Honolulu offshore trip lands 80-pound yellowfin tuna and striped marlin

An 80-pound yellowfin tuna and a striped marlin gave Play N Hooky Sportfishing the kind of mixed offshore day Honolulu charter anglers book when they want a real shot at more than one pelagic in the same run. The June 23 outing showed the appeal of a bluewater trip built around flexibility, not a single-species bet.

Captain Teoni Black ran the trip aboard Play N Hooky, a 41-foot Hatteras. Black was born on Oahu and is the grandson of Bob Black, the Waianae fisherman whose name still carries weight in Hawaii’s offshore scene. That local pedigree matters on days like this one, when the bite can swing fast between billfish and tuna and the captain has to read the water, the bait and the strikes as they develop.

The report did not stop at one headline fish. It also tagged mahi mahi, yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, blue marlin and wahoo, a spread that points to a broad pelagic bite rather than a narrow target. That is the kind of Honolulu offshore setup tuna-minded clients actually buy: enough structure, current and bait to keep several predators in play, with the possibility that a tuna run turns into a marlin day or a wahoo diversion before the boat heads home.

The yellowfin piece of the story fits the wider Hawaii fishery. NOAA says Pacific yellowfin tuna in Hawaii are targeted with hook-and-line, pelagic longline or troll gear, and they often gather around drifting flotsam, fish aggregating devices, anchored buoys and other large marine animals. NOAA Fisheries also notes that the western Pacific pelagic fishery management plan covering tuna, swordfish, marlin and other offshore species was first implemented on March 23, 1987, a reminder that these fish have long been managed as one interconnected fishery.

Play N Hooky has been in the mix before. On June 16, the same boat reported two striped marlin, one blue marlin released and mahi mahi, and on May 9 it logged four mahi, a 100-pound ahi and one ono. Honolulu currently lists 39 fishing charters, and the steady run of mixed-bag reports helps explain why. For anglers chasing tuna without booking a tuna-only trip, this is the model: go offshore, keep the spread wide, and stay ready when the next strike comes on a different species than the last.