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Bobby Brown’s IGFA Gifford Award
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) bestowed the prestigious Tommy Gifford Award on Hawai‘i-born Capt. Bobby Brown for “extraordinary contributions to the advancement of sport fishing through innovation, outstanding catches or noteworthy examples of leadership.” Capt. Brown is the first Hawai‘i captain to receive the honor. He was born in Hilo, Hawai‘i in 1946. At age 12, he caught his first blue marlin, which weighed 456 lbs. Bobby became a licensed captain in 1967. In 1971, he landed his first grander as a captain, a 1,170-lb Pacific blue marlin taken on 80-lb test line.
In the ’80s, Capt. Brown chartered out of Kona during the days when captains like Black Bart, Jeff Fay, Dave Beaudet, Freddy Rice and others were making a ruckus in the sportfishing world. Then, on an indelible Memorial Day, while captaining the 43’ Merritt NO PROBLEM, Capt. Brown etched his name in sea lore with a colossal catch.
Here are the details of that catch:
When: May 31, 1982.
Where: Kaiwi Point, Kona, Hawai‘i.
Who: Angler Jay de Beaubien.
What: World-record all-tackle Pacific blue marlin weighing 1,376 lbs and measuring 13.5 feet in length with an 81-inch girth.
Bait: David Kita blue straight-runner.
Skipper: Capt. Bobby Brown.
Capt. Brown’s record still stands 39 years later.
According to the IGFA, the Tommy Gifford Award is named for a saltwater charter skipper who over his 50-year career developed “an encyclopedic knowledge of game fish and techniques.” Tommy, who lived from 1896 to 1970, guided some of the most famous saltwater anglers, including Ernest Hemingway. Tommy “is considered one of the most influential bluewater anglers and
