Marlin photo by Joe Thrasher and Carol Hinkle -Herren with 200 + lb ahi.

On September 24th, Kona angler Carol Hinkle-Herren set a major milestone blue marlin fishing by catching her 50th blue marlin in a time span of only nine months. This outstanding achievement should be recognized as a possible world record for a female angler. Other female anglers may have caught 50 sailfish, white or striped marlin in nine months, but so far, research has shown that Carol stands alone in the blue marlin  category.  InTheBite is curious to know if anyone is aware of a female angler who can top this feat.

Fishing onboard the 54′ Spencer Raptor with her husband, owner/operator Capt. Bruce Herren, along with deckhands KJ Robinson and Joe Thrasher, Carol appropriately caught a 600 lb blue for her 50th fish. Carol caught the fish on a Big Island Aloha Plunger made by Big Island Lures. It was the same lure that won her 2nd place with a 513.5 lb blue in the September Challenge tournament. Naturally, this made Joe smile, as he is part owner of Big Island Lures (a new lure company well worth checking out).

Beginning on January 24th, Carol raised the bar for herself when she decided she wanted to attempt to catch 50 blues in a single season. During the process she became the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series 2nd place Top Angler of the Year. Fishing approximately 108 days, her blue marlin ranged in size from 80 to 725.5 lbs.  It’s worth noting she released 48 of the marlin, and only  killed  two. Along with her husbands boat handling skills, Carol humbly credits her angling achievements to longtime world angler Pat Brian (Custom Rods) of Austin, Texas for giving her pointers and for showing her specific marlin fishing techniques. But what makes Carol an exceptional  angler is her self-confidence, the critical factor for any angler. Carol said “you can’t challenge fish five or six times your size without a lot of self confidence”, and Carol’s confidence also comes from experience. More reason tournament anglers need to fish in places like Kona for practice. Congrats to Carol , Bruce and KJ and any other Raptor crew members involved with this remarkable feat!

As of October 14th the Big Island blue marlin bite is still on! And boats are reporting good fishing. Marlin Parker has been getting out regularly and hooking up to some beautiful fish up to 800 lbs. Worth mentioning – his crew member Carol Lynne takes AMAZING pictures. It’s a shame things slow down on the Honokohau charter docks at this time of the year – the fishing remains great. And tickets prices in September and October are cheap (other then the week of the Ironman in October)!

Tight lines, Mark Johnston