Sun has set on all official fishing days of the Kona Marlin Tournament Series trail. The 1999 5 stop season produced many records. Since 1989, the Series marlin record had stood at 897 pounds. Ten years later, in July of this year, the record was soundly broken by a 974.5 pound blue marlin caught during the 7th Skins Marlin Derby. The great fish was angled by Mike Vidal on his boat "Legend 2" skippered by Reuben Rubio and crewed by Aaron Estencion. Vidal and Company will be awarded a shiny new pair of Caterpillar diesel engines for breaking the Series record, in addition to the cash prizes that the team collected during the 5 months of competition.

Team Legend 2 not only caught the largest marlin of The Series, they won more money than any other single team. Total Series winnings for the team were $87,780.00 from their Skins victory, but they picked up an additional $16,360.00 in the non-Series August Moon Bilfish Tournament. Their winnings totaled $104,140.00 in tournaments presented by Tropidilla Productions.

In 1999, Tropidilla events produced a total available purse of $440,571.36. In addition, the Caterpillar engines awarded are valued at $28,000.00, making for a total prize package value of $468,571.00. The 1999 Series produced a record purse, a new Series record marlin and one of, if not the, richest tournament Series (of any sport) in Hawaiian history. Graciously, the calm Kona waters also produced good fishing for the teams. Compared to the fishing during recent El Nino years, the currents generated tremendous action this past summer.

In 1991, The Series presented the first tournament in Hawaii to ever pay cash prizes for tag and release of marlin. Observers of fishing trends saw the tag and release of small marlin claim a large portion of the purse in Series events for the next few years. This was partially due to a shortage of large fish in the fishing zone at the time. The demise of El Nino is thought to have played a large part in returning the currents to the areas that concentrate large spawning marlin off of the Big Island.

This year, at least two marlin weighing 1,000 pounds or more were brought to the scales in between tournaments, and a third was reported from remote Milolii. All of the top 20 marlin, this year to date, from the entire Kona fleet - were all over 600 pounds. The top ten Kona marlin through September are: (in pounds) 1048, 1041.5, 978, 975.5, 807, 800, 800, 798, 775.5, 763 746, 742, 739, 729, 719, 714.5 711, 710.5, 706, 689. For whatever reason, Kona anglers were ecstatic to see the return of behemoths and chances to do battle with monster marlin such as Vidal’s 974.5 pounder. Vidal, a local Kona angler, also caught a 616.5 pound blue in the fledgling August Moon Billifish Tournament, and it was the third largest marlin of the 1999 tournaments.

Other tournament anglers fared pretty well too. The first event of the Series was the Kona Classic, which was won by Rick Chaponot’s 505 pound blue. This win was produced and directed by Capt. B.C. Crawford from the helm of "Chiripa". Bruce Moe from Washington State caught the second largest marlin of the Series from Capt. Jeff Fay’s "Humdinger". Their 634 pound blue won them First Place Overall in the 13th Big Island Invitational Marlin Tournament. Moe and Fay also earned an invitation to the IGFA’s Tournament of Champions to be held in Kona in March of the Year 2000. The BIIMT saw big fish fill the leader board as two Maui based boats took Second and Third Places. Mike Durbin angled a 550.5 pound blue from Capt. Tom Casey’s "Maui Jim", owned by Walter Hester.  Honolulu angler Mike House, fishing from Capt. Doug Armfield’s Maui based "Start Me Up", took Third in the BIIMT with a nice 428 pound marlin.

Veteran tournament angler Bill Holt scored in the Skins with a feisty 407.5 pound with Capt. John Jordan on "Kona Koncept". Unfortunately, Holt caught his marlin on the same day that Vidal landed his 974.5 pound fish, and he lost out on prize money when the daily "Skin" went to the larger fish.

Tag and releases ruled in the Firecracker Open and the Okoe Bay Rendezvous, where only one fish was weighed besting 200 pounds during each event. 14 fish were tagged at Okoe Bay by 14 tournament boats. Only on marlin was taken. Of the five 1999 Series events, two featured a format rewarding tag and release of marlin with cash awards. Neither the Firecracker or Okoe was so formatted, so the one marlin of each tournament earned the entire purse. These are the only two tournaments of five where a marlin better than 500 pounds was not landed.

Henry Potts, fishing his very first tournament, picked up the entire base purse for landing the only qualifier of the Firecracker Open. Potts and Skipper Chip Van Mols were the new team on board "Rod Bender". More than $60,000.00 was returned to teams when no one caught a qualifying marlin for the optional divisions in the Firecracker. Likewise, Steve Schumacher and Capt. Randy Parker, fishing on "Kila Kila" qualified the only marlin of the Okoe Bay Rendezvous for a winner take all victory. They did not leave any left overs to be returned. They took it all. Both the Firecracker and the Okoe tournaments are being re-formatted in order to reward tag and release in the Year 2000. The Firecracker Open will become a Big Game tournament and will also reward ahi, (yellowfin tuna).

72% of all the marlin caught during The Series were tagged and released. 78% of the marlin caught in all six of the Tropidilla tournaments were tagged and released.

The August Moon Billfish Tournament shall become an official Series event in the Year 2000, creating a 6 stop competition operating over a 5 month time frame. The August Moon features an innovative format open to ahi, tag and release and the taking of large marlin.  If growth trends continue their four year average annual increase of 25%, total purse for all six events in The Kona Millennium Marlin Tournament Series should crack the half million dollar mark. Due to the fact that some of the prize money available in the 1999 Series went unclaimed, "available prize money" figures and "total purse awarded" at the end of The Series numbers are not the same.

Throughout The Series, funds were raised for the scientific research of juvenile marlin being conducted by Andrew West of the Hawaii Conservation Association. West has been capturing baby marlin in fine nets towed in the eddy waters in the lee of the Kona coast. His efforts are the first known attempts to keep these juvenile pelagic fish alive in tanks for "grow out". This is the first research in the world specifically designed to document marlin spawning areas, biology and the early life stages of larvae.  Recognizing the intertwined nature of ocean eco-systems, in years past The Series raised funds supporting the efforts of HCA in establishing the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area, a plan encompassing coral reef management and fish harvest. This plan has passed public hearings and the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Next stop is the Governor’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

For more information contact Tropidilla Productions at 808-325-7300, fax 325-5039, e-mail tropdil@aloha.net or visit the website at
konatournaments.com