Kona Hawaii fishing report - Archive -

Kona Hawaii fishing report 10/22/02

The current has settled down, the bait fish are thick and the marlin bite is starting to pick up again. While the bite is far from hot, the steady current and the presence of bait fish will eventually bring in the numbers of blue marlin, mahi mahi and bigeye tuna. I'm also looking forward to the arrival of the winter striped marlin. The first of the winter run was caught last week and weighed in at 84 lbs. The winter striped marlin run has been real good the past couple of years. Although the average size was small, the abundance made for lots of action. I'm hoping the 84 pounder is just a taste of what we'll be seeing this season.

Yellowfin tuna continue to be caught in the porpoise schools but most of the catch is by commercial fishermen using hand lines and green sticks. The ono bite has been slow but there's a few coming in.

Bottom fishing remains the best way to get into some action. Amberjack, almaco jack and giant trevally make for a good fight on stand-up tackle. We've also had fights with several sharks lately. With the abundance of the bait fish lately, I've been letting the size of the bait we catch determine what fish we'll target next. With big baits, I like to target the marlin for a while, small bait, target the bottom fish for a quick hook-up. I've had some recent marlin encounters but not any luck getting them in. My last trip, not even one marlin bite but one of our fish, a thresher shark, wiped out 3 anglers before we got the photo and release. It doesn't need a long nose to put up a good fight. Sometimes a long tail can be tougher.

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