Story & Photos by Mike House

Almost a hundred boats hit the start line over the course of two weekends of fishing action at Keehi Lagoon off the South shore of Oahu.  There was plenty of thrill, suspense, and drama as the events unfolded, and in the end, good fun was had by everyone from the anglers to the tournament committee.  In fact, sometimes the committee got so worked into a frenzy it was tough to figure out if they were working or playing.

September 23 saw 28 teams line up for the Wahine event, and the action was non-stop.  Remember, this tournament pays only for the largest fish in each category, and thus many anglers catching smaller fish do not weigh them.  When a total of 44 fish were brought to the scales, including three Marlin, five Ahi, and almost 400 pounds of Mahimahi, it was clear the fishing was worth getting out of bed for.

The Keehi Boat Club (KBC) scores tournaments a little differently than many others around the state, keeping its individual look and feel everyone has grown to know and love.  They also added some optional entry categories for 2000, giving anglers even more ways to win. 

For category one, which is the three largest fish overall, Staci B, captained by Michael Bueno, was the winner.  They scaled a 171.9 pound Marlin to take first prize and $1,260.00 in cash.  Second place and $490.00 went to The KID with skipper William Maihui for their 164.7 lb Ahi, and third went to Bruce Kurata’s team on the Nickman for their 114.4 pound Marlin.  This was worth $690.00, as they had entered some additional optional categories.

Of course, these winnings weren’t without the drama, as one boat that shall remain unnamed for sympathetic reasons did manage to boat a 336 pound Blue Marlin that would have won the event outright.  Unfortunately, the team returned four minutes late and the fish was disqualified.  Recall this also happened in the KYC open in Kaneohe earlier in the year when an almost 600 pounder missed the cutoff by 5 minutes.

Category two is designated for the largest of each of the qualifying species after category one is allocated and paid.  No qualifying Ahi were caught in category two, and thus the prizes were split evenly between the remaining species.  What amounted to be the third largest Marlin won the top prize in this category, and Guy Takemoto’s team on board Kai Uhave took home $245.00 for their 104.4 pound effort.

The largest Mahimahi, worth another $245.00 plus another $560.00 in the optionals, weighed in at 33.6 pounds and was boated by Michael Aksionczyk’s Mi Aun.  Of course, Ross Matsukawa was in the money as well, and his team aboard the Salt Shaker picked up a 45.1 pound Ono good for $245.00 and $160.00 in optional money. 

The following weekend, October 7^th, the open tournament was run with 69 boats on the line.  All the smaller Marlin that seemed to be missing all summer suddenly showed up, and ten Marlin were caught.   Keeping in mind that both tournaments were only one day events, this count made for one of the highest catch rates of any tournament in Hawaii for the summer.

As the scale opened for business toward the call of stop fishing, the action was relentless.   The first boat in to the docks was Outrage II, skippered by Rey Cahacungan, and they scaled a 214.6 pound Marlin good for second largest fish overall in Category one.  Their prize was $1,863.00.  Next in was the classic yellow Sampan, Brandi, and skipper Alan Higa, whose 158.4 pound Marlin brought them third place and $2,006.75 including optional money.  They managed to pick up a second Marlin that day as well, weighing in at 148 pounds.

Team Ramona T with a nice 114.7 lb Ahi

Third boat to the scale was Steve Iwamoto’s Fantasea, a 20 foot Seaswirl, which had picked up a solid 149.3 pound Marlin good for second place in the Marlin species of category two. Following Fantasea was Ann II, whose ice box was filled with a 20.3 pound Mahimahi and a 28.1 pound Ono.  Skipper Larry Tekuchi’s Ono was good for $155.25, third place in the Ono class of category two.  Bernie K caught a pile of Ono, 9 in the locker, but unfortunately, Norman Kihoi’s largest was 25 pounds and netted no prize except some great dinner. 

Slipping to the scales next was Michael Bueno’s Staci B, the previous week’s winner.  Another good fishing tournament day netted a Marlin at 117.6 pounds and two Mahimahi at 27.4 and 30.9 pounds.  Though the Marlin didn’t make it into the prize circle, the larger Mahimahi was good for largest in category two and a cash prize of $621.00.   

The Winners...Team Kimura aboard Kianele

At about 7:15 am, Reynolds Calma, skipper of the Kianele, was about 4 miles inside of BO buoy, beeline from Keehi Lagoon.   The short corner, equipped with a 130 International, ripped out like a spinning top.  The crew had no idea of the fight they were in for at this point, and before they could clear any other lines, half the spool was gone.  With the entire pattern still in the water, the team knew they had a fish to reckon with, and spun the boat to pursue the fish.  The rod had a full bend going, and they were worried it might snap from the load.  

With the boat turned and headed downwind, they were able to clear the cockpit – after running over a couple of lures – and gain some line on the fish.  Fortunately, the fish began to cooperate, but with only two jumps, it had plenty of life and made the fight a deadfast tug of war.  Finally, at about 45 minutes, they managed to bring the fish to leader, and it was shortly secured to the boat. 

Called in at a respectable 225 pounds, the fish looked much larger than its final weight of 302.6 pounds, good enough to win the 2000 KBC Open and claim a check for $5,278.50.  A happy crew stood before the queen and the crowd, humbled by their accomplishments.

 Results - from Keehi Boat Club