Story and photos by Mike House |
| Warning:
Big fish on the windward side! Big fish on the windward side! Two
Marlin over 500 pounds and five Ahi over 100 hit the scales. Kaneohe Yacht
Club, a beautifully tranquil and serene haven for mariners nestled into the hills of
Mokapu Peninsula and juxtaposed against the calm, turquoise waters of Kaneohe Bay, opened
their doors to the angling public over the weekend of August 5 and 6. KYC is used to
opening their doors despite some perceptions, and for the 42nd straight year,
the club held it’s famous Open Tournament. |
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| Running under
various formats over the years, it has not been a jackpot tournament for very long.
Originally started as a way for the local fishermen to compete on a friendly basis
for bragging rights, the KYC open has become a full on tournament today with some
$10,000.00 in prize money on the line. |
|
With a modest
entry fee, a beautiful backdrop, a great fishery in the club’s backyard, and a team
of volunteers that smile as wide as the bay itself, the Open a blessed tournament.
As in 1999, exactly 51 boats went to sea to compete; the only difference being last
year 52 entered and one withdrew from mechanical problems. One of the
major differences between the 1999 tournament and the 2000 Open was 2000 ran for two days
instead of one, giving the anglers a second chance if the first day was not so good.
The other major difference this year was tournament director Mike Nelson went
fishing instead of directing everything from shore. Nelson spent two days aboard
Mahana Niu, the Hawaiian Sea Cat owned by photographer Doug Peebles, and though they didn’t
win, they had a strong showing with some solid Mahimahi and Ono, some tipping the scales
at over 20 pounds. As is usually
the case in Kaneohe, they got their fish. By 4:00 pm of day one, two Marlin over 300
pounds, four Ahi over 100 pounds, fifty-two Mahimahi, thirteen Ono, a sailfish and a
Spearfish had all been called in on the radio, and the weigh team geared up for a busy
afternoon at the 5:30 call of stop fishing. |
| Team 8,
Mokumanu IV, had called in a 350 pound Marlin, and by the time it got to the scales, they
took the early lead in the Marlin division at 377.2 pounds. Team 48, Mikihala had
the early lead for Ahi with a 129.8 pounder, and Kewalo charter vessel Sea Verse III,
posted a 116.6 pound Ahi giving them second in the Ahi division. Holding the early
lead for Mahimahi was team 20, Wakazoom, with a 46.6 pound greenback, and in the Ono
division, a 55 pound specimen was hung by team 30, Hanae. |
| Ono was the
jackpot fish of the day, but Wakazoom had not entered that category of prizes, so the top
fish honors went to Joe Kirby’s Menehune for their 42.6 pound beast. The story of
the day, however, went to team 24, the Kaiea, who called in a huge Marlin. Reports
from sea said they caught it at the furthest point from home at the last possible time
before they had to turn around, and though they boated it and headed for home in time, the
fish apparently fell out of the boat (still tied and secure, but hanging). When they
finally got the fish re-secured, they worked their engine as hard as possible to get back
in time, but were just 7 minutes late and the fish was disqualified. Weighing the
fish in at 592 pounds, the crew was frustrated but extremely cordial to the committee. Day two was no
less exciting. With a 377 pounder as the Marlin to beat, teams felt a lot better
than having to beat a monster approaching 600 pounds. And though there were fewer
fish weighed, much of it was to do with the fact that all fish do not have to be weighed.
If the team feels their fish is not in contention for a certain category, they don’t
have to weigh it in. But those that did weight fish made for some interesting times
at the scale! |
|
|
Shortly
afterward, Wakazoom returned for more on day 2 and posted a nice Ahi at 125.8 pounds,
taking over second place from Sea Verse, who by the way picked up a few Mahimahi and a 20
pound Spearfish on day 2. But, just as stories are the dreams legends are made of,
once again the KYC Open would have one to tell. The Barbie Y is
an approximately 24-foot trailer boat from Kaneohe. As part of a group of
self-proclaimed “ninjas” who fish often, the Barbie Y is no stranger to the sea.
They had called their catch in earlier in the day at a conservative 250 pounds, but
when they got to the scales, the crowd knew this was no 200-class fish. The
horizontal stabilizer fins on the stump near the tail protruded a solid two inches and the
wide girth was carried well back. As the fish was hoisted out of the boat, the 250
pound mark was eclipsed before much of the fish had even moved. |
300, 400, 500 read the scale, and as the great Marlin was hoisted to the top of the lift with only about an inch to spare, the bill finally came off the ground. She settled for a moment, and Sam Nottage called out the KYC Open’s winner at 586.8 pounds to a crowd of cheering spectators. It will be
another year before KYC opens its doors again to the fishing public…..perhaps that’s
not so bad, because the quiet and peaceful yacht club might need to rest after all the
action that took place this weekend. Results are
still being tallied and payouts and prizes are still being determined. Please check
back with Sportfish Hawaii soon to see the final results! |
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