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Kona Hawaii fishing report 7-17-01
Marlin tops the list again this month as the most common catch hitting the docks followed closely by spearfish and yellowfin tuna. Most of the marlin being brought in or being tagged and released are below the 200 lb. mark. That was good news for the World Billfish Challenge light tackle tournament held last week and lots of small marlin were tagged and released. This week is the heavy tackle segment of the tournament and a "keeper" needs to be over 300 lbs. There are definitely some big ones around. It was a good thing for the "Huntress" that they weren't using light tackle last week when they hooked and landed Kona's third "grander" marlin this year. The fish tipped the scales at 1045 lbs.
There's plenty of spearfish around and there's even been some sailfish landings lately. Both of these small billfish can be a lot of fun on light tackle of fly rod. Spearfish is also an excellent eating fish.
For yellowfin tuna, the big weight mark to hit is 200 lbs. Last week Kona's first 200+ for the year was landed by a night time handline commercial fisherman and it weighted in at 205 lbs. Much like last year, most of the tuna this year are being caught "in the blind" while trolling and not in the porpoise schools.
The ono bite has turned on again in the past few days. Better get 'em while it lasts. There's still some mahi mahi too.
Bottom fishing has been pretty good and we've also been hooking up with plenty of big sharks. While the jacks, grouper and such can be a lot of fun, the big sharks test an anglers strength and skill every inch of the way. In most cases they're a harder fight than marlin of the same size.
See 'ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
http://FISHinKONA.com