It Was Meant To Be

 

It was 6:30 in the morning on November 8, 2008 and the 11th annual BAD DAD’S Fishing Tournament was on the way.  On board the Verna C that day was Nathan Kishimoto, Jason Alipio, Renny Muraoka and I. The game plan for the day was to start fishing at the T buoy and work our way out. When we got to the buoy, we noticed there were no birds there. We dragged the teaser around the buoy and a single Mahimahi came in and took the bait. After several more passes with no success, we decided to set the lures out and start trolling. As we passed the buoy, the center came down and we had a fish on. After a short fight, we landed a nice 23 Lb. Ono. A few more passes at the buoy produced nothing, so we decided to work our way out to the 1500 fathom line.

 

As we got there, Renny turned the boat to follow it down towards Kahuku. There were no signs of life out there so I made some phone calls to see how everyone else was doing. Dean Sakamoto on the Kristen S said there were some open schools and small rubbishes on the inside. Renny decided to chance it and began heading in to the 500 fathom line. About one hour later, the starboard outrigger came down but the fish didn’t stick. Renny began free spooling the line to entice what ever it was to come back. To our surprise, it came back and hit the lure once more.  This time it began pulling some line out but came off. With much disappointment we reeled in the lure to check its condition. There were a few bill marks on the head but everything else was okay.

 

We continued toward the 500 fathom line and once there, we found an open school with a good size bull in it. We tried baiting it, but a dead Opelu wasn’t on his menu that day and he just swam away. We continued sliding down and in the low 190’s found a milk crate with three Mahimahis on it. Renny was able to catch two of them but the third one would not even come close to the bait.

 

By this time, it was around 2:00 PM and we decided to head back up to Kaneohe along the 500 fathom line.  Along the way, we found two more schools but they too didn’t want to bite. At 4:00 PM we decided it was time to start heading in.  At approximately 4:13 PM, Jason’s lure on the port corner took a strike. As we turned around, a marlin poked its head out of the water and began thrashing side to side.  Jason, Nate and I quickly ran downstairs and started clearing the lines. Renny called into tournament base to notify them of the hookup. They told him that the fish must be boated by the 4:30 stop fishing deadline or the fish would be disqualified. He yelled down to us and said, “We only have 15 minutes to land the fish.” I pushed the drag lever to full and thumbed the spool to prevent more line from leaving the reel. This was a very intense moment because I knew there was a chance that the line could break or the hooks could pull out.  To my surprise the line held and I began to pull on the line as hard as I could as Jason and Nate took turns picking up the slack. Renny began reversing down on the marlin, but could not go fast enough, so he spun the boat around to chase it down. Nate and I took turns cranking the reel until the line was straight down. Now came the hard part of pulling the fish up from the depths. I grabbed the line and pulled with all my might until we saw color. I told Nate and Jason to get ready with the gaffs. As the marlin broke the surface, Nate sunk the first gaff into the fish followed by Jason. We pulled the marlin’s head over the gunwale and Renny came down to bat the fish. Just then the fish stood up and almost speared Renny in the arm, but luckily it went through his rain gear and just scratched him.

 

The next 1 to 2 minutes felt like hours as we tried to subdue the marlin. Finally we were able to pull the fish onboard and all of us dropped in exhaustion. It was 4:22 PM and I told Renny to hurry up and call it in.  He got on the radio and told tournament base we landed the fish and it was around 250 Lbs. Cheers and high fives erupted in the boat as we throttled up and headed in. As we were waiting in line to weigh our fish, Nate noticed the fish started to quiver and a couple more swings put an end to that. At the scales the fish weighed in at 291 Lbs which eventually ended up taking first place. What an exciting way to end a great day of fishing and also a day the crew of the Verna C will never forget.

 

We would like to say thanks to Uncle Bob for building a great boat and for waking up early in the morning to trailer us down to the pier. Aunty Verna for all the great meals she cooks for us when we come home from a long day of fishing. Tiff for being such an understanding person and allowing Renny to take us fishing. To all our family and friends who helped us throughout the years and especially to Randy Marks and his Ohana for their hard work in putting together such a great tournament every year.

 

Bad Dad’s Jackpot Tournament

Heeia Kea Pier

November 8, 2008

 

Marlin

Verna C (291 lbs.)

Ekolu J (111 lbs.)

Bill Collector (93 lbs.)

Bayside Too (DQ returned too late)

 

Ono

Bill Collector (24 lbs.)

Verna C (23 lbs.)

 

Mahimahi

Shari I (39 lbs.)

Wailele Jam (35 lbs.)

Taylor B (32 lbs.)

 

DQ

 

After the Verna C weighed in their 291lb. marlin they were clearly in the lead. However, the crowd on the Heeia Kea Pier was also anticipating the return of Bayside Too who had called in a 350 lb. marlin.

As the clock ticked closer to the 6 PM return deadline everyone scanned the horizon for any sign of Paul Takemoto and crew. Once it became apparent they would not get back in time, concerned tournament organizer Randy Marks got on his cell and contacted the Bayside Too.

 

Capt. Paul Takemoto, Archie Komai and Norman Murakami hooked up to the marlin at 12:10 in the afternoon while about 28 miles out. They worked their way in as they fought the giant fish and were about 16 miles out when they finally secured the fish at 4:15 PM.

 

They knew the marlin was too big to boat so they didn’t even try. Instead they tied the fish to the side of the boat and headed back to the harbor. They calculated they would get back well before the 6PM deadline. But at 5:30, just 3 miles from the Heeia Kea Pier the rope securing the fish broke. They stopped to retie the fish, but it soon became apparent they would not make it back in time.

 

Unfortunately, the team was disqualified, but spectators stuck around. When they pulled up to the dock it was obvious the fish was much larger than they had estimated, although the fish was never weighed.