About Us

The mission of the Hillsborough Sportfishing Club is to provide an opportunity for average and below average income individuals to tackle a very expensive hobby; take disadvantaged kids, elderly, handicapped, veterans, and other groups sportfishing on the ocean; and provide a social atmosphere for these people and members to flourish. 

Education: We believe that there is nothing like learning from experienced anglers. Many of our members are veteran anglers who love to introduce the joy of sportfishing to others. In addition, we frequently invite experts to our monthly meetings to learn about conservation and stewardship of our fishery resources and fishing techniques for a wide variety of fish species.

Fishing Trips: We believe that learning by doing is the best teacher. We work together to organize affordable fishing trips to introduce people to the sport while enjoying each other and just having fun.

Partnerships: Our members have a wide variety of backgrounds but all share the love of sportfishing. We use this experience and connections of our members with others to arrange partnerships with private businesses and non-profits to raise funds for charitable organizations. Currently, our flagship event is the annual North Carolina Offshore Challenge; a statewide tournament to raise funds for disabled veterans. This event is held the weekend of Armed Forces Day each May in honor of all the men and women of the Armed Forces in each Branch, and all of the military families who also sacrifice for us by supporting their loved ones that serve our country.

The HSFC grew out of the passion of one man and his family who loved saltwater fishing and helping others. The late Johnny William Rose (JWR) started taking ladies and gentleman on saltwater fishing trips in the late 1980’s and, over time, the group kept growing. At the time of his passing in 2003, 96 people were sharing each other’s passion for sportfishing and just having a lot of fun together. Subsequently, his sons Terry, Bill, and Mike organized the HSFC in honor of their father by advancing the mission of the club.

In 2004, the HSFC founded the annual JWR Gaffer Tournament which after 8 years was renamed the North Carolina Offshore Challenge. The Club has leveraged this annual tournament to raise funds for many local charities including supporting Victory Junction Inc., in Randleman, NC, which is a camp for kids with debilitating diseases/illnesses founded by Richard and Kyle Petty. In 2011, the club sponsored children with the Sons of Allen, a connectional ministry to the A.M.E. church, on this fishing trip.

Since 2012, the HSFC has partnered with the L.A. Dixon Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation to take soldiers for a day of offshore fishing. In 2014, we reached our goal to take 100 soldiers offshore fishing and donated $2,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project. The North Carolina Offshore Challenge continues to grow rapidly in large part because our members and guests are dedicated to maintaining JWR’s passion for sportfishing while serving others in need. We have fun doing what we like to do best; please come join us.

Membership is free. On the Contact Us page, please enter your contact information to register with the HSFC and we will keep you up to date on meetings, events, and fishing trips.