There was a traffic jam at the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament on Monday, but unlike the ones on land, this one had people excited.
The backed up boats at Kailua Bay meant one thing: lots of fish.
“Thirty-six fish added points to team totals making this the best first day of Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament fishing in over a decade,” HIBT founder Peter Fithian said.
The largest catch of the day belonged to Kona Game Fishing Club — Kusatsu angler Makoto Yaegashi. His blue marlin tipped the scale at 573.4 pounds. He caught it on 50-pound test line.
“It was a hard fight,” Yaegashi said through translator Cheri Lavoie, who was pulling double duty as Miss Billfish. “We did not expect it to be that big.”
The fish wasn’t Yaegashi’s first marlin, but he assured it was definitely the biggest.
The large fish drew applause, as well as some “oohs” and “aws” from the large crowd on hand at Kailua Pier, but no one was happier to see it finally on the scale than Ihi Nui skipper McGrew Rice.
As the boat pulled up to the pier, announcer Jim Rizzuto pointed out a visible red mark on Rice’s face. The veteran captain was slapped in the face — literally — with a reminder about the of the dangers of the profession.
“When we brought up the hook it scratched his face,” Yaegashi said. “The skin came off but we had some medicine well prepared.”
Another notable marlin weighed was a 380.2-pound fish caught by Japan GFA – Team Levante’s Akihito Ito aboard Illusions.
A few ahi also found their way onto the scale. The biggest of the day belonged to Rolf Czabayski (GFC of South Australia – Team 1). His fish weighed a healthy 164.5 pounds.
Richard Wong tallied some points for his New Britan GFC squad with a 164.3 pound tuna — just a scrap of food behind Czabayski’s catch. Michael Meiers of Queensland GFA brought in a 104.2 pounder, which just snuck over the minimum ahi weight of 100 pounds.
The large marlin put Kona GFC – Kusatsu atop the leaderboard, but not by much. Close behind the Japanese club’s 964 points is Laguna Niguel Billfish Club – Team 3 with 800 points.
Nanhai Lang Tao Club (700 points) sits in third, followed by Mermaids Anglers Club (600 points). Further back it’s a logjam, with Kona Game Fishing Club – Olympian Dream, Queensland Game Fishing Association and Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club all with 550 points.
The tournament continues through Friday. Boats will line up and head out for start fishing at 7:30 a.m. from Kailua Bay daily. Weigh-ins are held at Kailua Pier at 4:30 p.m., except on Wednesday when it moves up to 4 p.m.
For more tournament information, including daily fishing video recaps, IGFA world-records, rules, and entry information, go to hibtfishing.com
