HIBT: Team Miss Behavin claims crown on first try

KAILUA-KONA —A little misbehaving can sometimes be a good thing. Well, at least it was for a trio of anglers this week at the 58th annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.

Surfside Marina’s Team Miss Behavin, made up of team captain David Finkelstein, Stephen Weitzen and Jon Niiyama, won the Governor’s Trophy with 1,300 points, pulling away from the field on the final day of fishing with a 125-pound Pacific blue marlin tagged and released by Finkelstein.

This was the first HIBT for all three american anglers. They actually clinched the tournament victory on Thursday with another tag and release by Finkelstein, who reeled in four fish total over the weeklong event before releasing them back into the Kona waters. Their catch Friday was just icing on the cake.

“The day started out pretty quick,” Finkelstein said. “We had a doubleheader on a little wahoo and then got the center rigger back out and a blue marlin piled all over it. That was our day. We never saw anything else, but we stayed steady all through the tournament, catching fish on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.”

Finkelstein led his team to victory by tagging and releasing a spearfish and three blue marlin,

“This is a fantastic tournament and a prestigious one, and it was our dream to come and fish here,” Finkelstein said. “To come here the first time and win is pretty special. We can’t wait to come back next year.”

For Weitzen, the fact that his team had won the tournament didn’t seem to hit him until mid-interview after getting off the boat.

After saying that the win “still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Weitzen turned to Finkelstein, high-fived his teammate and yelled excitedly, “We won.”

“If you are a fishermen and love fishing, this is a pretty special place and a special tournament,” Weitzen said just before his emotional outburst. “It was wonderful just being apart of it.”

However, don’t ask the third angler of the group, Niiyama, what it is like to compete in the tournament.

“What tournament,” Niiyama joked. “I just love fishing. This is a dream come true.”

Three teams finished behind Team Miss Behavin with 900 points. Tie breakers are determined by who reaches 900 first. Japan’s Core Marlin Club claimed second place, followed by Old South Marlin Club – International and then New Britain Game Fishing Club, out of Papua New Guinea.

The New Britain team came out of nowhere on the final day of competition. With only 300 points entering the day, the team tagged and released two marlin to dart up the leaderboard.

Henry Chee Award

For the fifth time over his long and illustrious career captaining a boat in the HIBT, Jeff Fay claimed the Henry Chee Award. He did it by pulling away from the field on the final two days of the tournament.

Fay previously won the award given to the boat captain who accumulates the most billfish points every year — in 1971, 1977, 1993 and 2006. He can add 2017 to that list after tagging and releasing a marlin on the final day of competition Friday for a total of 1,700 points.

Kila Kila’s Capt. Brian Wargo finished second in the standings with 1,350 points and Ihu Nui I’s Capt. McGrew Rice rounded out the top three spots with 1,100.

Fay runs the boat Humdinger with his son, Brett Fay, as a crew member. Jeff Fay has won the Henry Chee award more than any other captain in HIBT history.

Tournament notes

Three fish were weighed in the tournament, one Pacific blue marlin and two ahi. Malibu Marlin Club, the 2016 champion, captured a 486.6-pound blue marlin on Wednesday with angler and team captain Buzz Colton on the rod.

Both ahi caught came on the boat Bomboy’s Toy. The first, a 111.8-pounder, was caught on Day 2 by Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club’s Tony Campos. The second, a 125-pounder, was reeled in by Japan’s Kona Game Fishing Club-Osaka’s Keiji Matsuba on Day 3.

A total of 40 fish were tagged and released over the five-day period.