Have you ever heard of the “haul-out/hook-up connection”? You haul your boat out for routine maintenance and
repairs. After you put it back in service, you hook up your biggest fish of the year. Makes sense if you figure that your newly tuned fishing machine is now set up for its best possible performance.
Last week, Topshape came up with a stunning variation on the phenomenon. They hooked a 900-pound blue marlin — their biggest fish of the year — the day before they hauled the boat out for maintenance.
Capt. John Bennett had the boat out on Tuesday with Capt. Kevin Hibbard on deck and visitor A. J. Hamblin along to handle the angling chores. A. J. is from Ohio and had “catch a blue marlin” on his bucket list.
About mid-way in their fishing day, the Topshape party was trolling off Red Hill and hooked a pair of marlin on a double strike. John estimated one at 200 pounds and the other at 500 to 600. After a short spurt of excitement, both shook free.
And that’s the way the situation remained until about 3:30 in the afternoon as they began working their way up the coastline toward Honokohau Harbor. For the rest of the story:
Beasts of the week (marlin weighing 500 pounds or more).
September 29: Blue marlin (644) Martin Newton, Capt. Dee Bradford, High Noon
Tag and Release
September 27: Blue marlin (150) Mike Jacobsen, Capt. James Dean, Blue Hawaii
September 28: Blue marlin (200) Unknown, Capt. Brian Schumaker, Anxious
September 29: Blue marlin (850), A.J. Hamblin, Capt. John Bennett, Topshape
September 29: Blue marlin (150) Mike Jacobsen, Capt. James Dean, Blue Hawaii
September 29: Blue marlin (400) Unknown, Capt. Jeff Metzler, Anxious
September 30: Blue marlin (120) Dmitri Galinov, Capt. McGrew Rice, Ihu Nui II
September 30: Blue marlin (200) Christine Sullivan, Capt. David Crawford, Kona Blue
September 30: Blue marlin (125 and 225) Malcom Nelson, Capt. James Dean, Blue Hawaii
September 30: Blue marlin (150 and 200) Unknown, Capt. Trevor Child, Maverick
September 30: Blue marlin (300) Unkown, Capt. Jeff Metzler, Anxious
October 1: Blue marlin (200) Andres Herrera, Capt. Jeff Heintz, Linda Sue IV
October 1: Blue marlin (150 and 210) Brian Sisti, Capt. McGrew Rice, Ihu Nui II
October 2: Blue marlin (225) Ed Bell, Capt. McGrew Rice, Ihu Nui II
October 3: Blue marlin (100 and 130) Carol Herren, Capt. Bruce Herren, Raptor
October 3: Blue marlin (100) Nick Mainaris, Capt. Marlin Parker, Marlin Magic II
Notables:
October 1: Squid (52.7) Matthew Fowler, Capt. Cyrus Widhalm, Ahi Lani
October 3: Sailfish (78.6), ono (50.5) Nick Watson, Capt. Larry Peardon, El Jobean