Catching Up: Fishing for a cause at the Hospice Love 2 Fish Tournament

While I’m super saddened circumstances kept me from fishing the tournament, I want to personally thank all of those who fished and contributed to such a wonderful cause at the 12th annual Memorial Hospice Love 2 Fish Tournament this weekend.

Hospice was there for my family providing comfort, care, and compassion multiple times. To me, hospice employees are living and breathing angels.

For those who don’t know about the tournament, $150 of the $250 per boat entry fee gets donated to Hospice of Kona. The entry money makes a powerful and positive impact for local hospice patients and their families.

There were 30 boats that fished in this year’s tournament, and with knowledge of the superb fishing three days prior, captains, crews, and anglers were champing at the bit to wet their lines.

Anglers were undeterred by NOAA’s reports of winds and rain, and Mother Nature allowed the charitable anglers a chance to compete. Good fishing and fun succeeded the weather with nice catches in all four fish divisions.

Connor Johns, fishing with Capt. Neal Isaacs on the Anxious, weighed a 292-pound blue marlin to win the blue marlin division.

Kent Nakamaru weighed a nice 119-pound ahi fishing with Capt. Kevin Nakamaru on the Northern Lights.

John Wiese won the mahimahi division by catching a 27-pound mahi fishing with Capt. Peter Blake on the TLC 2.

Fishing on their boat Addiction with their friend Doug, Brian and Ellie Phillips secured the ono division with a 32-pounder. The couple also won a grand prize of roundtrip airfare on Alaska Airlines.

Congrats to all involved and it was touching to see a couple of boats donated their winnings back to hospice.

So what happened the three days before the tournament?

When I was a charter captain, I used to tell clients, if you listened to the weather report, you’d never fish. Last week, in defiance of unfavorable meteorological reports of wind, rain and flash flood warnings, the offshore fishing was absolutely fabulous.

Once again, Kona proved on any given day of the year, a remarkable big-game fishing experience can happen.

Last Wednesday three blue marlin over 500 pounds were released: an estimated 600 on the Ihu Nui II, an estimated 550-pounder on the Huntress and a blue estimated at 500 pounds on the Fire Hatt.

That same day Capt. Kai Hoover on the Waiopai told me he was convinced he had a grander — a 1,000-pound blue marlin — on for at least a minute. A grander blue has been an elusive fish that Kona is long overdue to catch.

Hoover went from one end of the spectrum to the other, from catching a possible grander blue marlin to a nice sailfish.

To add to Wednesday’s billfish mix, Capt. Jah Nogues on the High Noon caught a black marlin, and several other boats had spearfish.

On Thursday, female angler Susan Wik caught a 633.5-pound blue marlin fishing with Capt. Rocky Gauron on the charter boat Hooked Up.

Amazingly, the fishing on Friday was even better than the previous two days, reminding us all how fortunate and grateful we are to have the means to fish the beautiful waters of West Hawaii.

The day ended in tournament-like fashion with four huge blue marlin tipping the scales. Angler Mark Sahines caught the biggest fish of the year to date, a 792-pound blue marlin fishing with Capt. Lance Gelman on the Medusa.

Cliff Johnson fishing with Capt. Robert Hudson on the Camelot weighed a 605.5-pound blue.

Jonathan Whitcomb caught a 601.5-pound marlin fishing with Shawn Slattery on the Hooked Up, the same boat that caught a 633.5-pound blue the day before.

Fred Jacobson also reeled in a 596-pound blue marlin fishing with Capt. Tim Hicks on the Illusions.

Worth noting is the charter boat Hooked Up is living up to its name. They released an estimated 600-pound blue on Monday, making for three blue marlin over 600-pounds in five days. Congrats to Capt. Rocky Gauron and Shawn Slattery, pretty impressive!

In summary, when a rookie angler asks a world-class veteran angler, “when is the best time to fish Kona?” The salty, experienced offshore fisherman responds, “anytime you can.”

Big fish aren’t the only game in town

If big blue marlin isn’t your cup of tea, there were plenty of other fish species bending rods last week. Many clients who fished on charter boats got to invite mahimahi, ono, spearfish, shibi, and kawakawa to dinner. I’m also happy to report the bigger ahi are starting to show up.

Medusa tops the big fish list with a 792-pound blue marlin.

Congratulations to angler Mark Sahines, his brother Steve Sahines the deckhand, and Capt. Lance Gelman on the Medusa for catching not only the biggest fish of the week but the biggest fish of the year to date.

It was a special moment for the two brothers. While Steve has experienced multiple big blue marlin over the years, including a grander, his brother’s fish was extra special and something the two brothers will always remember.

The giant fish showed itself when it attempted to eat a purple pear-head Marlin Magic lure fished closest to the boat on the short corner rod. After missing the lure, the excited marlin turned on its brilliant colors and charged over and devoured a purple soft head lure fished on the long corner.

After smoking off 400 yards of line, the marlin leaped spectacularly in the air multiple times which could only add to the brothers’ joy. Another memorable blue marlin battle off Kona had begun.

After 40 minutes, Steve had the leader in hand but saw the leader was precariously wrapped around the fish’s giant head and under its jaw. The experienced crewmen knew he would need to pull hard on the strong, full-bodied fish.

Not wanting to lose his brother’s fish of a lifetime, and knowing the leader was in a risky position the way it was, Steve let go of the leader. The big marlin went nuts again putting on another aerial display for the brothers to share.

Mark brought the fish to the boat a second time but the leader and hook were still in a perilous situation, and Steve decided to play it safe and let go again. The iron-willed marlin was nowhere near done and decided to put on another spectacular performance exploding out of the sea and leaping high in the air.

After an hour and a half, the enormous marlin was alongside the boat, and with much admiration, after an epic battle, the marlin was finally captured. Rest assured the marlin’s meat was put to good use.

When Sahines was asked how long it took to catch the gigantic blue, he responded by saying, “27 years.”

After weighing their big fish, the Medusa went right back out and Mark’s girlfriend, Cheryl, caught a 30-pound mahimahi, just a half pound shy of the current biggest mahimahi on the 2018 Big-Fish List. What a great day on the water and congrats to all.

Billfish on the Fly

Last Saturday — fishing on the Luna with Capt. Chip Van Mols and deckhands Ryan O’Halloran and Johnny Miles — fly fisherman extraordinaire Jeremy Block became the third man on the planet to achieve a lifetime Royal Slam by IGFA rules when he caught a 40-pound shortbill spearfish on the fly off Kona.

The shortbill spearfish added to Block’s impressive list of billfish species he has caught on the fly: sailfish caught in both Pacific and Atlantic, blue marlin caught in both Pacific and Atlantic, black marlin, striped marlin, white marlin and broadbill swordfish.

The incredible fly fisherman from Kenya achieved his lifetime Royal Slam by catching the spearfish, but even better, if he catches a striped marlin and black marlin before April, he will become the first fly fisherman to catch a Royal Slam in a single year.

After catching his spearfish, Block left Kona and flew to Port Stephens, Australia, hoping to fulfill his dream. We wish Jeremy congratulations and the very best of luck. A big thanks to Capt. Van Mols and crew for helping another angler achieve their dream fishing off Kona.

Biggest ahi of the year to date

Congratulations to Capt. Rick Reger for catching a monster 224-pound ahi while fishing on the Sea Spirit on Feb. 18. Its only February and Reger is setting the bar pretty high in the ahi category. Nice work!

See for yourself what the local boats are catching by visiting or following our Facebook page “Kona Fish Report” and if you think you have an interesting offshore, bottom or shore fishing story, please email: markjohnstoncatchingup@gmail.com or jdegroote@westhawaiitoday.com.

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2018 BIG FISH LIST

Blue Marlin: 792, Mark Sahines, Capt. Lance Gelman, Medusa Feb 23

Black Marlin: 85.5, Chase Beard, Capt. Jah Nogues, High Noon Feb 21

Ahi: 224, Rick Reger, Capt. Rick Reger, Sea Spirit, Feb 18

Bigeye tuna: 61, unknown, unknown, Haloa, Feb 24

Striped Marlin: 100.5 Forrest Mottishaw, Capt. Rocky Gauron, Hooked Up, Jan 20

Spearfish: 56.5, Hookela, Capt. Allan Liftee, Hookela II

Sailfish: 69.5, Shane Price, Capt. Bobby Cherry, Cherry Pit, Feb 19

Mahimahi: 30.5 John Zagorski, Capt. Jeff Heintz, Linda Sue IV, Jan 16

Ono: 54, Jeremy Wilkins, Capt. Kainoa, 4-man canoe Feb 18

Kaku (barracuda): 18, Bryce Vandooren, Capt. Flint Lindersmith, Lokelani, Feb 7

Kahala: Vacant

Ulua (giant trevally): Vacant

Omilu (bluefin trevally): 13.5, Glen Nakata, shoreline, Feb 2

Broadbill swordfish: Vacant

Ahipalaha (albacore): Vacant

Aku: 20.5, unknown, Capt. Kent Mongreig, Sea Wife II, Jan 20

Kawakawa: 20, Kala’e Ho, Capt. Kona Ho, Kawai, Feb 24

Kamanu (rainbow runner): Vacant

Mu 10.5, Jacob Akao, jetski, Feb 13

Opakapaka (pink snapper): 12 Greg Hong, Capt.: Kevin Shiraki, Erin Kai Jan 13

Onaga (ulaula ko`aie): 15, Todd Nakatani, Capt. Keola Toriano, Breezin II, Feb 7

Uku (gray snapper): Vacant

O`io (bonefish): Vacant

Beasts of the Week

Feb. 21: Blue marlin (600) Edward DeCabooter, Capt. McGrew Rice, Ihu Nui

Feb. 21: Blue marlin (500) Hangeson, Capt. Joe Schumaker, Fire Hatt

Feb. 21: Blue marlin (550) Denis Sirois, Capt. Steve Epstein, Huntree

Feb. 22: Blue marlin (633.5) Susan Wik, Capt. Rocky Gauron, Hooked Up

Feb. 23: Blue marlin (792) Mark Sahines, Capt. Lance Gelman, Medusa

Feb. 23: Blue marlin (601.5) Jonathan Whitcomb, Capt. Shawn Slattery, Hooked Up

Feb. 23: Blue marlin (605.5) Cliff Johnson, Capt. Robert Hudson, Camelot

Feb. 23: Blue marlin (596) Fred Jacobson, Capt. Tim Hicks, Illusions

Boated

Feb. 18: Ahi (five pieces from 60 to 80) ahi (224) Rick Reger, Capt. Rick Reger, Sea Spirit

Feb. 18: Ono (54) Jeremy Wilkins, Capt. Kainoa, 4-man canoe

Feb. 18: Ahi (70) Barbie Severns, Capt. Stretch Fogarty, Hula Girl

Feb. 19: Mahimahi (28) Jennifer Robarts, Capt. Bill Casey, Marlin Grando

Feb. 19: Ahi (102.5) Cory Ruzicka, Capt. Abe Creekmur, Polynesian Pirate II

Feb. 19: Spearfish (38) mahimahi (10) unknown, Capt. Shawn Palmer, High Flier

Feb. 19: Sailfish (69.5) Shane Price, Capt. Bobby Cherry, Cherry Pit

Feb. 20: Spearfish (28) Bill Fletchall, Capt. Kent Mongreig, Sea Wife II

Feb. 20: Ahi (109) Ryan Carvalho, Capt. Ben Graupera, Ikaika

Feb. 21: Spearfish (30) unknown, Capt. Steve Epstein, Huntress

Feb. 21: Black marlin (85.5) Chase Beard, ono (30) Beirk Bachman, Capt. Jah Nogues, High Noon

Feb. 21: Sailfish (69) Martin Clarke, Capt. Kai Hoover, Waiopai

Feb. 22: Mahimahi (18) David Sheely, Capt. Marlin Parker, Marlin Magic II

Feb. 22: Ono (20) Nationwide, Capt. Shawn Rotella, Miss Mojo

Feb. 22: Ono (three pieces 16 to 26) Nationwide, Capt. Mike Dakil, Night Runner

Feb. 22: Spearfish (50) Nationwide, Capt. Shawn Palmer, High Flier

Feb. 22: Ono (28) Cheryl Ballard, Capt. Steve Sahines, Reel Class

Feb. 23: Mahimahi (30) Cheryl Ballard, Capt. Lance Gelman, Medusa

Feb. 23: Blue marlin (189) unknown, Capt. Shawn Palmer, High Flier

Feb. 23: Blue marlin (326.5) Rachelle, Capt. Larry Peardon, El Jobean

Feb. 24: Kawakawa (20) Kala’e Ho, Capt. Kona Ho, Kawai

Feb. 24: Spearfish (51.5) Matt Clubb, Capt. Jah Nogues, High Noon

Feb. 24: Mahimahi (28) Trish Knowle, Capt. Jeff Heintz, Linda Sue IV

Feb. 24: Spearfish (40) Jeremy Block, Capt. Chip van Mols, Luna

LOVE 2 FISH TOURNEY

Feb. 24: Blue marlin (292) Conner Johns, Capt. Neal Isaacs, Anxious

Feb. 24: Blue marlin (290) John Wiese, Capt. Peter Blake, TLC 2

Feb. 24: Striped marlin (94) unknown, Capt. Brian Wargo, Kila Kila

Feb. 24: Ahi (119) Kent Nakamaru, Capt. Kevin Nakamaru, Northern Lights

Feb. 24: Big eye (61) unknown, unknown, Haloa

Feb. 24: Mahimahi (27) John Wiese, Capt. Peter Blake, TLC 2

Feb. 24: Mahimahi (21.5) unknown, unknown, EZ Pickens

Feb. 24: Mahimahi (21) unknown, Capt. Rich Young, A’u Struck

Feb. 24: Mahimahi (20) unknown, Capt. Kenny Fogarty, Makana Lani

Feb. 24: Mahimahi (three pieces 17 to 19) unknown, Capt. Paul Cantor, Silver Star

Feb. 24: Ono (32.5) unknown, unknown, Addiction

Feb. 24: Ono (two pieces 25 and 29) unknown, unknown, Hapai Guppy

Feb. 24: Ono (15.5) unknown, Capt. Gary Sheehan, Hei Mana

Tagged and Released

Feb. 18: Blue marlin (450) Gina Osten, Capt. Shawn Palmer, High Flier

Feb. 20: Blue marlin (350) Tayler Durrett, Capt. Kevin Hibbard, Divergent

Feb. 21: Spearfish (25) Aaron Hautob, Capt. Reuben Rubio, Sundowner

Feb. 21: Blue marlin (150) Tayler Durrett, Capt. Kevin Hibbard, Divergent

Feb. 22: Blue marlin (120) David Sheely, Capt. Marlin Parker, Marlin Magic II