2013 G'town Gov. Cup - Day Two yields TWO blue marlin weighed

Angler Dixon Pearce and owner Graham
Eubank look over their leading blue marlin

Angler David Croom from Arica

Buck Bessinger and leading mahi

The 25th anniversary of the S.C. Governor's Cup Billfishing Series is just itchin' to get started! The first event at the Georgetown Landing Marina witnessed two blue marlin weighed in on the second day of competition. Arica brought a very respectable blue marlin to the SCDNR scales that measured 105-inches (the minimum requirement by S.C. Gov. Cup standards) and weighed a healthy 415-pounds. The next boat to weigh-in their blue marlin was Sportin' Life. With a blue marlin that measured 111 1/4-inches, they tilted the scales to 534.2-pounds. That's good enough to take the G'town tourney lead with one day left to fish, and the Gov. Cup tourney lead with four events left to go. Owner Graham Eubank is no stranger to the Gov. Cup, having already served a term as the Chairman of the Gov. Cup Advisory Board. Captain Mike Glaesner is the long-time pilot of the Sportin' Life and angler Dixon Pearce is veteran bluewater angler. Congrats to all three! A new dolphin leader came to the scales on Day Two when Buck Bessinger showed up with a 48.6-poound mahi from the Christy II. A good wahoo weighing 53.6-pounds came from Fred Hardwick on the Showtime.

To view past blog entries from the 2013 Georgetown Governor's Cup click here.

2013 G'town Gov. Cup - Day One results

Rick Donovan with his 41.0-pound mahi from Arica

Thomas Pierce with tuna from Christy II

The fleet of 33 sportfishing boats left the Georgetown Landing Marina early on May 23 in search of a fast start in the 25th Anniversary S.C. Governor's Cup Billfish Series. Oceanic conditions were stormy with rough seas on the three-hour ride to the fishing grounds, but by Lines In at 8 a.m. the ocean had calmed and offered very pleasant conditions that were conducive to fishing. I was fortunate to be at sea on the 50-foot Rybovich called Can't Complain with a seasoned crew. Lots of billfish were hooked up this day, but the story seemed to be the number of 'misses' on Day One, with a two boats going 0 for 3 on blue marlin, and several boats going 0 for 1 on blues. The Rookie IV did release one blue marlin, but they experienced a double-header bite and dueled with them both for one hour, before the larger blue marlin jumped off. The tournament radio chatter was constant with all of the hook-ups and just over 20 releases, in what equals a great S.C. billfish bite! In the end it was Frayed Knot that did the best recording two blue marlin releases and one white marlin release for a total of 1500-points and first place. Full Pull is in second place with two blue marlin released and 1200-points, followed by Blue Sky with one blue marlin and one sailfish is in third with 800-points. Back at the docks the heaviest dolphin was 42.6-pounds caught by Rob Shore on Chasin', with the best wahoo weighing 60.4-pounds reeled in by Jamie Beard on the Big Sky. The tuna bite was off, with only one brought to the scales, giving the lead to Thomas Pierce on the Christy II with his 17.8-pound blackfin tuna. Most of the fleet elected to fish Friday, going back-to-back, due to the threat of windy conditions on Saturday.

To view past blog entries from the 2012 Georgetown Governor's Cup click here.

Ashley Dent represents for Frayed Knot

46th Annual G'town Blue Marlin Tourney!

2013 Edisto Shootout for Redfish

Ron and Caleb Davis of Edisto Island took second place

Team Slots 'N' Reds with their winning fish - Congrats!

Redfish are the most popular inshore saltwater species for anglers, and a new fishing tournament called the Edisto Shootout attracted 22 teams on May 18. Launching at the Dawhoo Bridge Landing that morning, the anglers fished in and around Edisto Island for redfish, before crossing the North Edisto for a weigh-in at Bohicket Marina. A pair of upstate anglers brought the heaviest redfish to the scales and won a Power-Pole anchor system for their boat, while a pair of Edisto anglers claimed second place. The rules of the Edisto Shootout specify that two-man teams will compete, using only artificial lures to target redfish. No live bait or cut bait is allowed, which keeps the competition even. Only two redfish can be weighed in by any one team, and the fish must be kept alive in the baitwell in order to be released after the weigh-in. Fish are measured first to verify that they fit into the legal to keep slot limit, and then they are weighed in. The nickname for the winning team is Slots and Shoulders, as in slot-size redfish and fish with ‘shoulders’ enough to fight hard. Craig Bradford of Edgefield and Todd Fusco of Simpsonville brought two redfish to the scales at Bohicket Marina that measured 22 and 7/8-inches each. Keeping in mind that the slot limit is 15 to 23-inches for redfish, they were successful in catching two reds that were barely legal. The upside to larger-size redfish is that the combined weight of their fish was 8.07-pounds, good for first place.

Edisto Shootout weigh station with Brian Rose

To view the remainder of my feature story click on Colletonian.

2012 LRC overall champs Team Flats Broke at Bohicket Marina

2013 is S.C. Governor's Cup 25th Anniversary

2013 Blackfin tuna; Release Marine is a Gov. Cup sponsor

May edition cover hails Gov. Cup

The South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series is an official program of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. The brainchild of former South Carolina Governor Carroll A. Campbell, the annual summer series consists of five privately run billfish tournaments. In 2012 the Series set a new record with 300 billfish releases, and a fleet of sportfishers are ready to fish the 25th season hoping to swamp that benchmark. Governor Campbell was extremely passionate about offshore fishing, and his family kept a second home on the S.C. coast at Murrell’s Inlet. The nearby port of Georgetown served as home base for their 35-foot Bertram, the Second Lady. “Our mother, Iris Campbell was the first lady of S.C.,” said Carroll Campbell III. “The very first Governor’s Cup tourney was fished out of Georgetown, but they already had a long established blue marlin tournament. But size limits on blue marlin were practically unheard of and people were killing billfish, even if it was only good for second or third place. My father’s idea was to try and replenish the billfish stocks with the new format of awarding points for each billfish release. If you consider the total number of billfish releases now off of S.C. each year, the success percentage is way up.” Wallace Jenkins is the senior biologist and Program Coordinator for the S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. Amy Dukes is the Tournament Director for the billfish series. “This summer we will be celebrating, because 25 years ago Governor Campbell’s vision for billfish conservation became a reality,” said Dukes. “Offshore anglers, marine biologists and the citizens of South Carolina are all grateful for his efforts.” The 2013 schedule begins with the 46th Annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament from May 22 – 25. The Bohicket Marina Invitational on John’s Island runs from June 5 – 8. The Carolina Billfish Classic fishes June 19 – 22, and the Megadock Billfishing Tournament runs July 10 – 13. Finally, the Edisto Island Marina Billfish Tournament from July 24 – 27 will complete the competition.

To view my feature article in the May edition of All At Sea click here.

To view past stories in All At Sea click here.

Over Under gear - Sporting leather goods

T-shirts and leather belt by Over Under

Front Pocket wallet is good to go for the dog show!

When I found out about Over Under clothing based in Jacksonville I wanted to find out more about their gear. With a working dog for a logo and a name that accentuates the shooting sports, these folks were on the right track. Most hunters love their dogs and their guns with equal fervor, but the gear that takes them from the field and then back into town are not far behind in esteem. The Over Under leather goods are quite distinguished including the front pocket gentleman's wallet with shotgun shell insignia. Perfect for holding ID, credit card, biz card on the outside, it also has a money bar to corral your cash on the inside. Heading into a more modern world, plan on carrying less in your wallet, and get used to this comfortable front pocket derivation from the norm. The Cannon's Point multi-shotgun shell belt is made of bridal leather and has several shotgun insignia along its length. Like all Over Under products these belts are made in the USA. For the dog try the Huntington Leash, a 5-foot lead with a leather handle that is imprinted with the Over Under motto of 'Preserving the Sporting Lifestyle' - also equipped with a D-ring to attach to one's belt when the dog is off leash. Of course Over Under clothing carries a wide variety of t-shirts and hats that depict labs, guns, birds and everything that is right about the outdoors. Check out Over Under on FaceBook, Instagram and other social media outlets to see what a robust following this crew of young enthusiasts is educating by providing consistent and positive posts. Here's a tip - if you are a UGA grad, then you might already know the Over Under gang! And it's no wonder they chose dawgs as their company mascot!!

To view past blog entry about sporting leather goods click here.

With my Over and Under shotgun at the 2013 U.S. Open

Cordray's Taxidermy - 2013 update

Kenneth Cordray delivers: from deer hoofs to ducks

Drake redhead duck

The middle of May is a good time to stop by Cordray's taxidermy in Hollywood for a visit with Kenneth Cordray. Lots of deer hunters are dropping  by to pick up their deer mounts, and I even spotted a few latecomers bringing by racks for European mount servicing too! A bird or two from wild turkey season are on display, as well as a duck or two from waterfowl season. A big boar mount on the wall came from very near to the Cordray farm property and there may never be a better time than now to target a big boar in the Lowcountry Outdoors, hoping to find a 'tusker' which can make a good candidate for Cordray's Taxidermy. Why is now a good time, because wild pigs are increasing their range and older, bigger boars may be the ones to explore new territory, thus giving an opportunistic hunter a good chance at success. Cordray's taxidermy can also mount alligators, fish and small game, are they are up for a good challenge like the time that I sent over some special deer hoofs. The deer hoof gun rack should provide a grand story to share with others when sharing fellowship at the farm in the future. Also, when I harvested a mature redhead duck in the Gulf of Mexico, I chose to bring the redhead back home to Cordray's for a mount. The story goes that I shot a beauty of a redhead out of Willtown Bluff as a younger waterfowler, but chose not to mount it since I incorrectly assumed I would be seeing plenty more redheads in my duck hunting plans, but they proved scarce until a Christmas Eve hunt. Now the redhead drake joins a menagerie of ducks on the wall, since I won't be making the same mistake twice when it comes to celebrating a unique duck.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Lee Taylor picks up two deer mounts for family

To past blog entries about Cordray's taxidermy click here.

2013 Atlantic Cup: Bodacious Dream first to NYC video

First to NYC in 2013

With an elapsed time of just over four days, it was Bodacious Dream completing the trek from Charleston to New York City the fastest. All eight sailboats in the Atlantic Cup field finished in succession within four hours of the leader. TO view a great video of Bodacious Dream entering New york habbor at sunset click here. Icarus racing finished in 4th place and for a complete list of the first leg finish click here. Of course, the second leg of the Atlantic Cup begins on May 18 and sends the fleet towards the next destination in Rhode Island.

To view past blog entries about the 2013 Atlantic Cup click here.

2013 Race Schedule

Sleeping berth and ropes inside Icarus

2013 Atlantic Cup fleet in NYC