Four days’ time doesn’t seem like much, does it? It may be the length your refrigerated leftovers are safe to eat, the measure of patience you have for a visit from your in-laws, or just enough time for a satisfying long weekend away. But for avid anglers, four days seem inadequate to fully enjoy the peak of South Carolina’s summertime billfish bite and tournament season. Foster McKissick, the owner of the Georgetown-based Rascal, sure made his four days count.
McKissick joined his team for the first time this season during the 58th Annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament hosted at Georgetown Landing Marina. Those two days of fishing over Memorial Day Weekend proved memorable for the Rascal crew. The 61-foot Viking would go on to win her hometown tournament for the first time in the program’s 30-year history. McKissick was right there in the mix with his team, including Capt. Mark Rogers, Douglas Miller, Chappell Miller, Pearce Scott, Wes Frierson and John Lumpkin, as they celebrated their tournament win and their newfound Series lead.
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Although McKissick wasn’t available to fish the following week during the HMY Lowcountry Cup, the third leg in the Series, his team put on a great show. They finished in third place at the highly competitive event, effectively holding on to their first-place spot in the race for the Series title.
Then their luck faltered. Rascal again turned loose from the dock during the Carolina Billfish Classic without McKissick on board, and it was during that event that the team fell to third place in the Series rankings. It was time for McKissick to get back on the water. The Rascal needed her go-to horseshoe.
McKissick is a tall Southern man with a full head of white hair and a well-groomed beard to match. He gives a firm handshake, one that might even pull you to the ground if you’re not already in the proper position. He’s beloved, often hosting a long line of friends, family and visitors on the boat. That is especially the case during the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament, and even more so when his friend Norman Pulliam is there.
“It’s nice to have Norman on board,” says Douglas Miller, the Rascal’s long-time mate and deck boss. “He was the originator of the Rascal crew. He’s a real figurehead. It seems like everybody in Edisto comes down to the dock to see him.”
Pulliam founded the program in the mid-nineties, eventually turning it over to McKissick several years ago. But he still fishes with the Rascal team when he can. And this year at Edisto, the stars aligned for both McKissick and Pulliam to ride along.
“Edisto is one of our favorites,” Miller says. “That tournament really hasn’t wavered or changed much. It’s the same town with the same feel every time you go there. We always enjoy that.”
Held at the Marina at Edisto Beach in mid-July, the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament hosted 47 boats this year. Most boats fished Thursday and Friday. Rascal, however, opted to lay on Friday, pushing their final try to Saturday, the last day of the 2026 Series.
Going into Edisto, Star Fish held the Series lead based on time but was tied with Claytime for points. Each team had tallied 7,075 points. Rascal sat in third with 5,875 points.
Since Star Fish didn’t fish the Edisto tournament, Claytime would need to release just one billfish to take over their lead. But with many talented teams, including Rascal, also competing in the final event, the winner of this year’s Series title had yet to be decided.
Claytime climbed to the top of the Series leaderboard on the first day of the Edisto tournament. However, it was Capt. Alan Neiford and the Mister Pete crew that put on a real show that day, releasing seven sails for the tournament lead.
Rascal had released four sails on Day 1, a solid start but not quite enough for a podium finish. They’d need to step it up for their final day of fishing.
While Rascal regrouped back at the dock, Mister Pete released another three sails on their final day of the tournament, bringing their total to 10 sailfish.
As dawn broke on the final day of the event, the crew aboard Rascal knew they had some work to do.
“Going into our Day 2 on Saturday, we were 1,200 points behind,” Miller recalls. “I knew we had our hands full, but it felt like we could do it. I felt good about it.”
That positive and hopeful feeling probably comes from years of similar experiences. Capt. Mark Rogers has a history of finding the right fish even when under extreme pressure. Sometimes those critical bites come early. On other occasions, Rogers delivers tournament-defining fish with just minutes to spare.
Rogers and Miller have been friends since high school. They went on to be roommates in college and have been fishing with each other professionally for close to 30 years. There is a lot of trust there. And with McKissick on deck, the odds felt right.
“Jokingly we always say to Foster, ‘put us in coach’,” Miller says with a grin. “He enjoys seeing his team do good. He hangs out on the mezzanine and keeps everybody straight.”
On that final day of the Edisto tournament and the 2026 Series, McKissick brought the good luck while his starting lineup went to work on the water. The morning had its hurdles, with a few misses here and there, but the team kept at it and released two sailfish by 11 a.m. Then a real game changer found its way into the spread.
Angler Stuart Bellune, a relatively new addition to the Rascal team, hooked a blue marlin and released it just before 1 p.m. That fish placed them just 200 points behind Mister Pete. “Stuart really came through for us with that blue marlin,” Miller recalls. “That fish got us really close. I think he’s still on cloud nine.”
With the tournament lead right in reach, it was time for John Lumpkin, also fondly known as Striker John, to step up and close the gap. “To get ahead of Mister Pete on time, we needed a sail by early afternoon,” Miller says. “John had missed a few earlier in the day and was feeling down about it. At around 1:30 p.m., he redeemed himself and hooked the sail that tied us with Mister Pete on points but put us ahead based on time. That was the highlight, that rally.”
Although Rascal had officially taken over the lead in the tournament thanks to Lumpkin’s release, the hungry crew wasn’t finished quite yet. “Nobody likes to win on time,” Miller admits. “So, it was nice when we caught another sail that afternoon to push us ahead by 200 points.”
With an hour left to fish, Rascal was now just 600 points behind Claytime in the Series standings. Just one blue marlin away. While they hunted for another bite under mounting pressure, members of the Claytime team nervously followed the catch reports from the dock. When the hour eventually struck 3 o’clock and lines came out of the water, Rascal hadn’t closed the gap.
Still, the Rascal team delivered a stellar final run and clinched another first-place finish in a tournament, their second for the season. That’s four days of fishing for McKissick – two in Georgetown and two in Edisto. He’s posting a 100 percent average in tournament wins.
“I’m really happy for Foster to win,” Miller says. “He sets the tone for us. We try to keep things light. That’s the great thing about our team. Nobody gets worked up or yells. We like to think if you’re having fun, you’ll do good too.”
And the fun isn’t just shared among friends. Miller’s got family on the boat too. His son Chappell is one of the boat’s mates and anglers. “As a parent, I get more satisfaction out of him doing good than when I do,” Miller says. “Chappell is such a fishy guy. We can always rely on him to come through with a fish.”
Pearce Scott is yet another critical asset for the Rascal team. “He’s become the behind-the-scenes guy in the cockpit,” Miller explains. “He keeps rods baited and handles the dredges for us. We never have to worry about what’s going on behind us.”
The entire Rascal crew, along with their family members and friends, celebrated their win that Saturday night in Edisto with countless hugs and toasts. To clinch first place in the tournament, Rascal released one blue marlin and eight sailfish in two days of fishing. Mister Pete took second with 10 sailfish to their credit. Capt. Mike Glaesner and Sportin’ Life finished in third with two blue marlin and four sailfish.
The fleet released a total of 13 blue marlin, one spearfish and 152 sailfish during this year’s Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament.
Congratulations to the entire Rascal team on another tournament win and a great Series run. All Series results will remain unofficial until the Gov Cup’s Advisory Board of Directors reviews them at their meeting at the end of August.
Unofficial Series Winners
1st – Claytime: 8,675 points for six blue marlin, one white marlin and 24 sailfish
2nd – Rascal: 8,075 points for five blue marlin, one white marlin and 24 sailfish
3rd – Game On: 7,275 points for seven blue marlin and 15 sailfish
