Sam Wagenvoord

Captain James came through! I had friends visiting from the mainland and booked the Whipsaw because they have one of the best catch rates for Honolulu charter boats. Captain James gave a safety orientation and then we were underway. 1st mate Nate gave an awesome fishing orientation that included info for the novice & experienced fisherman. The trend for the week we went was that most boats weren’t catching so I prepared my mainland friends for possibly a long boat ride. However Captain James brought us into one of the largest aku piles I had ever seen. Along with four other boats, we worked the pile but unfortunately they weren’t biting but what an amazing site to get to witness. Even if we didn’t hook up, I was already satisfied. Over the course of the day we had two knockdowns, one of which was marlin and 1st mate Nate aggressively reeled and free spooled to see if the marlin would give us a second chance to hook up but it just didn’t happen. Towards the end of the day we decided to run the 40 fathom ledge heading back to dock to see if we could catch an ono. Much to our surprise we ended up hooking up and landing a 20 pound yellowfin tuna. A very happy ending for a full day of fishing. The crew cleaned the fish so there was sashimi for everyone. I have been on many charter boats but in all my years, the Whipsaw is one of the nicest boats with a very hospitable crew. I booked their boat two other times and fished with Captain Will & 1st mate Tom and they as well are true professionals. On top of it all, the air conditioned cabin is a nice treat to beat the heat. I will definitely book the Whipsaw in the future.