When you fish with us at Kona Fishing Charters, you will see and experience many kinds of amazing and wonderful fish from the Pacific Sailfish to the Mahimahi fish. And some of you might break state or even world records when you’re catching these fish. There’s always a chance when you come fish with us at Kona Fishing Charters! We hope you enjoy these cool tales of record breaking fish in Hawaii.
Record Breaking Fish
- Gary Merriman broke a marlin record in 1984 in Kona, Hawaii, catching a marlin that weighed a massive 1649 pounds. It was a phenomenal catch, overtaking the past world record by more than 270 pounds. The catch, however, was deemed an unofficial world record because the marlin was caught using a line and leader that was longer than was allowed by the IGFA rules.
- Another impressive Kona catch occurred in 2006, where Josh Bunch broke the swordfish record. Almost exactly seven years before that day, another swordfish was caught, breaking the record at the time at a weight of 365 pounds. But Josh Bunch beat that record by over one hundred pounds – his swordfish weighed 503 pounds.
- Another impressive, record breaking fish catch was made by Louis Bolos Jr. in Pohiki, Hawaii in 2011. The Albacore he caught was nearly 90 pounds and since Louis was using a 400 pound test handline, it was a true struggle of man and nature until Louis managed to bring the fish aboard.
- This Eastern Pacific Bonito fish may not be impressive in terms of weight or first glance, but Raymond J. Pregana’s catch is more impressive than it may seem. This Eastern Pacific Bonito fish is very rare and Pregana’s catch is the first recorded catch of the fish in Hawaii. He was fishing on his boat in 30 to 40 feet of water using a 20 pound test Ande line, an Okuma reel, and a Shimano Baitrunner pole when he felt the Eastern Pacific Bonito fish take his bait.
- An awesome 151 pound sailfish was caught by Rodney Takaki in 2013. Takaki used a live opelu as bait on his line. This catch broke a very long state record (one that lasted almost 30 years) by more than 30 pounds!
- In 1980, a Kona charter boat experienced a great day of fishing. Bill Bronsteme, Brad Bronsteme, Frank Didonna, Capt. Jim Hunter, and Fred Thibault caught a black marlin fish that weighed more than 1200 pounds. Around noon they hooked the marlin, but it took more than 12 and a half hours of fighting before they were finally able to bring it onto the boat. This fish is possibly the largest black marlin ever caught in the northern hemisphere. According to Captain Jim Hunter, they didn’t even realize what kind of fish it was when they caught it, it was only when they went ashore that they saw it was a black marlin.
- Another older example of a record breaking catch is Kathy Hunter’s mahimahi catch in 1987. The mahimahi was 82 pounds and this shattered the IGFA world record at the time.
- A beautiful, 135 pound opah fish was caught by Capt. Dale Leverone off the Kona Coast in 2005. Even though he used a 130 pound tackle and 200 pound test line the opah fought him for a while before finally being raised boatside. Typically, opahs can grow up to 6 feet in length and 600 pounds, so while this catch is magnificent, there’s a potential for catching even larger opahs.
- There was a great catch by Jayson and Branon Yim when they caught a mahi mahi, while fishing off the Waianae Coast of Oahu. Using a Kimura pole, a Shimano reel, and a 150 pound test, they caught their 7.35 pound mahi mahi, breaking a state record.
- On a long two day trip in 2007, Capt. Marlin Parker, John Patterson, Bill Rhee and Tim Robertson targeted swordfish outside Kona. While out there, they landed a 952 pound thresher shark, breaking a state record. Unfortunately, they were disqualified according to IGFA rules because someone yelled out instructions. However, you can’t help but be impressed by the massive catch.
Break Your Own Records With Us
Next time in our blog we’ll return to our series of Kona fish facts. We’ll give you some interesting facts about Tuna, another Kona fish you will probably see when you come out to fish with us at Kona Fishing Charters! Perhaps you’ll even break a record while you’re here. Call us at (808) 960-1424 to book your fishing trip!