LAHAINA — Start Me Up Sport Fishing donated $300 to the Maui Humane Society the first week of June thanks to Jarod Koldeway of Denver, Colorado, who caught a 647-pound blue marlin while on an afternoon fishing trip with Start Me Up.

“I thought I had caught a sunken ship or something,” joked Koldeway. “Then I thought maybe the guys tied the marlin on (to the back of the boat) before we left as a nice gesture to a tourist.”

Start Me Up makes a donation to a local charity whenever a fish over 500 pounds is caught. The owners of Start Me Up — Doug Armfield and Rebecca Dillinger — chose to donate to the Maui Humane Society because of its mission to make a difference in the community and, of course, to animals.

“Both Rebecca and I are animal lovers. We bring Marley, our golden retriever, to work with us every day,” said Armfield.

“The Maui Humane Society helps so many animals and their owners through a variety of programs such as training, mobile adoptions, pet identification and licensing. We want to help the Humane Society continue to do great work.”

Due to Koldeway’s great work reeling in the blue marlin, his Maui fishing trip was free — again customary when an angler catches a fish over 500 pounds with Start Me Up.

“I always say, ‘You can’t catch fish sitting on the couch,’ but rather by joining our Coast Guard-certified captains and experienced deck hands aboard one of our boats,” said Armfield.

“This Maui fishing trip was Mr. Koldeway’s very first vacation in over 40 years, and I am sure he’ll never forget it. I am thrilled he and his family have such a fantastic memory to last all of their lifetimes.”

Start Me Up Sport Fishing is the largest sport fishing company in Lahaina Harbor on Maui. Combined, the captains and crew have more than ten decades of experience fishing in Hawaii and around the world, frequently catching marlin, mahi mahi, ono, spearfish and aku.