Out of the Blue angler Ted Morikawa and Miss Billfish Sonja Ascino
KONA GAME FISHING CLUB-KUSATSU WINS 51ST HAWAIIAN INTERNATIONAL BILLFISH TOURNAMENT
BOYD DECOITO TOP SKIPPER
KONA, HAWAII—“Stop fishing, stop fishing, stop fishing,” rang out at exactly 4:30pm for the final time this week and with those words the 51st running of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament came to a close.
The final day of this five-day tournament kept ra control on the edge of its radio as captains, crews and highly competitive teams trolled for valuable tournament points.
“Mahalo to the entire Big Island community for extending such warmth and aloha to the international fishing community this week,” said HIBT founder Peter Fithian. “Twenty eight teams out of thirty one scored points and we are happy about that. It was certainly another great tournament.”
This year’s HIBT Governor’s Trophy and first place goes to Kona Game Fishing Club-Kusatsu. Fishing aboard Kila Kila today, captained by long-time Kona skipper Teddy Hoogs, KGFC earned another 300 points. This team has fished consistently all week putting points on the scoreboard every day. By 8:30 am this morning angler Hiroyuki Murakami had tagged an estimated 200-pound Pacific blue marlin. Kona Game Fishing Club-Kusatsu finished this year’s tournament with 2,129 points!
But the story of the tournament goes to HIBT team #8 Out Of The Blue from Waianae, Oahu. Fishing today aboard the Miss Mojo, captained by Tio Kearney, angler Ted Morikawa boated a whopping 779-pound Pacific blue marlin, earning his team second place in this year’s HIBT. “I’ve been fishing in the HIBT for three years and I guess you could say three’s a charm,” said Morikawa. “Captain Kearney encouraged us to fish on live bait. We set up the bait, trolled for a bit and bingo!” As the largest fish of the day and the tournament, Out Of The Blue finished with 1479 points on the scoreboard.
Top Captain
Boyd DeCoito, captain of the 46’ Foxy Lady, 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 marlin fisherman who set an unprecedented number of gamefish catch records, helped establish the Kona coast as a world-famous fishing destination. DeCoito has won two Henry Chee awards as captain and one as crew.
“I have been fishing HIBT since I was about twelve years old,” said DeCoito. “So you could say I grew up with this tournament. This week I knew I wanted to fish south in an area called Uniform. It performed for us all week long. We had great teams fishing with us who relied on our experience and knowledge.” Fishing as crew for DeCoito were Sam Choy, Jr. and Russ Nita.
Next year’s 52nd Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament is scheduled for July 24–July 30, with fishing days from July 25-29, 2011. Anglers and teams are invited to apply early as a full tournament is anticipated. Log onto www.hibtfishing.com for details.
Out of the Blue angler Ted Morikawa hugs
largest fish of the 2010 HIBT
DAILY CATCH (Friday)
8
Pacific blue marlin tagged & released
1
Pacific blue marlin weighed
2
Short nose spearfish tagged & released
HIBT FIVE-DAY WEEK TOTAL
38
Pacific blue marlin tagged & released
8
Pacific blue marlin weighed
3
Striped marlin tagged & released
13
Short nose spearfish tagged & released
1
Sailfish
2
Ahi boated
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
Place
Team
Points
1
Kona Game Fishing Club-Kusatsu, Japan
2129
2
Out Of The Blue Fishing Club, Hawaii
1479
3
Laguna Niguel Billfish Club #2, California
1300
4
Olypian Dream Fishing Club, Japan
1298
5
Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club, Japan
1258
6
Game Fishing Club of South Australia
1100
7
Bay of Islands Swordfish Club#1, New Zealand
989
8
Aussie Invaders, Australia
950
9
Malibu Marlin Club, California
890
10
Team KGFA-Korean Game Fishing Association
820
CAPTAIN STANDINGS
Place
Captain
Boat
Points
1
Boyd DeCoito
Foxy Lady
1700
2
Tio Kearney
Miss Mojo
1629
3
Guy Terwilliger
Malolo
1489
4
Matt LoSasso
Last Chance
1429
5
Mike DeRego
Maggie Joe
1050
6
Jason Holtz
Marlin Magic
1008
7
Lance Gelman
Long Ranger
1000
8
Chuck Wilson
Fire Hatt
990
9
Kevin Hibbard
JR’s Hooker
927
10
Kevin Nakamaru
Northern Lights
920
HIBT Day 2 Update!
Video by Brandon Sakamoto
HILTON GRAND VACATIONS FISHING CLUB – JAPAN TAKES THE LEAD
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – It only took 43 minutes for HIBT angler Hidemi Hayashi to land the only boated fish of the day. Hayashi caught a 531pound Pacific blue marlin on day two of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT). Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club –Japan knows the importance of landing big fish; this team won the 2007 HIBT.
Fishing aboard Marlin Magic, captained by Jason Holtz, Hayashi fought a good fight. “We were fishing way down south. The fish did not take out a lot of line, which made for some quick time,” said Captain Holtz. “At the back of the boat, she was jumping and splashing. It felt like being in a rodeo!”
And with three minutes left before the end of fishing, Marlin Magic radioed again to headquarters “Team 19 hooked up.” Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club –Japan teammate and fellow angler Shuu Yamaguchi then proceeded to tag a Short Nose Spearfish, propelling the team to first place.
There was also one that got away today. At 11am, Team Lantana hooked up to a feisty Pacific blue marlin. But after nearly five hours of fighting a good fight, the fish broke the line and swam away. “Your fingers are crossed for anglers who are out there fighting fish,” said Peter Fithian, tournament founder. “Today one got away. Tomorrow is day three and with 9 hours of solid sportfishing along the famous Kona Coast, we will wait and see how that story plays out.”
The women anglers of HIBT spoke up today. Janice Allen, Whangaroa Game Fishing Club from New Zealand, tagged and released an estimated 160 pound Pacific blue marlin on 50-pound test in an impressive 37 minutes, putting points on the score board for her team.
A key component of the strict tournament rules is the tag and release rule.
Tag points often become an important strategy in gaining valuable team points. Boat a fish under 300 pounds, no HIBT points. Tag a fish under 300 pounds and release it back into the ocean, earn your team valuable HIBT points. Before that happens, captains, crew and teams must quickly be able to estimate the weight of the fish, often during the heated battle of reeling in the fish. This is where experience and knowledge come into play. Most Kona captains and their crews will tell you that estimating the weight of a fish is done quickly as the fish nears the back of the boat. As an example, if the length of the fish is thought to be more than 99 inches you have a 300 plus pound fish. This is called the short measure. HIBT teams rely on the extensive knowledge of captain and crew to determine the estimated weight of each hook-up.
But perhaps the spirit of the tournament was best expressed today by Old South Marlin Club #2 angler Ken Onion. “This is my second fish this week! I’m having a great time fishing here at the HIBT.”
By the end of day two of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament twelve fish were caught and all but one were 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.
DAILY CATCH (Tuesday)
9
Pacific blue marlin tagged & released
1
Pacific blue marlin weighed
1
Striped marlin tagged & released
1
Short nose spearfish tagged & released
HIBT WEEK TOTAL
19
Pacific blue marlin tagged & released
3
Pacific blue marlin weighed
1
Striped marlin tagged & released
3
Short nose spearfish tagged & released
1
Ahi boated
TEAM STANDINGS
Place
Team
Points
1
Hilton Grand Vacations Fishing Club, Japan
10082
2
Game Fishing Club of South Australia
900
3
Olympian Dream Fishing Club, Japan
627
CAPTAIN STANDINGS
Place
Captain
Boat
Points
1
Boyd DeCoito
Foxy Lady
1200
2
Jason Holtz
Marlin Magic
1008
3
Kevin Hibbard
JR’s Hooker
927
4
Lance Gelman
Long Ranger
900
*Note: in the event of point ties, place standings are determined by the time the fish is boated.
Olympian Dream Fishing Club Team Captain and Angler Yasuhiko Kagabu Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament's 2010 Miss Billfish, Sonja Ascino JR's Hooker Crew David Crawford
Kona, Hawaii (Monday, August 1, 2010) - "Start fishing, start fishing, start fishing!" In keeping with the legendary phrase which began more than fifty years ago, HIBT opened day one of the 51st Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) at exactly 7:30am Monday morning.
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. Past winners include:
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
As Monday morning went on and before the noon tournament roundup, teams had reported eleven fish hooked. At 10:06am, 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,” said Sung Su. “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,” said Captain Hibbard. “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,” said Dudley. “This ahi was a tough fighting fish! Tomorrow, I want to go catch a marlin.”
By the end of day one, eleven teams had put valuable points on the scoreboard with fifteen catches including three boated fish and twelve fish tagged and released.
Note: 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.
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.
