Anglers battle a feisty fish at the Kona Throw Down
Anglers battle a feisty fish at the Kona Throw Down
At this point, it’s going to be later than sooner. Sooner has come and gone, and Thursday is the final day of the Kona Throw Down.
Master fishermen have spent 34 boat/fishing days on the waters of the “Marlin Capital of the World” drubbing the surface for a marlin over 400 pounds, only to come up with 17 feisty upstarts and no champion — so far.
But in reality, that’s OK. It just makes the final day much more interesting.
When fishing is slow and the heat bears down, heads start snapping like chickens feeding as fishermen succumb to the tedium, and nod off. With more than $247,000 still up for grabs and easily decided by just one fish, you can bet that anyone who gets “the chicken” will also get the boot from the skipper.
There is not much chance that this elite group of fishermen can go a total of 51 cumulative fishing days on the Kona Coast without catching at least one marlin over 400 pounds, but then again — that’s why they call it “fishing” and not “catching”. Likely, everyone will stay awake.
If a team gets lucky and catches a fish that they think will make the mark, they can run in to the fuel dock at Honokohau as soon as they catch it, to insure that they don’t lose valuable points by allowing the fish to dry on the deck.
To stay on top of the action and catch a weigh-in — if it happens — follow real-time updates on the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series on Facebook and Twitter @kona_tournament.