Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives. Sign up for the free Marlin email newsletter.
By the final weeks of the 2026 Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series, there was an anxious kind of energy around Honokohau Harbor.
The season was getting late, but the feeling among veteran captains, crews and longtime Kona hands was that the fishing might be, too. The talk around the docks was familiar: This year was late. The fish were coming. Give it time.
They were right.
The final two tournaments of the HMTS season produced some of the most memorable fishing of the year in Kona, beginning with a 683-pound blue marlin that carried Kona Dream to victory in the Big Island Marlin Tournament and culminating with an It’s a Wrap finale that filled the scales with the biggest blue marlin of the season, in a fitting send-off for the 2026 series.
A Kona Dream at the BIMT
The Big Island Marlin Tournament set the stage. Fifteen teams combined for 25 blue marlin as the competitive fleet battled for a purse approaching $300,000.
Unlike many point-based events, the BIMT awards its top three overall positions based on the weight of qualifying marlin, and one fish ultimately made the difference.
Fishing aboard Kona Dream, angler Kaniela Hauanio brought a 683-pound blue marlin to the scales to secure first place. Combined with two additional blue marlin releases, the team also accumulated the most points in the tournament and earned $41,243.75.
Lightspeed finished second with an impressive 602-pound blue marlin. The team also tagged and released another blue, finishing with the third-most points in the fleet and taking home $56,026.25.
Bwana rounded out the podium with a 586-pound blue marlin caught by owner and angler Craig Linder. Two additional blue marlin releases gave the team the second-highest point total of the tournament, while its strong showing across the optional categories produced a tournament-best payout of $140,087.50.
More importantly for the season-long race, Bwana left the Big Island Marlin Tournament with 5,331 HMTS points and the series lead. Last Chance sat second with 4,005, followed by Tantrum, Apex and Lightspeed.
Only one tournament remained, and Kona was just getting warmed up.
Last Chance Shines at It’s a Wrap
For a fishery that had spent much of the season wondering when Kona might fully show its hand, the answer arrived at the last possible moment. Or perhaps at the last chance would be more fitting.
The 2026 HMTS finale produced 23 blue marlin and one ahi, but the raw catch total told only part of the story. What stood out was the quality of the fish coming to the scale.
James Bach and Pursuit set the bar with an 854-pound blue marlin, not only the largest fish of It’s a Wrap but the largest marlin weighed during the entire 2026 Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series. Jeffrey Stafford and Tantrum followed with a 667-pounder, while Linder added a 633-pound blue for Bwana. Lei’n Low weighed a 620-pounder, and the leaderboard continued deep with quality blues of 580, 556, 522, 477 and 407 pounds.
No team, however, seized the moment more dramatically than Last Chance.
Entering the finale second in the HMTS standings, Last Chance put together a remarkable tournament that included three weighed blue marlin and one release, all caught by Chad Beaudry. The team weighed fish of 580, 556 and 522 pounds, with two coming on the final day. When the points were counted, Last Chance had amassed 1,823 to win It’s a Wrap and take home $60,380.
Pursuit finished second with 1,349 points behind Bach’s 854-pound blue and three additional releases. The performance earned the team the tournament’s highest payout of $62,680, along with the distinction of weighing the largest marlin of the 2026 HMTS season.
Lei’n Low rounded out the podium with 1,097 points from two weighed fish, a 620-pounder and a 477-pounder.
Bwana Takes the Series Title
For all the drama of Last Chance’s final push, however, the season belonged to Bwana.
Capt. Teddy Hoogs and team entered the final stretch with an advantage built on far more than consistency. Bwana had already claimed victories in both the Kona Kick Off and Firecracker Open while adding several quality weighed blue marlin throughout the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series to steadily build its season total.
That production continued when it mattered most. At the Big Island Marlin Tournament, Bwana placed third overall with Linder’s 586-pound blue, accumulated the tournament’s second-highest point total and led all teams in earnings. At It’s a Wrap, the team answered again, finishing fourth with 963 points while Linder added a 633-pound blue marlin to an already impressive season résumé.
It was the kind of complete body of work that wins a season-long championship. Other teams surged at different points, but Bwana combined tournament victories, quality weighed fish and steady point production from start to finish. Even Last Chance’s extraordinary closing charge was not quite enough to erase the advantage.
Bwana finished the 2026 Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series atop the standings with 6,294 points, while owner Craig Linder finished as the Top Angler with an impressive 6,144 total points.
Last Chance’s late charge carried it to second with 5,828 points, followed by Tantrum with 3,366.5. Pursuit climbed to fourth with 2,579, and Ambush finished fifth with 2,546.5.
“What an incredible season of fishing and fun,” HMTS Tournament Director Laura Dowsett said. “Our teams battled it out down to the final day, and there was excitement at every turn. Kona delivered quality opportunities for our fleet to showcase their skill, and the finish was a great reminder of just how special this fishery can be.”
The final weeks brought a 683-pound BIMT winner, an 854-pound series-best blue, a three-fish weighing performance from Last Chance and a season championship for Bwana. It was a fitting ending to a Kona season that appeared determined to save some of its best for last.
More than anything, the finale showed Kona finishing strong and set the stage for another compelling Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series in 2027.
2026 HMTS Final Standings – Top Boat
- Bwana — Capt. Teddy Hoogs — 6,294 points
- Last Chance — Capt. Tracey Epstein — 5,828 points
- Tantrum — Capt. Nick Durham — 3,366.5 points
- Pursuit — Capt. Jason Holtz — 2,579 points
- Ambush — Capt. Mike Bartell — 2,546.5 points
- APEX — Capt. Cyrus Widhalm — 2,430 points
- Lightspeed — Capt. Rob Ellyn — 2,279 points
- Five Star — Capt. Carlton Taniyama — 1,970.5 points
- Kona Dream — Capt. David Borges Jr. — 1,872 points
- Lei’n Low — Capt. Nate Figueroa — 1,667 points
2026 HMTS Final Standings – Top Angler
- Craig Lindner — Bwana — 6,144 points
- Chad Beaudry — Last Chance — 4,943 points
- Jeffrey Stafford — Tantrum — 3,194 points
- Bono Hauanio — Five Star — 1,970.5 points
- Mike Shimamoto — Lightspeed — 1,667 points
- Kaniela Hauanio — Nākoa’s Kona Dream — 1,542 points
- Kathleen Wyatt — Sea Genie — 1,403.5 points
- James Bach — Pursuit — 1,349 points
- Donald Ensle — Ambush — 1,307 points
- Sam Williamson — Lei’n Low — 1,172 points
