The Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series returns to Kona this weekend for its 29th season.
All tournaments are open to the public.The Kona Kick Off fishes this Saturday and Sunday, and is the first event of 2015 held on the Kona Coast.
Last year, the 2014 HMT Series offered a total available purse of just over $1,000,000 in cash and prizes, and this year promises to be even bigger.
A lot of eyes were on Oahu on June 6 when the HMT Series began the 2015 season with its first leg — the Kewalo Harbor Big Fish Chase. The largest blue marlin ever caught on rod and reel was from a Kewalo based boat and weighed 1,805 pounds back in 1970.
The fishing has been very good this year, with three granders so far — two in Kona waters and one from Maui.
There was ample reason to believe that a grander might be pulled in at the Oahu event. Team Cormorant wrestled with a big marlin for almost 17 hours. In the end it tipped the scales at 848.5 pounds, and although not a grander, it was one of the most dramatic finishes in Hawaii tournament history.
The HMT Series offers five Kona tournaments in the next four weeks. After the Kick Off, anglers get a five-day break before returning for Fourth of July weekend for the “Million Dollar Week,” when the Firecracker Open overlaps with the World Cup and is followed one day later by the Kona Throw Down. The Throw Down then leads straight in to the Skins Marlin Derby.
After another five-day break, the Kona Classic fishes to end the July. The Classic benefits the kids of Milolii Hipuu Virtual Academy, a web based charter school in Milolii village.
The HMT Series returns on August 29 with the Big Island Marlin Tournament and finishes up in September with the Randy Llanes Lure Makers Challenge tourney. Each team fishing this even can represent a specific lure maker or lure brand, and whoever wins this event becomes the presenting sponsor of the event for the following year, and remains so until another lure maker wins a future tournament.
For more information, visit konatournaments.com or call 557-0908.
