The Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii is internationally known as one of the best big game tournament sport fishing spots in the world. I’ve been fishing the summer tournaments as an angler and deckhand for many years. When Capt. Al Gustavson of the 43 foot Cabo TOPSHAPE asked if I could be 2nd Angler for the 10th Annual Rock ‘N Reel Hawaiian Open Tournament, I jumped at the chance!
Rock ‘N Reel: Day 1
After the 7:30AM “Start Fishing!” call, all 26 boats screamed away from the harbor mouth at full speed towards their intended fishing areas chosen by their Captains. Captain Al decided that we would troll between the 500 and 700 fathom lines just off shore of downtown Kailua-Kona in an area known as “Juliet” and “Kilo”.
It wasn’t long before the first boat, Marlin Magic II, was hooked up to a pair of Ahi weighing in at 97 lbs. and 108 lbs. respectively. As we waited for a strike, another couple of boats hooked up and landed Mahi Mahi and small Ono.
Just as the Crew (John Bennett and Larry Defoe) and TOPSHAPE’s star Angler, Suzanne Gustavson, and I were talking in the salon, the short rigger reel started screaming! It was a 250 lbs. to 300 lbs. Pacific Blue Marlin that had taken the lure.
Suzanne was unable to get to the rod as the crew and I rushed to clear the other lines. That’s when I got the call to take over. After pulling the 130 class rod and reel out of the rod holder, making my way to the fighting chair, and strapping myself in, it was obvious that we had an angry fish.
The fight continued on for 24 minutes before we were able to leader the marlin to the boat, guesstimate its weight at approximately 285 lbs., then tag and release the fish. This is a great way to start out a tournament, with 200 points for a marlin tag, and points for tagging and successfully releasing the fish.
A couple of hours later we took a strike from a good-sized Spearfish (Short-billed Marlin) that came off the hook. However, our world class deckhand, John Bennett, was able to “tease” the fish back on to the lure. We reeled in the 35 lbs. Spearfish for another successful tag and release.
Rock N’ Reel: Day 2
Day 2 of the Rock N’ Reel Tournament saw sporadic catches of Mahi Mahi (Dorado), Ono (Wahoo), one small Blue Marlin was tagged, and a couple of Spearfish were tagged as well. For Team TOPSHAPE, however, it was a slow day. We stayed up towards the northern end of the Kona coast in the well-known “Grounds” area and saw bait fish jumping, but just couldn’t get anything interested in our lures. We ended the day with no bites, no knockdowns, and no fish.
On the bright side, we had secured a respectable 4th Place finish for the tournament, and finished in 1st Place for the most fish tagged and released. For our efforts, Team TOPSHAPE was presented with a 130 Penn Reel and custom-made rod, and $2,470 in cash. The summer tournament season is set to be a great season with large Pacific Blue Marlin biting in numbers, and Ahi remaining a more consistent catch.
A hui hou!
Todd Barrett, Realtor(S), ABR
Direct: 808.937.1629
Email: Todd@HawaiiLife.com