Well before lines even touch the water in South Carolina, a soft, familiar voice routinely echoes through the radio. Cutting the anxious, competitive air, the man on the other end gently offers a prayer for the fleet and the day ahead. First inspired by similar blessings shared among North Carolina’s watermen, Capt. Bobby Krivohlavek has quietly been that godly voice among the Palmetto State’s offshore fishermen. 

“Our faith is important to us,” he says. “I like to spread the good news. A lot of people thank me for praying on the radio, and that’s nice, but the truth is that I just want to pray.”

Bobby K is easy to like. He’s a nice guy who works hard and loves his family. He’s also an exceptional fisherman, as proven by decades of full riggers and tournament performances. His boat DAYMAKER, a 58-foot BB docked at Shem Creek, is one of the few offshore charter operations left in Charleston. The boat fishes about 90 days a year with either Bobby or his son, Michael, at the helm.

The duo works extremely well together. Bobby and Michael often don’t even need to speak to effectively communicate. Three decades of fishing as a team will do that. Although Bobby passed his love of fishing and the outdoors onto his son, he didn’t develop those passions from his own father. 

“My dad didn’t hunt or fish,” Bobby recalls. “He was a real dapper businessman.” 

Until his passing in 1999, Bobby’s father, Dick Krivohlavek, owned Phillips Shoes, a popular retailer with multiple locations throughout South Carolina. Bobby has since taken over the business as the company’s president.

As a kid, Bobby found sportfishing mentors among friends. Growing up in Orangeburg, South Carolina, didn’t lend many saltwater opportunities, but Edisto Beach sure did. The Krivohlaveks had a house in the small seaside town, and during stays there, Bobby would head offshore with his friend Mark Reed and Mark’s father, Eddie, on their boat, Nauti Gal. He also spent time fishing with his childhood best friend, Eddie Lee, and his father Corky. Bobby credits the Reeds and the Lees, along with the Riser family who owned Dealer’s Choice, for introducing him to offshore fishing and providing him a solid foundation in the sport.

Many others would play a role in making Bobby a better fisherman throughout his career, including the likes of Capt. Stuart Lackey and Capt. Eddie Huffman. He’s also admired Capt. Mike Glaesner for years, regularly referring to him as the GOAT.

Prior to becoming the local legend that he is today, Bobby bought his first offshore boat, a 22-foot Whaler that he kept in Murrell’s Inlet. When he moved to Charleston in the early nineties, he bought a 34-foot Atlantic with a friend. But as boats grew bigger and technology became more advanced, it was time for another build. The pair would later purchase a 48-foot Ocean Yacht that they tied up at Ripley Light. 

At the time, Bobby had no intention of starting a charter operation. The fishing fanatic just wanted to get offshore as much as his work schedule would allow. But when Capt. Dick Vance’s Hot Shot, a charter boat that also docked at Ripley, was too booked up to take on new clients, Vance would refer the spillover to Bobby. Soon, Bobby was getting paid to take people fishing. In time, he built his own ledger of trusted clients.

“I always tease that I just don’t have enough friends to fish with, so that’s why I charter fish,” Bobby says with a grin. “Unfortunately, it costs money to run trips, but I wish I could take everybody for free.”

Eventually, the charter business was busy enough to warrant purchasing a bigger boat. Bobby looked to custom builds in North Carolina, and found his current vessel, the 58’ BB. “The boat was built in 2007 by Billy Maxwell and Buddy Cannady,” Bobby says. “It’s fuel efficient, rides good and has good motors. And it fishes good too. It’s nice, but not too nice, for what we need.”

Bobby moved DAYMAKER to Shem Creek and the boat is now a fixture along the waterway’s iconic boardwalk. “We get a lot of exposure here.” Bobby says. “We’re on the news just about every day!”

When Bobby is running the boat, Michael is usually running the cockpit. “We fish better when we’re together,” Bobby says. “Michael’s got great eyes and a real hand for circle hook fishing. And he’s such a magnet to people and knows everybody’s name on the docks. He’s not at all pretentious and he’s the best coach I’ve ever come across.”

While coaching is important for any sport fishing program, it’s arguably even more critical aboard a charter operation. Clients don’t typically have the luxury of booking several tournaments in a single season, so they don’t have the benefit of familiarity and practice. Although many of DAYMAKER’s charters are repeat customers and longtime friends, a single weekend doesn’t give much time to work out the kinks. But with Michael in the cockpit, DAYMAKER’s anglers benefit from positive and encouraging coaching whenever it’s needed.

Over the last several years, DAYMAKER has suffered the blistering sting of close finishes in the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament, with banner first days that set them up for a tournament lead, followed by second days that leave them in the dust of their competitors. But not this time. This year, that frustrating streak would come to an end.

A fleet of 42 boats fished the Edisto tournament, which was hosted in July at The Marina at Edisto Beach. Bobby opted to lay the first day. Capt. Mark Rogers and Foster McKissick’s Rascal took the early lead with one blue marlin and five sailfish releases. 

Fishing out of Charleston with friends Matthew Aventure, Matthew Summers, Carrie Lee and Lee Hudson, along with mates Will Silcox and Paul Clarke, Bobby and Michael set out the next morning for their first day of the tournament. It was also their first time fishing a Series event this summer, and the crew was eager to get on the fish early. Sure enough, Bobby delivered.

By ten o’clock that morning, DAYMAKER had already released two blue marlin and a sailfish. When Diana Albritton, the Gov Cup’s committee boat ride-along, called lines out for the day, Bobby and his team had tallied a total of two blue marlin releases and three sailfish releases. The points were good enough for second place behind Capt. Jon Meade and Fred Hardwick’s Showtime.

Like DAYMAKER, Showtime has a busy charter schedule when the boat is in Charleston for the summer. As a result, Meade and the Krivohlaveks communicate often about where the fish are located. They’re friends who help each other out. Such relationships always result in some healthy competition. 

A week or so before the Edisto tournament, Michael was running a trip while fishing alongside Meade. The two were going fish for fish. In need of an encouraging mantra, Michael asked mate Will Silcox to bring him the label maker. Utterly confused, Silcox delivered the machine. Michael then began typing a message to himself. As the newly minted label emerged, it read, “Beat Jon Meade.” He stuck it to the console and sent Meade a picture of it.

Michael would leave that label stuck to the console for days. While he carried on unphased, the fates must have known what was yet to come. 

Going into the final day of the tournament, Showtime had 11 sailfish releases to their credit. However, Meade and his team were already fished out, while DAYMAKER had a whole second day to fight for the lead.

As he had experienced in previous years, Bobby again struggled to pick the right location on his second day of fishing. “I started in the wrong spot,” Bobby recalls. “I was about ten or 12 miles off. Fortunately, I got it in my gut that we’ve got to move. Soon after we relocated, we started catching.”

DAYMAKER released 1 blue marlin and four sails that day, bringing their tournament total to an impressive three blue marlin releases and seven sailfish releases. Bobby had finally clinched a win in Edisto, the place where his love of offshore fishing first took root, the place where his father had worriedly watched him cross the bar alone for the first time, the place where friends and family are one and the same. 

To top it off, Michael got to beat Meade. Showtime finished in second place for their 11 sailfish releases. Capt. Phillip Fender and Jon Clay’s Claytime finished in third with one blue marlin and seven sailfish.

The 42-boat-fleet released a total of 17 blue marlin and 104 sailfish in three days of fishing.

“It’s special for us to win Edisto,” Bobby says. “It’s home. We don’t have a house there anymore, but there are a lot of Orangeburg and Walterboro people there that I grew up with.”

That evening, as DAYMAKER’s fans gathered to celebrate the boat’s win, you could feel just how much Edisto is a second home for the program. The crowd cheered loudly, and hugs were doled out freely. It was a big night. Bobby didn’t make it to the awards since it was past his bedtime and he had duties the next morning, but Michael and crew proudly turned up for the celebrations.

The program the Krivohlaveks have built surely extends well beyond fishing. To the father and son team, DAYMAKER is far more than just a fishing vessel, so much so that Michael and his fiancé, Ashton, will be getting married on the boat later this fall. Fittingly, Bobby will officiate the ceremony, one that will certainly do its part to share more of that good news.

Congratulations to Bobby, Michael and the rest of the DAYMAKER family on a much-deserved win in Edisto!

All Series results will remain unofficial until the Gov Cup’s Tournament Committee and Advisory Board of Directors have the opportunity to review them later this month.