Kona Hawaii fishing report - Archive -

Kona Hawaii fishing report 11/28/02

November is typically a slow month for both fish and fishermen. Tourism has been slower than normal so there's less charter boats out fishing. Daily catch totals have been sporadic, not so much because of fish abundance but because of a lack of fishing effort. Blue marlin is the most common billfish right now. The striped marlin and spear fish are starting to show up but it's still too early in their season for large numbers to show up.

The most common catch right now is mahi mahi. The fall mahi mahi run is a blast compared to the spring run because the average fish size is doubled. Common catches in the 25 to 35 pound range with some reaching 50+. We had a nice ono (wahoo) run this month too. It slowed down recently but I wonder if it's also just due to a lack of ono fishing effort. Another fish biting now, though out of season is otado. What's an otado? Many years ago someone in Kona mispronounced a Japanese name for skipjack tuna (otaru) and the name stuck. The term otado is used to distinguish large (over 10 lb.) skipjack tuna. Try using this term on another Hawaiian island and you'll probably get a (huh?) blank stare. Even funnier is that many Kona fishermen don't even know there's such a thing as otaru (huh?).

The bottom bite has been real slow. There's usually some kind of action but not the norm. I've been spending a small portion of my fishing day testing some of the holes. There's usually at least one fish hanging around.

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