The Malibu Marlin Club, composed of competitors from California, Hawai'i and Montana, took the lead after the fourth day of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament yesterday in waters off Kona.

Burl Kuska and Corky Reece had two tag-and-release catches yesterday to vault Malibu Marlin Club into first with 1,732 points.

Today is the final day of the competition.

"Anything's possible tomorrow," tournament founder Peter Fithian said. "With just 232 points separating the top three teams, tomorrow's strategic focus will be all about scoring points.

The New Britain Game Fishing Club, of Papua, New Guinea, is in second place with 1,562 points and Team Radio Waves, of the Big Island, is third with 1,500 points.

"It's a dogfight out there," said Fred Duerr, a member of the Malibu Marlin Club said. "A couple of big fish (today) can win this tournament for any team."

Sam Spinello, the captain of the Malibu Marlin Club, thinks that the big fish are still out there, waiting to be caught.

"We've been coming to HIBT for almost 30 years," he said. "Sealife, birds and bait were not as active today, but you really get a sense the big fish are near. It opens up the possibilities."

Yesterday, there were two Pacific Blue Marlin that were boated, weighing 317 and 396 pounds, respectively. There were 12 marlin that were tagged and released.

Richard Devine, captain of the Hilo Yacht Club team, landed the 396-pound marlin, for the biggest fish of the day.

In the captain standings, Jeff Fay of the Humdinger leads with 1,562 points, followed by Dennis Cintas of the Intrepid (1,523) and Mike Sells of Bite Me 3 (1,232).