The overall points leader for fish, Colton Bateman, caught over 200 fish!
“My son and I had so much fun competing against each other on its (the SCWF Plishing Challenge) opening day”, messaged James Bateman, a 2023 Plishing Challenge participant.
SCWF hosted our second annual SCWF Plishing Challenge over the summer of 2023. We shared information about fishing, litter, conservation, best fishing practices, and more with our participants to help them make the most of the challenge and their time on the water. We increased our registrations in the program by about 75% over last year and are excited to see it grow. Nearly 100 bags of litter were removed from our waterways and over 1,200 fish were logged into the challenge, most of which were released.
This initiative was also an opportunity to partner with conservation-minded local organizations and businesses. For example, Wateree Dive Center invited us for their Lake Murray dive cleanup, and Keep the Midlands Beautiful, provided gear for us to do our own litter sweep!
We have been sharing photos and videos of participants and sponsors on our social media channels and have seen wonderful engagement, especially on one of the videos from Palmetto State Armory, one of our major sponsors. We also shared valuable information on litter prevention in South Carolina from another major sponsor, Palmetto Pride. With our product sponsors (including AFTCO and Local Boy) sharing the challenge on their social media, we actually had participants in 14 states this year!
We also want to thank our sponsors South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Angling Women, South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, and Riverwinds Landing. SCWF director of education, BeBe Dalton Harrison shared, “This is truly helping engage anglers to understand safe fish handling, conservation, and habitat protection while keeping casual anglers engaged in fishing fun.
For more information on the SCWF Plishing Challenge and how to be a part of the fun next summer, please contact Harrison at bebe@scwf.org
Banner image credit: Fishing at Myrtle Beach Pier by Ryan McRae.