Rural Retreat man catches sailfish out at sea

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

Dale Stevenson of Rural Retreat has been fishing on his summer vacations near Myrtle Beach for many years now.
It was his most recent trip there, however, in which he caught the biggest one he’s ever caught. While fishing off a boat off the South Carolina coast, he landed a sailfish.
Stevenson and his wife Donna said Myrtle Beach is one of their favorite vacation spots. Dale recently retired, but he helps his wife run a travel agency called D and D Travel Adventures.
Fishing is a favorite activity for Stevenson on his vacations, but he normally fishes from a pier. This year, however, he hopped aboard a chartered boat out of Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, (about 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach) on June 26. The boat, “Sea Spirit,” steamed out of Capt. Dick’s Marina and was captained by John and Wayne Strickland.
Stevenson said it took about two and a half hours for the boat to travel some 33 miles from shore. “The water was 75 to 80 feet deep, according to the boat’s sonar,” he said.
Since Donna is a little prone to sea sickness, she stayed on shore during her husband’s adventure. It is a good thing, too, because the seas were pretty choppy that day, said Stevenson.
Just prior to hooking the sailfish, Stevenson said a little prayer to catch a big fish. And within the hour, the battle was on.
Stevenson said it wasn’t an easy task. “It took about 15 minutes to get it. It was all I could do to reel it in. It felt like I had a 400-lb. Angus steer at the end of a rope.”
When he finally got it aboard (with help from others), he found out it was too small to keep. The sailfish was estimated to be about 46-inches long. The legal limit is 62-inches, said Stevenson.
The fish’s weight was thought to be between 35 and 40 pounds, he said.
Stevenson had a picture snapped just prior to tossing the fish (which was still alive) back into the ocean.
Stevenson said it was the first sailfish caught this season on that boat.
He didn’t come back to shore empty-handed because he caught some king mackerel and dolphin fish. He had them cleaned and processed shortly after getting back to shore. He froze about four and a half pounds of meat and brought it back home to Wythe County.