SCDNR NEWS RELEASE
May 26, 2001
For information contact: (843) 762-5076

Written by Jennie R. Davis, SCDNR

SPARTANBURG BOAT WINS GEORGETOWN TOURNAMENT

This weekend, the 13th Annual South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series wrapped up its third tournament, the Georgetown Landing Blue Marlin Tournament.

After the first two tournaments in Edisto and Bohicket, the award standings were as follows:

Billfish boat: 720 points - "Holy Mackerel," owned by Douglas Batchelor of Evans, Georgia
Billfish Conservation: 650 points - "Sportin' Life," owned by Manly Eubanks of Mt. Pleasant
Largest Billfish: 428.5-pound blue marlin, angler/owner: Fred Bergen of Savannah, GA on "Legal Holiday"
BlueWater Conservation: 150 points - "Cookie Monster," owned by Chris Ravenel of Mt. Pleasant
Largest Tuna: 39.8 pounds, angler Ward Mungo on "Home Run," owned by Steven Mungo of Columbia
Largest Dolphin: 61.4 pounds, angler Brad Wright on "Bill Collector," owned by Harry Scott of Hilton Head Island
Largest Wahoo: 69.0 pounds, angler Richard Corbin on "Risky Business," owned by Kenneth Cannon of Johns Island
Youth Angler: Ward Mungo, age 11, with a 39.8-pound yellowfin tuna and a 29.2-pound dolphin on "Home Run," owned by Steven Mungo of Columbia
Female Angler: Bryson Hills of Mt. Pleasant with a 37.8-pound dolphin on "Mar Jen," owned by Romo, Inc. of Mt. Pleasant

As for the Georgetown tournament, "the hospitality was wonderful and the tournament was run in a very professional manner," said Wayne Waltz of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Director of the Series. "Everyone seemed to have a great time. Ricky Ferdon, Georgetown Landing Marina's tournament director, did an excellent job running the event."

A total of eight billfish were tagged and released including five blue marlin, one white marlin and two sailfish.

Former Governor Carroll Cambell, who was the founder of the S. C. Governor's Cup Billfishing Series, participated in the tournament aboard the "Special Lady," which tagged and released one of the sailfish. A total of 64 boats participated in the tournament, with each boat fishing two out of the three days.

"Bulldog," owned by Lee Arnett of Spartanburg captured the Best Billfish Boat award in the Georgetown tournament. Angler Albert Boyles of Spartanburg tagged and released a sailfish to earn "Bulldog" 100 points, while owner Lee Arnett tagged and released a blue marlin, earning them another 300 points, and securing the Billfish Conservation Award for this tournament.

Finishing in second place at Georgetown for tagging and releasing a blue marlin was "Clear Cut," owned by Ronny Dempsey of Rowesville, SC. The angler was Eddie Lee of Orangeburg, SC.

"Triple Play," owned by Jim, Art and Bubba Hightower of Moncks Corner, SC came in third in the tournament. Jim Hightower tagged and released a blue marlin later in the tournament than the second place boat, earning "Triple Play" the third place in the tournament.

The Georgetown Tournament played host to the biggest wahoo and yellowfin tuna caught so far in the S.C. Governor's Cup Billfishing Series. A 74-pound wahoo caught aboard "Pipe Layer," owned by J. Pederson of Youngs Island, earned angler Chris Rowe of Walterboro the Biggest Wahoo Award.

The Biggest Tuna Award went to James Bigby of Columbia who reeled in an 86.6-pound yellowfin tuna aboard "Good Buddy," owned by Tommy Goodson of Hartsville.

As for the Biggest Dolphin Award, angler Dan Stacy of Georgetown caught a 55.6-pound dolphin aboard "Big Sky," owned by Jim Johnston also of Georgetown.

This year, the S. C. Governor's Cup Advisory Board decided to add second and third place slots for female and youth angler categories.

The first place Outstanding Female Angler Award went to Nancy Ravenel who tagged and released a white marlin for 150 points. Ravenel hooked the fish aboard "Cookie Monster," which she owns along with her husband Chris Ravenel of Mt. Pleasant. The second place female angler in the Georgetown tournament was Suzanne Fox Carter of Georgetown. She reeled in a 67.6-pound wahoo aboard "Hidin' Out," owned by Emmett Reeder of Charleston. The third place Outstanding Female Angler Award went to Nicki Holsburg of Charleston who caught two dolphin on Saturday that totaled 59.4 pounds. Holsburg's catches aboard "Billistic," owned by Dale Martin of Ridgeville, SC, also earned her the Outstanding Youth Angler Award.

The remaining tournament dates and contacts for 2001 are:

June 6-10
Marlin Quay Marina, Murrells Inlet
Charles Stone (843) 651-4444

June 27 - July 1
Isle of Palms Marina
Brian Berrigan (843) 886-0209

July 11-15
Charleston Harbor Marina
Deidre Menefee (843) 856-9996

To 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 -