The Reel Hooker caught this 697.6-pound marlin on June 9.

LAHAINA – June was the second best month for blue marlin, with 13 blues weighed and another eight released, bringing the total to 21 fish. Of those 13 blues weighed, four were male between 118.0 and 210.2 pounds. Three female were weighed between 159.2 and 697.6 pounds – the largest blue marlin of the year so far.

There were also six striped marlin and seven spearfish weighed, with another striped marlin and spearfish released, bringing the monthly total to 36 billfish, the second best month for billfish.

It was also a good month for big ahi, with 18 weighed over 100 pounds. With only four ahi over 100 pounds landed heading into the summer season, was it going to be a non-ahi year again? Both 2015 and 2016 only had five 100-pound ahi for the entire year.

Starting the second week of June, the “Buoy” boats Action and Die Hard 2 started to find the 100-pound ahi off the Halawa end of Molokai. During the last 22 days of the month, there were 18 ahi over 100 pounds weighed from the area. The largest was 145.0 pounds, with a 144.0 a close second. There was also at least a dozen in the 80- to 99-pound range weighed.

June was also the best June for big ahi and third best month since 1988. June of 2014 was a record month with 16 ahi weighed over 100 pounds. I had to go back to 1994 to find a better month, with July of that year producing 40 ahi over 100 pounds. The best month for ahi since 1988 was also July in 1995, with 56 100-pounders weighed.

The Exact II landed this 160-pound ahi on Aug. 2.

July saw 14 blue marlin weighed and another four released. Seven were male between 75.2 and 262.6 pounds. One female was identified at 308.0 pounds. There was one striped marlin weighed and another one released, with two spearfish weighed and another released. There were also two sailfish weighed at 16.8 and 48.8 pounds. This brought the monthly billfish total to 25 fish.

The ahi bite continued off the Halawa end of Molokai, with five over 100 pounds weighed, with the largest of the year-to-date weighed at 171.6 pounds and another at 155.5 pounds. There were also nine weighed between 80 and 99 pounds.

August blue marlin weighed dropped to the lowest of the year-to-date with 11 fish. Of those blues weighed, five were male between 86.4 and 185.0 pounds. One female was sexed at 293.0 pounds. August also saw the most blue marlin released to date with 11 fish.

Three striped marlin and two spearfish were weighed, with one spearfish released. This brought the monthly billfish total to 24 fish.

The Molokai ahi bite shut down, with only one fish weighed, with it being the second largest of the year at 160.9 pounds.

The three-month summer billfish wrap-up saw 34 blue marlin weighed and 23 released, totaling 57 fish. There were also ten striped marlin weighed and another two released, totaling 12 fish. Another 11 spearfish were weighed and three released, totaling 14 fish. This brought the three-month billfish total to 83 fish.

The ahi totals saw 18 in June, five in July and one in August for a total of 24 fish.