On the final day of the Carolina Billfish Classic, with just minutes left in the tournament, eight teams in the 49-boat-fleet were tied for the win. As the clock ticked on, steadily waning the possibility of a tie-breaking bite in the race for the half million-dollar purse, the only thing separating first, second, and third place was the time of their last release. That was until a single sailfish paddled into the spread of one of those eight contenders and a speedy mate stood ready to change the leaderboard.

At that point, the Gressette family’s Man Cave, a 74-foot Spencer captained by Chase Merriman, had already tallied seven sailfish releases. All the billfish caught aboard the boat were reeled in by either Julia or Leila Gressette, two powerhouse youth anglers who each have many tournament trophies to their credit.

“Billy and Sara Gressette have four daughters – Anna, Julia, Leila and June – who love billftshing,” Merriman says. “We are focused on involving the girls every chance we get. Youth angler is a priority, with lady angler in our sights soon. The Gressette girls have a crazy schedule with golf and volleyball, so we were pumped to have the entire family onboard for the first time this season at CBC.”

The six Gressettes were joined by some of Merriman’s long-time fishing buddies, including Trey Kemmerlin, Chris Ostrander, Robby Harrison, and Dan Dorn. Griffin Moxley – who Merriman describes as Man Cave’s “do everything mate”–, Trent Bonifay and Ryan Moscow rounded out the crew. 

With so many teams in reach of the tournament title, the final minutes of the Carolina Billfish Classic were some of the most exciting, and arguably stressful, of the season.

“I never wanted to catch a sail so bad in my life!” recalls Merriman, who has been the boat’s captain since 2021. The 42-year-old took his first job as a captain about a decade ago and has been working full-time in the industry ever since.

Although he now spends considerable time fishing in destinations like Costa Rica and soon the Caribbean with Man Cave, Merriman spent much of his youth and early career fishing in South Carolina.

Those early years were formative for Merriman thanks in large part to the support he received right at home, “My earliest memories fishing are with my dad,” he says. “I get my love of the ocean from him, as well as my mechanical abilities after years of rebuilding and maintaining his boats and projects. He’s been a mentor to me, especially when it comes to boats and making sure everything is mechanically sound, making sure a boat is 100 percent before even worrying about fishing.”

Merriman grew up in Summerville and enjoyed summers at Edisto Beach, where he routinely competed in tournaments aboard boats owned by family friends. He would later go on to run his father’s boat in several local tournaments, including a memorable one at Patriot’s Point which fielded 100 teams in 2004.

As a longtime Series regular, the captain has been eager to log his first tournament win at home. After several close finishes and some admittedly heartbreaking misses this season, his team would get that shot with just seconds left on the clock.

“In that last hour of the tournament, we fished the water that had been good to us for a while, then headed towards an open spot in what was a crowded afternoon,” Merriman recalls. “Luckily, that last sail paddled in at 2:58 p.m. I had been holding the mic in my hand, and as soon as Griffin called ‘tight,’ I radioed the hookup. Fortunately, I was seconds ahead of Cordes Lucas calling lines out. I’ll never forget the eruption as soon as we got leader! What an awesome feeling!”

That sailfish tacked on another 200 points to Man Cave’s overall score and secured their first-place finish in the tournament. They won over $87,000 for their eight sailfish releases. Fred Bergen’s Legal Holiday took home second place and close to $25,000 after releasing one blue marlin and four sailfish with Capt. Jeffrey Mitchell at the helm. Capt. Cordes Lucas and Bull Pen, owned by Todd Wigfield, took home third place and over $43,000 with one blue marlin and four sailfish.

Julia would go on to win first place youth angler with five sailfish releases and Leila took second place with three sailfish to her credit. 

“The Gressettes are family to me,” Merriman says. “Fishing, traveling and making memories is always more fun with friends and family. We are focusing on youth angler for Julia and Leila this year, but all the girls are amazing in the cockpit. They’re up for anything, from rigging ballyhoo to helping chamois. It’s amazing how much better they take instruction than grown men! While having youth anglers can definitely make you nervous from time to time, there is no doubt that it’s more rewarding.”

It’s almost become cliche to describe folks within this industry, or within any sport for that matter, as humble. While some may not quite live up to the word’s definition, there are many captains and mates who truly do. And even then, few showcase the depth of humility that we see from Merriman. He’s kind and honest, generous and encouraging.

He’s also genuinely grateful to the extensive and valued network that’s helped build him into the captain he is today. “My fishing education has been long and slow,” Merriman explains. “I can’t thank enough the many captains that have shared the fishing and boatyard knowledge that took them years to gain. Starlink and the ‘network’ have also been key to our success.”

While the network always plays a role in this game, we know it was finally and rightfully the humble captain’s turn. And with youth anglers like the Gressette girls in the cockpit, we’re sure to see a lot more from Merriman, Moxley and Man Cave.

Congratulations to Man Cave and all the other winners at the Carolina Billfish Classic hosted at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina!

Next up, we head to Merriman’s old stomping grounds in Edisto for the final tournament of the 2025 Series. The Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament hosted at The Marina at Edisto Beach is always an exciting finish, and the Series race is an extremely tight one this year. Bull Pen currently leads the Series with 7,075 points. Claytime sits in second with 6,875 and Viking 74 holds third with 5,875. With several other teams also within reach of the title, we’re looking forward to seeing what happens next.