Henry Potts is the only angler who’s ever caught a blue marlin on fly in Hawaii waters according to IGFA rules. Now he’s the only fly-fisherman ever to catch an IGFA-regulation sailfish here too. Potts hooked his historic sail on his boat Rod Bender with Capt. Chip Van Mols and mate John Bennett.
They raised the fish off Makua in 1,000 fathoms while trolling hookless teasers. It was 4:30 p.m., and the low angle of the light made the fish hard to see when it crashed the teasers. The sail followed the teasers right to the boat and jumped the fly, a 12-inch streamer pattern, without getting the hook, and then came back for a second take.
Potts fought it to the boat in about 15 minutes on a 20-pound tippet, Van Mols said, setting a mark that will be impossible to beat. After all, there is only one “first-ever.”
