Hanapa'a For HUGS Winning Catch: A First-Hand Account

On the west coast of Hawaii's Big Island, a local fishing tournament took place June 1 called Hanapa'a For HUGS – a benefit fishing tournament hosted by Umekes Restaurant and Kona Brew Pub for HUGS Hawaii, a non-profit charity that supports families with life-threatening illnesses. More than 50 boats entered the 3rd annual tournament, but only one came out on top.

When TACO RMA/Warranty Coordinator Larnell Mitchell opened his e-mail in early June, he had a message from a customer with whom he had helped in the past. In the e-mail was a photo of a beaming Robert Brown with four friends and a huge blue marlin – the tournament-winning catch of a lifetime.

From left, Robert Brown, Dr. Kris Devers, Richard Gilman and Ali'iloa Gilman. Front, Makali'i Gilman. Photo courtesy / Robert Brown

Brown sent the photo to Mitchell because, not only had they won the tournament, but they did it using TACO Grand Slam 390 Outrigger Mounts, 20’ Carbon Fiber Tele-Outrigger Poles and Tantrum Lures onboard a Grady-White Freedom 255.

Read the first-hand account of the day from Brown’s teammate Ali'iloa Gilman.

Team 21
Boat Name: Veritas

My Ohana [family] was invited by Robert Brown to join him for his first tournament in Hawai’i. This was my son’s (Makali’i’s) first “big” tournament. He was super excited to get to be a part of the crew. It meant a lot to me as well because this would be my first time having all three generations (my dad, myself and my son) fishing together in a tournament. 

We were blessed to have a beautiful day with crystal clear skies. All boats started fishing at 6 a.m., headed out to the 1,000fa [fathoms]. We put our lures in the water and started the troll. Around 7:15 a.m. we caught our first blue marlin, which was estimated at around 100 pounds.

We headed south with small lures out, trying to catch an Ahi or Aku. We dragged those lures around for about four hours with no bites until we found a small bird pile. We took one strike on the stinger and assumed it was an Ahi but it came off during the run. 

We set everything back up and continued working the small bird pile for about another two hours. With no other bites after that we only had an hour left in the tournament before it was [time to] stop fishing. 

We decided to chance it and throw out the big lures as we started heading back to Honokokau Harbor. Around about 2:30-ish we hooked up to what we thought was an Ahi because it wasn’t jumping and the line was going straight down. After battling the fish for about 30 minutes, the line started to come up horizontally and that’s when we knew it was a blue marlin. It started jump at about 200 yards away from the boat. We had to quickly get it in the boat and race back 30 mph into the harbor before 4 p.m., which was the the cutoff for weighing in. 

Left, Dr. Kris Devers with the 429-pound blue marlin as the team heads back in for the weigh-in cut off. Right, removing the fish from the boat for the weigh-in.

With just 15 minutes to spare, we made it to the weigh-in station. It was a rush of excitement as we awaited the final reading from the scale. It ended up weighing in at 429 pounds. Everyone on the boat took turns fighting this fish and it took all four of us to pull it in the boat. We all made such great memories together and it’s definitely one we won’t forget.

From left, Ali'iloa Gilman, Dr. Kris Devers, Makali'i Gilman, Richard Gilman and Robert Brown. Photo courtesy / Ali'iloa Gilman

Mahalo to Umekes (Nakoa Pabre) and all the crew/staff for putting on such a great tournament for a great cause. Mahalo to Robert Brown as well for always being so generous to invite us out on his boat.

Congratulations to Robert Brown, Dr. Kris Devers, Richard Gilman, Ali'iloa Gilman and Makali'i Gilman on their incredible tournament-winning catch!