What do baseball, the stratosphere, and a cash prize have in common? Probably not all that much in real life. But in the world of the Governor’s Cup, these things bring to mind the top three boats embroiled in a battle for the 2019 Series title. That certainly doesn’t mean that the Home Run, the Blue Sky, and the Jackpot are the only teams still in the race. There’s plenty of room for others to step up to the challenge, especially now that blue-water fishing continues to improve off the coast of South Carolina, with multiple good days reported over the Fourth of July weekend by a relatively small number of boats.
And we sure hope those good fishing reports continue through the week of the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament (July 17-20) at the Marina at Edisto Beach. The tournament is the fourth and final leg of the 2019 Series, wrapping up a busy summer of competitive billfishing in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
This 484.4 lb blue marlin was caught aboard the Anticipation during the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament last year. As mandated by the Series’ wanton waste rule, the crew was required to keep the fish properly iced and to clean it for consumption. Biological samples were also collected by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources staff. Last year, the Series boasted a 99.7% billfish release rate, with 309 billfish released and only one landed.
A lot can happen on any given tournament day. Historically, Edisto has lived up to that hype. Last year’s tournament ended the Series with a considerable bang. The Anticipation wrangled a blue marlin weighing 484.4 lbs on the final day of fishing and got the fish back to the dock with only minutes to spare before the scales closed. And, after proving themselves a formidable team with a record breaking number of points in the Series, the Mister Pete then captured their win of the 2019 South Carolina Governor’s Cup.
By the end of next week, we will again have a winner of the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament, as well as an unofficial winner of the 2019 Series. Y’all, we can’t wait to see what happens! Stay tuned!
Current Top Ten Boats in the Series
1) Home Run
2) Blue Sky
3) Jackpot
4) Inappropriate
5) Bench Mark
6) Glazed
7) Mister Pete
8) Syked Out
9) Anticipation
10) Man Cave
You can get current standings and point summaries at the following link: http://govcup.dnr.sc.gov/Standings/Top/
The Teaser is a series dedicated to showcasing the stories of the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series and its lively community. The Gov Cup was created several decades ago to encourage the conservation of ocean resources through the tagging and release of billfish. Learn more here.
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