Everyone knows the story of the “Little Engine that Could,” but Saturday at the Huggo’s Wahine Fishing Tournament the Ka’eo Hawaii team wrote the story of the “Little Boat that Could,” putting on a performance that will certainly go down in tournament lore.
As the final boats checked in at Honokohau Harbor for weigh-ins, it appeared that Lelia Kanuha’s 203-pound ahi would be the biggest of the day. However, the barely 20-foot Ka’eo Hawaii boat came bustling to the dock around 5:30 p.m. with a big surprise for the rapidly dissipating crowd that had already penciled in Kanuha for top Ahi Division honors.
The team revealed the monstrous 209-pound ahi caught by angler Marisa Piazza and almost immediately the story of the smallest boat in the tournament hauling in largest ahi of the day became the buzz around the harbor.
“It took almost four hours to reel it in. The boat was sinking, filling up with water because the bilge pump was not working. We were trying to use buckets to get all the water out. It was just crazy,” Piazza said. “We were using one girl as a shoulder rest, and we were trying to use the belt, which we had never done before. It was a real team effort, for sure.”
The team boated the winning ahi on stand-up, 50-pound tackle. Sherrine Gray, Carolina Frias and Katie Pilago make up the remainder of the squad.
Captain Che Pilago said the boat suffered some damage from the morning’s usually harmless water fight, but the team came together to battle against the adversity.
“Usually what we catch on that boat are little babies compared to this,” said Pilago. “I just can’t believe the girls caught a fish that big.”
Seven ahi were caught and weighed in the tournament.
Overshadowed by the commotion created by the David-versus-Goliath-esque storyline in the Ahi Division was the tournament’s overall winners — the ladies aboard the Hula Girl.
Angler Cheri Fogarty caught a 559.5-pound blue marlin with a fighting time of 1 hour and 33 minutes to lead her team to victory. The fish was the only qualifying marlin over 300 pounds weighed for the tournament.
“It was amazing. I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Fogarty said. “It peeled our line three times, right down to the black line. By the third time, when I got it back up, I really knew we had to get it.”
It was a relief for Fogarty and her teammates, who finished second in last year’s tournament and were hungry for the win. Fogarty added the winning marlin was her first in over a decade.
“I was not too tired fighting it,” said Forgarty. “They kept dumping water on me and kept me hydrated.”
There were 445 participants on 68 boats in the tournament, competing for over $30,000 in cash and prizes.
Second place went the lady anglers on board Hooked Up, who ended up with a remarkable three-released marlin caught by anglers Cassandra Raike and Victoria Haller. Captain Jim Wigzell was at the helm.
Third position went to Team Roxy, who released the first marlin on the tournament — an estimated 175-pound blue marlin, caught by veteran angler Sharon Handgis.
In total, there were nine marlin caught in the tournament; one was boated and weighed, and eight were released.
Aboard the Hookele, Angler Brittany Bazinet weighed the largest ono of the tournament at 28.5 pounds.
The awards ceremony will wrap up the event Sunday at Huggo’s on the Rocks. The tournament date for next year is set for July 25.