LAHAINA – The new year started off with eight blue marlin weighed. Six were sexed female between 36 and 320 pounds. The two males weighed 133 and 166 pounds. The largest blue weighed 320.8 pounds. Four striped marlin were weighed, with five spearfish weighed and one released.

The February billfish numbers were almost the same across the board as January, with ten blue marlin, two striped marlin and six spearfish weighed. Of the ten blues, five were medium-sized between 214 and 264 pounds, with four of them sexed female and one male in the mix at 252 pounds. Two more males weighed 97 and 130 pounds. The largest blue weighed 429.6 pounds.

March was the best March for blue marlin since 2007 and the best month since July 2016. There were 14 blues weighed and another eight released. Eight of the 14 blues weighed were between 79 and 150 pounds, with four in the 228- to 291-pound range. Seven of the blues sexed female between 79 and 485 pounds. One was male weighing 113 pounds. The eight blues released were estimated at between 100 and 300 pounds. The largest blue weighed 360.5 pounds. A single striped marlin was weighed.

The spearfish numbers were the best since January of 2016. There was a four-day run the middle of March with 14 spearfish landed. There were 24 weighed, and another three released, with the monthly total at 27 fish.

The April springtime billfish bite was so-so, with only eight blue marlin weighed. Four were sexed female between 319 and 560 pounds. There were two males weighing 126 and 171 pounds. Another nine blues were released between 100 and 400 pounds, totaling 17 fish. The largest blue weighed 560.0 pounds.

April also produced some good spearfish numbers, with nine weighed and six released, with a monthly total of 15 spearfish.

The four-month totals were 40 blue marlin weighed and another 17 released at 57 fish. Only seven striped marlin were weighed. The spearfish numbers were okay, with 44 weighed and another ten released at 54 fish. This brought the yearly billfish numbers to 118 fish to date.