| Copyright 2006 by The Haole Crab |
| Big bull in Kona! Sierra's state record mahi |
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| While David boated his mahi, Willie and I hung around the buoy, waiting for the school to return. In the meantime, David had reloaded and gotten back in the water. I was starting to feel bummed again. Maybe the school had gotten spooked, maybe that was it, maybe I wouldn't see any more fish... and then David gave a yell. While Willie and I had been looking up current, a BIG bull mahi had sneaked up behind us. Willie turned around and the fish was right behind him. As soon as he saw it, it took off right in my direction. He was totally lit up and agressive looking, with his dorsal fin raised up high. Somehow, I whipped the hybrid around and squeezed off a shot as the fish blazed by. My heart sank when I saw where he was hit. My shot was low, not where I would have liked it to be. The bull ran on the surface briefly, before he dove and headed for the buoy's anchor chain. Willie was yelling at me to keep him off the chain, and I knew that if he wrapped up, he would be able to rip off. The tagline actually bent around the chain before he miraculously changed direction and headed into the blue. I couldn't believe how hard this fish was fighting. By now, he was heading straight down. I would pull up a little line, and he would take off for the bottom so hard that I had no choice but to let go. Several times he even pulled me completely under water. All the time that I was fighting the fish, I had Tad, David, and Willie cheering me on! |
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| Story by Sierra Mahin Photos by Tad Shimabukuro and David McIntire It was Monday night in Kona, and I was having a hard time sleeping because I was so excited. Exactly one year ago, I had been on a bluewater trip to Kona where my husband, Willie Mahin, had speared a 50.5 pound bull mahi. I had been on several bluewater dives at the buoys since then, and I had hit a couple of nice sized mahis that I had lost. The last one was a real heartbreaker, because even though I partially stoned the fish, the barb got jammed shut and the fish managed to barely wiggle off the shaft and slip away. I really wanted a big mahi, and after that last fish, I was starting to get discouraged. When Willie was planning our second trip to Kona, he told me that this would be my trip, that I would get my fish on this one, and I hoped he was right. My father-in-law, David McIntire, was also along for the trip, and the three of us met Tad Shimabukuro at Honokohau Harbor early Tuesday morning. Tad was jamming as usual, and we were underway in no time. When we got to VV buoy, it was surrounded by a ton of boats, so we continued south. After a short ride, we arrived at C buoy. The three of us geared up and slipped into the water, and Tad headed up current to throw in some palu. I was using Willie's brand new Daryl Wong Magnum hybrid and had a 100-foot Riffe tagline running to a Riffe inflatable float. We slowly drifted towards the buoy in the calm, blue water. In the distance, I saw a school of mahis approach David from the outside and watched as he shot the biggest one. |
| The bull finally started to weaken, and I was able to slowly bring him up. When he was about 70 feet from the surface, Willie dove down to see how secure the shot was. When he came up, he told me that he was worried that it might rip off. Even though I was using a slip tip, the bull had pulled so hard that he had torn up the entry hole, and with the shot so low, Willie was worried that with another hard run, the slip tip cable might pull through. I really, really didn't want to lose this fish, so he dove down and with his Wong Ono gun put a shaft right through the bull's head (he later admitted to being really worried that he would spook the fish, causing it to rip off!). We all breathed a sigh of relief, and I started hauling the bull up to the surface. |
| When I finally got him in my hands, I couldn't believe how big he was! I had done it! Yes! We got him on the boat and took pictures. After we got back to the harbor, we got an official weigh slip. He weighed 41.5 pounds, which is 8.5 punds bigger than the current women's record and is a new women's state spearfishing record. Even though the second shot means that the fish won't replace the current world record, I feel that it was the right thing to do and that keeping it from tearing off and dying needlessly showed respect for my catch. One thing is for sure, I'll remember my big bull forever! Home |