On the Sunday morning following the 57^th Annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament, Capt. Phillip Fender received a voice message that his mom had forwarded to him. In it, his 87-year-old Grandaddy happily shared that he saw him in the morning’s newspaper. The message was short, but every word was sprinkled with pride. A broad smile then swept across the captain’s scruffy face. Fender’s family members were getting the news that he and the Claytime crew had just won South Carolina’s largest and most historic billfish tournament.

Fender, who started fishing professionally in 2006 when he was 18 years old, spent much of his childhood in Awendaw, South Carolina, just 30 minutes South of Georgetown. Although he didn’t grow up bluewater fishing, he was raised by avid outdoorsmen and commercial crabbers, most notably his other Grandad, Victor Lincoln. Fender credits Victor as one of the most influential figures in his life and as the person who first taught him how to hunt, fish, and fix stuff.

However, it was Capt. Dick Vance who would first give the eager yet green teenager a shot in the sportfishing industry when he offered Fender a job as a mate aboard Hot Shot, one of Charleston’s most storied charter operations. “Dick taught me the basics of being a mate,” he says. “He was tough and was pretty strict on organization and efficiency, but he still had a great sense of humor and loved to joke around.”

Under Vance’s mentorship, Fender learned that efficiency isn’t just desirable in a sportfishing mate, it’s essential. Charter gigs are demanding, especially with the constant client turnover. Those years with Vance made him a better fisherman.

Fender is a quiet man who often only speaks when it’s absolutely necessary, and even then, it might be a single word or two. He’s typically unflappable and adaptable, traits he’s put to work for several sportfishing programs, including Smyth McKissick’s Chasin, Bubba Roof’s Game On, Chad Sanders’ Electric Bill, and now Jon Clay’s Claytime.

Fender has been lucky enough to learn from several great captains over the years. Of the two he credits as being the most influential, Vance is naturally the first to come to mind. But the second is unequivocally Capt. Bennett Griffin. 

“Bennett is a really good friend,” Fender says. “I worked for him for many years as a mate aboard Chasin and then again later aboard Game On. I definitely learned the most from him about the billfishing side of the industry, and how to properly maintain a boat. When I worked as his mate aboard Chasin, we tackled everything together, and that helped me learn how to be a captain. He’s extremely hardworking, and importantly, he would never tell you to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. He’s a very talented fisherman who has been everywhere and done everything. And he’s extremely meticulous, probably from working for Smyth McKissick for 14 years!”

Fender took his first job on the bridge in 2016 as the captain of Electric Bill. That year, the boat earned second place in the South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. Even still, he hadn’t logged a tournament win as a captain until this past weekend in Georgetown aboard Claytime.

Jon Clay gives Fender the freedom to run the Claytime fishing program, something that does not go unappreciated by the captain. “He’s a great owner,” Fender says. “He trusts me to make my own decisions for the boat and gets along with anyone I bring on to fish. He just always seems to be in a good mood and trying to have some fun.”

Fender and full-time mate Boyce Kobleur have been working on the 60-foot B&D for close to three years now. They spent considerable time in the yard this past fall and winter to get the boat right. Those efforts seem to be paying off. 

The day before the start of the Georgetown tournament, Claytime released four blue marlin, a personal Charleston best for Fender. That bite helped set the tone for the whole crew, which included mates Kobleur, Robby Killey, and Marshall Freng. Michael Ebert and Trad Dyches were also in the cockpit. Travis Waits, Chucky Moore, Kade Smalley, Chappy Ebert, Jon Clay, Aubrey Thomas, and the boat’s mascot, a dog named Juicy, rounded out the crew. The team would go on to release two blue marlin and six sailfish over two days of fishing in the Georgetown tournament, but not without some trials.

The first day of the tournament, Claytime tallied five sailfish releases. On the second day, Fender had to make a choice – stay where they were or pick up and run 30 minutes to Capt. Chase Merriman on the Man Cave, who already had some blue bites. With support from the entire crew, Fender picked up and ran to his friend. The move paid off almost immediately with a blue bite and then a sail. But it was the last fish that would make the real difference on the leaderboard.

“The fish ate the outside teaser in a turn, then faded, and kind of disappeared,” Fender recalls. “Your heart sinks a bit when that happens. Then all of a sudden, the long rigger got bit and Ebert said ‘I’m tight!’ We caught the fish very fast, but it never jumped. We had seen the fish was a blue marlin, but we weren’t sure the pole cam got it, so we continued to fight the fish for another 20 or 30 minutes. We caught it probably three more times without a single jump, until the very last try. By then we knew we had good footage on the pole cam too. It was all extremely nervewracking.”

That last fish solidified Claytime’s lead with just 15 minutes left to fish in the tournament. “That moment was probably one of the most exciting in my career,” Fender says. “We knew that that was probably enough to do it, but we weren’t sure yet. We set back out real quick and waited for the clock.”

At lines out, the cockpit erupted in high fives and cheers, and the sound of beers cracking and drinks being made ricocheted up from the cockpit to the bridge. It was then that it all started to become a bit more real for the Claytime team.

“I want to say how proud I am of the guys in the cockpit,” Fender says. “They made the bites count. The crew worked together well, and seasoned mate Robby helped direct everything in the cockpit. He did a great job making sure everyone knew their role and that they executed, and he gave advice when it was needed. The whole team worked really hard over the last week preparing for this.”

Soon the texts and calls started flooding Fender’s phone. He was instantly overwhelmed. People he hadn’t spoken to in years reached out to congratulate him. Word spread quickly and widely. 

This tends to be the case for Georgetown’s winners. The longest running billfish tournament in the state, the event draws watchful eyes from up and down the Atlantic coast. It’s a prestigious event where many gather annually to watch boats vie for the winning title. This year, 56 boats competed in the tournament and a total of 22 blue marlin and 64 sailfish were released.

Capt. Cordes Lucas and Bull Pen finished in second place after releasing two blue marlin and three sailfish. Callisto and Capt. Jay Weaver took home third with two blue marlin and two sailfish to their credit.

“Georgetown has always been my favorite one of the Series tournaments ever since I started fishing,” Fender says. “You get to see so many people you might not see very often throughout the year. It means a lot to me to win it. I still can’t really believe that it’s all real.”

This win is special for many reasons. It’s not only the first for Fender, but also the first for Claytime. And it’s nice that it happened close enough to home that a southern Grandaddy could open the Sunday paper to some welcome news.

Congratulations to the Claytime team on your recent win in Georgetown. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone this week for the HMY Lowcountry Cup at Toler’s Cove Marina!

Visit https://govcup.dnr.sc.gov for more information about the winners and Series standings.