Hawaii Sportfishing : Apex’s Historic 839 lbs Marlin Win

A Rising Star in Sportfishing: Meet Capt. Cyrus Widhalm

Capt. Cyrus Widhalm and His Crew Ran the Table in July Kailua-Kona Tournaments I first met Capt. Cyrus Widhalm in 2018, and his intense focus and deep commitment to his craft was immediately apparent. He has the quiet gaze and demeanor of someone who has been hawaii sportfishing on the water daily for the past 50 years, but at only 34 years of age, he still has a ton of fishing ahead of him.

The Maiden Voyage: A Home Run Fishing Trip

Our first fishing trip together was a home run and it became readily apparent that he was always thinking about fishing, whether on or off the water. When on the water, he constantly studies all the variables of swell, tide, moon, current, and wind, continually tinkering and adjusting his game plan to match.

A Record-Breaking Catch: The Highest Dollar Grossing Fish

All of the time and focus he has spent honing his craft came to a head at 8:39 am on July 4th, 2023, when he hooked what ended up being the highest dollar grossing fish in the history of big game fishing in Kona, and the largest fish ever caught in Kona during the World Cup.

The Firecracker Open: A Prelude to Victory

The story starts on July 2nd though. Day two of the Firecracker opened with no qualifiers caught on day one. I got an invitation from Dean Lemman, owner of the 54-foot Caison, Apex, to be second angler for the tournament. Dean normally tournament fishes with his son Tim, and they are not only skilled anglers, but they were somehow covered in four-leaf clovers at birth and have a knack for being extremely lucky fisherman as well, to the point that they are referred to as the “Lucky Lemmans.” Tim had prior commitments for the Firecracker, so I was privileged enough to join Dean.

A Near Miss: The One That Got Away

It had been a very quiet morning for us as we made our way far south, past Milolii. Just before 2pm, a ripping short rigger bite broke the silence. The fish went ballistic with a fantastic air show during its initial run. We all got a good look at it and the flying gaffs immediately came out. This was clearly a qualifier and we were fired up to give her a free ride to the scale. We managed to get her settled down and had deep color within a handful of minutes. Then out of nowhere, 20 feet from the leader, it did a head shake, changed its angle, the hook slid right off its bill, and it slipped back into the deep. It would’ve easily been a $300k+ fish, but it simply was not to be.

July 4th Showdown: The Blue Marlin World Cup

Fast forward 36 hours to the morning of July 4th, which is always a huge day in the world of blue marlin fishing. This particular 4th of July, however, had added layers of risk or opportunity, depending on how you looked at it. Not only was the world-wide, Blue Marlin World Cup fishing tournament on, but it was also the first day of the 3-day Kona Throwdown tournament. There was a lot on the line, and the Lucky Lemman’s, with Tim back in action, went deep and bought in across the board on both tournaments.

The World Cup was certainly the primary focus of the day with over $1M in prize money available for this winner-take-all tournament going to the team who caught the largest marlin in the world for the day. The substantial prize money coupled with the international acclaim and recognition that come with winning the World Cup certainly ratchet up the pressure and intensity for any tournament captain.

Cyrus’s Secret Weapon: Custom-Made Lures

Cyrus is one of just a few captains who exclusively trolls with lures that he makes himself. “I started making lures 10 years back,” he said.  “After hooking my first fish on one of my shapes, I became obsessed with which shapes triggered the bite and which ones had the highest hookup ratio. Over the past decade I’ve made over 50 shapes and have whittled them down to eight catch-everything shapes. Because the World Cup is a big fish tournament, I selected my best big fish pattern. A ‘Kraken’ plunger on both corners, ‘Mayhem’ plunger on the short rigger, ‘Banshee’ (now renamed to ‘Worldcup’) on the long rigger, the large ‘Automatic’ bullet on the stinger, and two ‘Raptor’ plungers trailing behind mudflaps for the teasers.”

Strategic Mastery: Winning Tactics in Hawaii Sportfishing Tournaments

The game plan that led Cyrus to choosing the right path for this tournament win can be attributed to his time on the water and continual vigilance and reading of the conditions leading up to the bite. “There had been South current by the village (Milolii) that turned inward most of the day on the afternoon of the Firecracker,” Widhalm said.  “Prior to the Firecracker, we won the Rock’ n Reel with a fish caught in the same area, so there had been some nice fish down south leading up to the 4th.”  With the World Cup being a “start anywhere” tournament, they left Honokohau with plenty of time to head south and put the plan into play.

“On the 4th, we left the harbor at 7:30am and motored down to 900 fathoms off second flow,” Widhalm continued. “I got the feels, throttled back and killed the motors. While we waited for start fishing, Mark Rodrigues went to the covering boards and said a few words to his wife Kim, who passed in September. She must have been looking down on us because nine minutes after start fishing, Chris let out a yell that I’ll never forget.” Rodrigues is a phenomenal human being, and co-owner of Kraken with Widhalm. 

I looked at Chris and he yelled ‘big f-ing fish! She left a hole you could fit a Volkswagen in. The line was hemorrhaging off the reel as she made her first jump. The explosion of water when she landed was all I needed to see to get the gaffs out.

“After 20 minutes and three miles in reverse, we saw the Dacron loop break the water for the first time,” Widhalm continued. “We were 27 arms spans from the fish when she turned on the afterburners once more. This time she sounded straight down. Tim had to stop her before she got too deep and died. He inched up the drag from 35 pounds to 55 pounds of drag. The line coming off the real sounded like a piano string. Finally, Tim stopped her death dive and all of us were able to take a breath.

Widhalm used the current to his advantage and did a long pivot 180 degrees into the current. “Once we were faced in the right direction, Tim made quick work of the remaining 200 yards,” he said. “As the leader came into sight, her giant mass darkened the water. As the snap swivel touched the rod tip, Cole took a double wrap. Big fish love to switch back and this one was no different. She switched left, then right. Cole was able to follow her with each wrap of the leader getting us closer to a gaff shot. On her final switch she angled out off the starboard quarter and broke the surface. Cole stopped her in her tracks as Chris came in with a gaff shot. I killed the motors and ran down from the bridge. Her giant girth filled up the tuna door almost completely as we slid her into the boat. Her length was 123 inches and her girth was 70 inches. I estimated her at 750 pounds.”

A Monumental Victory: Record-Breaking Results

There were other World Cup qualifying fish caught previously in the day, including a 714-pound fish out of Bermuda. Most blues with a 123 inch short length would be shy of that mark; however, the girth of this fish was hard to describe. It was essentially shaped like a rectangle and no one on the boat had seen a fish this disproportionately fat before.  When they hoisted this absolute meatball up on the scale, it weighed in at a shocking 834.5 pounds, enough to beat out the prior World Cup leading fish and put Apex in the lead.

The Longest Day: Awaiting the Final Verdict

Now the torture began. Because they hooked the fish so early in the day, there was still a full four hours of fishing left in the tournament by the time they weighed it. And with the best captains in the world actively combing what is undoubtedly some of the globe’s most fertile fishing ground, with a huge prize purse on the line, it was still anyone’s game. There were a few more qualifying size fish hooked over the next few hours, but at the end of the day, their fish could not be bested, and they were officially the winners of Blue Marlin World Cup. “That was the longest day of my life,” said Widhalm. “The minutes it took to weigh her and get an official weight felt like years.”

This was the first time in five years that a Kona boat took the World Cup trophy, it was the largest fish ever caught in Kona during the World Cup, and because they bought in at the maximum amount for the tournament, their prize purse of $1.265M was the largest in World Cup history. On top of that, they still had a big purse on the line, and a phenomenal lead in the Kona Throwdown, which still had two days of fishing left.

Dominating the Kona Throwdown

At the end of the Throwdown, that fish, in addition to a few more that they tagged, was enough for Apex to also take first place in the Kona Throwdown. They won biggest fish of the tournament, and a handful of other daily jackpots for a total prize purse of $455,882. All told, Cyrus and team Apex shattered all previous records for highest single dollar fish in Kona history, taking in a combined total of $1,720,882. It could very well be years, if not decades, before this record is beaten. I can say with complete certainty that Cyrus, Dean and Tim Lemman, Cole Crocker, Chris Hudson and Mark Rodrigues are truly deserving of this milestone, and it is extremely fulfilling to see this next generation of Kona’s finest climb the ladder so quickly.

Dive Deeper into the World of Sportfishing

Unlock Exclusive Savings: Enjoy 50% Off Your Subscription!

Are you ready to explore the thrilling world of sportfishing from the comfort of your home? Subscribe now and embark on a journey filled with captivating stories, expert insights, and insider tips. Choose between our digital or print edition and secure an incredible 50% discount on your subscription.

Subscribe today and get ready for an adventure like no other. Click here to subscribe and elevate your sportfishing experience with InTheBite Sportfishing Magazine.