Captain Chris Perez, myself, Adam Momeyer, and Brian Bowman loaded Chris's 27' Skipjack, 'Aku' at 0500hrs and pushed off from Waienae Boat Harbor, on the westside of Oahu, Hawaii.
We ran 12nm at 30 knots to the pinnacle, and set our 7 bait spread. We trolled north to CO. I took the helm once conditions got a little 'sporty'. 20-25knot sustained, gusting over 30, 6-9'+ seas.
We ran the 1000' fathom line eastwards, and made a single pass through 3 seperate skipjack/aku bird piles without a bite.
Then as the longer center , a 9" KC Aku bullet in flashabou, approached the 4th pile, the reel went off. The fish ran off around 400 yards then settle down midwater. We fought the fish for 2.5 hours before we had her within 100yards. After another hour and several give and take runs we had the fish 'to color' but couldn't nudge her close enough for a bangstick shot.
After 4 hours we attemped to handline the fish to leader but the fish exploded and sounded hard. The fish run slowed down at half spool and a steady clicking off of line contined to dump the 130. I urged the crew to push the drag to full and slowly handline the fish up as I suspected the fish had died. I was right and we managed to handles her back from the depths over another hour.
We spent an hour trying unsucessfully to board the fish. We settle on towing her 17 nm back to port. We hoisted the fish, attempted unsucessfully to get a weight, and packed her in ice overnight. Unfortunately she broke our fish scale, so we didn't get a weight, but the head/tail/guts/bone weighed >150lbs. I would guess she went 550-650 range. Her stomach was full of undigested Aku bones.
This is Adam, Chris, and Brian's firat fish over 500. It was my 5th Hawaiian Blue over 500lbs, and 8th rec-caught fish over 500lbs in my 37 years of offshore fishing.
Great experience, and should make up some great smoked fish, dip, and fish tacos for restaurants and friends. Chris has gone 0 for 9 on Blues this year, when the crew asked what we were going to catch today after leaving the dock, I said "It's a Marlin Moon today, we will get you your Marlin"
Great when things work out as planned :)
John
*
Magnificent Fish and A Life Time Experience !!!
Thanks for sharing . What rig were you using ? You may have said but I missed it in the story .
Quote from: Wompus Cat on July 26, 2021, 02:35:01 AM
Magnificent Fish and A Life Time Experience !!!
Thanks for sharing . What rig were you using ? You may have said but I missed it in the story .
A 9" KC Lures Aku heavy bullet skirted in flashabou and rigged with tandom 10/0 Mustad trolling hooks, on a 9' 300lb Moi Moi floro leader (pictured), ran almost 100 yards back on the center line.
Link to lure...
https://legendarytackle.com/products/kc-lures-9-aku-fish-head-bullet
Great report....good job on the 500 lb club....Bill
Reel ???
Amazing. Hand lining the dead weight of a 500lb fish back to the surface had to be exhausting. I feel your pain.
Quote from: Wompus Cat on July 26, 2021, 03:22:06 AM
Reel ???
130ST spooled with 950yds of 130lb OPI blue, 35lbs drag at strike, on my custom Rainshadow Stubbie rod.
John
Fantastic job man,,,,,, ;) thats a big one,,,,,,, ;D
Thanks John, fish of a life time, love your report & pics, cheers Don.
Whoa! "Young Men and the Sea". Great catch!, no sharks, right? Sounds like a heck of a work-out. Food +! The winds lately got me landlubbin and I'm dying to get out there...
Epic - congrats John.
Great report too.
A big fish on a small boat in 'sporty' seas is serious challenge.
All the more satisfying because of it though ;) :D
Well done mate, Justin
:o Nice ! And, congratulations !
They taste good too,,,,,,,, ;D
Quote from: Benni3 on July 27, 2021, 03:50:23 AM
They taste good too,,,,,,,, ;D
My dad used to catch blue Marlins and as a kid that was my favorite fish to eat brings back memories,,,,, ;D
Nice fish John!!! A lot bigger than any I want to tangle with.
Thanks for the detailed report, John.
Great trip and great planning.
Best, Fred
Wow John! :o
Good Catch Man!
Nice one !! ........................one day .......... I hope.
Cheers;
Todd
a fish to remember the whole life
congrats amigo
Quote from: redsetta on July 26, 2021, 08:43:49 PM
Epic - congrats John.
Great report too.
A big fish on a small boat in 'sporty' seas is serious challenge.
All the more satisfying because of it though ;) :D
Well done mate, Justin
One of the wildest things I've ever seen is 2 or 3 Hawaiians in an aluminum duck boat with one 130 heading out of Honokohau Harbor onto the grander grounds.
I saw these two guys at the boat ramp with a jet ski, dragging one of those sleds like they use for rescue, two 130's and a spare can of gas. A guy told me they are actually pretty good at it.
Congrats John, I just saw your post and pictures . 😮 wow, I'm dumbfounded by this fish 🐟.
I'm sure your buddys will remember the fun, not the work as well.
Thanks for posting your trip. It was awe inspiring for me personally.😮🎣