KAILUA-KONA — Heading into the final day of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, the tournament was Malibu Marlin Club-Topanga Beach’s to lose, although the scoreboard didn’t show it.
Despite entering the day in second place with 952.1 points, trailing only Moreton Bay Game Fish Club at 1,000, the Malibu Marlin crew knew it was due 100 bonus points at the end of the day if no other boat caught a blue marlin larger than 652.1 pounds — which was the weight of Howard Dietrich’s big fish reeled in on Thursday. It had been the only marlin of the tournament weighed to that point.
Fishing was slow for most of the final day but the bites — and tension — picked up in the final hour, leaving angler’s Buzz Colton, Fred Duerr, Doug Hays and Dietrich anxious.
“We were not leading by very much and it felt like we were in the Gulf War and everyone was throwing scuds at us,” said Colton, the team’s captain. “We were nervous because we didn’t think we would be able to hang on with all the hookups in the last hour.”
Malibu Marlin did hold on, claiming the win without having a catch on the fifth day of fishing, finishing with 1,052.1 points. Moreton placed second, followed by Kona Game Fishng Club-Osaka and JJ Game Fishing Club of South Australia, which tied for third with 900 points apiece.
This was Malibu Marlin-Topanga Beach’s second tournament victory in three years. For Colton, fishing could not get much better. After helping his team claim the title in 2016, he gained some fame last year when he reeling in a near-500 pound pacific blue despite being only 12 weeks removed from triple bypass surgery.
It was a move that did not make his doctor or his wife too happy. But he survived and came into this year stronger and with a new-look crew that had two new members. That didn’t slow Malibu Marlin down and Colton, who said earlier in the tourney he would gladly share the next big catch with one of his teammates, was happy to help any way he could.
That help came in the form of a 100-pound spearfish earlier in the week, and at 100 points, the fish definitely played a factor in the scoring.
“I wasn’t as lucky as I was last year, but I did get a spearfish and sometimes the little fish can win big awards too,” Colton said. “Every fish matters.”
This was the first trip to the HIBT for Colton’s teammate, Dietrich, who ended up with not only his first big marlin catch, but also the only weighed marlin of the tournament.
“I don’t really think about those things. I just take it one day and one fish at a time,” Dietrich said. “It is too bad that more people didn’t weigh a fish, but that is the luck of the draw and it made a big difference in this tournament and in my life.”
A total of 22 teams put points on the leaderboard during the 59th annual HIBT. Thirty marlin under 300 pounds were tagged and released, along with 15 short nose spearfish. Also, 13 ahi were weighed at Kailua Pier.
Tagging a marlin, spearfish and ahi on the final day of the tournament, the Maverick, with captain Trevor Child and crew members James Bach and Ryan O’Halloran amassed 1,352.1 points. With the total, Child claimed the Henry Chee Award, which was established in 1965 to recognize the charter boat captain who accumulated the greatest number of billfish points during the tourney.
Northern Lights II, with Capt. Kevin Nakamaru, placed second with 1,200 points and JR’s Hooker, with Capt. Scott Fuller, placed third at 1,150.
Next year will mark the 60th running of the HIBT, which is slated to run from July 27 through Aug. 4.
“For nearly 60 years the Kona community has welcomed the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament with love and aloha,” said tournament founder Peter Fithian. “We are appreciative of the community’s support throughout the tournament’s history and we look forward to bringing the best fisherman in the world to experience the thrill of catching big marlin in Kona’s famous waters.”
