It was almost a photo-finish July 4th as Mark Fujimoto of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii caught a 633-pound blue marlin to win the 16th annual World Cup Blue Marlin Championship. The Holly Ann wins a record $122,000 in one of the most closely contested World Cups in the tournament’s 16 years.

This year, 2000, marked one of the few times that more than one potential winning fish was caught in one area, as the Carol Ann of Kauai’s Port Allen harbor managed to bring home a 515 pounder as well. Captain Billy Ross, skipper of the Eclipse, a charter boat in the Sportfish Hawaii fleet running out of Kona, flew to Kauai to team up with angler Mike Contreras and Skipper Ed Hoerner to give it their best shot which in many years might have been enough.

"My congratulations to the angler, captain and crew of Holly Ann for fishing just as hard in the final hour of the World Cup as they did at the start," said Tex Schramm of Dallas, founder of the World Cup. "My friend Jack Berry held the lead for a time with a 581 pound blue marlin he caught at San Salvador in the Bahamas. It was at San Salvador that the idea for the World Cup originated."

Mark Fujimoto returns the World Cup crown to Kailua-Kona for the first time since 1994. Sue Vermillion (then Stolzman) - the only woman to ever win the World Cup - took the crown in '94 with a 654 pound blue marlin caught at Kona from the boat Pacific Blue. Hawaii is now the only area in the world claiming four World Cup victories. Madeira is in second with three victories.

Most of the day July 4th, Capt. Alan Card's boat Challenger, out of Bermuda, led the record 122 boat fleet with a 401 pound blue marlin. "Our marlin probably weighed 402 pounds when we caught it. It laid on the deck all day before being weighed," Card said. It was on Alan Card's boat that Don Hunt of Bermuda won the World Cup in 1993 with a 1,195 pound blue marlin. This is the only "grander" which has captured the tournament.

Most of the day, fishing was quiet. Eight minutes after "lines out" (i.e.stop fishing) in Madeira, Capt. Peter Bristow's Katherine B. hooked a 900 pound blue marlin which was brought to boatside, tagged and released.

Capt. Kevin Masunaga said the hook-up of the winning marlin was at 4:10 p.m.(Hawaii time), only 20 minutes before the "lines out." "The marlin struck a 5 pound Aku (Skipjack Tuna). The fish didn't jump but fought deep," he said. "It took 45 minutes to get the fish to the boat."

For additional information on the World Cup, phone Jim Hardie, commissioner of fishing at (305) 551-0320.

 
Home  What's New  Charters & Travel  Gift & Tackle Shop  Weather, Events & Tools  Photos & Stories   About Us