糖心vlog官方入口

It was the first Saturday in December, and the twinkle Rayburn Poston saw in his kids eyes had nothing to do with the upcoming holiday season.

Poston鈥檚 kids are the student anglers that have embraced his venture over the past nine years - the Student Angler League Tournament Trail (SALTT).

The youngsters, from elementary through high school age from mainly Horry and Georgetown counties, were assembled in a montage of boats adjacent to Georgetown鈥檚 Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex on the Sampit River for the trail鈥檚 final event of the 2022 semester.

A total of 34 boats, with anglers and adult captains aboard, were about to blast off at sunrise into Winyah Bay and adjacent waterways in search of their choice of either red drum or largemouth bass.

The gleam in their eyes was there thanks in large part to the love of fishing and the outdoors Poston has helped instill in the young anglers.

鈥淭hat light in their eyes, that twinkles because they鈥檙e excited to go out and do something they love with the people they love,鈥� Poston said. 鈥淛ust seeing those kids with that excitement in their eyes. It鈥檚 like before a football game, they鈥檙e fired up.鈥�

Poston is a longtime coach and mentor of the Tigers Anglers hailing from Conway鈥檚 middle schools and high school, and a former high school football coach whose career included nine years at Conway High School.

Up until nearly 10 years ago, the only area competition for the Tiger Anglers was with anglers from the 糖心vlog官方入口 area schools in Pawleys Island.

鈥淏ack in the day, (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources) had youth bass clubs and the only two clubs on this side of Columbia were Conway and 糖心vlog官方入口,鈥� said Poston. 鈥淭hen we started SALTT.鈥�

In the fall of 2013, Poston put on his inaugural SALTT event with the hope of getting more area schools aside from Conway and 糖心vlog官方入口 out on the water.

鈥淲e had kids from Aynor pop up, then Carolina Forest and Georgetown,鈥� Poston said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a fast-growing sport, and it just accelerated.鈥�

Nine years later, youth anglers from over 40 schools and six Lowcountry counties including Horry, Georgetown, Florence, Charleston, Williamsburg and Berkeley have competed in SALTT.

鈥淚t just gives kids more opportunity to do something they love,鈥� said Poston, 53, now a ninth grade special education resource teacher at Conway High School.

鈥淚t gives kids more exposure down the road. We鈥檝e got so many (SALTT alumni) fishing in college. They didn鈥檛 know they had it in them until they started fishing SALTT. These are opportunities that were never there before.鈥�

In essence, SALTT has added an extra-curricular activity aside from the traditional sports for area boys and girls.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really meant the world to me,鈥� said 17-year-old Will McGuirt, a senior at Conway High School who has bass-fished on the trail for six years. 鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly helped me be build new relationships, it鈥檚 helped me learn a lot of different things, not only about tournament fishing but about bass fishing in general, how tournaments work, how to interact.鈥�

Along with teaching the youngsters the intricacies of tournament fishing for bass or red drum, life lessons and respect for natural resources are also in the offing.

鈥淚 also enjoy being around the kids at the weigh-ins, if they had a good day or a bad day,鈥� Poston said. 鈥淚 try to tell them, you鈥檝e got to be a good winner as well as a good loser. You鈥檙e a winner, you got to go fishing today, you already won. In life, you like to have something to look forward to.鈥�

In an age when most teenagers are attached to their phones and computers, SALTT offers the youngsters a diversion as old as the waterways they fish on.

鈥淚 like getting out and seeing the world and not being inside on video games,鈥� said Eli Carroll, an eighth grade bass angler from Conway Middle School.

Each of the six events during every school year is based out of the Campbell Marine Complex, where the redfish anglers can head into the wide open spaces of sprawling Winyah Bay or adjoining North Inlet and the bass anglers can choose from rivers such as the 糖心vlog官方入口, Pee Dee and Black to pursue their quarry.

With property development rampant in Horry and Georgetown counties, SALTT gives the young anglers the opportunity to see nature and the remaining unspoiled areas up close.

鈥淚 just really like going out in nature, to be honest,鈥� said Sawyer Causey, an eighth grader from Conway.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got the water, sometimes we see deer. And trees, there鈥檚 a bunch of trees. (Marsh) grass and all sorts of wildlife 鈥� even bald eagles.鈥�

Poston puts a tremendous amount of his spare time into the nonprofit organization. He handles all of the considerable duties related to organizing and staging such a tournament trail, and he does it all for the youngsters in Horry and Georgetown counties and surrounding areas.

Poston also has SALTT anglers involved in numerous community service events such as the Take A Kid Fishing Day and an annual kid鈥檚 fishing event at Lakewood Campground in Surfside Beach.

鈥淗e does it for all these kids,鈥� said Cody Wilder, a 10th grader at Conway High School who has teamed with partner Dalton Williams for five years on the trail. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 just do the fishing aspect, he helps with community service, too. It鈥檚 unbelievable what he does, I鈥檓 thankful for everything he does.鈥�

After weighing in their fish and a quick photo opp on Poston鈥檚 stage, the anglers get another lesson in conservation. All fish weighed in at a SALTT event are released into the brackish waters of the Sampit River.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to respect and preserve the wildlife,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭he fishery we have, if we don鈥檛 respect it it鈥檚 not going to be there.鈥�

McGuirt has also learned the benefits of catch-and-release.

鈥淚t鈥檚 God鈥檚 grace that he brought it all into the world for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e might as well take care of it. Do catch-and-release and go back again and catch some more.鈥�