the annual blessing of the shrimp boats which ply the Atlantic for some of the healthiest shrimp on the Eastern seaboard.

The influence of the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island is a “world renown field destination that supports research and education in coastal ecosystems.” The institute has set high standards for those dealing with the harvesting of fish, shrimp, and oysters.

Pollution is enemy No. 1 for the Institute. UGA is one of the few land grant and sea grant colleges. Research by the Institute is often headline making and enhances the economic wellbeing of those who work and play in this part of our diverse state. These and other positives are making Darien attractive to business and development.

“The future of Darien,” says Art Lucas, who has invested in real estate here, “is very bright. The town is about to experience an upswing in positive growth. There is energy in Darien’s step.”

With Art’s upscale “Oaks on the River” boutique hotel as an anchor, early morning rising habits connected me with Jeremy Clark, Bishal Singh and Tom Wood, all bent with genuine hospitality which enhanced the atmosphere of our home away from home on the Darien River.

An extended conversation with Wood when he offered me a much-needed cup of coffee — it was 5:30 a.m. and I had been up for an hour — made my day. A liver transplant, brought about by a heredity influence, has extended his life; if anyone has permanently accentuated the positive, it is this jack of all trades (and master of all), motorcycle riding, internet junkie who will find an app that will inform you how to operate a locomotive or a giant crane or how to fix a flat bicycle tire if such is needed.

He is so intrigued by how such things work, that he connected with an app that allowed him to simulate a jetliner cockpit that allowed him to pilot a jetliner from LaGuardia In New York to London Heathrow. When he isn’t satiating his curiosity with such as that, you might find him jumping in the kitchen and help wash the dishes. The maintenance man is a Renaissance man — one who, with his wife Stacey in tow might ride off to Greenville, S. C. “for a burger and fries.” As he says, “just ridin'” makes their day.

At the counter at Art Lucas’ handsome bar, which is made of cedar from the family farm, our conversation was pleasantly interrupted by Doris Nelson and her husband Selwyn. He is from Trinidad; she grew up in McIntosh County and they have lived in New York for years. They have “come home” and wanted to thank Art for his commitment to enhancing life on the banks of the Darien River. Art thanked them for their endorsement and gave credit to his general manager, Bernard Sarme, who has “managed five-star hotels all over the world.”

At breakfast one morning, soon after a memorable sunrise over the marsh, Steve and Paula Lloyd took an adjoining table, soon disclosing that she was born in Athens, and he is a UGA graduate. They are overwhelmed to be free from the issues of high-density traffic in suburban Atlanta.

“Coming here has changed our outlook on life,” Steve said.

It has changed Colleen Conley’s, too. She is from Boston but settled in nearby Pine Harbor for two primary reasons. “I don’t like the cold and the politics up North.” Her comment made me recall an assessment of New England by a former owner of the Red Sox, Haywood Sullivan, who was from Ft. Myers, Fla. In a taped interview he once said: “Ever hear of anybody retiring and moving up North.”

On the day of our departure (parting was such sweet sorrow), a rabid Bulldog fan drove up from Waverly for breakfast. A mutual friend, Jason Payne, had facilitated an introduction to Brandon Chonko, who is the grandson of a former Bulldog lineman Bill Chonko. Brandon’s Bulldog heritage makes him do things like commencing to cry when Kelee Ringo scored against Alabama in Indianapolis last January.

Brandon farms 31 acres, growing a variety of things including hogs which give off tasty bacon. He has a creative bent, too. He writes a column for the Camden County Tribune and Georgian and has a radio show on WBQO in Brunswick. How ‘bout this pig farmer? Stay tuned.

Before Irma sent folks including myself scurrying in all directions trying to avoid its wrath, the fish were in feeding mode. And now with cleanup underway and coastal boat anglers getting back on the water, the bite is again on.

Fingers are crossed that Maria won’t repeat the mess.

One of the first things I did when the flooding was over was to randomly contact a few of the fishing camps, marinas and bait suppliers along the coast to see who was up and running. Some fared better than others.

Pine Harbor Marina (912-832-5999) in McIntosh County apparently took a hard hit, but is back open. Owner Henry Baker told us he has limited dock space, but the boat hoist is operating and he also has live bait shrimp again.

The shark tournament, which was to be held last weekend out of Pine Harbor Marina, was cancelled do to the damage caused by Irma.

Trey Coursey at Shellman Fish Camp (912-832-4331), also in McIntosh County, said his boat hoist is operating, but fuel is temporarily unavailable.

Raburn Goodman at Yellow Bluff in Liberty County (912-977-0062), said bait operations are up and running – with no damage from storm.

Danny Bacot at Kilkenny Marina in Brian County (912-727-2215) said they lost four of their floating docks, recovered them and will have them back in place in a few days.

Marvin Metzger at Coffee Bluff Marina (912-231-3628) said there were no problems and it is business as usual, the same came from Hogan’s Marina on Wilmington Island (912-987-3474).

Capt. Mike Purvis at Thunderbolt Bait House (912-667-1703), located on the Wilmington River, said the facility came through the storm with no problems.

The best bet is to check in advance of any planned outing to see what may or may not be available.

Who has caught what

As for the fishing chatter, reports are understandably on the skimpy side. The few we have received show the September action is falling into place, and with some decent weather and tides, there action should pick up, both inshore and offshore.

Our first report came from Stanley DeVegter who told us of some pre-Irma action in the Wassaw Sound area that would have been an envy of any angler.

On the Friday before Labor Day, he said he and neighbor Kerri Woods had a fun day catching upward of 50 undersized reds plus “a lot of black drum” which were all released.

The two also got into some trout action.

On the following day DeVegter took Michelle Rhinehart and Jeff Brown to a fishing drop he refers to as “the hornets nest” where the three apparently got into some hefty trout along with a few flounder and whiting, all caught on traditional trout rigs and live shrimp.

DeVegter went on to say that he used a new Harpers popping cork he purchased from Two-Way Fish Camp in Darien. “It’s one of the best popping corks I have ever used,” he said, adding that it is adjustable and that the “trout especially liked it.”

From Capt. Judy

Capt. Judy Helmey (Miss Judy Charters 912-897-4921) emailed an “after Irma inshore fishing report,” saying her team of guides has been finding the bite steady with “everything from redfish to spotted sea trout, flounder, black drum sheepshead” and more.

“I’m not trying to speak too early, but say what you want – fall is in the air and the fish know it,” she wrote.

She also included some offshore action, noting the artificial reefs are still holding top water fish such as Spanish, kings and barracuda. She said that the bottom bite in these areas is still on the slow side. Best bet for a bottom bite with black sea bass, white grunt, flounder and spots at the reefs, is to move around and check various locations, Capt. Judy said, adding that fishing the isolated areas often will be more productive than the biggest spots. “One needs to think outside the box” to find the best action, was her reasoning.

Most recent

Our most recent reports came from a couple of charter guides, Capt. Justin Rahn (Reel Time Charters, 912-507-7070) and Capt. David Newlin (912-756-4573), both of whom told of mostly redfish action.

Capt. Justin said he and girlfriend Marissa Prouse getting into the big reds this past weekend while using live mullet and pin fish for bait.

“We had to wait for the water to rise a bit before the reds would move in, but once it did, the fish started biting. We landed several slot reds and a few big ones we had to throw back. It was a good day on the water,” he wrote.

Newlin, who operates out of Fort McAllister Marina in Bryan County and frequently targets the Ossabaw Sound waters, said the fresh water from the Ogeechee River currently has moved all the salt water seaward of Fort McAllister and that water throughout much of the Ossabaw area over the weekend was very muddy, but the redfish bite was on fire.

He said his clients “caught redfish like crazy!” Many limited out on slot reds “in minutes,” and a lot more were released.

He also said a few flounder and a couple of black drum also were in the catch, but said he thought the waters were too muddy for trout. “It was the muddiest water I have ever caught fish in,” he wrote in an email, closing by saying he was looking forward to the upcoming tides this weekend and into the next for better trout action.

The outlook

Capt. David’s reference to better conditions for the coming weekend falls in line with tides which are gradually dropping back from new moon springing action, and weather permitting, will be in more favorable fishing levels this coming week as September moves into its final days.

Although high tides will still be in the mid seven-foot range with tidal currents beginning to slow, muddying conditions both inshore and near-shore should become less noticeable with wide-spread clarity throughout all tide cycles by next Wednesday, as tides drop back into the six-foot range.

With plenty of live bait shrimp now available along the entire coast, there should be some excellent catch action, both inshore and offshore.

These conditions should continue as October makes its debut, but muddying soon will return as the full moon phase (full moon is Oct. 5) brings spring tides again, with high tides in the eight-foot range predicted for Oct. 4 through Oct. 18, the highest at 8.7 feet on Oct. 7-8.

No reports have been received as of this writing relative to the Leukemia Cup Inshore Slam or the Savannah Sport Fishing Club’s general tournament, which was scheduled to have been held last weekend out of the Savannah Yacht Club. More when we hear more.

John Burke can be reached at 912-655-8505, or by email at john.burke@savannahnow.com.