Goodfellow Bros. crew catches 1,073-pound marlin off of Kauai

A Goodfellow Bros. Inc. crew reeled in a record-breaking marlin from Kauai waters on Saturday during a trip to do some team building.

The marlin weighed in at 1,073 pounds. It ranks as the 65th-largest blue marlin ever caught in the state and is listed as the second-largest blue marlin taken from Kauai waters, according to Hawaii Fishing News’ list of “Hawaii Granders.” The list records marlin caught in isle waters that have weighed 1,000 pounds or more.

It has since been nicknamed the “Yamasaki Grander” after the boat captain, Steven Yamasaki.

Goodfellow Bros. said the crew set out from Nawiliwili Harbor at 6 a.m. Saturday on the Taipan V, a 50-foot boat skippered by Yamasaki and crewed by Dennis Silva and Larry Hutchins. The crew on board were made up of GBI staff and members of the Operators Local 3 and Laborers Local 368, including Tristan and Jane Gonzales, Peter and Lyndsey Kahale, Micah Higashi, Austin Parinas-Kenney and Siosaia Talakai.

The marlin hit the center lure outside of Makahuena at about 2 p.m. Saturday

Reeling it in was a team effort. Five times, the crew reeled in the marlin next to the boat, but it fought and escaped — at one point going airborne, trying to shake the hook off. After an hour and a half, the crew finally managed to get the marlin onto the boat.

“This is one fishing trip that will live on in the record books and more so, in the memories of the crew,” Goodfellow Bros. said in a news release. “No fishing tales here … only the real thing … the unbelievable catch that did not get away! The Yamasaki Grander!”