KAILUA-KONA — Flags of all colors were flying at the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament on Tuesday — and they weren’t just from the nine countries being represented.
The second day of the historic tournament saw its fleet of 41 teams bring in a diverse haul, which included four boated ahi, a short-nose spearfish, striped marlin and two sailfish to go with more than a few Pacific blue marlin that were tagged and released.
But despite the interesting action on the water, there wasn’t much movement on the leaderboard. Laguna Niguel Billfish Club-Firestein was shutout after four tags on Day 1, but remains in the top spot with 1,200 points. Lizard Island (900) leapfrogged Houston Big Game Fishing Club-Team Filo Pamela Basco (700 points) into second place. Kona Gamefish Club-Blue Fin (700 points) is tied for third.
“Many HIBT teams have already posted points on the leaderboard and we’ve only completed two days of tournament fishing,” said HIBT founder Peter Fithian. “With so much angler action, any team could pull ahead in the next three days of tournament fishing.”
New Zealand’s Bay of Islands Swordfish Club-Team Endeavour angler Jeff Douglas tagged and released an estimated 25-pound spearfish fishing aboard the “Waiopai.” By the 10 a.m. radio roundup, six billfish — including a sailfish — had been tagged and released.
In the second half of the day, four additional Pacific blue marlin, two ahi, two stripped marlin and a sailfish added to the variety of valuable tournament points on the scoreboard.
Fishing aboard the “Miss Mojo,” Japan’s Mermaid Anglers Club tagged and released two striped marlin with a double-hookup. Angler Kohichiro Saegusa successfully tagged an estimated 60-pounder in just 10 minutes, while Sachiko Saegusa was right behind him, successfully tagging her estimated 85-pound striped marlin in 15 minutes.
Australia’s Whitsunday Game Fishing Club-Team Sonni Daz Crew put points on the board with the second sailfish of the day. Fishing aboard the “Kila Kila,” team captain Sherman Wong successfully tagged and released the estimated 21-pound fish.
The day’s catches were almost as diverse as Rick Gaffney’s resume over his 50-plus years with the tournament. Now, the master of ceremonies on the pier for weigh-ins, Gaffney is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to fishing in West Hawaii and particularly the HIBT. He started as a deckhand in the tournament on his high school girlfriend’s family boat, and has been everything from a journalist covering the event to a captain, judge and angler.
“I’ve seen this tournament from a lot of angles,” Gaffney said.
Gaffney theorized a variety of reasons for the eclectic roster of catches, one being that the storms out at sea — hurricanes Erick and Flossie — could be causing a bit of a ruckus below the surface as the ocean life prepares.
“Fishermen have a lot of theories,” Gaffney said with a laugh. “But I’d say a day like this is pretty rare.”
While spearfish only provide 50-100 points on the board — depending if the fish is caught on 50- or 80-pound test line — it’s a unique resume builder for anglers.
“All of us remember when we caught our first spearfish because it’s so odd,” Gaffney said. “The fish have a beautiful light blue eye and are very different looking.
“Many people want to catch every species of billfish and Kona is still the best place in the world to get that last species,” Gaffney added about the rare spearfish. “It’s a special fish to a lot of people and it’s also good eating.”
Now in its 60th year, the HIBT has stood the test of time, growing and evolving alongside Kona. Gaffney thinks a big reason the tourney has been able to thrive for six decades is because of its focus on sustainability. All the billfish in the tournament so far have been tagged and released, which wasn’t always the case.
“Early on, when I fished the tournament, we killed every billfish that we hooked. Obviously, that’s not sustainable in the long run,” Gaffney said. “As far as I know, Peter Fithian was the first person who invited fishery scientist to come to an event and benefit from the fact that all of this fish flesh was coming across the pier.”
Fithian’s invitation to scientists has led to all kinds of discoveries and partnerships, one of the most notable being the “Great Marlin Race,” which is essentially a competition within the competition. In 2009, Fithian, Dr. Barbara Block and IGFA Trustee Bob Kurz created the new component of the tournament, which paired tournament anglers with newly developed satellite tagging technology, giving them the ability to study the habits and migratory behaviors of the fish.
While the program brings in all kinds of data, it’s also a race. Each tag is programmed to release 120-180 days following deployment and the marlin that travels farthest from Kona is dubbed the winner, with the sponsor of that marlin gaining free entry into the HIBT the following year.
In 10 years, HIBT anglers have sponsored and deployed 92 tags on blue marlin that have recorded a total of 67,649 miles of movement.
HIBT fishing continues through Friday with daily weigh-ins at Kailua Pier. Today, weigh-ins will be held at 3 p.m.
