Hawaii’s Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
COURTESY OF PHILLIP ROSENBERG / BIG ISLAND VISITORS BUREAU
Fishermen hook a marlin off the Kona coast.
Sixteen years have passed, but avid anglers still talk about the sunny afternoon Gil Kraemer landed "the big one" off the Big Island's Kona coast. Kraemer was a member of Laguna Niguel Billfish Club, which was in a hot race with Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club, another California team, for top honors in the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. Big fish stories, reel ones,
spice Kona’s HIBTIt was the final hour of the final day of fishing. Suddenly, there was a big strike off the stern of the 31-foot Ihu Nui, skippered by Capt. Freddie Rice. Kraemer rose to the challenge, and when he brought the glistening Pacific blue marlin to gaff an hour and 20 minutes later, the Laguna Niguel team knew it was a winner.
The mammoth marlin had a girth of 6 feet, it measured 19.5 feet from the tip of its bill to the fork of its tail, and it weighed 1,062.5 pounds, a new world record for Pacific blue marlin brought in on 50-pound test (breaking strain) line. Laguna Niguel scored enough points to secure first place. In case you doubt this fish story, the marlin is permanently displayed at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, which has served as HIBT's headquarters for more than a decade.
Twenty-two teams from the mainland, Hawaii, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Africa and the Philippines are hoping to share equally incredible tales during this year's 43rd annual HIBT. For the second consecutive year, the Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club is sponsoring a young adult team comprising two boys and two girls, ages 14 to 17, from the Big Island.
Don't let these youths fool you; they're all accomplished anglers-plus, says Rick Gaffney, owner and managing broker of Pacific Boats & Yachts in Kona.
Even so, Gaffney says, "Fishing tournaments are mostly all about luck."
He should know. A longtime fisher and freelance writer-photographer specializing in offshore sportfishing, he has participated in the HIBT since 1966 in various capacities, from captaining a boat to covering the action for sportfishing publications.
In fact, Gaffney, wearing his photojournalist's hat, was aboard the Ihu Nui that historic day in 1986 when Kraemer landed the monster marlin. Although that record was broken during the 1993 Pro-Am Tournament (the "warm-up" event that precedes the HIBT), Kraemer's fish remains the largest ever caught in the HIBT.
Says Gaffney, "I knew everyone on board, and it was great to be there with a ringside seat on history -- observing from the moment the fish took team captain Brooks Morris' unique Doornob lure, through the intricate maneuvering Freddie did with his boat, through Gil's persistence and hard work."
What: Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament Lets go fishing
Where: Kailua Pier on the Big Island
When: Parade on Alii Drive at 2 p.m. today, with fishing from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
Call: 329-6155
Web site: www.konabillfish.com
HIBT WAS FOUNDED in 1959 by Peter Fithian (then manager of the Kona Inn) and a small band of fishing enthusiasts who wanted to establish Kona as a world-class resort destination by launching a world-class fishing tournament. Over the years, HIBT has indeed attained international stature, attracting top teams from around the globe. Duke Kahanamoku, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin, Jonathan Winters and Arte Johnson are among the celebrities who have participated in the tournament.
Teams in the HIBT don't compete for money. Instead, they vie for the honor and prestige of having their names engraved on the perpetual Governors' Award exhibited at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel -- a handsome sterling silver trophy in the shape of a leaping marlin. Each winning team member, as well as their club, receives smaller replicas of the trophy to take home.
During the competition, teams accrue points based on the species of fish caught (bigger fish earn more points), their weight and the line strength used. For example, a 650-pound marlin caught on 50-pound test line garners more points than one caught on 80-pound test line; because the lighter tackle has a tendency to break more easily, anglers willing to take the risk of using it to earn extra points for reeling in a fish. Any catch estimated to weigh less than 300 pounds must be tagged and released.
STARTING AT 2 p.m. today, the Billfish Parade sets the mood for a week of fun, excitement and fellowship. Bands, marching units and elaborately decorated floats and vehicles sponsored by community organizations and teams will wind down Alii Drive from Huggo's Restaurant to King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, cheered by hundreds of spectators.
Prizes will be awarded for the "Loudest," "Most Patriotic," "Fishiest" and "Best Decorated" floats, meaning you can expect to see some very creative entries. One year, a float carried hula girls wearing skirts made of colorful fishing lures.
Just as entertaining are the weigh-ins on the four days of fishing. Action officially stops at 4 p.m., with weigh-ins following as soon as the boats return to Kailua Pier. Any team that is fighting a fish at 4 p.m. may continue to do so until they lose or catch it.
HIBT's media director Regina Farish recalls this amazing story from last year: "The King Marlin Big Game Fishing Club of Japan hooked up at 3:07 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Koji Otsuka fought the fish for six hours and 43 minutes. They finally got it back to the pier to be weighed around 10:30 p.m.
"The blue marlin weighed 617 pounds and was the largest fish of the tournament! It was thrilling to see all the people who gathered on the pier late that night to welcome back the weary but exuberant team. Several other Japanese teams were on hand to shower them with champagne and congratulations."
According to Peter Fithian, "It's the camaraderie among the anglers and the aloha spirit the community offers that makes this tournament so special. We're blessed to have some of the finest charter boat skippers here in Kona and the best Pacific blue marlin fishing in the world. What a fantastic combination for a fishing tournament!"
Gaffney also sees HIBT as an excellent way to educate people about the ethics of sportfishing. He notes, "It has evolved from a tournament that celebrated the killing of all billfish to one that champions the tagging and release of the majority of the fish. ...
"After you've been fishing for a while like me, what matters most is the quality of the experience -- a determined adversary fairly matched to the fishing tackle, a beautiful location and a better-than-even chance the fish will be released alive and well."
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer
and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
