Father and son team catches 410.2-pound marlin

From left, crewman Andy Payne, Steve Bradley, Mike and Fred Campatelli, Capt. Andrew Buckland and crewman Chris Mullikin with their 410.2-pound blue.
LAHAINA — The Die Hard found a nice marlin for Steve Bradley and the father and son team of Fred and Mike Campatelli. They tag-teamed on a 410.2-pound blue with Capt. Andrew Buckland and crewmen Andy Payne and Chris Mullikin.
Andy was on the helm as they came in from the SO-Buoy located off the west end of Kaho’olawe. They were in 150 fathoms off the shoals heading toward Maui when Andrew saw a bill pop up behind the short corner lure.
The marlin had its mouth wide open as it moved its head from side to side.
Andrew free-spooled the lure backward right into its mouth. The marlin swallowed the lure and took off straight down the pattern, making a few jumps as it peeled off the 130-test line.
After a blistering 100-yard run, it got airborne again, showing off to them before it sounded. Steve was in the chair first as Andy backed the boat up to the fish, getting straight up and down on it. It was about a 15-minute give-and-take for Steve as he slowly gained line.
Andy had the boat in idle reverse as he followed the marlin, trying to keep the line tight. Fred was in the chair next, cranking the fish a little closer. Suddenly, the marlin came to the surface off the port side corner, making a third set of jumps about 100-yards away up the side. Andy spun the boat and chased after the fish, gaining a lot of line in a hurry.
As Andy closed in on the spot, he spun the boat back around and slowly reversed up the line. About ten minutes later, they had the fish straight up and down, slowly swimming away.
Mike took over next, slowly hauling the marlin upward, a half-crank at a time, running into a bit of a stalemate for about ten minutes. It was about 150 feet down, taking whatever Mike tried to get on the spool.
The marlin finally came up to double line off the starboard side, slowly swimming along with the boat. Andrew reached out, grabbed leader and pulled it closer. It thrashed around a bit, but he held on and there were no problems as Chris secured their catch.
The 33rd Lahaina Yacht Club Spring Wahine Fishing Tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15, at Lahaina Harbor.
For information or entry forms, contact Tournament Director Donnell A. Tate at 667-9005 or 298-5674, or e-mail tatemaui@aol.com.