HAWAIIAN SHOOTOUT SERIES - About Us

My occupation is a charter captain on Maui and I’ve been fishing in Hawaii for the last 20 years. Even though I can’t imagine doing any thing else for a living, my life as a fisherman is 16 hour days and low income. I am raising three children and have always had to rely on additional income from commercial fishing and lure making in order to make ends meet. I found myself getting tired of depending on my charters knowledge of tip etiquette, or praying for a cargo net or log, just to make a decent wage. I started looking forward to the fishing tournaments more and more, just to have the “chance” to win some extra money. A lottery….with much better odds. I would read and hear about all of the big money fishing contests all around the world and I realized that if I wanted to fish more tournaments I would have to organize some myself!

When the Lahaina Yacht Club decided to change their venue and move the Lahaina Jackpot from Halloween to summer, to me it was like the NFL moving the Super Bowl from Sunday. I was determined to stick with tradition and bring a tournament back to Maui on Halloween. In mid September 2002 I began passing out flyers for the 1st Annual Halloween Shootout. I picked up some local sponsors to help finance this project. I got some t-shirts and hats made up in hope of getting ten to fifteen boats entered in the first year ($1,000.00 entry fee winner takes all). I got this tournament template from the Blue Marlin World Cup. We had 25 boats the first year. Last year we had 62 entries and a winner’s check for $51,000.00 was given away to local fisherman. What a great reward and small payback for the countless days of free maintenance on the boat, given every year. This was the largest first place payout in Maui fishing history.

This tournament was created to give me the opportunity, along with every other fisherman, the chance to win the big jackpot. The organizing and planning of these tournaments requires a lot of time and money. While doing the dreadful task of gathering sponsors somebody asked “Who is your charity for this tournament? “ It just came to me that the charity is the fisherman and his family. Think about the truth of that for a minute…

The continued success of this Shootout series depends on the support of the community. Imagine a restaurant in Hawaii not having the “catch of the day” on their menu. The profit margin of fish sales from restaurant to tourist, far exceed the profit margin of fisherman to restaurant. Any local business that is benefiting from the fishing industry should feel a responsibility or better yet just a desire to give a little back.

After a very successful Kenny Takashima Halloween Shootout I decided to create a Statewide Championship…..The Blue Marlin Spring Shootout. This Shootout has a very unique format in that it is a state wide contest with one state champion and several individual harbor winners. The entry is $1,000.00 with $500.00 going to the largest Blue Marlin in each qualifying Harbor. The remaining $500.00 goes to the largest Blue Marlin in the State. Fifteen percent of the winnings will go towards tournament costs and expenses.

This is a fishermen’s tournament, for fisherman, run by fishermen. Our main, ground floor sponsor for the Kenny Takashima Halloween Shootout was Lahaina Shell. My goal is to bring this tournament to a world class level, eventually having over 200 entries and giving out several hundred thousand dollars in checks. The original sponsors will not be forgotten for their support and kokua! Any help in the early stages is so appreciated, welcomed and not forgotten!

Mark your calendars for Memorial Weekend, this seems like a good date for this championship format because it is a holiday and there are no other tournaments in conflict with this day. Fishing statistics show that May has always produced big Blue Marlin statewide. Recent fishing records show that Granders have been caught in the state of Hawaii in the month of May.

Tournaments are our time to have fun and take pride in our work. It’s our time to show off our skills. It’s our time to hopefully walk away with a big check. I hope to pull Hawaii’s fishing community closer together, for all of our benefits! Hope to hear from you soon.