Miss Billfish 2010 Sonja Ascino, Olympian Dream Fishing Club captain Yasuhiko Kagabu and JR's Hooker crew member David Crawford with the Day 1 biggest catch - a 395-pound marlin. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

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“Start fishing, start fishing, start fishing!” In keeping with the legendary phrase that began more than 50 years ago, HIBT opened day one of the 51st Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) at exactly 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Thirty-one teams including five teams from Australia and Japan, four teams from New Zealand, and teams from Canada, Korea, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and Tahiti along with U.S. teams from California, Hawaii, Florida and North Carolina are all hoping to capture the prestigious HIBT Governor’s Trophy.

The Governor’s Trophy is a perpetual trophy awarded to the team scoring the highest number of billfish points in the tournament.

As Monday morning went on and before the noon tournament roundup, teams had reported 11 fish hooked.

At 10:06 a.m., fishing aboard Northern Lights, the Korea Game Fish Association had a double hook-up. Not quite ready for the double, the team disqualified the first marlin and concentrated on boating the second hook-up.

In just 50 minutes, angler Kim Sung Su had boated a 390-pound Pacific blue marlin, winning his team valuable tournament points.

“This is my best personal record catch,” Sung Su said. “And it’s only the first day of the HIBT!”

Just before noon, Olympian Dream Fishing Club from Japan, fishing aboard JR’s Hooker captained by Kevin Hibbard, boated a 395-pound Pacific blue marlin.

Team captain and angler Yasuhiko Kagabu took just under an hour to boat his marlin.

“The team fished on 50-pound test and caught the marlin on a lure they brought from Japan. Team captain and angler Yasuhiko took his time and brought the fish in nice and slow,” Hibbard said. “He was an excellent angler.”

Laguna Niguel Billfish Club rounded out the day by boating a 175-pound ahi, (Yellow Fin Tuna). As lucky as he is, angler Bob Dudley who has caught and boated large marlin in previous HIBT tournaments, had a surprise when the ahi appeared at the back of the boat.

“We did not know we had an ahi. We played it like there was a marlin on the other end of the line,” Dudley said. “This ahi was a tough fighting fish! Tomorrow, I want to go catch a marlin.”

By the end of day one, 11 teams had put valuable points on the scoreboard with 15 catches including three boated fish and 12 fish tagged and released.

To preserve the thrill of big game fishing for future generations, HIBT teams do not boat Pacific blue marlin under 300 pounds. Teams are awarded points for their catch and these billfish are tagged and released.

The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament is underwritten by the generosity of the County of Hawaii and sponsored in part by KWXX Radio and numerous corporate and community donors.

For more information on the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, including team listings, IGFA world-record rules and a daily video recap of tournament standings, log onto www.hibtfishing.com

DAILY CATCH (Monday – Day One)
10 Pacific blue marlin tagged & release
2 Pacific blue marlin weighed
2 Short nose spearfish tagged & release
1 Ahi (Yellow Fin Tuna)

TEAM STANDINGS
Place Team Points
1 Game Fishing Club of South Australia 900
2 Olympian Dream Fishing Club 625
3 Old South Marlin Club #1 600
4 Team KGFA-Korean Game Fish Assoc. 519

CAPTAIN STANDINGS
Place Captain Boat Points
1 Lance Gelman Long Ranger 900
2 Kevin Hibbard JR’s Hooker 625
3 Boyd DeCoito Foxy Lady 600
4 Kevin Nakamaru Northern Lights 519

*Note: In the event of point ties, place standings are determined by the time the fish is boated.

PAST WINNERS
2009 Kona Game Fishing Club-Bellhope, Japan
2008 Laguna Niguel Billfish Club, California
2007 Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club, Japan
2006 Malibu Marlin Club, California
2005 Team Bahamas

The second biggest catch of the day and Korea Game Fish Association's Kim Sung Su. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

Day 1 - the weigh-in. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

Brad Bobbermein from the Game Fishing Club of South Australia and Miss Billfish 2010 Sonja Ascino. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)

(Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)