Celebrating saltwater sportfishing accomplishments from 2022 … 

Jay Weaver has been named the Captain of the Year by In The Bite Magazine after an outstanding year by Blue Sky, based out of Pawleys Island and owned by Greg Smith. Blue Sky is a 60-foot sportfisher built by Spencer Yachts.

Weaver, 46, was born and raised in Georgetown and has sport-fished professionally for nearly half his life, he told In The Bite.

Scoring for Captain of the Year honors was based on points awarded from tournament finishes.

Blue Sky was the top boat in the South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, narrowly missing a sweep of the three tournaments. The Blue Sky crew won the season-opening Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament, finished first in the Carolina Billfish Classic and placed third but scored the same number of points as the first-and second-place boats in the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament. Blue Sky finished third based on time. Blue Sky also scored a third-place finish in the Pirates Cove Billfish Tournament in Manto, N.C.

Blue Sky amassed 6,075 points to win the 2022 S.C. Governor’s Cup title, while Buddy Rowe, with 3,275, and Trashman, with 3,250, took second and third. Blue Sky released five blue marlin and 15 sailfish during the Series. The Blue Sky crew won the Georgetown event with three blue marlin and one sailfish release; released…