Article by Capt. Franky Pettolina
It was the third week of June, 1991. I was walking along the bulkhead at the world famous Honokohau Harbor in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Only a few days prior I was wearing a green cap and gown and walking along the aisle to accept my diploma from William Stubbs, then Principal of West Deptford High School, located oddly enough, in Westville, New Jersey. As a gift for my high school graduation my Grandmother on my Mother’s side (I called her MomMom) had taken me to Hawaii. The first time I had been to Hawaii was when I was a toddler, on a trip with my Mother and Grandmother, so MomMom thought it was only fitting to take Mom and me back again to commemorate my reaching adulthood. I don’t think I realized how much she had to sacrifice to do so at the time. I was young and had my eyes on nothing but the future. MomMom, on the other hand, knew she was not a young woman anymore and wanted to be able to create another memory with her only grandson.
There was a man doing some maintenance on a rather less than impressive looking boat tied at one of the moorings. The boat was named “Janet B”. As I was scanning the water and taking in each boat, the man smiled and struck up a conversation with me. He introduced himself as Captain Kenny. Young as I was, I was still no stranger to the charter business myself and I quickly realized that I was being given a sales pitch. It must have been a good one however, because a few minutes later I was explaining to Mom that we were going fishing the next day, even though we had already booked several days on a much larger, and more well known boat later in the week.
MomMom wasn’t much on fishing so she stayed back at the hotel while Mom and I went down to the Harbor again the next morning. By the time we were clearing the rocks I knew that Kenny’s last name was Llanes and that his mate was a burnt out surfer from California named Richard. The plan for the day was to go live baiting for blue marlin. After an hour or so of bait fishing, the first of the baits was bridled to the 130 pound class Penn International. In that hour I had learned that Richard had not yet caught a marlin and he was there to learn from Kenny. I caught my first blue marlin as a mate when I was 13, so I had years (four of them to be exact) more experience than Richard. But in those years, I caught only three other blue marlin. Capt. Kenny didn’t seem too concerned. He had several “granders” (thousand plus pound marlin) under his belt and had caught more blue marlin than he could remember. I was beginning to wonder just how much of this was more sales tactics, how much was real and if I had been duped.
Several hours later there were two blue marlin on the swim step. A 273 pounder that was my first as an angler and a 130 pounder that was my Mom’s first in any capacity. The story behind the landing of each one will make for another column at another time, but my opinion of Kenny was very high at the end of the day and it was just too hard not to like Richard, even though he didn’t know squat about fishing. Before the end of my Hawaiian vacation I fished with Kenny several more times and learned a bunch on each of those days. He taught me about fishing in Hawaii, fishing as a sport, as a way of life and as a family tradition.
I think it was about five or six years ago that I came across a lure advertisement on the internet for Bomboy fishing lures. There is a saying that the lure has to catch the fisherman as much as the fish, and in this case the pictures on the website caught me. BIG blue marlin and a variety of other species, all caught on lures made by Bomboy. Clicking my way through the different icons on the site, I stopped to learn more about the lure maker himself. Then I really stopped. Bomboy Llanes. Native of Kona and son of famed charter skipper Kenny Llanes. I immediately ordered some lures and included a note in my order that I had fished with his father back in ’91.
Much to my surprise a few weeks later when my lure package came, there were a few extra lures along with a note that said “Dad says hi. Try these for those white marlins over there.”
One of the great things about social media is that it has made the world a smaller place when it comes to keeping in touch with people on the other side of this big blue and green marble. Bomboy and I became internet “friends” and I was able to reconnect with his father. One of the first things Kenny did was ask about my Mom and politely inquire as to whether MomMom was still with us. While MomMom unfortunately is not with us any longer physically, her presence is with me every day and this was another case of a part of my life with her staying with me.
A couple of years ago, Bomboy came over to Ocean City to catch some of these “small marlins” during the White Marlin Open. He was fishing with a mutual friend of ours, Capt. Jon Yost. It was the first time I ever met Bombs in person, but I was greeted with a warm embrace and the feeling of a lifelong friendship. I thought back to his father’s words about fishing as a way of life and as a family tradition. I only wish we had more time together that week.
Bomboy came back again this year to fish the Open with Jon. Seeing him in the cockpit of Jon’s boat I immediately went over to welcome my friend back to the East Coast. After catching up for a while he said to wait a minute and went into the cabin. He came out with a cardboard tube and said he had made me something. My excitement was only curbed because I did not have something to give him in return. I told him I would open my gift later.
When I got home that night I opened the tube. In addition to being a fisherman and a lure maker, Bomboy is a talented artist. Inside the tube was a colored pencil drawing of a white marlin. I called the Framing Corner immediately to see when I could bring in my art for proper matting and framing. Such a wonderful gift from my friend.
Twenty eight summers have passed since I met Kenny Llanes on that vacation with my Mom and MomMom. Each one faster than the last. Just like these past twenty one weeks since my first column of the 2019 season have flown by. Those of you that have followed me from the beginning know that I think of it as another twenty one marbles out of my jar. It was another great summer in Ocean City. Fishing was good and the friendships were even better. I would like to thank Larry and the Jock family for having me on for another summer (even if most columns, this one included, came in after deadline). Even more so, I would like to thank all of you, my readers, for welcoming my fish stories into your lives. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. Have a safe, healthy and happy off- season, and don’t be afraid to reach out to me and share one of your own fish stories! Aloha Coastal Fisherman fans, and Aloha MomMom.
Capt Franky Pettolina is Co-Captain of the charter boat, “Last Call”, owner of Pettolina Marine Surveying, Inc. and multi-term President of the Ocean City Marlin Club. If you would like to book a charter on the “Last Call”, please call 443-783-3699 or 410-251-0575.
