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| Here's another tale from John of Lincolnshire, IL. This one tells of his very first Marlin which he caught on Sea Verse here in March. John sent us a previous tale from the Everglades (see below). | ||
John wrote:Thanks for the message and all of your help/suggestions for our trip. Marla and I had a wonderful time. The sunset from Jameson's was great and their food was the best we had the whole trip. I've attached a copy of a picture Marla took of Lee, Wade (Spelling?), and I with the fish. I wanted to send them both a copy, but don't know how to contact them. If you could help, I would appreciate it. Here's my best shot at the experience: Wow, we're going to Hawai'i for the first time. My wife and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary. This is going to be super. And the weather in Chicago (7" of new snow) makes it even better. On top of all this, I get to go deep sea fishing my first day. I probably won't get any sleep until Monday night. We arrive in Honolulu around 5:00 pm on Sunday, 3/7/99, get our bags, and rental car. A quick look at the map shows we can take the Nimitz Highway from the airport all the way to the Hilton Hawaiian Village at Waikiki. And, best of all, it goes right past Kewalo Basin. I can make sure I know where the Sea Verse is located for my trip the next day. We get to the marina and Captain Lee Severs and mate Wade ???? are finishing cleaning the boat. This is perfect. I get a chance to meet them and know how to find the boat the next morning. Lee tells me it's been slow the last few days. Just a couple Mahi-Mahi. I say, "That's ok" but deep down I'm thinking "Not another 8 hour boat ride". I've had two of those over the years in Mexico and it's not any fun. Oh well, I'm committed and we'll see what happens. Wade tells me they usually seem to get lucky when a single person books the whole boat so maybe that will continue. Marla and I head to the hotel, barely get into the room and the phones ringing. It's Lee. He needs to get additional fuel, so let's leave a little later - around 6:30. Sounds good to me. Now, if only I can sleep tonight. Maybe a couple Blue Hawaiians at the beach bar will do the trick along with a couple Kona Pacific Golden Ales and some dramamine before going to bed. Quite a tonic. Monday morning starts early, I take another dramamine and head down to the marina by taxi. I must have really mutilated pronouncing Kewalo Basin, but once I told the driver "where the fishing boats are" he knew what I meant. I grabbed a couple sandwiches, diet coke, and liter of water at the local shop and we headed out about 6:20. We weren't far out past the breakers and Wade was setting out the lines. I wasn't used to water getting deep this quickly as most of my experience is from fishing the Texas Gulf Coast. Wade seemed really friendly and easy going. As the light increased a couple photos of Diamond Head seemed appropriate. Once the lines were set, I had to ask Wade how long a fathom is. I figured I was showing my ignorance, but how else do you find out that it's 6 feet if you don't know? Shortly thereafter, Wade headed up top with Lee and invited me. I turned him down as my stomach was feeling a little funky - probably just anxious anticipation for the day. We had cruised along for a couple hours enjoying the day and went past bouy BO. There were a couple other sport fishing boats near there as well as a commercial fishing boat that was catching skip jack(?) using long poles with jigs with no barbs. It was amazing how many fish they were hauling in. We proceeded on and I started losing my enthusiasm. Oh great, here we go on another boat ride. The captain and crew are great, but I'll probably just end up with some nice pictures of the island. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!! How else do you describe the sound? I never realized the direct connection between that sound and your heart rate. The hours of calm were exploding into those moments of controlled exhilaration. Wade, what do you want me to do? Get in the fighting chair! Duh! I can't believe I asked. He sets the rod and I grab hold. Lee and Wade both yell "Fish Jumping"! I look up in time to see it begin a 60 yard tail dance across the surface. My God, how can it be that far out already. It must be at least 300 yards or more. The island, the swells, the sun, the wind - they aren't part of my world now. Chair, rod, reel, and Wade's and Lee's instructions. I've finally got a Marlin on the line! This is unbelievable. Relax. Be smooth with the pumping and reeling. Don't force the issue. Take line when you can and make sure you keep the line even across the spool. We hooked the fish around 8:45 am, Monday 3/8/99. After the initial tail dance, the fish went deep and the work began for all three of us. Lee working the boat, Wade instructing and encouraging me, and me holding on and wishing I had worked out more. These fish are strong! The next 2 hours seemed unending. Lee would back down and we'd gain line. Then the fish would feel the pressure and take the line back out. Several times Wade braced himself against the transom and relieved the rod pressure from my back while at the same time he would crank the reel as needed. Wimp you say. Well, for those of you who have landed a Marlin without any assistance my hat is off to you, those of you who have never had one on the line, save your judgement. I never expected my right arm that did the cranking would get so tired. Wade, thanks for the relief. He would also get me water or soda as needed just so I could maintain some strength.
Thanks to Mike House with Sportfish Hawaii
for booking the trip. Mike was super in helping Marla and I with questions for other
things to do around Oahu as well. Thanks to Lee Severs Captain of Sea Verse for
providing me with an excellent boat and equipment as well as enjoyable conversation.
Lastly, thanks to Wade ??? for his encouragement and help Way to go John!!! Sounds like you had quite a fight. Glad you enjoyed your trip, and thanks for sharing your experience. Sportfish Hawaii |
| This tale comes from John of Lincolnshire, IL. John and his wife came to Hawaii and John fished on Sea Verse in March. See his marlin story above. |
John wrote: Here's a picture of the guide (Doug Hanks) releasing the Tarpon. Doug and I were throwing plugs in about 4-5' of water in the Everglades on Thursday 2/5/99. Doug was using a trout rig with a spinning reel containing 12 lb test line and a standard trout plug with 1x (? trout size) hooks. He figured if one hit, he'd lose it after a jump or two. I was using a standard Tarpon spinning rig and a plug with 3x (Tarpon size) hooks.
So he gave me the rod after he'd fought it a
few minutes and my fun began. It took another 30 minutes to land the fish with at least 4
jumps and several line burning runs. The rod was bent such that the tip was even
with the butt for most of the fight. I didn't realize how hard it would be to gain
line without stripping the gears on the reel. I really had to be |
This tale comes from John of Vancouver, WA. John recently took a charter on Magic here in Hawaii, and upon his return home, he sent us these photos of a fishing trip on the Columbia River in Washington. |
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