June - July 2008

The Kona deep sea fishing is just beginning it's summertime fishing. Summers in Kona can mean a variety of big game fish from giant Blue Marlin to great tasting Wahoo.  Ahi (giant yellowfin tuna) are also one of the main catches during the summer months.   June and July continue to be a good time for Wahoo as these great tasting speedsters come in to the ledges to feed on the opelu....a baitfish found in Hawaii.  Also, Kona is one of the few places in the world where a half day charter can put you within easy reach of Blue Marlin.   In Kona, we start fishing immediately upon leaving the harbor....and within 5 minutes we are in Blue Marlin water!  A mile outside the harbor it is 4000 feet deep...thus there is no run to the fishing grounds. Fishing Kona Hawaii is something special....both for experienced and novice anglers. Most of the world record Blue Marlin have been caught in Kona due to the calm seas and perfect fishing conditions.

4th largest Kona Blue Marlin in 2007

A typical Kona deep sea fishing charter would be to troll the rocky point just outside the harbor or try try "Ono Lane" for some Wahoo (Ono in Hawaii). Then we can either troll or live bait depending upon the fishing conditions. If we live bait, I generally go to a ledge or a FAD bouy where there are some skipjack tuna. After we catch a couple, I then can put them out for live bait for Marlin and other big game fish. After slow trolling these for a while, we can change back over to lures for the final runs of the day. I try to keep things interesting and fish a variety of techniques. If one method seems slow, we can change our fishing tactics.

The water in Kona is generally very calm. A great place to relax, watch the beautiful scenery and sea life while waiting for that one strike that can turn a ordinary day into something to remember for a lifetime.

Make your reservations now for an exciting Kona fishing experience. Call me direct at 808-895-3868 or email me at: HighNoon4@aol.com

In 2006. HighNoon landed in the third largest Blue Marlin of the year in Kona... 963 lbs. Rick, Debbie and Erica Sperling from Burlington, Ontario, Canada chartered HighNoon for a full day of fishing. Rick is an experienced fresh water fisherman, but this was his first time big game fishing. His wife, Debbie told me she prayed the night before that Rick would have a chance at a big Blue Marlin. Boy, were her prayers were answered! First we hooked up a smaller Blue about a 150 lbs right outside the harbor. It came off in about 5 minutes, however in retrospect, this was a good thing as it gave Rick a chance to acquainted himself with fighting a big fish like a marlin. About an hour later we hooked up a Spearfish about 40 lbs, however that came off as I handed the rod and reel to Rick. A few seconds later, the same lure went off and started slowing pulling line from the reel. I first thought it was that small Spearfish. again. As I handed the rod to Rick, I tightened the drag a bit to set the hook. The fish started pulling line a bit stronger and I said "this isn't a Spearfish, probably a small Blue". All of a sudden, it took off on it's initial run screaming out about 700 yards of line. Then it leaped out of the water nearly half mile away and I could tell it was a pretty big fish. We backed down on this fish for about 20 minutes with Rick in the fighting chair and the rod tip almost pulled down into the water. The fish went down but Rick did a great job of putting lots of pressure on this fish and we gained back about 600 yards of line in about an hour. Suddenly about a 100 yards from the boat, the Marlin erupted in a series of spectacular jumps and I said "this is a REALLY big fish". The next hour was a give and take as we would gain line only to see the fish take it back again. Back and forth we went - time after time. Finally, the fish came up right behind the boat and I grabbed leader and pulled it along side of HighNoon. After pulling this giant fish half way through the transom door, Rick said "I think I've done enough fishing for the day, lets go home". This was Rick's first time big game fishing and he ended up with a once in a lifetime catch.

To the right is a photo a a 460 lb Pacific Blue Marlin. Rick and Theresa Ramsey from Bend, Oregon chartered HighNoon for a full day of fishing off the Kona Coast of Hawaii. Theresa was very concerned that her six year old son Colton would catch some fish. So, the first thing we did was travel south a bit to the Keauhou ledge, about a half hour troll from the harbor, Colton landed two fish, one a yellowfin tuna weighing about 12 pounds and the other was a skipjack tuna about 7 lbs. We bridled up the skipjack as live bait for a Blue Marlin and spent a few hours slow trolling this great live bait. Unfortunately, nothing hit this bait, so about noon we began trolling. We did catch a 20 lb Mahi Mahi about 1pm. At 2:15 pm, we turned in toward the harbor thinking our day was over. Boy, were we wrong!! The long corner lure suddenly was slammed by a huge Pacific Blue Marlin which exploded into the air in a geyser of white water as it greyhounded right by the boat. This billfish ripped out about 800 yards of line before we finally stopped the initial run. Rick did an absolutely great job fighting this fish! We landed this Marlin in about 30 minutes. Below is the photo taken at the weigh in.

There are also Wahoo on the rocky points just minutes outside the harbor. I generally start the morning with a quick Ono run for a few of these great tasting gamefish. Also, on the ledges, there can be small yellowfin Tuna to 40 lbs. These are fun to catch...plus the tuna under 10 lbs make a live bait for Blue Marlin and giant yellowfin Tuna. A typical full day Kona fishing charter might include catching a few of these on light tackle and then bridling them up as live bait for the marlin.

I also release most of my billfish such as Blue Marlin, Striped Marlin and Spearfish. Below is HighNoon returning from a successful day off the beautiful Kona Coast of Hawaii.