The 54th Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament
August 3-10, 2013
Five Days of Fishing in Kona, Hawaii!
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HIBT 2013 HIBT Entry Forms have arrived!2013 Entry Form2013 Angler Merchandise Order Form 2013 Rules 2013 Hotel Reservation Form and Policies
54th Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament August 3-10, 2013Kona, Hawaii - This iconic big game fishing tournament built on prestige and strict International Game Fish Association (IGFA) rules for world records starts fishing on August 3rd and continues through August 10, 2013 in Kona, Hawaii. For five days, teams fish the famous waters off the Kona coast aboard some of the finest sport fishing vessels with captains who have built reputations around the world for catching big fish. Prized and powerful Pacific blue marlin are caught or tagged and released along the Kona coast every day. Occasionally, these famous waters produce a grander, a term known as a Pacific blue marlin weighing in at over 1,000 pounds. HIBT is headquartered on Kailua Pier where spectators see plenty of scoreboard action as teams weigh in at the end of the day, putting valuable points on the scoreboard. Kailua Pier is also a great place to watch the Tournament start each morning at 7:30 am as boats line up across Historic Kailua Bay, returning to the pier at 4:30 in the afternoon. Fishing action in Kona is expected to be hotly contested this summer. HIBT teams are expected from Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Vanuatu and from across the USA. All eyes will be on Old South Marlin Club Team 4 (North Carolina) who captured the 2012 win and the coveted HIBT Governor's Trophy. This team's cumulative total of 3,150 points ended up in the HIBT history books with the highest winning HIBT score since 2008. In fact, the Old South Marlin Club Team 4 score now ranks as the third highest since the tournament began in 1959.HIBT event headquarters, retail and tournament control will once again be anchored at Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, located adjacent to Kailua Pier. The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament is underwritten by the generosity of the County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development and the Hawaii Tourism Authority. The tournament is further supported in part by KWXX Radio and numerous corporate and community donors.
Primary Contact: Peter Fithian, Founder
Media Contact: Laura Aquino, Current Events Future HIBT dates: BlueWater Boats & Sportsfishing Magazine"Each year the HIBT invites highly regarded gamefishing magazines to come to the contest and report their reactions to their readers. This very concise report of the week's activities was written by their editor,Tim Simpson. In our opinion this publication is one of the top magazines in its class anywhere in the world." HIBT Day Five/Final ResultsDay FourDay 3Day 2Day 1NORTH CAROLINA’S OLD SOUTH MARLIN CLUB TEAM 4 WINS 53rd HAWAIIAN INTERNATIONAL BILLFISH TOURNAMENT JASON HOLTZ, MARLIN MAGIC TOP SKIPPER KONA, HAWAII (August 17, 2012)—“Stop fishing, stop fishing, stop fishing,” rang out from tournament control at exactly 4:30pm for the fifth and final time this week, and that broadcast closed the 53rd running of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. It’s been an eventful week of fishing and the final day of this venerable five-day tournament kept anglers, captains and crews trolling for valuable points right up to the last stroke of the clock. With two teams hooked up during the last 45 minutes of tournament fishing, Old South Marlin Club Team 4 sweated out the top spot on the leaderboard and managed to tag and release yet another Pacific blue marlin today. On Wednesday, their impressive four- marlin score positioned this team for victory at the 2012 Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. At the tournament’s Friday finish, the team won with a cumulative total of 3,150 points, the highest winning HIBT score since 2008. In fact, the Old South Marlin Club Team 4 score is the third highest since 1959 when the tournament began. “It’s been such a great week of HIBT fishing for our team! First Day we were fishing on Northern Lights and tagged two fish, Second Day we were on Ihu Nui tagged a fish, third day was our banner day, three tagged fish and a boated a 638-pound Pacific blue marlin fishing on Marlin Magic. And today fishing on Top Shape we tagged our final fish,” said Sue Vermillion, team captain and well-known Kona veteran angler. Vermillion has a close relationship with HIBT having served as prior tournament director. “I love this tournament and think it’s a fabulous event.” “HIBT extends heartfelt thanks to the entire Big Island community for such gracious hospitality and aloha bestowed on our guests. HIBT teams come to Kona from near and far to fish these famous waters,” said HIBT founder Peter Fithian. “It was a very busy tournament with nearly all 40 teams scoring points. The teams enjoyed themselves and will return to their hometowns all around the world with fishing stories from Kona.” Top CaptainJason Holtz, captain of the Marlin Magic, won the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament’s coveted Henry Chee Award. The perpetual Henry Chee Award was established in 1965 to honor the charter boat captain upon whose vessel the most number of billfish points have been scored at HIBT. The award’s namesake, a pioneer fishing captain who set an unprecedented number of gamefish catch records, helped establish the Kona coast as a world-famous fishing destination. Holtz is born and raised on the Big Island and is a fourth generation marlin fisherman, raised in a sport fishing family. He has chased marlin in over 10 countries, and for 4 years, Jason saw the world from a 48-foot game boat, fishing in locales such as Brazil, Cape Verde, Madeira, Bom Bom, Ascension Island, and much of Central America. This is his first Henry Chee Award. Next year’s 54th Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament is scheduled from August 3 through August 10, with fishing days starting on Monday, August 5 through Friday, August 9, 2013. Anglers and teams are invited to apply for entry as a full tournament is anticipated. TEAM STANDINGSPlace Team Points 1 Old South Marlin Club #4 3,150 TOP CAPTAIN STANDINGSSkipper Boat Points
About HIBT
HIBT Main Office: 808-836-3422 MEDIA CONTACT: Future HIBT fishing dates include: 2013 HIBT August 3-10, including five days of fishing August 5-9 Future HIBT dates: --------------------------------------------------------- You are visitor number (since July 2010): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
