2000 Kona Classic Tournament Report

Report by Mike House

The 2000 Hawaii Marlin Series got under way May 13 and 14 with 22 boats entering the 3rd annual Kona Classic. With 27 boats entering the first year and 19 the second, this year fell right in line with the projections of tournament coordinator Jody Bright. As Bright describes it, the tournament is “a good ol’, down home, fun tournament where the rules are relaxed and all species count.”

The base entry for the Kona Classic was $350.00, and the purse for each of the four species was divided into equal parts. But most anglers know that the bulk of the money is made from the optional daily entries, and this year, there were categories for everything. Marlin, Ahi, Ono, and Mahimahi all had their own categories, and each species had spots where anglers could enter with $50.00, $100.00, $300.00, $500.00, $1,000.00, and $2,000.00. There was an additional category for largest fish of any species as well, so all told, teams could have spent as much as $43,800.00 to enter every category.

Most anglers entered in the $100 – 300.00 categories, and as the weekend played out, it became evident once again that the biggest fish doesn’t always win it all. Also new for 2000 was a tag and release division for the classic. Top teams in each of the Kona based stops of the Maui Jim Hawaii Marlin Series will each get a chance to draw from a grab bag for an additional $10,000.00 prize, an extra twist sponsored by Caterpillar and Pacific Machinery of Honolulu.

Back to defend their title was team Chiripa with Captain Bill Crawford (aka “Uncle Buck”) and anglers Rick Chaponot, Bruce Matson, Tim Reasoner, and Doug Jorgensen. In the 1999 Kona Classic, this team won the event with a 505 lb Pacific Blue Marlin caught on the first day of the event on live bait up at the grounds. Recalling their catch, Chaponot said they thought they had a shark on initially, but shortly after their 1:30 pm hookup, the fish went airborne and they knew they had a contender.

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1999 Winner's from team Chiripa ready for 2000
l-r: Bruce Matson, Rick Chaponot, Bill Crawford, Tim Reasoner

The fish was angled and subdued in very short order, partially due to it throwing its stomach early into the fight. In a matter of only three minutes, Chaponot had the fish to the boat in a state of comatose. Crewman Scott Pruner led the fish as Reasoner gaffed it and the gang pulled in on board without so much as a tail-flip. The 37 foot Chiripa was headed to the scales by 3:00 pm, and though it was the only fish of the tournament for the team, the crown was theirs.

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The famous Kona shotgun start

Crawford, in his usual jolly demeanor, revealed his strategy and game plan for the weekend for the 2000 event. He said he and the crew were confident they could win it all again, and all he needed to do was have his coffee and watch local TV newscaster Guy Hagi’s weather report. He said he’d then send an email to his friend in Santa Cruz, and pending the response, either go left, right, or straight. Then, it’s out to sea. It almost worked, too.

The fishing in Kona leading up to the tournament this year was looking a little slow. Though an 860 pounder had come in a week prior and several other significant fish had been landed, released or broken off around the state, many teams were nervous about refunds being paid from lack of overall species availability. But Hawaii delivered again, and by the end of day one, a qualifying fish from every species had been landed, ensuring the tournament would have all money paid out to various winners.

There were some dramatic moments during the first day of fishing. Veteran Guy Terwilliger on board the Hookele had a nice fish estimated at 550 plus, and their battle survived all kinds of jumps and aerial antics before pulling hooks under pressure at the leader. At the end of day one, the leading fish were Chiripa’s 349 lb Pacific Blue Marlin, Intrepid’s 101 lb Ahi, a 23 lb Mahimahi on the Northern Lights, and a 36.5 lb Ono on the 62 foot American Marine “Freedom.”

Day two started like any other, but at about 10:30 Holiday reported they were headed in to scale a potential winner. After it was weighed in a 374 pounds, the fleet had to decide if they should continue going for Marlin, hedge their efforts with the Ono lane or run Ahi baits, or try for the Mahimahi altogether. Lady Dee and High Noon found some Ono, and just like in so many tournaments before, only one could prevail. Lady Dee ended up landing and scaling a 41 pounder, and with only five minutes to go in the tournament, High Noon lost a sure winner at gaff.

As is the case in so many Hawaii tournaments, actual winners of the tournaments sometimes do not take all the money. And with so many categories to choose from, this year would be no different. So as the sun set on 2000 Kona Classic with Uncle Buck singing the crowd a lullabye, winners and players were all over the clubhouse at the banquet Sunday night. The first tournament of the series was in the books, and the winners came out as follows:

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First time tournament angler Byron Owens caught this
374 pounder on day 2 aboard Holiday to claim the title

Boat	Skipper	Angler	Species	Weight	Winnings	Category

Chiripa	B.C. Crawford	Rick Chaponot	Blue Marlin	349.0 lbs	$1,670.00	Biggest Fish Daily

Freedom	Sam Talbert	Damon Chouest	Wahoo	36.5 lbs	350.00	Ono Daily
Freedom	Sam Talbert	Damon Chouest	Ono	38.0 lbs	350.00	Ono Daily
Freedom	Sam Talbert	Damon Chouest	Wahoo	36.5 lbs	450.00	Ono Daily
Freedom	Sam Talbert	Damon Chouest	Ono	38.0 lbs	450.00	Ono Daily
Freedom	Sam Talbert	Damon Chouest	Mahi Mahi	17.0 lbs	450.00	Mahi Mahi Daily
				TOTAL	$2,050.00

Holiday	D. Pattengill	Byron Owens	Blue Marlin	374.0 lbs	1,466.65	Largest Marlin
Holiday	D. Pattengill	Byron Owens	Blue Marlin	374.0 lbs	360.00	Biggest Fish Daily
Holiday	D. Pattengill	Byron Owens	Blue Marlin	374.0 lbs	1,800.00	Biggest Fish Daily
				TOTAL	$3,626.65

Intrepid	Dennis Cintas	Richard DeWitt	Ahi	101.0 lbs	1,466.65	Largest Ahi
Intrepid	Dennis Cintas	Richard DeWitt	Ahi	101.0 lbs	720.00	Biggest Fish Daily
Intrepid	Dennis Cintas	Richard DeWitt	Ahi	101.0 lbs	1,080.00	Ahi Daily
				TOTAL	3,266.65

Lady Dee	Alan Iyano	Eric Hotung	Ono	41.0 lbs	$1,466.65	Largest Ono

Legend 2	Ruben Rubio	Mike Vidal	Stripe	TAG	180.00	Lg Marlin of tourn
Legend 2	Ruben Rubio	Mike Vidal	Stripe	TAG	1,620.00	Lg Marlin of tourn
Legend 2	Ruben Rubio	Mike Vidal	Stripe	TAG	2,250.00	Lg Marlin of tourn
Legend 2	Ruben Rubio	Mike Vidal	Stripe	TAG	3,240.00	Biggest Fish Daily
Legend 2	Ruben Rubio	Mike Vidal	Stripe	TAG	4,500.00	Biggest Fish Daily
				TOTAL	$11,790.00

Marlin Magic	Marlin Parker	Bruce Neely	Ahi	96.5 lbs	$1,080.00	Ahi Daily

Northern Lights	K. Nakamaru	Todd Erickson	Mahi Mahi	23.0 lbs	1,466.65	Largest Mahi Mahi
Northern Lights	K. Nakamaru	Todd Erickson	Ahi	96.0 lbs	630.00	Ahi Daily
Northern Lights	K. Nakamaru	Todd Erickson	Mahi Mahi	23.0 lbs	450.00	Mahi Mahi Daily
Northern Lights	K. Nakamaru	Todd Erickson	Mahi Mahi	23.0 lbs	900.00	Mahi Mahi Daily
				TOTAL	$3,446.65

Sea Strike	Dale Leverone	Jim Wood	Blue Marlin	250.5 lbs	720.00	Lg Marlin of tourn
Sea Strike	Dale Leverone	Jim Wood	Blue Marlin	250.5 lbs	360.00	Biggest Fish Daily
Sea Strike	Dale Leverone	Jim Wood	Blue Marlin	250.5 lbs	810.00	Biggest Fish Daily
				TOTAL	$1,890.00