By Pete Thomas/GrindTv
Hawaii’s Kona Coast is one of the world’s premier destinations for giant marlin, and the most sought-after prize is a billfish topping 1,000 pounds, or a grander.
That dream is rarely realized but on Wednesday, 16-year-old Kai Rizzuto, while visiting from New York, landed a blue marlin weighing 1,058 pounds, while fishing aboard the Ihu Nui.
It was Rizzuto’s first blue marlin and the first grander caught this year off Kona.
Rizzuto, grandson of Hawaii fishing author Jim Rizzuto, is believed to be the youngest angler ever to have landed a grander off Kona.
Though the growing trend is to release large billfish, Kai’s fish succumbed after a ferocious 30-minute battle, so it was hauled to port and weighed in Kailua-Kona.
For second-generation Captain McGrew Rice and crewman Carlton Arai, who have been fishing for much of their lives off Kona, it was the third grander they’ve brought aboard the boat.
Only a handful of granders are landed each year in Hawaiian waters. The largest blue marlin ever landed on rod and reel weighed 1,805 pounds and was caught off Oahu by multiple anglers in 1971.
Jim Rizzuto, who also was aboard Ihu Nui, described his grandson’s hookup via email:
“We saw the fish jump and immediately went into ‘big-fish mode.’ That meant going hard right from the start. Carlton Arai is world-famous for being cool and calm, but he yelled, ‘Big Fish’ at the top of his lungs and flew across the deck to get the angler settled and bring in the [other] lines.
“The fish tore up the surface from port to starboard and back, which kept us close. Carlton told Kai to push the drag to ‘sunset’ (full bore), and lean on the fish for maximum advantage. McGrew kept after the fish wherever it went. When it got close after 30 minutes, it rolled over and was done. At that point, all matters of possible release became moot.”
All five people aboard could not hoist the billfish entirely onto the boat, but managed to secure it enough for measurements, which are used to determine a probable weight, so they knew they were bringing in a potential grander.
Said Rizzuto: “By the time we got back to the dock, the news of a potential grander had drawn a big crowd. Lots of cheers when the 1,058 pounds was announced. Kai comes to the Big Island several times a year and has been fishing since he was 2. This was his first blue marlin.”
Rizzuto added that the billfish was not wasted: Marlin meat is very nutritious and is used in a lot of dishes from poke and sashimi to sausages, jerky, tacos, fish cake and other delicacies. This fish was shared widely and there are probably more than 100 people enjoying it now.
How about a long line moratorium for a year?
Posted by: Toby Hoffman | Feb 22, 2015 at 01:10 PM
lol says live and let live, just as long as you live by what HE wants. Great catch, I'm impressed!!!!
Posted by: Chris | Feb 21, 2015 at 11:01 PM
To say the Blue Marlin fishermen "look no different than ISIS" is silly verging on ridiculous. Perhaps you meant the fishermen were fishing like Hitler?
Posted by: John Wayne | Feb 21, 2015 at 09:25 PM
As a fisherman, I must say that it is my opinion that Lou is engaging in the fine art of Internet Hyperbole with his response.
Posted by: Jim | Feb 21, 2015 at 08:54 PM
This is disgusting.
Posted by: Anne | Feb 21, 2015 at 08:32 PM
Great job Capt Rice. Wish I could have been the lucky angler! But my girlfriend and I had a wonderful trip with you--landing a 127 pound yellowfin tuna, a striped marlin, and two 35 pound mahi's! Keep up the good work and I'll be back on your doorstep if I ever get back to Paradise!
Posted by: Ed Gill | Feb 21, 2015 at 07:57 PM
It wasn't wasted? What does that mean? It's an endangered giant. These fishermen clowns look no different than the ISIS idiots in Iraq posing with severed human heads. "Oh, they weren't wasted, we ate their meat, took their guns and made propaganda videos with the skulls!" Stop celebrating slaughter. Live and let live. In peace.
Posted by: Lou | Feb 20, 2015 at 12:44 PM