2023 Standings:
2022 Hawaii Division Captain of the Year
Capt. Teddy Hoogs
Bwana // 2,200 points
Rock ‘n Reel Tournament
1st Place – 500 pts.
Kona Kickoff
3rd Place – 100 pts.
Skins Marlin Derby
1st Place – 500 pts.
Big Island Invitational Tournament
2nd Place – 300 pts.
It’s a Wrap Tournament
1st Place Heaviest Marlin – 468 lbs. – 500 pts.
It’s a Wrap Tournament
2nd Place – 300 pts.
By Seth Dotson
Since the moment he was born, competitive sportfishing has been an intimate part of the life of Capt. Teddy Hoogs. In fact, this is already the second time Hoogs has received this esteemed recognition. He also earned Captain of the Year in 2019 with a final score of 1,900 points, against this year’s 2,200 points—a 300-point increase!
Born in Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island, a district renowned throughout the world for its active volcanoes and quality coffee, Hoogs has fished his entire career in the Hawaiian Islands. He is the son of celebrated Hawaiian fisherman Capt. Peter Hoogs, who passed away last May at age 86 after a historic sportfishing career spanning nearly 50 years. The elder Hoogs was born in the Islands, though in Honolulu on the smaller island of Oahu. He began his sportfishing career in the 1960s on a Japanese-built Hawaiian Sampan vessel called the Pamela, supplementing his day job as a charter fisherman with a penchant for underwater photography. In the late ‘60s, he compiled a body of his photography work into a book entitled Colorful Hawaiian Fish: Natural Undersea Photos, published in 1971. The junior Hoogs now carries the torch of his father’s legacy.
Because his father picked up the trade early, the younger Hoogs has always been immersed in the sportfishing world and has now fished professionally for over 20 years. He is also an active contributor to InTheBite, compiling and reporting the results of Hawaii’s various competitive fishing tournaments.
Hoogs’ fishing vessel is the Bwana, a custom 46-foot twin diesel Gamefisherman sport yacht, built in 2008 and brought to Hawaii in 2011.
“It’s an eye-catcher,” says Hoogs, reflecting on the vessel’s sleek curves, large cockpit and distinctive aqua-tinted hull. “It’s a great boat for Kona because of our proximity to the fishing grounds and calm conditions, compared to the conditions in a lot of other parts of the world where they go with these bigger boats. Here, we’re fortunate because we don’t have to run very far. A lot of our fishing is close to shore, and we’re in the lee of the island, so the water is generally calm. With the big fish we must chase down here, these smaller boats are ideal because they’re more maneuverable.”
The present crew aboard the Bwana includes Logan McCollum, Carl Shepard and Bobby Cherry. Hoogs has known Cherry the longest. The two are childhood friends, having played in Little League together, and each of the men now operates their own charter fishing operations out of Kona. Shepard has been with the Bwana for about seven years, since 2015. McCollum is something of a newcomer to the team, having joined Hoogs and his crew two years ago.
Shepard used to live on the Islands with his family, but they recently relocated to Texas. Shepard himself comes back to Kona to spend the summer there during the tournament season.
“All three of them are highly experienced fishermen in their own right,” says Hoogs. “I feed off each of their strengths and experience. They’re great at maintaining a positive mindset on the boat; we have lots of fun fishing together.”
Hoogs’ crew also includes, as their primary angler, Craig Lindner, owner of the Bwana.
“We have fished together since 2011 when Craig first brought the boat to Kona,” says Hoogs. “He has a great touch with hooking fish, getting them to bite again, and staying connected. Craig allows us to compete at our fullest potential, backs any decisions whether things go to plan or not, and stays optimistic.”
The 2,200 points that won Hoogs and his crew this year’s coveted title were accumulated over the 2022 fishing season across five different tournaments. Those in which Hoogs and his team placed first were the Rock ‘n Reel Tournament, the Skins Marlin Derby and, in a category-specific first, an award for the heaviest marlin weighed in at the It’s a Wrap Tournament.
Though per tradition, Hoogs himself receives sole recognition as Captain of the Year, he stresses that tournament fishing is a team effort, and that no single person can justly receive credit for the work done by an entire fishing crew. Each member of his crew is an indispensable contributor and deserves recognition as such, as well as their families who have supported them both materially and with their time.
2021 Hawaii Division Captain of the Year
Capt. Shane O’Brien
Wild Hooker/Strong Persuader // 3,500 pts.
Lazy Marlin Hunt
2nd Place – 300 pts.
Kona Kickoff
2nd Place – Heaviest Marlin 432.5 lbs. – 300 pts.
Marlin Magic Lure Tournament
3rd Place – 100 pts.
Kona Throw Down
1st Place – 500 pts.
Kona Throw Down
1st Place – Heaviest Marlin 600.5 lbs. – 500 pts.
Lure Maker Challenge
Heaviest Marlin – 522 lbs. – 500 pts.
Lure Maker Challenge
2nd Place – 300 pts.
Big Island Marlin Tournament
1st Place – 500 pts.
It’s a Wrap
1st Place – 500 pts.
Working on sportfishing boats since the age of 11, a captain at 18 and growing up fishing the Kona waters, it’s no wonder Capt. Shane O’Brien is well known for his Hawaii fishing tournament success.
That success not only trickled into 2020 when he won the Captain of the Year, Release Ruler Hawaii Division but again into the 2021 tournament season when O’Brien once again claimed the Captain of the Year title for Hawaii after he and the team on the 68’ Blackwell Wild Hooker earned 3,500 points from seven separate tournaments. And the team entered the year swinging with the first tournament in April when they earned 300 points at the Lazy Marlin Hunt.
“We had a big year planned, we wanted to fish every one of the tournaments that they have here,” O’Brien says. “Our guys come into town early and they’re here to fish, they’re not golfing, they’re not hanging out. We go fishing every day that they’re here so I think it helps that everybody is in a rhythm, everybody is on the same page and we work hard.”
Amid the multiple successes O’Brien and the team had, the tournament that stood out to him the most was the Kona Throwdown. Not only did the team sweep all three days but they weighed the largest marlin, a 600.5-pound beast.
“We had a flawless three days, which is not normal, especially in Kona,” O’Brien says. “You can have a lot of trouble with hookup ratio and there are so many good guys out there fishing that you consider yourself lucky to win one of the three days and we won all three days.”
And that half pound on the fish turned out to be a very big half pound. The tournament allots release points as well as points per pound for fish killed. Another boat had released four fish giving them 800 points putting them neck and neck with the Wild Hooker team.
“We had released a fish after we had gaffed the 600.5-pounder so we ended the day half a pound over, which allowed us to win that day,” O’Brien recalls. “A lot of luck plays into things and that was one of them.”
But O’Brien doesn’t consider it all luck when it comes to the team’s success. For him, much of this is due to the group of guys that fish on the boat and their consistency.
“Allen Stewart who owns the boats, we’ve been with him for 12 years now and all the guys that fish on the boat have been fishing for over 10 years,” O’Brien says. “I think our biggest advantage is that everybody has confidence in what the other person on the boat can do, nobody doubts anyone else.”
The captain also credits the team for knowing the different approaches for each tournament, whether release or kill fish. Additionally, he takes into account that they all fish tournaments year-round.
“I think it helps keep your mind in a competitive state rather than if you’re just fun fishing every day,” he says. “Everybody works hard.”
As a captain, O’Brien understands the pressure that comes with his position on the boat. Money is on the line and as the captain, decisions can come down to that last hour or trying to come back from being behind. It’s a job where “you’ve got to have broad shoulders,” O’Brien explains. So while certain things, like weather or currents, may be out of his hands, he works ensure that, mechanically, everything is sound.
“You can control the maintenance side of things,” O’Brien says. “That’s a big focus, especially as hard as we run the boats during the tournaments, you’ve really got to take care of them leading up to that.”
In the role of captain, O’Brien says he also tries to take each situation he has encountered and use that to improve for the future, especially when it comes to winning tournaments.
“You remember those situations and you kind of log them in your brain and five years down the road you run into the exact same situation that you were in prior and you have a better idea of what to do now. The more you fish, the more years you have under your belt. I think you have a larger log book to look back on. You’ve been in more situations than you were when you first started so you have an advantage.”
Past Winners
- 2022 Capt. Teddy Hoogs // Bwana // 2,200 pts.
- 2021 Capt. Shane O’Brien // Wild Hooker // 3,500 pts.
- 2020 Capt. Shane O’Brien // Wild Hooker // 2,150 pts.
- 2019 Capt. Teddy Hoogs // Bwana, // 1,900 pts.
- 2018 Capt. Rob Ellyn // Lightspeed //1,250 pts.
- 2017 Capt. “Stymie” Epstein // Huntress // 1,000 pts.
- 2016 Capt. Kerwin Masunaga // Rod Bender // 1,850 pts.
- 2015 Capt. Kerwin Masunaga // Rod Bender // 1,100 pts.
- 2014 Capt. Rob Ellyn // Light Speed //1,000 pts.
Sanctioned Events:
- Rock ‘n Reel Hawaiian Open
- Kona Kick Off
- Firecracker Open
- Skins Marlin Derby
- The Kona Throw Down
- Hawaii Luremaker Tournament
- Lazy Marlin Hunt
- Pelagic Marlin Magic Lure Tournament
- Big Island Marlin Tournament
- It’s a Wrap Tourney
