Saturday, July 13, 2019, was your typical Hawaii light trade wind, blue sky, day, and a perfect day for the 27th Annual Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Fishing Tournament. In total, 66 boats registered and took to the water. The water temperature was just as typical as the day only slightly cooler than air and without a white cap in site, all boats enjoyed calm seas as they departed the harbor. The tournament was a no-bait, lure-dragging with dreams of landing a prize Ahi, Aku (Kawakawa), Au (Billfish), Mahi or Ono.
None of the fish are indigenous to Hawaii waters. They are merely transiting through the Pacific and for our luckiest fisherman, they cross paths and take interest in the lure skimming along the surface. In reality luck is only a small part as the crew of Kolohe K can attest as they had the first hook up at 5:20 a.m. But the first fish to be landed happened a mere 8 minutes later by Salt & Light captained by Jimmy Shinjo. His crew landed the first fish of the tournament – an Ono. Shortly later the radio calls continued to come in with more hook-ups and fish landed. As the tournament fishing time was coming to a close, the beautiful conditions continued to prevail, and the boats rushed back to the harbor to make it in line for the scales by 5:00 p.m. The scale line grew longer and longer with many boats having multiple fish to weigh and having need for the mechanic hoist to bring their fish up to the scale.
The tournament was offered in appreciation to all our hard working men and women that keep our United States Navy Fleet fit to fight, to strengthen friendships within Hawaii fishing community, and to encourage sport fishing excellence. The tournament, organized by James “Kimo” McClellan as Chairman and Thomas Chow as Co-Chairman, offered prizes to the 10 largest fish to make it to the line for the scales. The tournament kicked off at 3:30 a.m. when the boats were inspected to ensure they were getting underway without any live bait as the tournament was a trolling tournament that only permitted lures. Boats were underway prior to sunrise eager to reach their favorite fishing spot.
While it takes many volunteers and leaders to make the tournament happen, it was the 38 tournament sponsors that made the annual tournament a special event along with the many volunteers that ultimately made the tournament possible. The execution of the tournament makes for a long day for the volunteers and the participants alike.
Before the scales even opened boat Leilani J under the command of Captain Ryan Inouye waited patiently with two large Au in their fish boxes weighing-in at 159.8 pounds and 150.2 pounds. Their patience was awarded.
At tournament headquarters, a detailed series of checks ensures the legitimacy of each catch brought to the scale. A witness from the boat along with the Weigh Master and a tournament volunteer affirm the weight which is then recorded into a computer along with the boat and fish species.
EMN2 Isaac Goodsman from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Shop 51 served as the tournament Weigh Master and was responsible for the operations and accuracy of the scale for 46 tournament fish totaling 2.1 tons! The 2.1 tons represented only those fish brought to the scale however many boats had multiple fish in their fish boxes but chose to only weigh their heaviest fish. The tournament yielded 22 Ahi totaling 2,552.2 pounds, 8 Ono totaling 187.2 pounds, 9 Au totaling 1,260.2 pounds, only 6 Aku totaling125.8 pounds, and a single Mahi totaling 17.8 pounds.
But only the top 10 largest fish to the Weigh Master received a tournament awards certificate. Congratulations to Captain Spencer Hisatake of Ohana H for landing the largest fish of the tournament, a 197.2 pound Au, and in order by weight, Captain Michael Matsunaga of Candice M with a 188.2 pound Ahi, Captain Warren Shinsato of Tabai with a 173.0 pound Au, Captain Ryan Inouye of Leilani J with a 159.8 pound Au, Captain Shane Mitsui of Miss Siera with a 137.0 pound Ahi, Captain Troy Wright of Pursuit with a 136.2 pound Ahi, Captain Kevin Tsutsui of Cher Li Ann with a 133.8 pound Ahi, Captain Kevin Takahashi of Little Dinghy with a 133.4 pound Ahi, Captain Dean Takahashi of Konakini with a 132.4 pound Au, and Captain Rex Koga of Bonnie K with a 131.8 pound Ahi.
Congratulations to all our winners and much appreciation to the Waianae community and Waianae Small Boat Harbor for allowing us to host what has become one of the great fishing tournaments for the island of Oahu. We were all blessed with a beautiful day, fabulous ocean conditions, generous sponsors and another successful tournament.
The Federal Managers Association was established in 1913 and is the oldest and largest association representing the interests of the 200,000 managers, supervisors and executives serving in today’s federal government. Federal Managers Association Chapter 19 was founded in 1946 and represents the federal workforce throughout the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard area.