Big fish, big photo opportunity. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)
MEDIA RELEASE
Just six minutes into day four of the prestigious Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament Laguna Niguel Billfish Club #2 fishing aboard Lady Dee called in their hook up to tournament control.
Twenty-three minutes later angler Allen McGee tagged the day’s first Pacific blue marlin with an estimated weight of 180-pounds. Angler Tan Kwan Chin ended the day by weighing a173-pound ahi.
“It was an excellent day out there today and although I did not catch the fish, my teammates did a fantastic job,†teammate Bob Dudley said.
Earlier in the week, Dudley boated a 175-pound ahi. After today’s fishing, Laguna Niguel Billfish Club #2 propelled into second place and with the only points in the ahi division, they are in solid first place in the HIBT ahi division.
And the call-ins continued. With the tide on the upswing, early morning was weighted with hungry fish. Placeholders from yesterday’s tournament standings continued to capture valuable points Thursday.
Kona Game Fishing Club – Kusatsu kept a firm hold on first place. Fishing aboard the Sundowner, angler Hideyo Hoshino was in the fighting chair at 8:35 a.m. and tagged an estimated 135-pound Pacific blue marlin in just five minutes, netting the team 300 important points.
Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club, fishing aboard Foxy Lady, tagged an estimated 110-pound Pacific blue marlin in just under three minutes.
These were important points for boat Captain Boyd DeCoito as it put him only 39 points behind Guy Terwilliger, captain of the Malolo, as they battle it out for the Henry Chee Award. This award is given to the boat captain upon whose boat scores the most points are scored during the five days of HIBT fishing.
In an impressive two minutes angler Scott Thompson from Team Outer Limit had tagged an estimated 25-pound striped marlin. Interestingly, there has been one striped marlin tagged each day of this 2010 HIBT.
“We’re seeing HIBT teams really concentrating on catching fish. Some of our teams bring their favorite lures and tackle and some even bring mascots,†HIBT founder Peter Fithian said. “We are hoping to see a bit warmer water here along the Kona Coast tomorrow where we might see the fishing action heat up as well.â€
Day 4 brought a variety of billfish to the scoreboard. Most interesting was the estimated 100-pound sailfish, a member of the billfish family, tagged by angler Ron Rudy of Alii Brothers Marlin Hui.
The HIBT does not see too many sailfish during the tournament so it was a nice surprise to the team. The tag also hooked them 200 points. By the close of Day 4 HIBT anglers had tagged and released 4 Pacific blue marlin, 3 short nose spearfish, a striped marlin, a sailfish and boated a 173-pound ahi.
The five-day Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament continues through Friday, Aug. 6.
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 (Day 4 – Thursday)
4 Pacific blue marlin tagged & released
1 Striped marlin tagged & released
3 Short nose spearfish tagged & released
1 Sailfish
HIBT WEEK TOTAL
29 Pacific blue marlin tagged & released
7 Pacific blue marlin weighed
3 Striped marlin tagged & released
11 Short nose spearfish tagged & released
1 Sailfish
2 Ahi boated
TEAM STANDINGS
Place Team Points
1 Kona Game Fishing Club-Kusatsu, Japan 1829
2 Laguna Niguel Billfish Club #2 1300
3 Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club, Japan 1258
4 Game Fishing Club of South Australia 1000
CAPTAIN STANDINGS
Place Captain Boat Points
1 Guy Terwilliger Malolo 1489
2 Boyd DeCoito Foxy Lady 1450
3 Matt LoSasso Last Chance 1129
4 Jason Holtz Marlin Magic 1008
*Note: in the event of point ties, place standings are determined by the time the fish is boated.
HIBT Leaders after Day 4: Kona Game Fishing Club-Kusatsu, Japan. (Photo courtesy of HIBT)
I've always enjoyed the HIBT but now that it's mostly tag and release, I absolutely LOVE IT!!!
I feel they should do away with 50# line… It's sad they make the Captains use such light line in the Blue Marlin capital of the world.. this is not Costa Rica or Mexico where 50- 150lb fish frequent. Every year they break off several fish towing hundreds of yards of line, leader, lure and hooks still attached, leaving the fish almost certain to die. All those fish are usually the larger fish topping 500Lbs.. It's such a waste. If they really wanted to be such "sportsmen" they should also consider the fight times of these so called "released" marlin. The teams with the less experienced angler's and or crew's who don't have the ability to catch and release the fish in a timely mannor, often leave these fish helpless and exhausted to fend or themselves to sharks or other predators after long grueling fights.
I agree, a seasoned angler with ample boat and crew is very capable of catching marlin of great sizes on 50# as records do indicate. However, as is common knowledge, there are very few teams that have those credentials. Even when you do have very capable crew, tackle and angler, 50# is really not ideal for pursuing giant marlin. When even the best crews raise a larger fish, they cringe at the sight, knowing their chances have just been cut in half. A fish they might have waited a lifetime to hook now ends up sulking 600 feet down attached to a 50# outfit not capable of putting enough pressure to even move the fish, let alone angle it, and in the end usually is lost due to line failure.
Definition of INSANITY, repeating the same action and expecting a different result over and over again.
I propose eliminating 50# and letting the 80# tackle take its place, with 130# the secondary option.
Yes , a 25 pound spearfish is way out classed on 80 or 130 pound, but thats not what we are targeting here!! Kona Hawaii has the fish that eat spearfish!!!!! 2/1 ratios are very sporty, just as a 10/1 when you hook a 800 pound fish is a IGFA honor.
-The fight times on 80 will be cut in half on smaller blue marlin that are tagged and released: promoting a healthy release.
– eliminating 50# should eliminate most if not all fish broken off due to light line.
Also I'd like to see the minimum weight increased.. stop killing small fish! How are we going to have 1000 pound fish if we keep killing 300# marlin?? increase limit to 500 Pounds