The following was originally presented as a speech during the 2026 South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series Awards Reception, held on the evening of September 25, 2026, in Founder’s Hall at Charles Towne Landing.

The Mate of the Year Award recognizes exceptional mates who leave a lasting impression on their peers, as well as captains, owners, and tournament staff. The hardworking men and women in the cockpit are critical cornerstones in our sport fishing community. Their preparation and skills serve as the bedrock of any stellar fishing performance.

Every person who has fished with this year’s recipient, whether here in South Carolina or other sportfishing destinations around the world, is certainly better for it. 

While he has decades of experience as a professional mate, his greatest value doesn’t come from his exceptional skills as an angler. He is most importantly a coach and a teacher. He takes the time to not only show anglers and other developing mates how to do things, but he’ll also explain why they’re necessary.

So many highlights from his team’s season can be traced back to him. It’s the bait that was carefully rigged, the piece of tackle that was meticulously reviewed, the younger mate that was shown the right way to do something, or the suggestion offered to an angler right before the bite. 

His captain describes him as setting the standard for what it means to be a reliable mate. And when you have a leader like him on board, that you’ve already given yourself a leg up come tournament time.

He’s the healthiest mix of fun and serious, encouraging and instructive, cautious and bold, experienced and open-minded, and sportsmanlike and competitive. 

He’s faced and overcome tremendous hardships in his personal life and still approaches the world with inspiring candor.

Importantly, this man gets along with everybody. He loves a good, goofy t-shirt, slinging the nation’s highest quality split tails, and being a brand-new dad.

The old saying goes that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. And where this guy goes, luck surely follows. He now has two back-to-back Series wins to prove it.

We are thrilled to announce that the 2026 Mate of the Year is Claytime’s Robby Killey.

Robby isn’t able to be here with us tonight as he’s home tending to his sick baby, so we’ve asked a member of the Claytime team to come up and accept this award on his behalf.