NAME: Andrea Kawabata
FISH: Moana Kali
WEIGHT: 4.12 lb.
LOCATION: Puna, Big Island
DATE: 2/17/08
WEAPON: Amirite Venom 105cm
FROM: Shore

Rick and Angela surprised me with a brand new 105 cm Aimrite Venom at the Tokunaga’s Expo. I was trying to get used to the new safety mechanism on the handle, so I decided to hang up my Beuchat and get some dives in. My partner Chris Ragasa and I went to Puna and before we jumped in I told him that I had a good feeling about the dive that morning. After jumping in, I hooked up my gun to my tag line (which I don’t normally do), thinking that I’d shoot my first Ulua that day and swam off. Everytime I made a dive, I felt as if the fish were very wary about something. I figured it had to be my tag line so I unclipped it and anchored my float. Not long after, I spotted a couple of Kalis. The larger one was either hunting or showing off to his comrade and the other was cruising. I made a drop to the side of them and scratched some rocks. After starting to swim away, the larger Kali turned around and swam straight towards me. It came in so close straight on that I had to wait for the fish to turn as it swam away. I took a shot (looks like a bad one) and went up with my fish.

NAME: Dane Nakama
FISH: Nohu
WEIGHT: 6.79 lb.
LOCATION: East Oahu
DATE: 9/8/08
WEAPON: Riffe Euro 110
FROM: Shore

NAME: Philip Heileson

FISH: Table Boss

WEIGHT: 6.05 lb.

LOCATION: Waimanalo, Hawaii

DATE: 8/23/08

WEAPON: 55’ Wong hybrid

FROM: Kayak

NAME: Kawainui Lagunte

FISH: Nohu (Scorpionfish)

WEIGHT: 6.75 lb 

LOCATION: Hilo, Hawaii

DATE: 9/16/07

WEAPON: 3-Prong

FROM: Shore

NAME: Kimi Werner

SPECIES: Whiptail Uhu (red)

WEIGHT: 11.6 lbs.

LOCATION: North Shore, Oahu

DATE: 5/20/07

FROM: Boat

WEAPON: Omer 100

SYNOPSIS: I went diving on the North Shore, and came across a pile of fish in about 30 feet of water. I took a drop, flattened out on the bottom, and waited for the fish to come closer. I spotted a smaller uhu, about 8 lbs, that was slightly out of range. I put my head down, hoping to draw her closer, and waited several seconds. I looked up, and noticed that an even bigger uhu had come near. I immediately pointed and shot, and hit the fish right behind the head. The fish was completely stunned and didn’t fight much at all.

NAME: Sky Sierran Kubby

DATE: March 11, 2007

SPECIES: Roi (peacock grouper)

WEIGHT: 7 pounds, 14 ounces

LOCATION: McKenzie Point, Puna Coast, Big Island

WEAPON: Immersion Triaxx Carbon

FROM: Shore

SYNOPSIS: I was fishing with my friends Zsolt and Dave at Mackenzie Point on the Puna Coast, Big Island. The first day was too rough and not much was going for the live bait we caught. So on the 2nd day, Dave and I jumped in.I speared Waha-nui, Palani, Nenue, Uhu and a few good size Opelu Kala that were in to breed, swarming around me in nice schools. In the midsts of all the frenzie, after stringing up a good-sized Opelu-Kala, I spotted this big Roi and went down for a better look. He was swimming in open water, slurping up chunks of Opelu-Kala guts. When he saw me, he shot across the reef with a few powerful thrusts of his fat tail. I followed him across the reef and snuck up behind the rock he slid under. There I saw the Roi’s big lips sticking out from his hole in about 40 feet of water.

I speared him in the head but still had to battle him a bit to sink my knife.At first I didn’t think he was that big, but when I got back to our fishing spot and my friends helped me hoist the load out of the water, they kept exclaiming how big and fat he was for a Roi. I know there’s bigger ones out there, but it weighed in at Tokanaga’s store at just under 8lbs for a new state record. I think David Sakoda’s previous record from October ‘05 was longer, but this one is fatter.

I fried strips from one fillet in beer/vodka batter and the other half in garlic and butter. I stayed away from the head, but trust no cig here because it’s the East side Puna Coast and there have been no reports- almost bluewater where it drops off so fast some places.

NAME: Rob White

LOCATION: Kona, Hawaii

DATE: 6/18/07

WEIGHT: 20 lbs

SPECIES: Aku (Skipjack Tuna)

WEAPON: Riffe Comp 4X

FROM: Boat

SYNOPSIS: Not much to tell. I was out looking for ahi this weekend and this thing came up with plenty of attitude. He just swam around like he owned the place. Easy shot right through the head, but it still pulled me under a couple of times. Strong little bugga! 

NAME:  Elvin Chang

DATE:   February 18, 2007

LOCATION: Kaneohe Bay, Oahu

SPECIES: Toau (Blacktail Snapper)

WEIGHT: 2.65 lbs

WEAPON: Homemade 3 prong

FROM: Shore

This is a post about the new bigeye tuna record, with the story, photos, whatever.

Click here for all current HSD Spearfishing Records

Hawai’i Skin Diver 21st Century State Spearfishing Records (Last update: 09.15.08)

Record fish must be captured within the “spirit” of spearfishing guidelines. The wild, unrestricted, uninjured fish must be speared with a muscle-powered device while breath-hold diving during daylight hours. The spearfisherman should be reasonably unassisted. Fish must be speared within the main Hawaiian Islands. Eligible fishes include any “generally accepted” game fish. We are accepting retroactive applications for fish speared after January 1, 2000. Records will be awarded only to fishes which meet documentation requirements and can be independently verified.

Caught a big one recently? Download an application form, fill it out and send it to us for consideration for inclusion here.