| June 1999 Report Report by Midway Sportfishing Midway continues to set new records every year and with the beginning of the 3rd season, new records have already been set. With April going into full swing, Midway continues to astound it’s clients; not only with fish availability, but also with the variety of species in the Midway waters. April produced large quantities of yellowfin tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi, and literally hundreds of giant trevally which were sighted inside the lagoon. Billfish were sparse, but spotted regularly in the deep waters off Midway. David Itano, head of the tuna tagging project, was back at Midway during the third week in april. The weather hampered fishing, but Midway still produced over 200 yellowfin tuna in just three and a half days of fishing. The largest was over 150 lbs. Mr. Itano believes that the sea mounts around midway may be the most productive tuna habitats in the entire pacific ocean. Mr. Michael Botha and Mrs. Melissa Botha visited Midway in April. These Honolulu residents, both avid anglers, were happy they made the trip to Midway because they both have now submitted new world record catches. Michael’s queenfish, or lai, was 4.4 lbs., almost double the previous all tackle record. Melissa submitted to the women’s 16 lb tippet flyrod record with her 14.6 lb giant trevally. Mr. Takahashi and his three fishing buddies from Japan, were scheduled for a week of giant trevally fishing; but were so impressed with the offshore action, that they spent most of their time aboard the Yorktown—a 38’ Bertram, catching large tuna, mahi mahi and ono. Most fish were caught with their light tackle spinning gear on poppers and casting plugs. They are already planning their next trip back to Midway. Mr. Paul McBride from International Anglers found great shore fishing in early may at Midway. His favorite fish was the pacific threadfin—moi—which is very similar to bonefish. They ranged from 2 to 8 lbs. Mr. Wilson Kerry of Jackson Hole, Wyoming brought up his best fly fishing gear to tackle Midway fish. He said he had never used as many band-aids on his striping finger. The GT and moi really worked him over. He is coming back with heavier gear! Mrs. Shirley Metz and Mr. Peter Harrison of Zegrahm Expeditions, visited Midway, and spent most of their days on the water with captains Chris Sheeder and Lincoln Ahlo, fishing for big fish on fly rods. Peter, a very accomplished angler, landed a mahi mahi and a kava kava on fly tackle. After finding a net floating offshore, they caught enough fish to supply the restaurants with mahi mahi, tuna, and ono. On a more serious note, the Heggeness brothers from Honolulu came out for some hardcore fly fishing and were very successful. They landed several GT and amberjack, but not before breaking four different fly rods and loosing a lot of line. Even with the loss of tackle, they stated that Midway was one of their most successful fishing trips. Mr. Russell Johnson of Royal Journeys in Seattle, has spent most of his time chasing salmon and trout. He got a little more than he bargained for this time. Not only did he catch his first wahoo (2), but he tagged and released an estimated 350 lb. Pacific blue marlin. The fight lasted one hour and forty five minutes. He stated that he had a lot more respect for billfish now. That was just the start. He gave the rod to bud frye, who caught a stripped marlin. It was a double strike, but one shook off. The amazing part is that bud is 86 years old and owned his own commercial tuna boats, but never caught a marlin. He fulfilled his fishing dream at Midway—just like so many others have! Peter Pyle of the fish & wildlife service was next. He battled a big blue for almost two hours before the line parted. It was estimated at 400 lbs. The trip started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at 3:00 p.m. with a total of four marlin; one mahi mahi; one ono; and several small tuna----only on Midway! The Yorktown returned from Kure Atoll—fifty two miles away—on the 27th of May. The captain and crew had similar stories from Kure. They tagged four marlin and hooked one marlin around 700 lbs. They also tagged 32 gt with four over 100 lbs. They also caught several GT on flyrod –16 and 12 tippet. One hell of a trip! If you are a serious world class angler after world records, or simply looking for the best odds on making your first fishing experience a successful one, then you must put Midway on your calendar. The abundance and numbers of fish species at Midway are nothing short of astounding! Midway is a must destination!
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