Kona Hawaii fishing report - Archive -

Kona Hawaii fishing report - January 30th 2004

The bite remains pretty much as it was in my report from last month. A good mix of striped marlin, blue marlin of all sizes, spearfish and a smattering of mahi mahi but very "spotty" as far as area goes. I also said last month that "It's only a matter of time `til a big blue eats one of my small lures" and that happened earlier this week. A 211-½ lb. blue marlin ate a small lure attached to one of my Penn 30 stand-up rigs. Although my angler, Ken Williams had very little saltwater experience he did a great job angling it. Picking your lure size and tackle doesn't ensure the fish will cooperate with your choice. Last week I caught a small mahi mahi on the biggest lure I own, attached to 130 tackle. Not much fight there. Still, the average fish being caught now is small (by Kona standards) so I'll continue to run mostly light stand-up tackle with at least one 130 lb. rig out in hopes that if a grander (1000 lb. +) comes by, it will take the big lure and not one of the peanuts.

I've been getting a fair amount of action on the bottom lately but not getting good solid hook-ups. I changed circle hook size and style (bigger/fatter) a while back because I got a good price on 'em but I'm thinking that it's contributing to the large number of misses. Cheaper hooks get to be pretty expensive when you find that they're costing you fish.

See 'ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
http://FISHinKONA.com