Cover Story: 120-lb Marlin from a ‘Yak!
Wind and swell direction are crucial factors when kayak fishing for marlin in Hawai‘i. Having the right gear and physical conditioning are obviously important, too. And, as my friend Andy Cho on the Big Island likes to say, you gotta get lucky sometimes.
In early January, my friend Chris “Da Hammah” Paglinawan gave me a report on a strong marlin bite, so I relayed the info to my kayak fishing partner, Joon Yang. We knew the spot; we just had to get lucky with the swell and wind in order to reach it.
As Joon and I pulled up to Makaha Beach before dawn on January 10, we quickly determined we could not safely launch. Even in the darkness, we could hear waves cracking nearby; the ocean was racing up the sand only 50 feet from the road. The winds were forecasted to be light and variable that day, so we certainly had that in our favor. Launching from a world-class break
