Editor’s note: Mark Johnston will be writing a weekly column for West Hawaii Today covering fishing on the Big Island.
Aloha all — I would like to introduce myself.
My name is Mark Johnston, and I will be writing the fish report for West Hawaii Today.
I certainly recognize with the passing of Jim Rizzuto that I am stepping into an enormous set of shoes. I have tremendous respect for Jim and his work. Over the years, he provided me with a treasure chest of information that helped me write fishing articles for different publications promoting Hawaii’s sport fishing industry. While I know Jim can never be replaced, I’d like to believe that he would have confidence in me taking this position.
I’ve spent the majority of my 56 years fishing, working, diving and playing on the water. I have fished the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and even spent four seasons fishing through twenty feet of ice in Antarctica. Since 2004, I have been writing a column for the popular east coast fishing magazine “InTheBite” and have also written fishing articles for Pelagic Gear.
Since I was a charter fishing captain for over 15 years, my goal has always been to support an ever-changing industry that had once been so good to me. My writing includes two non-fishing related books as well.
Currently, when I’m not writing articles, I am on the ocean either fishing or diving on my private boat with my wife and friends, working part-time as a dive boat captain, or having the good fortune to be fishing tournaments on the Marlin Magic II as gaff man, tag man, second angler.
I know I will never be able to replace Jim, nor do I wish to try. To the captains, crews, and those who fish the bountiful waters of West Hawaii, I can promise you I will do my best to promote your catches and Hawaii’s storied sport fishing industry through print and social media.
And to the readership of West Hawaii Today — I will sincerely try to make my articles interesting and fun for the reader.
Now let’s talk story!
Dream come true for Schmaizer
For years, 83-year-old Al Schmaizer had a bucket list wish to catch a blue marlin.
The gritty Texan and avid reader of Hemingway and Zane Grey had previously caught striped marlin off the Baja Peninsula but had never reeled in the blue marlin he so desired. His nephew Dan wanted his Uncle Al’s lifetime wish to come true and determined the best place for him to have a chance at achieving his goal would be by chartering a boat and fishing off the Kona coast. In turn, Dan booked four days of fishing with Captain Marlin Parker on the 54-foot Allied sport fishing boat — the Marlin Magic II.
Along with his uncle, Dan brought three other anglers with him, creating a total of five anglers who would take turns rotating in the fighting chair. With a very spotty blue marlin bite at the time, the rotation of five anglers lowered Al’s odds of successfully fulfilling his goal, and make it even more challenging for Capt. Marlin Parker to make Al’s dream come true.
During Al’s rotation in the chair on the first day of fishing, the boat hooked up to two fish simultaneously, two reels screaming as Al got in the fighting chair. As life would have it — it was a double header striped marlin. The striped marlin are odd for this time of the year and evidence of the ocean’s cooler waters which have been characteristic of this year’s summer fishing season. Al gave a valiant effort while in the fighting chair, but both his fish and the other marlin thwarted capture by pulling the hooks.
On the second day of fishing, Capt. Parker produced a spearfish while trolling and a nice ahi for his clients. Everyone’s hopes ran high for Al when it was his turn back in the hot seat, and sure enough, while trolling lures across the flat calm cerulean water, the long corner line snapped out of the rigger clip, bending the rod and making the reel sing. Al got in the chair and gave it all he had, struggling at times with his feisty opponent, which turned out to be a big otaru (skipjack tuna). Al did a great job with the otaru, but there was a real concern that catching a blue marlin might be just a little too much for him at his age.
The fishing was slow on the third day, but all aboard were kept happy by the unbelievable food prepared from the previous day’s catch by crew member, Carol Lynne. The Marlin Magic II covered a vast expanse of beautiful water before a nice 250-pound blue marlin finally crashed the short corner bait. It was Al’s nephew Dan’s turn in the rotation and the agitated fish put on a spectacular aerial display as he reeled it in before it was tagged and released.
Uncle Al studiously watched his nephew fight the marlin, and you could tell he was listening intently to crew member Ryan Thurner as he gave Dan pointers on fighting his fish. The day ended knowing Al had only one more day and maybe one last chance to achieve his dream. I secretly wished Dan would have let Uncle Al reel in the blue that had been caught earlier in the day.
Parker showed up to the boat on the final day holding a vintage lure head in his hand. He said he’d been rooting through some old lures and found a 25-year-old cherished veteran, one of his older Marlin Magic plungers, with a real, natural shell on the inside. The scratches all over the lure’s head made it clear that the seasoned captain probably picked a winner. He asked Thurner to skirt the lure and place it on the short rigger.
The boat left Honokohau Harbor, and the angler rotation stayed the same, and as luck would have, while it wasn’t Al’s turn, a blue marlin came up and ate the short rigger plunger. Unfortunately, the small blue jumped off shortly afterward. Even though Al had one more shot in the chair, based on the slow marlin bite from the previous days of fishing — his chances weren’t looking so good.
On Al’s final rotation, he told me about a heart attack he had two years before and spoke of the time he was in Cuba and watched Russians make and eat sandwiches made of white bread, mayonnaise, raw bacon (yes, raw bacon) and bologna. During this intriguing dialogue, the boat came alive with the collective cry of, “blue marlin!”
Al did not look 83 years as he raced for the chair. Meanwhile, the vintage lure on the short rigger bait was getting savagely attacked by Al’s target species- a lively 150-200-pound blue marlin!
Al had been waiting for this day, and once the reel was clipped into the bucket harness, Al cranked on the reel with all the grit and energy he could muster — it was all heart and soul. The marlin tested Al and battled back, jumping several times as Al slowly gained line, trying to keep a steady pace on the reel. He did a good job keeping up with the boat when the captain put the engines in reverse to back down on the fish. After approximately 20 minutes, and shouts of encouragement, it was all ear-to-ear smiles on board the Marlin Magic II as Al posed for a photo-op with a healthy tagged blue marlin on the leader alongside the boat. Al even grabbed the leader behind the wireman Thurner to make sure it didn’t get away.
It was an honor to be a part of that experience and get to witness a crafty, veteran captain produce and fulfill an 83-year-old fishermen’s dreams. A big congrats to Al, his nephew Dan and the rest of his fishing team, Marlin Parker, Ryan Thurner and Carol Lynne.