Stevie Wonder by Isaac Brumaghim

I dialed my phone  at 6:00 am "Steve Wonder, whea you stay?" I asked. "Im going through the Kolekole pass right now, Ill be there in 15 min" Steve replied. "Hurry up the fish waiting for you" I reminded him. Steve had not been out with the Aqua Hunters since last years run, he could not wait to get out there. Till this point Steve had only pulled in ahas and was dying to get a shot at a trophy yak fish. For two days Steve and I visited, we talked fishing and prepped rigs and bait for the excursion. Steve had just come from a 24 hr work shift but was in a great mood this Saturday morning. "Lets do this!" He announced before our yaks hit the water. We paddled out to a depth of 200 ft. Steve dropped his fresh akule bait out and started trolling. I was farthest out with Craig the closest to the shore and Steve was trailing between us 15 yards back. We had been trolling for only 30 minutes when I heard those heavenly words from Steve "Hanapaa, hanapaa!"  I snapped my head around searching past Steve's yak to see a big bull mahi leap into the air. "WooHoo, big mahimahi!" yelled Steve. A smile came over me, here we go I thought. The mahi took control early as Steve gave him room to run and wear himself down. For an hour Steve was pulled by this green, blue, and purple giant as he broke through the water and into the air a good six times. Craig and I kept our distance but could still hear Steve's 950ss Penn reel scream at every run by the bull. Finally out of runs the stubborn fish circled slowly up from nearly 150ft. Slowly Steve got the mahi near the top where it displayed a strong yellow color, a sign that the fish was tired. In one swoop the gaff had entered the bulls eye and was secured. Though not an accomplished yak fisherman till this point, Steves background of boat fishing and ulua fishing helped him tame the big bully. As I got ready to snap photos of his trophy yak fish I remember thinking how happy Steve was when he caught his first fish...a 3 lb aha. Wouldn't that picture look great next to this one? Congrats Steve, I still think of those days with you last year...you have come a long way my friend.

         The aftermath was not as fun. Physically spent, Steve threw his guts up while Craig and I laughed hysterically. We fought a strong current for the next 2 hours before making our way back to shore. For the record Steves bully weighed in at 34 lbs. I pulled in a 16 lb cow and an uku, and Craig hauled in a 15 lb omilu ulua. It was a exciting day fishing with good friends...Aloha Isaac