Day one of the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series Firecracker Open sparkled with a burst of fishing action.
Eighteen teams reported catching blue marlin. None met the 400-pound minimum to be weighed so all were tagged and released. Releases gain 200 points each so the competition is extremely tight with tie scores the rule of the day. High Noon reported three tags for 600 points and took the lead in the base purse competition.
Last Chance and Go Big reported two tags and are tied with 400 points each. Teams Go Get Em, Silver Star, Northern Lights, Foxy Lady, Pamela, Topshape, A`u Kalani, Five Star, Lepika, Pursuit, Marlin Grando, Lightspeed, Kona Concept and EZ Pickens are all tied at 200 points with one tag each. Team Vixen tagged a blue for 200 points and boated a 221-pound ahi for an additional 121 points.
Going into the final day of the two-day event that has a purse of more than $340,000, it is still any one’s game.
For more information on the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series, visit konatournaments.com.