2013 Edisto Gov. Cup - Results and Photos

Fin Addict crew with William Tetterton's 39.6-pound HOO

Silver Anniversary T-shirt

Local boat Change Order watches from the water

There were plenty of traditions that came to pass at the Edisto Governor's Cup such as fans crowding the docks while bluewater anglers showed off tuna, wahoo and dolphin. With school just weeks away, the Governor’s Cup tourney plays out like a holiday weekend on Edisto and puts Colleton County in the spotlight. Electing to fish on Thursday and Saturday, Showtime! was the most consistent boat during the Edisto tourney and they took home the coveted cleat award at the Saturday night awards banquet in Bay Creek Park. The Showtime! is a 62-foot Spencer boat that calls Stuart, Florida their home port. Owner Fred Hardwick resides at Sailfish Point in Florida but brought the boat to S.C. to compete in the popular S.C. Billfishing Series. Captain Wink Doerzbacher skippers the boat, which is kept at Toler’s Cove Marina, on Sullivan’s Island. Some local anglers got into the action and into the prize money when Can’t Complain took home the award for heaviest dolphin. Owner Mullins McLeod saw his friend Brian Cannon weigh in a 38.2-pound mahi that edged out the competition by just one pound. Can’t Complain also did well in the billfish category by releasing one sailfish on Friday and one blue marlin on Saturday. Fishing Team Haz Mat from Walterboro weighed in some meat fish but had less luck with the billfish. The 38-foot Donzi boat with triple engines is owned by Mark Odum and fished Friday and Saturday at Edisto. Crew member Matthew Crosby told me that while the boat had both blue marlin and sailfish behind the boat and in their bait spread, they were not able to get hooked up - but that's fishing. Tournament organizer Becca Jones lined up a who’s who of sponsors for her father and Marina owner Buddy Smith, who is always on site to welcome both sailors and anglers to the docks. The FishSmith company designed a handsome silver anniversary tournament t-shirt that is sure to be a collector’s item one day, and they are for sale at the ship’s store. Other reasons to visit the marina include Pressley's Restaurant, the fuel dock, and charter fishing trips.

To my feature article on the Edisto Gov. Cup click on Colletonian.

Austin Odum from Haz Mat with his 9-pound skipjack tuna

To view past blog entries from the Edisto Gov. Cup click here.