KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series gets back in gear this weekend with leg three of its eight-stop circuit.
KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series gets back in gear this weekend with leg three of its eight-stop circuit.
The 30th Firecracker Open expects about 60 teams to ply the calm waters along the Kona Coast for marlin and ahi, in hopes of landing a piece of the purse that totaled $342,000 in 2016.
In terms of sports properties with cash purse, the HMTS is second in Hawaii to the PGA, according to tournament organizer Jody Bright.
In the Firecracker Open last year, Henry O’Connel, captain Bryan Toney and Doug Pattengil landed the single largest check in Hawaii fishing history with a 696-pound blue that pulled in $219,522.
Malibu angler Steve Spina is back in Kona to defend his crown as champion angler and will be fishing all the Kona tournaments to try and hold on to his crown. Spina fishes on “Rod Bender” with captain Kerwin Masunaga and Brent Masunaga — the team winning the top series boat position last year.
After a lay day on July 3, the HMTS events commence a marathon of fishing, with the July 4-6 with the Kona Throw Down and the Skins Marlin Derby on July 7-9.
After a five-day break the HMTS returns July 14-16 with the Lure Maker’s Challenge — a unique event that begs the question: which lure maker makes the hottest tournament bait?
For the past two seasons the answer has been the same — Black Bart Lures. Team El Jobean has won the Lure Maker’s Challenge division in back-to-back years.
After a sizable week break, the season continues with the 31st Big Island Marlin Tournament.
The HMTS wraps up in late September with the appropriately named “It’s a Wrap” tourney, where Spina and the Masunagas will square off with challengers to see who will be name HMT Series champs for 2017.
Last year, 229 teams and caught 240 marlin in the HMTS, of which 93.5 percent were tagged and released.
All the tournaments of the HMTS are open to the public and anyone can enter. For more information visit konatournaments.com, call 557-0908 or email jody@konatournaments.com.