August 2010

The Kona deep sea fishing in August is for Blue Marlin, Spearfish, Ahi and Wahoo along with some of the smaller tuna species.    Summer is our best fishing months for Blue Marlin and Ahi (giant yellowfin tuna).   All the major tournaments are held during this time of the year such as the World Cup, Kona Classic, Fire Cracker Open, etc. 

A typical day in August would be to start off our day with a quick troll on the inside for a Wahoo.  These speedsters have an awesome strike and are great eating also.  Then we can move out to a ledge that might have some small skipjack or yellowfin tuna.  These provide great action on light tackle.  We can then use these 2 - 15 lb fish as live bait for Blue Marlin and Ahi. Sometimes a shark will grab a live bait too.   Following this, we can spend the remainder of the day trolling a variety of lures for a variety of fish.  Kona deep sea fishing has something for anglers of every ability.

Kona is one of the few places in the world where a half day charter can put you within easy reach of Blue Marlin.   Kona fishing starts immediately upon leaving the harbor....and within 5 minutes we are in Blue Marlin water!  A mile outside the harbor it is 4000 feet deep...thus there is no run to the fishing grounds. Fishing Kona Hawaii is something special....both for experienced and novice anglers. Most of the world record Blue Marlin have been caught in Kona due to the calm seas and perfect fishing conditions.  Here is a Blue Marlin we landed this summer weighing in at 741 lbs.  Another boat sent me this photo of us pulling the Blue Marlin into the boat. And just notice how flat and calm the seas are on a typical Kona fishing charter.

4th largest Kona Blue Marlin in 08

A typical Kona marlin charter would be to troll for Blue Marlin for about an hour until reaching the Keauhou ledge.  There we can catch some skipjack tuna. After we catch a couple, I then can put them out for live bait for Marlin and other big game fish. After slow trolling these for a while, we can change back over to lures for the final runs of the day. I try to keep things interesting and fish a variety of techniques. If one method seems slow, we can change our fishing tactics.

The water in Kona is generally very calm. A great place to relax, watch the beautiful scenery and sea life while waiting for that one strike that can turn a ordinary day into something to remember for a lifetime.

Debbie and Erica Sperling from Burlington, Ontario, Canada chartered HighNoon for a full day of fishing. Rick is an experienced fresh water fisherman, but this was his first time big game fishing. His wife, Debbie told me she prayed the night before that Rick would have a chance at a big Blue Marlin. Boy, were her prayers were answered! First we hooked up a smaller Blue about a 150 lbs right outside the harbor. It came off in about 5 minutes, however in retrospect, this was a good thing as it gave Rick a chance to acquainted himself with fighting a big fish like a marlin. About an hour later we hooked up a Spearfish about 40 lbs, however that came off as I handed the rod and reel to Rick. A few seconds later, the same lure went off and started slowing pulling line from the reel. I first thought it was that small Spearfish. again. As I handed the rod to Rick, I tightened the drag a bit to set the hook. The fish started pulling line a bit stronger and I said "this isn't a Spearfish, probably a small Blue". All of a sudden, it took off on it's initial run screaming out about 700 yards of line. Then it leaped out of the water nearly half mile away and I could tell it was a pretty big fish. We backed down on this fish for about 20 minutes with Rick in the fighting chair and the rod tip almost pulled down into the water. The fish went down but Rick did a great job of putting lots of pressure on this fish and we gained back about 600 yards of line in about an hour. Suddenly about a 100 yards from the boat, the Marlin erupted in a series of spectacular jumps and I said "this is a REALLY big fish". The next hour was a give and take as we would gain line only to see the fish take it back again. Back and forth we went - time after time. Finally, the fish came up right behind the boat and I grabbed leader and pulled it along side of HighNoon. After pulling this giant fish half way through the transom door, Rick said "I think I've done enough fishing for the day, lets go home". This was Rick's first time big game fishing and he ended up with a once in a lifetime catch.

I also release most of my billfish such as Blue Marlin, Striped Marlin and Spearfish. Below is HighNoon returning from a successful day off the beautiful Kona Coast of Hawaii.