Kona Hawaii fishing report - Archive -

Kona Hawaii fishing report - May 2003 -

KONA IS GOIN' OFF!! Ono tops the list as the easiest to catch. There's so many being brought in that the fish wholesalers are flooded with `em and don't even want `em anymore. This is one of the best eating fish you can get so if you're looking for some fish to take back to your condo or back home with you, you need to know a few things. Check out my FAQ page (Can I keep my fish?) at http://fishinkona.com/FAQ.htm . .

Another great eating fish that's a really hot bite right now is spearfish. Many prefer the taste of spearfish over ono or mahi mahi. These fish love to play with your lures, they're stealthy and hard to hook so you'll miss most of the ones that come to play. They take line fast and then the fight is basically over. They come to the boat so easy that sometimes it's hard to even tell the fish is still on the line. If you don't plan on eating them (and your crew doesn't), do the right thing. Take your photo and let 'em go. .

Both blue marlin and striped marlin are being caught now. Just when we thought the striped marlin bite was over, they came back! No complaints here. The blue marlin are ranging in size from just 25 lbs. to over 1000 lbs! Kona's first "grander" (1000+) was caught May 2nd and weighed in at 1014 lbs. Another blue caught earlier this week came just shy of the grander mark and weighted in at 946 lbs. Most of the real big blue's win their fights and the ones that don't usually die trying. The hook or the battle mortally wounds many others. If you're one of those who gets their heart broken because a marlin was killed, I got a piece of advice for you. Don't fish for `em. .

The early summer porpoise schools have arrived and with them are the yellowfin tuna. Most of the ones being caught are right around the 100 lb. mark. The first guys in the school are having good luck but as soon as the boat traffic gets heavy, the bite turns off. All of the FAD's (fish aggregation device's) are holding small yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna. .

The bottom fishing bite has been very slow but if you know where to go, you can usually find some action. On May 3rd my angler was bringing in an amberjack from the bottom when a tiger shark cruised in and ate it. I quickly rigged bait for the shark and hooked it with a circle hook. When I first saw the shark down in the water I figured it was about 400 lbs. I found that I had really underestimated the size of this fish :o She weighs about 700 lbs! We got the photo and release along with some good digital movie footage of it. It's a very impressive sight! I hope to somehow add the movie to my web site. .

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