Sometimes the moments we never planned…
become the ones we remember the most.Debbie T. shared a Grand Strand memory from Surfside Pier that still makes her smile.
Story shared by community contributor Debbie T.
My husband and I always came down to fish in October. We always fished on the Surfside Pier.
Something that will always stand out in my mind (and still makes me queasy — even though it probably shouldn’t) is the day we were minding our own business, sitting on one of the benches, fishing our little hearts out.
Below us was a man doing his very best to look like he knew what he was doing.
He’d bait his hook, then assume the position to cast. Every time, his weight would drop down on the pier and he’d have to bait up again because he’d thrown it off trying to actually get it into the water.
This last time, as he maneuvered his rod into the back position, a man walked past him at the exact moment he was about to let it fly.
It might have actually made it into the water that time…
…had it not been for the passerby’s nose.
That hook snagged him right in the nose, and there he stood — with that piece of shrimp attached to the hook, embedded in his left nostril.
Blood was everywhere.
People screamed.
The man who had been “caught” nearly passed out.
I got awfully queasy myself.
My husband grabbed his cutters and snipped the line attached to the shrimp and the nose, and the man’s wife immediately rushed him away — nose bait, bloody towels, and all.
The fisherman quickly packed his gear and left.
I can still see that man standing there with that piece of shrimp stuck right there. (Pointing to my left nostril.)
Yep… that’s something you’ll only see once in a lifetime…
…if you’re lucky. Hahaha.
Hook in the Nose at Surfside Pier — A Grand Strand Memory
Some memories don’t fade with time — they get sharper.
Debbie T. shared a Grand Strand moment that proves sometimes the trips we remember most… are the ones we never saw coming.
What began as a normal day around Surfside Pier turned into one of those stories that still gets told years later — the kind that makes you laugh now, even if it didn’t feel very funny in the moment.
That’s the thing about the Grand Strand.
Between the piers, the surf, and the long summer days, memories have a way of finding you when you least expect it.
And sometimes… they come with a pretty good story attached.
Story shared by community contributor Debbie T.
🌊 Have a Grand Strand memory of your own?
👉 Share it here:
https://grandstrandstory.com/share-your-story-contest/
