There was something strange in the air in Lahaina for Jackpot 2000.   Perhaps moving the tournament back to the weekend before Halloween brought out the ghouls and goblins, scaring off fish and bringing in rain to a town where the locals never plan for such anomalies.  Both did happen though, but with the exception of a few other quirky happenings, this sunny town on the Southwest corner of the Valley Isle was the place to be.  Once again, it was October in Lahaina.

Two glorious fishing competitions filled the bill over the final two weekends of October.  The 21^st and 22^nd saw the Wahine (ladies) event, and the 27^th, 28^th, and 29^th was the open Jackpot.  Though it was the essentially the same great tournament it has been for 24 years, there were some interesting changes for 2000.  The entry fee for the open tournament was raised back to its original level of $750.00, and for the first time, participants were introduced to several optional categories that allowed them to participate on many levels and increase potential winnings. 

Sunday, saw some increased billfish action, but the overall catch was a bit sluggish.  One of the first boats back to the scales was Absolute.  Toni Sands managed a 192 pound Marlin and Lynette Butler turned the crank on a 176.5 pounder, giving them the early lead.  More boats headed to the scales with Marlin, including Lucky Deuce with a 179 pounder angled by Linda Lindell and Jen Egbert’s first ever Marlin.  Jen’s fish weighed in at 158.5 pounds and was caught on board Maui Jim with Captain Tom Casey at the helm. 

But the fish of the day was caught by no stranger to tournament wins.  Doug Armfield’s Start Me Up went to sea with a capable team on their Bertram, and Tracy Preston brought home a 307 pound Pacific Blue Marlin to claim the title and over $5,000 in prize money.

Team Start Me Up with their 1st place 307 pounder

“It never rains in Lahaina,” was the common sentiment, and though ominous clouds threatened the spoilt the party in this open-air facility, the band played on and the awards were handed out.  It wasn’t until the raindrops actually landed on the band’s equipment to force them to stop playing – no guitarist would be the same with a 240-volt zap through the strings – that anyone realized this party was being rained out.  Fortunately, the evening was wearing on, and teams shifted their focus to the challenge laying ahead. 

Kyla Anne's 395.5 was the leader after day one

One of the daunting tasks before the committee in any Jackpot is maximizing usage on the postage-stamp-sized dock.  No less than forty commercial operators loading passengers, fuel and cargo use the harbor non-stop, 365 days a year, and over the years, full community turnout results in a cooperative effort to juxtapose tournament operations into the mix.  To add to the challenge, not one, but two cruise ships were in town on Friday, and the launches used to shuttle passengers back and forth claimed the entire North side of the dock, creating a cacophony of human activity resembling New Year’s at Times Square. 

In between the shuttling of passengers and the fueling of yet another diesel powered 90-foot dinner cruise ship, some fish managed to make it to the scales.  Gyotaku brought home a couple of nice Striped Marlin at 93 and 95 pounds, and even a couple of Ahi just over a hundred pounds were brought in.  The largest fish , however, came in on the Kyla Anne, and at the end of the day, 395.5 pounds was the fish weight to beat.  Though the fishing wasn’t stellar, a couple of big Stripers and a beautiful 77 pound Sailfish – rare for Hawaiian waters – kept the anglers’ levels of enthusiasm up and running.

Several Mahimahi and Ono were caught by many boats, but the billfish remained quite elusive to most.  Sea Nile, a twenty-two foot, outboard powered “skiff” that entered every category for the optional dailies, managed to pull home two Shibi, the largest at 29 pounds, and claimed all the prize money for the Ahi category for day one and two.  But the drama and excitement picked up as team Gyotaku came to the docks.   A large Marlin, angled by Dale Kawamure, adorned the back of their boat, and by the time it was weighed in at 446.5 pounds, the crew claimed $5,715 in optional money. 

Kukana Kai, another Maui boat, skippered by Al Gustavson, had an exceptional tournament.  Well-timed Marlin caught on days one and three allowed them to claim largest fish and Marlin categories and over $11,000.00 in optional category cash.  In addition, their 182 pounder caught on day three was good for fifth overall. 

As the sun set on the third day, Lahaina was greeted with yet another shower and a lightning show to boot.  Whiteout conditions had existed up on the North Shore of Molokai for part of the day, but everyone made it home safely despite such verbage such as “gnarly,” “nasty” and “ugly.”  Perhaps it was the goblins that gave everyone venturing to that side of the island a scare, but make no mistake, it was another October in Lahaina. 

Team Kukana Kai scored in the optionals with two
well-timed Marlin catches

Jackpot Prizes Awarded

Optional Entry Winners

Results by Species

Results by Individual Fish Weight