Father’s Day was a little different for the boats competing in last month’s Carolina Billfish Classic. The holiday often falls just after the event hosted at Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, but since this year’s edition was extended due to inclement weather, many sportfishing dads in South Carolina celebrated by fishing the final day of the tournament.

Extending a tournament is no easy feat, especially at a large resort during the peak of its busy season. Accommodations, meals, dockage, and staffing all add to the complications. Tournament Director Loyd Weston and his team met those challenges head on and put together a stellar event for the 28 boats that braved the unfavorable offshore conditions. 

The entire fleet opted to let the worst of the weather pass and to stay at the dock both Thursday and Friday. Many participants and their families enjoyed time at the resort’s pool, while others ventured into nearby downtown Charleston to shop and to grab a bite at one of the city’s celebrated restaurants. 

When the fleet turned loose from the dock on Saturday morning, they rode into some snotty seas. “It was terribly rough,” recalls Donnie Todd, the full-time mate aboard Bull Pen. Todd and the boat’s captain, Cordes Lucas, have fished together aboard the program for two years with tremendous success. 

“We had real bad visibility and real bad grass too,” Todd says. “It just made for a really difficult morning of fishing. Then we kind of got settled in, started catching a few fish, and ended up making a good day out of it.”

That afternoon, between noon and two o’clock, Lucas led the Bull Pen team to a hot bite. In just two hours, the crew aboard the 62’ Bayliss owned by Todd Wigfield released one blue marlin and four sailfish. Their catch would be good enough for second place, just 400 points behind the top boat on Day 1. Capt. Randy Estes and Star Fish sat in first after releasing two blue marlin and three sailfish.

Weather conditions dramatically improved for the final day of the tournament, a welcome change for all participating teams. Although they were no longer contending with rough seas, the morning again started out slow for the crew aboard Bull Pen. Meanwhile, Star Fish surged ahead with a few more sailfish releases to their credit. 

Even under mounting pressure, Lucas is a particularly tenacious captain with a proven knack for finding an afternoon bite. By lunchtime, he’d done it again. 

Chip Byrd released Bull Pen’s first blue of the day just after noon. About an hour later, the team released a sailfish. They were certainly back in the hunt but would need another blue to climb to the top of the leaderboard. The right fish showed up within the final hour of fishing. 

Todd released the boat’s final blue marlin with forty minutes left in the tournament. The team celebrated with the appropriate cheers and high fives but promptly got right back to work. 

Lucas maintains a policy that his crew is not to have phones out while fishing. As a result, the boys in the cockpit didn’t know where they ranked in the standings and stayed focus until the call for lines out. 

As the clock struck 3 PM, the crew aboard the Bull Pen looked up to the bridge for confirmation. The boat was loaded with fathers and their sons. Some had brought their young kids along to watch the action. Others had been invited to watch their own boys, the ones they had long ago raised into grown men, at work on the water. All of them, the young and the gray, waited for the word from Lucas.

It was then that the captain was finally able to share the news. Together, they had fought to the very top of the leaderboard, 200 points ahead of the next boat. Together, the team aboard Bull Pen had won the Carolina Billfish Classic, the fourth leg in the 2026 Series.

“It was an awesome Father’s Day Weekend,” Todd says. “Having my dad there for the celebration after letting the last blue go was really cool. He was there for the cheers, hugs, and high fives. Those moments are always memorable, and even more so with him there. Another really special thing about that day for me and Chip was to have our sons waiting at the dock when we got back and spending the rest of the afternoon with them.”

Lucas adds, “We had several father and son pairs on board for this one, and we all put our phones down and had a lot of fun together. I’m really happy with how the boat did. We were lucky to see fish and to catch enough to win. Thanks of course go to Matt and Todd for giving us the opportunity. And thank you also to the crew for working tirelessly and making sure every detail was double checked before we left the dock. They are the ones that make us look good.”

The fleet of 28 boats fishing this year’s Carolina Billfish Classic released 13 blue marlin and 79 sailfish in two days of fishing. Bull Pen earned the tournament’s top spot with three blue marlin releases and five sailfish releases. Star Fish finished in second place after releasing two blue marlin and seven sailfish. All of those fish, except one sail, were released by Cynthia Starosta, the event’s top lady angler. Billy Freeman’s 56 Freeman released one blue marlin and nine sailfish for third place.

Next, we head to the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament at the Marina at Edisto Beach, the final leg of the 2026 South Carolina Governor’s Cup. It’s there that this year’s Series champion will be decided. Star Fish and Claytime are currently tied for points, with fiercely competitive teams such as Racal, Game On, and Bull Pen hot on their heels.

We can’t wait to see how everything plays out as this year’s season comes to a close!