SCDNR NEWS RELEASE
May 19, 2001
For information contact: (843) 762-5076
Written by Jennie R. Davis, SCDNR
"LEGAL HOLIDAY" LANDS BLUE MARLIN TO WIN BOHICKET TOURNAMENT
Weather was a factor in the second tournament of the 13th Annual South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. All but 13 of the 33 participating boats chose to rest on Friday during the May 16-20 Bohicket Invitational Billfish Tournament at Bohicket Marina, not predicting that small craft advisory warnings would cancel Saturday’s opportunity to fish.
In general, boats that came out on top after Thursday were the winners in this tournament. "The big story of the first day was a fish fight that lasted seven hours," said Wayne Waltz of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, director of the Series. "The 428.5-pound blue marlin leapt out of the water several times and got the line wrapped around its tail, making the fight last unusually long." This catch by owner Fred Bergen earned "Legal Holiday" of Savannah, GA the Best Billfish Boat award.
Finishing in second place at Bohicket for landing a 370-pound blue marlin was "Holy Mackerel," owned by Douglas Batchelor of Evans, GA. The angler was Chip Ivy of Augusta, GA.
"Hidin’ Out," owned by Emmette Reeder of Charleston, was extremely close to the second place boat when it landed a 369.5-pound blue marlin.
Another award given in the Series is for conservation. "Cookie Monster", owned by Chris Ravenel of Mt. Pleasant, snagged this award during the Bohicket tournament by being the first boat to tag and release a blue marlin. Other boats that tagged and released blue marlin, earning them points in the Series, are "Sportin’ Life," owned by Manly Eubanks of Mt. Pleasant and "Lucky Strike," owned by Skipper Jellison of Mt. Pleasant.
A 47.3-pound wahoo caught on "Hey Doc" owned by Alan Fogel earned angler Buddy Roth of Columbia the Biggest Wahoo Award. Anglers aboard Harry Scott’s "Bill Collector" obtained both the Biggest Dolphin Award and the Biggest Tuna Award. Brad Wright of Hilton Head Island caught the 61.4-pound dolphin, and Bryon Willingham of Savannah, GA caught the 34.9-pound yellowfin tuna.
This year, the S. C. Governor’s Cup Advisory Board decided to add second and third place slots for female and youth angler categories. In the Bohicket Tournament, there were no youth angler points awarded, but three female anglers made significant catches.
The first place Outstanding Female Angler Award went to Bryson Hills of Mt. Pleasant. Hills landed a 37.8-pound dolphin aboard "Mar Jen," owned by Romo, Inc. of Mt. Pleasant. Patty Rutland received the second place Outstanding Female Angler Award for landing a 32.8-pound yellowfin tuna from "Lucky Strike," and Nancy Ravenel got third place with her 22.3-pound dolphin that she landed from "Cookie Monster."
"The Bohicket tournament was a good, well-run tournament. We saw some nice-sized fish tagged and released, and also brought back to the docks," Waltz said.
So far in the Series, Holy Mackerel is the leader with 670 points.
The remaining tournament dates and contacts for 2001 are:
May 23-27 Georgetown Marina Ricky Ferdon (843) 546-1776To learn more about the 2001 South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, and to keep up with the standings, visit http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/etc/govcup/govcup.html
- Written by Jennie R. Davis -