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Few places carry the same weight in blue marlin fishing as Kona. The deep water rises quickly off the Big Island, the fleet is packed with longtime local legends, and every summer the docks at Honokohau Harbor begin to buzz as the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series (HMTS) moves into its busiest stretch.
That energy was on full display during the Kona Kick-Off and Firecracker Open, two tournaments that helped turn the first week of July into one of the liveliest windows of the Kona big-game season. With the Blue Marlin World Cup layered into the Fourth of July weekend, crews were watching leaderboards, comparing bites at the harbor and keeping one eye on the worldwide race for the biggest blue marlin.
The Kona Kick-Off (KKO), held June 27-29, served as the unofficial opening bell for Kona’s prime marlin season. But unlike a standard points race, the KKO’s four-flags format is built around the heaviest fish of each eligible species, with the largest marlin taking top honors outright. Release points only come into play if no qualifying marlin are weighed.
That distinction proved decisive this year. Capt. Carlton Taniyama’s Five Star weighed a 595-pound blue marlin, caught by Bono Hauanio, to claim the overall victory and the tournament’s top marlin prize. The fish was worth 595 points on the leaderboard, but more importantly, it was the only marlin weighed during the event—making Five Star the unquestioned champion under the format.
Of the other three flag fish which receive awards under this tournament’s structure, Ambush weighed the largest ahi, a 106-pound yellowfin, and Pursuit weighed the largest Ono at 16 pounds.
With no additional weighed marlin to separate the remaining teams, release points determined second and third Place honors. Capt. Teddy Hoogs and the 46-foot Gamefisherman Bwana finished second after compiling 900 release points, the highest release total in the field. Capt. Kevin Hibbard and 2nd Offense finished third with 330 points.
Then came the Firecracker Open, a perennial Kona favorite that always brings added energy to the harbor. This year’s event drew 35 boats with more than $584,000 in prize money on the line. The timing also put the tournament directly alongside the Blue Marlin World Cup, adding a global layer to an already charged Fourth of July weekend.
After a strong showing in the KKO, Bwana once again found its rhythm. Hoogs and crew secured the overall win, followed by Capt. Gaige Inscore’s Kona Cowboy in second and Taniyama’s Five Star in third, giving the latter another early-series podium finish.
The highlight for Bwana came at the scales, where the team weighed a 732-pound blue marlin. The fish came one day after the Blue Marlin World Cup, a painful bit of timing considering the 2026 World Cup-winning fish weighed 653 pounds. Instead, the blue became the signature catch of Bwana’s Firecracker victory as they continue to be the “hot hand” in Kona this summer.
The series now moves into a packed midseason run with the Kona Throw Down and Skins Marlin Derby next, followed by the Big Island Marlin Tournament and It’s a Wrap in late August. There is still plenty of fishing left in the series, but Bwana is sitting pretty after several strong early-season performances.
