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Updates/Recent Pictures

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Hooked Up Sport fishing ... Kona, Hawaii
Updates/Recent Pictures
June 6, 2009
We have been catching ono every trip for a while now.  At least 2 or 3.  Yesterday we caught 3 ono, the biggest weighed 42 lbs. We also caught 6 mahi mahi around a floater.  Last week we found a floater and caught 20 mahi mahi and 1 ono off of it.  Otec buoy has been holding yellow fin tuna and skip jack tuna for the last month.  So that is a fun place just to catch football size fish.  We have been using them for live bait and caught a 300 lb marlin.
May 7, 2009
Here is some fish pictures of the last few charters we had since May 3.  Caught a few fish every day.  Also lost some.  Today was Carl's (deck hand - www.trophysturgeon.net) last day.  He is headed up to Alaska.  We caught a lot of fish together since March 20, 2009.  Carl told me there was only one 1/2 day charter that we did not catch.  He will be back for the fishing tournaments in July.  










May 3, 2009
Fishing has been great for us this week.  We found a log floating and caught 40 mahi mahi and 6 ono.  The next day we found the same floating log and caught 6 mahi and 2 ono.  On May 2 and 3 we went down to south point on a over night charter and caught 21 ono, 1 mahi mahi and 2 giant trevally.  This time of year south point trips are awesome.  Marlin fishing has still been a little slow but they should be arriving any day now.

April 20, 2009
Carl and Debbie Bland fished a trip with us down to south point.  We caught 22 ono, 15-60 pounds and 3 Ahi Tuna.  The biggest was 80 pounds.  This time of year is a great time for south point.  Good ono action plus a great chance to catch some mahi and marlin as well.  We anchor up in a nice bay and snorkel before sunset and then BBQ before we fish for some snapper and other things at night.  Great trip if you could do it.    Boat sleeps 4 guests comfortably.   Fishing in general around Kona has slowed this week but should get better soon.  To get lots of action go to South Point.  

April 9, 2009
On April 7 we caught 7 mahi mahi and a bunch of tuna.  The biggest mahi was 43 pounds.  The biggest tuna was 28 pounds.  On April 6 we found some floating wood and caught 6 mahi mahi and 3 ono.  The ono were about 25 pounds and the biggest mahi was 44 pounds.  So we got two real big mahi the last couple of days.  On April 4th we caught a big jack on the bottom.    Plus a bunch of football tuna.  On April 3 we caught 9 mahi mahi and 12 yellow fin tuna.  On April 2nd we caught a tuna that weighed 91 pounds on the green stick in a porpoise school.  On April first we caught a blue marlin that we let go about 250 pounds and lost 2 other marlin bites plus a bunch of tuna.  In general fishing has been good.  The buoy is holding yellow fin tuna and skip jack tuna.  We caught something every trip so far this April.  
February 10, 2009
Hooked Up made the newspaper in Anchorage Alaska and Kona.   Articles are below.  We caught a 914 pound marlin on January 29, 2009.  Story is below.  Even if I wanted to let her go she was to tired to survive.  This Marlin fought to the death.  Hooked Up caught the last 2 biggest fish in kona.  The 914 and the 975.
ALASKA'S NEWSPAPER
Monster marlin
Whittier pals witness their friend landing 914-pound marlin.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com
Published: February 9th, 2009 09:39 PM
Last Modified: February 9th, 2009 10:26 PM

The fish was huge -- at 914 pounds, the biggest marlin landed in Hawaii this year.

The day was ideal -- glassy waters, plentiful bait fish everywhere and the company of good friends from Whittier.
And the buzz was lasting -- free drinks and dinner for the party of Alaska anglers and people asking the captain all week if he's the one who landed the big fish.
Still, for David Pinquoch, owner of Alaska Good Time Charters in Whittier, the thrill of seeing his friend and fellow Whittier angler Larry Gilman land an eye-popping blue marlin on Jan. 27 didn't quite match the excitement of a leaping 16-pound silver salmon splashing down in a still Prince William Sound cove.
"Personally, I would rather reel in a silver salmon every day than a marlin," Pinquoch said. "I'm more into casting out, setting the hook, having the total adventure between you and the fish.
"Part of it is the way you're raised. I'm more of a light tackle fisherman. Marlin is slow; most days, it just doesn't have the action. I love seeing fish jump and I love seeing the whole thing out of the water -- and even though a marlin can do that, it doesn't happen every time."
Don't get Pinquoch wrong. He was plenty excited for Gilman who, as his wife Shawnee said, "got lucky to be the dummy in the (fighting) chair."
Hooked in 800 fathoms of water, the marlin swallowed a Joe Yee Super Plunger giant squid jig trolled at about 8 knots and ended up fighting for about one hour, 40 minutes.
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"It was incredible," Pinquoch said. "When it was happening it didn't seem real. You didn't even realize the fish was attached to the line, it was so far out."
Once the blue was hooked nearly a quarter-mile from the boat, it leaped from the water and took off.
"I knew it was over 800," said Chuck Wigzell, captain of the charter boat Hooked Up. "The fish took about 600 yards before we could stop her. Then it did some explosive jumps trying to shake the hook. It looked like someone dropped a bomb; there was that much white wash coming from the fish as she jumped and shook her head."
The fight became a team effort led by Wigzell, who kept maneuvering the boat to ensure the line stayed tight. Crewman Rocky Gauron endured the most pain once the fish drew close to the boat.
Gauron would wrap the 24-foot-long leader around his wrist, yank and repeat. "When a fish is that big, you can just grab the leader and pull her in," said Wigzell. But it's not easy -- and a shark circling nearby looking for an easy meal revved up the anticipation.
"I'm thinking, this guy's going to lose his arm," Pinquoch said of Gauron, who gained three feet at most on each gut-wrenching pull. "He was maxed out. His legs were shaking, he didn't have any more energy."
Gilman wasn't in much better shape.
"There's not many people 50 years old who can get through that. There are times you push on the reel and nothing happens. The drag is so tight, the handle just won't move. It's much more physical fishing than the average halibut," said Pinquoch, who catches dozens of Alaska favorite flatfish each summer on his Prince William Sound boat.
Gilman's fish was Kona's biggest marlin since another client aboard Wigzell's boat landed a 975-pounder in November. Typically, summer is the best time of year for big marlin.
"The two 900-pounders were close together for me," Wigzell said. "Usually in Kona, out of four blue marlin bites you will probably land one. Some times you may go 10 bites in a row and lose all of them. They are the hardest fish to capture because of their speed, power and explosive jump, head shakes and very hard mouths."
This was Gilman's first time in the fighting chair, and he was so excited it took a while for him to settle into the pump-and-reel routine.
"The first time I saw the fish jump," said Gilman, who runs Custom Marine Services in Whittier, "I looked at it and said, 'No way.'
But once he had the rhythm, Gilman guided the fish near the boat three different times during the first hour. Each time, the marlin ripped off line.
"My arm is still a little sore," he said Sunday, 11 days after his battle.
The fourth time the marlin neared the boat, "We were able to turn her sideways and get her head going with us," Wigzell said.
At first, Wigzell wondered if it might top the magic 1,000-pound mark. Since the 1950s, only 121 "granders" -- both black and blue marlin -- have been landed in Hawaii, according to Hawaii Fishing News.
Alaskans have taken at least two, a 1,174-pounder taken by Fairbanks grocer Jeffrey Russell in 2002 and an 1,103-pounder landed by Kelley Everette, also of Fairbanks, in 1987. At the time, the latter set an IGFA world record for 30-pound-test tackle. Avid deep sea anglers, Everette and his wife Jocelyn moved to Kona to run the charter boat Northern Lights but have since returned to Alaska.
For many anglers, the memory of such a spectacular fish endures a lifetime.
Russell sees his every time he walks into Denali State Bank in Fairbanks, where the 15-foot, 8-inch marlin is mounted.
"There are lots of people who spent all their lives in Hawaii, never left the rock and didn't get so lucky," Russell allowed.
Afflicted with marlin fever, Russell returned later in 2002 trying to become the first angler to land two granders in a calendar year. He caught a big marlin -- but he came up 250 pounds short.
Still, even a memorable fish pales next to sharing a great day on the water with hometown friends. David and Phyllis Pinquoch, Rex Jordan -- who's fished for marlin 12 years and arranged the charter -- and Crystal Roberts all are avid salmon and halibut anglers back home who know all too well about enduring cold, rainy Prince William Sound days to bring home fish.
Each person had a role in Gilman's success.
"It was basically a Whittier reunion," Shawnee Gilman said. "This is what you dream of. Everybody on the boat feels like it's something they were part of."


West Hawaii Today ( Kona's Newspaper)
HOOKED UP PAID ITS DUES. Two months ago, Captain Chuck Wigzell came close to breaking an all-time Kona record. Chuck and his crew Rocky Gauron on the boat, Hooked Up caught a 975-lb blue marlin, which just missed being the first Kona grander ever caught in November.
How do you follow up a catch like that?
First you pay your dues again.
In January, Hooked Up missed ten blue marlin strikes before finally hooking up again, according to Chuck.
And again it was a good one. Good enough to take over the blue marlin lead for 2009 with Kona’s biggest January marlin in almost a decade.
Hooked Up’s 914-lb blue last Thursday is Kona’s biggest January blue since the historic Super Bowl Sunday 1,213-lb blue of January 30, 2000.
Three couples from Whittier, Alaska were aboard. Larry and Shawni Gilman, David and Phyllis Pinquoch, Rex Jordan and Chrystal Roberts are knowledgeable salmon and halibut fishermen and active in Whittier’s boating and fishing businesses. But none had ever caught a blue marlin before.
That all changed at about 2:00 pm as Hooked Up trolled the Trail Run in 800 fathoms. The big blue swallowed a Joe Yee Super Plunger chewing up the surface at the end of the 130 in the long-corner position.
When the huge fish jumped, Chuck knew immediately it would go at least 800.
It was Larry Gilman’s first time in a big-game chair and it took the excited newcomer a while to settle down into the pump-and-reel routine. But once he had the rhythm, Larry put on enough pressure to get the leader almost within reach three different times during the first hour of the hour-and-fifteen-minute fight.
“Each time, the fish was still pointing away from us so it was really hard for Rocky to hold on even though we were backing down to stay with her.” Chuck said. “The fourth time, we were able to turn her sideways and get her head going with us.”
Seeing it in the water next to the boat, Chuck thought it might top the magic 1,000-lb mark – or maybe not. When they hauled the nearly half-ton fish aboard, however, Chuck knew immediately she was not as big as his November giant. She was wide and fat in the shoulders but tapered off rapidly toward the tail, Chuck said.
The short length (tip of lower jaw to fork of tail) was 135 inches and big enough to make it, but the tail stump girth, 19 inches, said 900.
How long will Hooked Up’s 914 hold the top blue marlin spot?
It’s Kona where big fish hunt every day of the year, so they could have already lost it.


January 3, 2009
On Jan. 1 we fished the New Years tournament.  We finished 4th place with a 45 pound mahi mahi.   On Jan. 3 we fished a full day and caught 1 blue marlin, 1 stripe marlin, 6 snapper, and 8 mackerel.  Also a few trigger fish.  We caught both marlin on live bait.  Got some incredible pictures of the fish.
             
                                                     

December 28, 2008
Here is an article from the  West Hawaii Today Newspaper.  
Capt. Chuck Wigzell’s boat Hooked Up dominated the week’s list of kau kau catches with yellowfin tuna and mahimahi.
Chuck hosted a greenstick expert from Japan and boated a 160 pound yellowing tuna on the dangling squid rig.
Lots of boats came in and out of the area they were fishing but left without catching anything. Chuck stayed with the mixed assemblage of dolphins and tuna until one of the yellowfins got crazy and jumped on a squid.
“It takes a lot of patience,” Chuck said. “Some days you have to wait, and wait --- and wait. Keep running and it eventually pays off.”
The next day, Chuck found a floater and hosted Daren Castero to a mixed catch of mahimahi and shibi. Darren’s largest of 19 mahimahi topped 40 pounds and the largest shibi about 20.
The floater was also surrounded by sharks.
“Very hungry sharks,” Chuck said. “They got some of our mahimahi and a lot of our shibi.”
Chuck hooked some of the mahimahi on trolled lures and more on bait, including opelu and strips cut from shibi and aku.
Hooked Up is part of the Pancho and Lefty’s enterprise so you can share in their catch if you stop by the popular waterfront eatery for lunch or dinner.



December 10. 2008
The Blue Marlin fishing in Kona is still pretty good.  Bottom fishing is great.  We caught a 175 lb marlin yesterday on a lure.  It was are only bite all day.  But that is what we were targeting.  There was some spear fish caught and some stripe marlin being caught as well.  This time of year you may only get one or two fish trolling. Some boats have been getting skunked.   The bottom fishing has been great for us.  We fished the bottom 4 times this week and caught amberjacks, sharks, snapper, sea bass and a bunch of other smaller fish.  Its been fun getting the action.  
November 27, 2008
On Tuesday Brad Picking caught a 975 pound Blue Marlin.  This is the biggest fish I ever killed.  All the other big ones I hooked got off.  Twenty years ago Brad hooked and fought a marlin for 4 hours in a tournament before it came off.  He was not going to let this one get away.  We were live baiting for a few hours untell are bait died.  Then I sank the bait to the bottom and also dropped a jig down.  Now that I look back I realized Brad was probably wondering what I was doing ( He did not want to bottom fish).  I was just trying to catch something for him because I know you always don't get one trolling.  Especially this time of year.  Trust me I would rather troll as well but some customers just want to catch something.  So I was just trying to be nice and catch something.  We hooked a small jack on the jig.  I asked Brad if he wanted to fight it so he did.  But was not to interested.  I asked if he wanted to drop again but he said no with out any hesitation.  He wanted to go trolling .   So we started trolling in front of captain cook and about 30 minutes later I saw a big dorsal fin pop up by the long corner lure.  I jumped out of my chair and yelled "Rocky long corner, long corner"  I knew instantly it was a nice one but don't want to look like a jerk if it turned out not to be what size you call it.  So I said its 500 pounds.   Rocky reeled the lure down to the rod tip and took it off of the rigger.  About 5 seconds later we were hooked up.  We boated the fish in about 45 minutes.  We had 55- 60  pounds of drag on it for more than half the fight.  Brad said it was up to me to make the call on releasing the fish or keeping it.  Well you know what I did.
October 12, 2008
Today we took Charles and a few of his friends out fishing for a full day.  Charles is a good customer at Pancho and Lefty's.  The plan was to go and find the porpoise school and catch a large tuna.  Well we found the porpoise school about 20 miles south of kona.  We worked it about 3 hours and was marking fish on the sounder.  We just were about to call it a day and head back to Kona when the 170  lb. Ahi hit.  We landed the fish in about 10 minutes.  We put the Ahi away and threw the lures out and started trolling back to the harbor.   It only took about 10 minutes and we tagged and released a 200lb. Blue Marlin.  Turned out to be a great day.  All the action was with in a 30 minute period,  right at high tide.  
October 10, 2008
We had a good week.  Daren Castoro booked the boat for 4 days. We went down to south point for two days and a night.  We landed 8 ono and 3 mahi mahi.  We lost about 6 or 7 ono.   So had some good action down there.  We took a day off.  Then Daren decided to fish the Dirty Dozen marlin tournament on Saturday and we caught a 130 lb yellow fin tuna.  We used the green stick and was fishing in the porpoise school when it hit.  This fish was big enough for 2nd place in the tournament.  The last day we took Daren out to tsunami buoy which is located 28 miles in front of the harbor.  We caught 7 mahi mahi.  Two of them was over 30 pounds.  The only fish Daren was missing was the blue marlin.  Check out the newspaper clipping.
September 25, 2008
We went back out to otec buoy which is about 15 miles north of the harbor.  The buoy is loaded with small yellow fin and skipjack tuna.  Lots of birds.  Yesterday we caught one shark and had another bite from one.  Today we caught 4 yellow fin and a bunch of skipjack.  We also had a marlin bite at the bouy on a live bait.  It was just kind of a half hearted bite.  Not really to hungry I guess.  It just grabbed the bait and then let it go.  You need to book a 3/4 or a full day to get to otec buoy.  You can not make it there on a half day.  If you did want to fish a half day,  I would go up to the airport and fish up there.  It looked pretty good yesterday when I was passing by.
September 19, 2008
Gayle Devoe and friends fished a 3/4 day with us.  We went out to otec buoy to catch some yellow fintuna a nd skipjack tuna.  We got some bad new when we arrived at the buoy.  There were porpoise at the buoy.  Every fish we caught the porpoise ate.   We cold not get one fish to the boat.   So we changed our plan.  We trolled  back in to the airport area and caught some very small tuna and dropped them down to the bottom.  We caught 2 nice sandbar sharks.   So the total trip we ended up with 4 small tuna and 2 sharks.  No trolling bites.  Kona tourism is really slow.  Not to many boats getting out.  We did happen to sea a boat catch a shortnose spearfish and another boat hook a marlin.  
September 8, 2008
Was a very busy summer for us.  We ended up first in points in the Maui Jim Marlin Series.  We won the lazy man marlin tournament, 2nd in the big island tournament and 3rd in the skins tournament.  We caught 8 marlin in these 3 tournaments to win us the points race.  We caught around 35-40 blue marlin this summer.  Plus a few giant yellow fin tuna and a bunch of ono.  The buoy's are still holding football size yellow fin tuna and skip jack tuna.  We hooked a nice marlin on friday about a 1/2 mile from otec buoy.  We caught a shark plus a bunch of tuna that day.
July 8 & 9, 2008
We took Carl Bland and his family from www.trophysturgeon.net to southpoint on a two day trip.  On the way down we caught Roy his first blue marlin.  Estimated around 300 lbs.  About a half an hour later we hooked one for carl estimated to be about 700lbs.  Carl fought the fish for 30 minutes and got it to the back of the boat where we pulled hooks on the leader.  Then we went in to ono lane and landed 20 ono in two days.  We lost about 5 ono as well.  Was a great trip.  
ono fishing kona hawaii
Click on pictures below to see a larger version.
   
May 27, 2008
The marlin fishing in kona is just starting to happen.  We hooked a nice one today but got off.  The family and I went to south point over the weekend and caught 10 ono and a couple of tunas plus some night time bottom fish.  Zac and Hana caught all these fish.
March 19, 2008
The fishing in Kona is  picking up.  Ono are being caught everyday.  I had 6 billfish bites yesterday.  We had a triple stripe marlin bite.  Lost all three of them.  Then a couple minutes later we caught two spearfish that we hooked at the same time.  As we were going back to the harbor a nice blue marlin grabbed are long corner lure.   Today I saw 2 nice marlin caught beside me and we captured two mahi mahi  for our charter.
February 25, 2008
We just got back from a south point trip.  We  fished for 2 days and 1 night.  We caught 4 ono 40-60 pounds, 2 Ahi tuna about 25 lbs each,  7 Giant Trevally, and 3 Big Amber Jack.  We also caught some small snapper and  bait fish.  We missed 3 marlin strikes on the way home,  one of them was 400 + pounds.  This is the best charter to do from now to end of summer.  You will get the most action and the most amount of time fishing for your money.  Ask about the trip.  You will not be disappointed.
Janurary 1, 2008
Fishing in kona has been good this winter.  We have been catching a lot of shortnose spearfish, stripe marlin, and mahi mahi.  It is 100% better than the last couple of years.  Picture below is a spearfish we caught Ulla on a half day.  We also caught my wife a striped marlin that day.  This week we caught 2 very big amberjack on the bottom.  
December 8, 2007
The weather has been bad in Kona.  We have not been able to fish the last 5 days.  But before then we were catching mahi mahi almost everyday.  The short nose spearfish are also showing up now.
November 13, 2007
Mahi Mahi's are being caught pretty consistently.  The marlin fishing is a little slow now.  The stripe marlin and the spearfish should be picking up as we get in to the winter months.  This time is also real good for the mahi mahi as well.  The bottom fishing is starting to get good.  Lots of amber jack's and gray snapper this time of year.  We have also been doing good at the buoy's for football size yellow fin tuna and skipjack tuna.
June 10,2007
Mark Olson caught this big one at the end of the day.  Estimated weight 750 lbs





















June 1, 2007
June threw August is the best time for fishing in Kona.  We are seeing blue marlin being caught everyday.  The ono bite is still great.  The big yellow fin tuna fishing is a little slow but the mahi mahi fishing is good.
May 4, 2007
The marlin fishing is good.  In Kona yesterday there was a 812 pound blue marlin, and a 525 pound blue marlin caught.  We had a 300 pounder on today.  The ono fishing has been good.  We caught 14 ono and 1 mahi mahi Monday.  Looks like its going to be a good summer.
March 28, 2007
The marlin bite has been great the last month.  We had 7 strikes and tagged 2  blue marlin this week.  Also the ono are running now.  We caught a 35 lb ono today and a 20 lb mahi mahi.  The mahi mahi fishing has also been good this march.   We have caught a fish every day of the month either by trolling or bottom fishing.  Only have been skunked one day this year so far and that was a half day of fishing.
Feb 27, 2007
The trolling bite in Kona is a little slow last couple of weeks.  But we did catch a short nose spearfish today.  We also caught some mahi mahi and a stripe marlin earlier in the week.  The bottom fishing has been good.  We caught a almaco jack and half of  a gray snapper( a shark ate it on the way up) today.
Jan 28, 2007
Carol Parks caught an Uku (gray snapper) that is going to be hard to beat and is the biggest of the year.  The bottom fishing is good.  Also we caught some yellowfin tuna out at F buoy this week.  Had a nice blue marlin strike on Sunday.  We managed to catch a tiger shark that was  700 lbs or bigger that Bob Jenive angled for over 2 hours on 50 lb test.


































Jan 8, 2007
The new year started out great for us.  We tagged and released a 300 lb blue marlin on Jan 3rd.  Tagged aa stripe marlin about 70 lbs on Jan 5 for Greg Lundquist.  We killed a 60 lb. spear fishon Jan2.  We caught small tuna, 2 uku, 3 sharks, and 8 amberjack this week as well.    
December 28, 2006
Today we tagged and released 3 blue marlin just 2 hours in to our half day fishing trip.  There is not to many places in the world you can do this.  Yesterday we bottom fished and caught 12 amber jack and one trevally.  The ranged from 15-50 lbs.  The bottom is great and so is the trolling this last week.

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