1,166-Pound Marlin a Potential Record

A 68-year-old retired firefighter from Torrance set a potential world record Thursday when he landed a 1,166-pound Pacific blue marlin in competition off Kailua-Kona.

Ray Hawkes, a member of the Balboa Angling Club of California No. 2, landed the giant fish after a 2-hour 18-minute struggle, using 50-pound test line. He was aboard the charter boat Sea Strike on the final day of pro-am competition preceding the opening Monday of the Hawaii International Billfish Tournament.

Confirmation of the record will await testing of the line by the International Game Fish Assn.

“I knew it was a big fish the moment it hit,” said the excited Hawkes as the fish was being weighed at the dock.

Hawkes’ marlin was too big to bring aboard the boat and had to be towed to the dock.

Hawkes told a crowd gathered at the pier, “Four of us held onto the rope for dear life” as the marlin continued its struggle after being gaffed.

Other club members included team captain Mike Walsh of Marina del Rey and Joe Mojica of Sarasota, Fla.

According to Hawkes, the marlin dived deep after swallowing the lure, taking with it nearly his entire 1,100 yards of line.

The old record of 1,062 pounds for a marlin caught on 50-pound test line was by Gil Kraemer of the Laguna Niguel Billfish Club No. 1. Kraemer, coincidentally, made his catch in the same waters during the Hawaii International Billfish Tournament in 1986.

Hawkes and other members of the Balboa Angling Club No. 2 won the four-day pro-am contest over 35 other teams.

The boat captains are designated as the pros. In the case of the winning California team, that honor went to Dale Leverone of Kailua-Kona, skipper of the 31-foot charter boat from which the record hookup was made.