Photo by Jim Heim The writer's son-in-law, Scott Thomas, with a nice puppy drum he landed in North Carolina. Purchase this photo

Last year, I found myself confined in a condo with five other adults, none of whom spoke fishing. You know, that language that pops up whenever two or more serious anglers find themselves thrown together. Recently, my wife and I were at the optician, when the fellow who was adjusting my glasses said something about his boat. In no time, he and I were off to the races. Fifteen minutes later, when we left, you would have thought we had talked for an hour to hear my wife carry on about wasted time.

Last year, it didn't take long before I started to go into withdrawal. I solved it by going to the Bass Pro shop in Myrtle Beach and finding a guide's name and number. With no red fish to be found in the backwaters, he took me offshore and we caught spadefish and some king mackerel. I made it through the week. Just spending part of the day with someone who spoke the language and had a cool boat restored my sanity.

This year, I took a different approach. My daughter and son-in-law live in central North Carolina and he is an avid fisherman. He and I have enjoyed many good fishing trips together. So my bride and I left a couple of days early for our arrival at Myrtle Beach and spent two nights in North Carolina. On Friday morning at an awful hour, several hours before sun-up, my son-in-law and I we were headed east toward Pamlico Sound towing his boat. A little after sunup, we arrived at Dames Quarter on the west side of Pamlico Sound.

Just before we arrived, he hit me with what I thought was a joke question, "Did you get a fishing license?" I have been fishing on the coast of North Carolina off and on for 30 years. I never needed a license. I do now! A tidal water license came into being in January 2007. The solution to my need for a license was amazingly 21st century. Using his cell phone, we called and got my daughter out of bed. She got on her computer and in no time had procured a license for me online and gave me the confirmation number, which I wrote down and put in my pocket. (It's $10 for a 10-day license.)

In no time we had the boat launched and were headed out into the sound. I sat there taking a mental trip down memory lane. The boat had been mine for 20-plus years, until I bought my new one and gave the old one to them. One serious change he made was the addition of a bow-mounted Minn Kota electric motor. It made a huge difference in our fishing. He told me that his gas consumption has dropped by two-thirds since he acquired it.

Arriving on-site, at the first targeted fishing hot spot, we baited up with Berkley Gulp impaled on lead-head jigs. Scott had six or seven large tubs of the stuff. I was glad he did because my supply of Gulp was in our place on the Eastern Shore, sitting on a table ready to be carried out to the car. The price of getting old!

We began fishing the shoreline of a very thin island, as he deftly used the bow-mounted motor to keep us just in casting range. He explained to me that the fish took very subtly, requiring the angler to keep tension on the bait for a couple of moments before setting the hook, as the fish repositioned the bait in its mouth.

In no time, he was catching flounder. Unfortunately, they were just under the 14-inch minimum. I felt a fish take and paused, then set the hook. At first, I was disappointed. I could tell from the fight that it wasn't a flounder. But when it came to the surface, I was happy to net a keeper sea trout. I put several in the cooler and we enjoyed them for dinner in Myrtle Beach. With several more undersized flounder released, we tried some other spots. In all the locations that we tried we were pestered by small croakers that tore the tails off our Gulp baits.

About mid morning we were checking out yet another location, when Scott caught a dandy puppy drum. It added nicely to the fish dinner that we shared in Myrtle Beach. About that time, we spotted alewives shoaling about 50 yards away. I got my first experience running the boat with the bow-mounted motor as Scott got positioned on the bow with a cast net. On his third try, the net surrounded about a dozen menhaden. Unfortunately, they were a little large for the quarry we were seeking. After living in the live-well for a couple of hours, they were returned to the briny deep.

Upon returning to the first island that we had fished, we discovered that while were gone, a netter had come in and placed a gillnet along the shore about 10 to 15 feet out for several hundred yards. It was pretty discouraging.

About that time we noticed a change in the weather. An angry looking line of squalls appeared on the horizon and we figured it was time to call it a day. The ride in was a little rough but uneventful. We were half way home, trailering the boat when we ran through the first storm. It caught up with us again at home about the time we were cleaning the boat and filleting fish.

The weather report on TV later that evening said that several tornadoes had been seen in the county where we had launched the boat. We got out in time. Late last season, my daughter had been fishing with her husband in that same spot and she photographed several water spouts. I don't want to be in the same county with those.

The plan worked. I had enough fishing to get me through the week at Myrtle Beach. I was content to sit on the beach and read, more or less. Mercifully, my wife wanted to go to a store in the same shopping center with Bass Pro a couple of times. So I had time to wander around in the old man's toy store and talk fishing with several sales clerks.

If you are planning to visit South Carolina, they too have added a saltwater fishing license to their sources of income. As of July 1, a license is required to fish in the surf and in the inland tidal waters. I know firsthand that they can be bought at the front desk at Bass Pro.

To find out more about licenses in any state, Google the state name and fishing license.

Contact Jim Heim at castsandshots@cs.com.