When Tyler Bigno saw the dark body of a fish pass in the waters below as he fished off the end of Hanalei Pier on Wednesday night, he thought it was a small shark. A few minutes later, he saw that
When Tyler Bigno saw the dark body of a fish pass in the waters below as he fished off the end of Hanalei Pier on Wednesday night, he thought it was a small shark.
A few minutes later, he saw that same fish return, close in and bite the line extending from the eight-foot fishing pole in his hands.
The fight was on.
“I set the hook and started reeling it in,” he said.
For the next 30 to 40 minutes, the 14-year-old Bigno and the monster fought. Finally, with the help of his friend Cole Bardin, who climbed down the ladder, Tyler pulled it from the bay about 9 p.m. At the end of the line was an ulua, which later weighed in at 50 pounds. It was the biggest catch ever for the young angler.
“I was super happy because it was my first fish of that kind,” he said.
Tyler and Cole decided to call it a night because it was late. But the question they faced was how to transport the prize catch home. Answer? Bigno called his mom, Candice Lopez, and said he needed a ride from the pier that night because the fish he caught was too big to carry home while riding his bike.
Mom quickly agreed and drove to the pier.
“My family was super surprised,” he said.
The Hanalei teenager visits the pier almost daily to cast a line. Fishing has been a passion since he hooked his first fish at the age of three.
The ulua, disappointingly, was full of worms, Tyler said. What could be saved, he cut up and will use for bait. He’s looking forward to more fights with fish.
“It was fun,” he said.
