Tournament director, promoter of reef program passed away this past February
The Ron McManus Memorial Reef was dedicated on Oct. 31 when the public was introduced to a piece of concrete structure that contained his ashes, his sunglasses and his ever-present cell phone that will be deposited on a site 5 miles southwest of Little River Inlet to honor a leader in community and fishing activities.
Capt. Mark Dickson of Little River presided over the ceremony that dedicated SC PA-04 in memory of McManus, who passed away this past Feb. 13. The ceremony was held at Harbourgate Marina in North Myrtle Beach and drew a crowd of approximately 100.
“This reef cone contains some things that were important to Ron,” Dickson said. “Those of you who knew him know the only reason we don’t hear this cell phone ringing is because the battery has lost charge. Ron worked tirelessly to promote the area, fishing and especially the Jim Caudle Reef. It is only fitting that we honor him by naming a reef after him. I’m sure he is watching over us and standing by.”
McManus was best known to area fishermen as the co-founder and executive director of the Jim Caudle Artificial Reef Foundation and the director of the Dixie Chicken Fishing Funament. Community leaders and politicians knew him as a tireless promoter and activist for the area, especially when it came to saltwater fishing. McManus was active in many civic organizations and served for a while as Chairman of Events for the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce.
McManus and his wife, Kathy, founded the Jim Caudle Artificial Reef Foundation in 2003 and built the reef into the most popular reef along the South Carolina coast. They began the Dixie Chicken Fishing Funament on Memorial Day weekend as the primary fundraiser supporting it.
“We are proud to commemorate Ron with a reef named in his honor,” said Robert Martore, artificial reef coordinator for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. “His tireless dedication to our state’s artificial reef system has had an impact not only on North Myrtle Beach, but the entire state.”
The reef is located at 33.46.150N and 078.35.900W, about 5 miles southwest of the Little River Inlet’s south jetty. A shrimp trawler currently rests on the bottom there, and a barge load of concrete reef cones will join it soon. The reef cones will be deployed in the next few weeks.
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