The Kona Fishing Chronicles 2000

About the Book

As the chilling effects of La Nina lost their grip on Hawaii waters, sportfishing heated up in 2000. The results were more giant fish and some impressive new records.

Billfishing data for Kona shows an upswing in big fish over the previous year. In 1999, any billfish catch weighing 500 pounds or more made it into the Kona top 100 list for the year. In 2000, it took a 551-pounder to earn top 100 honors. The list of 500-plus-pounders caught or released during 2000 includes nearly 100 more fish than the previous year.

Hawaii waters produced three granders. Two were hauled from Kona waters. Daisuke Yamazaki boated a 1,213-pound blue marlin on the Renegade and Jeffrey McLaughlin a 1,053-pounder on the Sea Genie II. The third, weighing 1,070 pounds, was caught of Kaneohe, Oahu, by a trio of anglers on the private boat Kaouhu Too.

The year’s sportfishing highlights included an astonishing 133-pound wahoo caught off the east coast of the Big Island by Mountain View fishermen Tom Brandt and Sky Mullins. It is Hawaii’s largest rod and reel ono since a 124-pounder in 1940. Bigger ono occasionally visit Hawaii waters; a 141-pounder was caught by a longliner in the 1970’s, but the top catch for the state’s sportfishermen in any year is usually under 100 pounds. The heaviest ono weighed by the Kona fleet in 2000, for example, weighed 89.5 pounds.

Kona hosted the first Rolex/IGFA International Tournament of Champions in March, contested by 38 crack fishing teams that had qualified by winning regional tournaments around the world. With 52 billfish tagged and released, the IGFA declared the event a great success and immediately planned a return match in Kona for March 2001.

A Kona team won the 2000 World Cup Blue Marlin Championship, contested simultaneously on all blue marlin grounds around the world on July 4. The winning 633-pounder earned a record $122,000 for Curt Fujimoto on Kerwin Masunaga’s boat Holly Ann.

The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament returned after a one-year hiatus. The 41st running of the Pacific’s most prestigious contest lived up to its name. Twenty-five teams came from five countries, and the “Indiana Jones Tokyo Fishing Club” took the koa wood trophy home to Japan.

Shore casters generally own the annual title for biggest ulua (giant trevally) of the year, but the top ulua of 2000 was a 120-pounder hooked on a lure trolled on a downrigger. Dana Murphy, a 12-year-old lady outwrestled the giant aboard the Kona charterboat Hapa Laka.

You´ll find these stories and many more like them in the pages ahead.

The trend to normal sea conditions seems to be continuing in 2001. The year kicked off in encouraging fashion with the annual run of spearfish and striped marlin Hawaii fishermen expect in a typical Hawaiian winter with sea temperatures in the high seventies.

Why is Kona so fortunate?

The lee coast of Hawaii Island is uniquely blessed. Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai block the trade winds and provide malia (gentle and calm) conditions for fishing boats of all sizes from kayaks to sportfishing yachts. The steep slopes of these dormant volcanoes drop sharply down through the mid-Pacific depths and bring the open ocean habitat of billfish, tuna, and other offshore gamefish right up to the beaches. Prevailing east-to-west currents create huge eddies that spin baitfish into undersea ledges formed by lava flows cooled to solid rock.

The result is a remarkably rich fishing grounds.

About the Author

Jim Rizzuto has written about Hawaii fishing since 1964.  In addition to "The Kona Fishing Chronicles" series, he is the author of "Modern Hawaiian Gamefishing" (The University of Hawaii Press) and the three-volume  "Fishing Hawaii Style" series (published by Hawaii Fishing News).  His weekly column appears in the Kona newspaper West Hawaii Today, and his monthly column in Hawaii Fishing News.  Since he began writing for magazines, his articles have appeared in Field and Stream, Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Marlin, Western Outdoors, Fishing World, Sport Fishing Boats, New Zealand Fishing News, Modern Fishing (Australia) and Pescare Mare (Italy), among other journals.    "The Kona Fishing Chronicles" annuals are packed with tales and techniques, details and interesting anecdotes about fishing the Kona Coast.  The series is important as a history of Kona fishing through recent years and answers frequent requests for an archive of Rizzuto´s columns about the people and events of these times. The books are priceless for Hawaii fishermen who enjoy reliving the adventures and exploits of each year. For future generations they serve as a look back on the way fishing was on the historic Kona Coast blue marlin grounds.