Hawaii

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Feb. ’06 wrap-up…

The winter season is nearing the end and it`s been a very mild winter so far. This is stormy season for Hawaiian waters but so far we`ve been blessed with flat waters almost all winter. The striped marlin never really came in this season. We had a few spurts of `em but nothing consistent. This make two years in a row of a slim stripie run and that followed three years of really good runs. We know very little about where the Hawaii striped marlin come from and go. Hawaii is such a small dot in the middle of a big ocean that I guess it can easily be passed by. Too bad the striped marlin aren`t more like the Humpback whales with a built in GPS.

Mahi mahi has dominated the winter catch totals and that’s a little odd because when the water gets to be on the cold side (76) they usually aren`t around but we have had a lot of floating debris coming by the island. Nets, ropes, logs and with that stuff is usually mahi mahi no matter what the water temp. Spearfish is running a close 2nd to the mahi mahi catch and there has been blue marlin scattered (as usual) throughout the winter months.

The bottom bite hasn`t been anything spectacular lately but I did catch the biggest amberjack of my career last month. Weighing in at 131 lbs., it`s the biggest amberjack caught since the new state record of 145 lbs. was caught in `02. The amount of sharks hanging around in the main bottom fishing area has lowered and the commercial snapper fishermen are liking that. Myself, I`d rater have some big sharks to fight. If you`re looking for a good battle, my personal experience is that between a marlin and a shark of the same weight, the shark usually fights longer and harder. While a marlin has the potential to be the tougher fight, they usually wear themselves out at the beginning of the battle and are pretty tired by the time you get them to the boat. With sharks, it`s near the boat when anglers need to be on their game and muster all the strength they can to get it to the boat and get the job done. While at leader next to the boat, sharks are usually more gentile and less dangerous than a P.O.`d marlin ……. As long as give up on thinking about getting your hook back.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii fishing (http://fishinkona.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – March wrap-up .

Big billfish top this months fishing report. Kona’s biggest blue, biggest striped marlin, biggest spearfish and biggest sailfish for the year were caught this March. There actually were several big blues caught this month and the biggest was Kona’s first “grander” of the year weighing in at 1,049 lbs. and boated on the Sea Genie II by angler Tommy Werner. Other marlin estimated as granders were also reported as fought and lost this month. While this typically isn’t the time of year known for big billfish, it’s proved many times through the years that a run of big ones can happen anytime. With that, just when we thought the striped marlin season was over, a run on those came in also. The biggest of the year was caught on the Hookele weighing in at 138 lbs. I got my fair share of stripe action too. Although very good eating, I released all of them this month, my biggest estimated at about 120 lbs. I still maintain the biggest stripe of the decade so far weighing in at 186 lbs. Each winter I stand a chance of loosing that claim but so far, so good. The biggest spearfish of the year came in early this month and weighted in at 63 lbs. Sailfish are rare in Hawaii and the boat that caught this years biggest one (so far) at 84 lbs. is even more rare. A 15’ Hobie Power Skiff with a 50 HP. outboard motor. The sailfish jumped into the boat during the fight and landed in the lap of one of the two occupants who was sitting on a bucket. No injury was reported. .

Mahi mahi season has started and though Kona maintained a fair amount of mahi mahi throughout the winter, we should be seeing even more in the months to come. The ono seem to be biting lately also. Small bigeye and yellowfin tuna are still on the buoys and ledges and March even produced some blind strike big yellowfin weighing well over 100 lbs. .

The bottom bite has been slow. The main reason I think is that the baitfish have been rather large this season and the bottom fish running rather small. Sharks and jacks usually run in the 40 to 100+ lb. range but there seems to be a bunch of small ones down there this year. Jigging has been the key to getting ‘em and I’m sure glad that Shimano started promoting the “Butterfly Jig System” in the US recently. I’ve been using the Japanese style jigs for almost 10 years now. The problem was that I could only get good jigs by bumming them from my Japanese jigging clients. In the US, you could get Diamond, Tady and Salas jigs and it was even harder to find them in the size and weight it takes to deep jig the Kona waters. The Shimano jigs work much better by design and are now available at two of our local tackle shops. The jigs are expensive as are the hooks and connecting rings but the price is well worth it. The reels that they promote for jigging are expensive too. Instead of Shimano reels, I’ve been using self-modified Penn 9500 spinning reels and 5’5” spinning rods for years. The trick on the Penn reel is to install a 2nd silent anti-reverse dog and Loc-tite all the screws and nuts. Jigging is really hard on a reel and if you just take a 9500 out of the box and go jigging, it may not even last a single day. I also attach a 2nd handle. By shimming the handles up so they face the same direction, it really balances out the reel and it’s much easier on the arms after a long day of jigging and a lot of fights. If anyone wants more information on my mods, shoot me an email. Jigging isn’t just tough on equipment, it’s also tough on the body. If you really get into this aggressive style of jigging, you’re in for a work-out. When just one arm starts looking like it belongs to Popeye, you may want to take my 2 handle advise. It’s IGFA legal!

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii fishing (http://fishinkona.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap up –

The blue marlin bite remained pretty decent in April. Not as many big ones as last month and the overall total seemed to be less but it’s not even the start of peak blue marlin season yet. If the pre-season numbers and sizes are any indicator of what’s to come this summer, Kona again will prove to be the Pacific Blue Marlin capital of the world. There were even some straggler striped marlins caught this month. The spearfish bite should be at its peak right now but there aren’t many around. They came in early this year so I’m sure we’ll be seeing that bite going hot and cold for the next couple of months for spearfish. .

Mahi mahi tops this months report as the most common catch. We’re right in the middle of the peak spring run on those. Normally the fall season run produces the bigger mahi mahi and the spring season run is the smaller schoolie dolphin. The average size being caught this spring season is pretty big with most weighing over 15 lbs. and the average being close to 20. Ono season is starting off with a bang. We’re just at the beginning of the season for them now. Last year the ono bite started off real good at the beginning of the season but went to almost no ono being caught in the peak season. Because of what happened last year, you won’t be getting any predictions from me on how that bite is going to turn out this year. It’s just a “wait-n-see” on that one. .

The bottom bite has picked up pretty good. Lot’s of big sharks in the area also. After catching and releasing a 120 lb. amberjack earlier this week, we hooked up another close to the same size right after and it was eaten in one quick gulp by one of those big eating machines. Just the day before in the same area, we caught a giant trevally and a tiger shark followed it right up to the boat. All I could say is that it was HUGE! If you’re looking to catch something that’s a lot bigger than you are, Sharks (also known as tax collectors around here) are the guaranteed catch right now. Last month I mentioned jigging and the modifications I’ve made to the Penn 9500. I did get some emails about it so I made a page up on my web site showing the mods and added a really good knot for joining braided line to mono. The URL is FISHinKONA.com/jigging.htm and there will be more info being added as time permits. Because of the sharks in the area, I’ve had to put jigging on hold. As I said last month, those Shimano jigs are expensive. The tax collectors (sharks) cost me way too much this month. Anyone else feel that way in April? .

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing (http://fishinhawaii.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – May wrap-up –

The most common billfish being caught right now is spearfish. While good eating, they’re not what the common angler is trying to attain while fishing Kona waters. The coast is loaded with bait schools right now. Aku and shibi popping up out of nowhere and others being marked by bird piles from near shore to beyond the horizon. Now all we need is the blue marlin and ahi to find `em. There have been only a few marlin around and a few “blind strike” ahi catches. There has been a porpoise school outside the harbor and South that has produced some ahi also but with the abundance of bait in the water, when the summer yellowfin & blues do show up, there will be plenty of reason for them to stick around.

Ono are beating out the mahi mahi right now as the most common catch but not by much. Both are in abundance so overall, adding in the spearfish bite, the bite is pretty good. A great opportunity for those looking to take home some fresh island fish or just to have some back at the condo. I cover how to get the fish home on the FAQ page on my web site.

With the trolling bite being what it is, I haven’t been devoting much time to bottom fishing. On days that I have done it though, it’s been a quick and easy bite. The sharks are still abundant as are the amberjacks and almaco jacks. Jigging has been the quickest method for getting a bite but costly when the sharks rob you of not just the fish you’re fighting but your jig, hook and rings for a total about $30 and another trip to the tackle shop. I hear there are some cheaper jigs available in one of our local shops so I’ll be giving those a try when my expensive ones all get eaten. With tying my own trapper hooks now and jigs available for just over $10 (if they work), now I can loose twice as much tackle before I get pissed! Oh, did I say that out loud? My fingers were just typing away and it came out. Hope I’m not violating this forums vulgarity policy. If a moderator thinks it is, please insert “very very very very angry” where that other word is http://jerrylabella.com/discus/clipart/happy.gif

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing (http://fishinhawaii.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – June wrap-up -

The marlin have arrived. Blue marlin of all sizes – small to grander. Yes, there was a 1075 pounder caught and there have been reports of other 1000+ marlin fought/lost and one even caught, at the boat floating belly up dead but due to the incompetence of one of the crew, it slowly sank to the bottom with a bunch of shallow gaff holes and one gaff still in it. It was definitely a sad tale to hear and extremely frustrating for the angler and the one experienced crewman who, like many of us has yet to attain that coveted “grander” status. I congratulated the guys that did land that 1075 pounder this month and asked my long time friend Steve “How long did it take you to get it?” His answer “22 years Jeff.” A lot has to go right to subdue an animal that big. Most of the time it just can’t be done and the fish wins. Sometimes the boat wins and on rare occasion, they both loose. Personally, I’ve never even had a decent shot at getting one. I’ll continue to dream of that day though. The spearfish are here in full force and something very strange, the striped marlin came back. Normally a striped marlin caught in the summer is a rare thing here but several are being caught now. For those billfish huggers that are appalled about us killing a few (I almost always get comments from them), lighten up! We release many more than we kill (and eat). Unlike the longliners that kill thousands just to toss them back into the water dead. If you really want to make a difference, do something to shut those guys down instead of wagging your finger at us small time operators.

Ahi season has arrived also. This is the time of year that we get the “blind strike” yellowfin tuna. One of the exciting things about this time of year is that when a reel starts screaming, it could be just about anything on the line. There are still some mahi mahi around and some ono being caught in the deep. Small yellowfin and bigeye tuna on the buoys and those “blind strike” tuna are usually yellowfin over 100 lbs.

Sharks are dominating the depths right now. If you hook up anything other than a shark down there, you better be quick to get it up. Sharks can really move fast but as a general rule, they swim slowly acting like time is on their side. Almost every fish we hook that isn’t a shark will either get attacked right away or will have a shark following it right up to the boat. Slow down your (fast) retrieve rate just a little and your fish (and maybe your jig) is gone. Last month I talked about cheaper jigs. Yes, they work real good and yes, I’ve lost them all + some of the expensive ones to shark attacks. Back to the tackle shop today to get more of those cheap ones and some more hooks. I did some work on my jigging page (FISHinKONA.com/jigging.htm) and illustrate how to tie your own trapper hooks. The cheap jig (lost the last one yesterday to a shark) is in the bottom photo, the jig on the left.

See ‘ya on the water or maybe the tackle shop,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing (http://fishinkona.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – July wrap-up –

As I said last month, the marlin are here. The full moon on the 10th and premium water conditions made for some really good fishing. The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, one of the most famous tournaments in the world was held this week. A five day tournament and it got off to a slow start. The week before the tournament started the current was switching and an influx of cold water hit the Kona coast. It shut the bite down to almost nothing. As the week progressed, the current became steadier, the water warmed up and the bite turned back on. Several billfish were tagged and released including many spearfish and striped marlin. There was another “grander” blue marlin (1027 lbs.) caught this week but not by a boat that was in the tournament. I’m not sure how many granders that makes for the year so far but I know of at least five. That’s a big improvement over the past few years.
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The ono were biting pretty good until the current switched. They’ve scattered offshore so most that are being caught are being caught in the deep. Ahi and mahi mahi have also been a fairly common offshore catch for July. Trolling offshore for the day is almost a guarantee of getting hit. Getting them to stick on the hook has been a common complaint. Getting anglers to get one to the boat without loosing them has been a problem I’ve been having lately.
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Jigging has been working better than bait for targeting the bottom. Not many sharks around anymore. Almaco jack and amberjack are the most common jig catch but you never know what else will hit a jig. Ono and snapper were a couple of recent jig catches but the one that really sticks in my head was just a light hit. After the hit, the jig felt heavy but not like there was a fish on it. When I got the jig up I found it snapped in two with the inner wire holding the halves together in the shape of an L. No marks on the jig whatsoever. Whatever hit the jig had a lot of speed and power but it must have missed with it’s mouth. I figure any fish head butting a 12oz. jig at high speed would probably be knocked out cold. I’ll never know what it was but I can imagine it would have been a pretty funny thing to see.
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See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing (http://fishinhawaii.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Sept. ’06 wrap-up.

For those loyal readers of the Kona Hawaii fishing report, Sorry that there was no August ’06 wrap-up. I was on vacation for most of August. The beginning of the month wasn’t looking too good anyway and although I did keep in contact with a few of the captains during my vacation, it doesn’t appear that I missed much of a bite during August. Many people ask me “where do you go on vacation if you live in Hawaii”? To visit relatives that do not live in Hawaii of course. People also ask if I fish while on vacation. YEP! I fished almost every day this time. Also got in some white water kayaking, skydiving, flew around my brothers gyrocopter (a lot) and got to fly (with an instructor) a trike (powered hang glider) for the first time. Hey, if you’re not catching big fish in Hawaii, it’s real hard to find anything else that can come close to the thrill!
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So, on to the September wrap-up. I think this is a crack up. I’m sitting here with writers block wondering what I can say about the month. I started wondering about last September so decided to look at last years report. What I found really made me laugh because it’s the same as this year. Here’s a quote from the ’05 report: “Fishing in September is really a gamble in Kona. I was just looking at my September fishing report from last year along with my own catch records from September ’04. What I saw prompted me to go ahead and look at my ’03 and ’02 reports also. I did find somewhat of a pattern. September is a good month for marlin overall but the bite seems to turn on and off throughout the month. Not just a slow down or pick-up. I’m talking` a definite ON / OFF. It also seems to be one of the best months for big marlin. Several 500+ marlin are caught in September and this year proved it again with quite a few big marlin both brought in and many released.”
And so the “pattern” continues. I had a shot at one of the big blues just a few days ago but it came off after straightening out the Mustad 12/0 stainless hook.

The 100+ yellowfin bite was pretty good all month long. The porpoise schools holding them have been near shore and easy to find. Usually it’s just the first boats in the school that get bit. The ahi get shy (or wise) after the first bite but there a few captains (not me) here that constantly catch them every time (almost). They pick one or some out of the school even though the rest of the fleet is having no luck. It takes a lot of dedication to keep up with the ahi. They’re fast, smart, have excellent eye site and are picky eaters. That’s where skill and luck separate.

Mahi mahi are a fairly common catch right now followed by just a few ono and spearfish. The mahi mahi seem to be small this year. The bottom bite has been slow this September. As you may have noticed from recent reports, I’ve been doing a lot more jigging lately. Jigs of all size and shapes are now (as of this year) available at the local tackle shops in Kona. I’m also testing some new jigging equipment. I’ve had some good catches with the jigs including a couple of ono recently, the biggest kawakawa I’ve ever seen (made Kona’s “Big Fish List”) and even tried for some of those fast, smart, eagle eye, picky eaters but it seems that only the younger and smaller ones are stupid enough to fall for a jig. I guess the big ones don’t get big for nothin’.

See `ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii fishing (http://fishinkona.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – October ’06 wrap-up:

October has always been one of my favorite months to fish because of the variety of fish to be had. Last year was the first October in memory that was bad. I’m glad to see that it’s back to normal this year. The blue marlin bite has been pretty good this month! Probably out doing the so-called “peak season” of the summer months. I use the word “probably” because there is a major factor to be considered. In the summer, there are simply more boats being chartered because summer is when most people take vacation. October is slower for business but those that are getting charters and going out are having good action. Other billfish that have been showing up are spearfish and striped marlin. It’s late in the season for spearfish and early for Striped marlin. That’s one of the things that makes October so interesting. Yesterday a boat caught a sailfish. That’s a rare catch in Hawaii and I’m sure glad he boated it. Luckily he’s a generous captain and I got a fillet. I ate it sashimi style (raw) and it sure was tasty stuff!

The mahi mahi have arrived on time this year. The Fall season mahi are usually bigger in size than the Spring chickens but at the beginning of the month we were only seeing small ones come in. That has now switched and the big ones are here! Another decent bite has been with yellowfin tuna in the porpoise schools. Not too many schools around but the ones that do show up are holding fish.

The bottom bite has been slow for October. It’s usually a lot better. I see lots of small fish marks on the fish finder screen but a severe lack of bigger marks. The commercial bottom fishermen are complaining that they’re not getting the numbers of fish (snapper and grouper) that they normally get this time of year. Hmmmmm, consider this. The best bottom fishing grounds in Kona were also the epicenter of the big earthquake that hit Hawaii on October 15th. Maybe, like many of us land based critters that live near the epicenter (like me), they’re still busy cleaning up and rebuilding. Habitat is essential for fish populations and almost nothing destroys fish habitats (or human ones) like natural disasters do. A reef that took hundreds of years to build can be gone in a moment of time. I’ll stop short of agreeing to give the fish disaster relief funds though.

See `ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii fishing (http://fishinhawaii.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. ’07 wrap-up

The new year hasn`t shown us anything too impressive yet. This years biggest blue marlin stands at 611 lbs. the biggest striped marlin at 157 lbs. The marlin bite has been slow but we did have a nice run on spearfish at the beginning of the month and the biggest so far is 62 lbs. With the exception of the spearfish, the billfish bite just hasn`t been very good. As I said last month the striped marlin should be biting but it`s still early in the season for them and I have confidence that they`ll eventually show up.

Other fish that are still around although they really shouldn`t be here are the big yellowfin tuna and Otaru. These are summer fish and I mentioned in my December wrap-up that they were biting. They’re still here although the numbers are starting to decline. The mahi mahi are still around too.

The bottom bite has been the best bite going. The amberjack and almaco jack have made for some fast action. Live bait is the best to use but they’ve been in short supply. Dead bait just hasn`t been doing well for attracting the fish but the jigging has been HOT! Sharks moved in heavy in the middle of the month and made for some hard fights. They seem to be gone now. Another fish prized for it`s fighting ability is the Giant Trevally. Locally know as Ulua, these are one of the hardest fighting fish you can hook into. Early in the month we caught an 86.5 pounder on a jig. The fish swallowed the jig all the way down and the trapper hook (this is the only hook on the jig) barely stuck in just under it`s chin. That prevented the ulua from spitting out the jig. It’s one of those once in a life time lucky catches. It made the local paper as the biggest of the new year and didn`t even last `til the end of the month because another was caught just a week later weighing in at 90 lbs. Every year I take 1 to 3 positions on “The Big Fish List” of the 21 species listed. The list is filling fast and it looks like the competition this year is going to be tough. Lucky catches are a lot of fun and I`ve always said I`d rather be lucky than good any time but it takes more than luck to stay at the top. This year it looks like I’m going to need both.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing (http://fishinkona.com)
http://FISHinKONA.com/trapped.htm

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap-up.

April was a pretty weak trolling month overall with mahi mahi being the main catch but things are really looking up now. The ono run had started! I can’t say that it will stay in full swing through the summer but if the current run is any indicator of what’s to come, it’s going to be a good season. Another fish just coming into season is yellowfin tuna. There has been some caught almost daily in the porpoise schools but we’ll know the real run is happening when we start getting “blind strikes”. No indication that the yellowfin are even in the area and all the sudden one or more lines go off. Tuna surprise!

No matter how slow the trolling bite is in Kona you can always count on at least some marlin being caught here. That’s what makes Kona the Pacific blue marlin capitol of the world. A few big blues were landed in April although most were tagged and released. Striped marlin are scarce right now but still a couple a week coming in.

The bottom bite has been turning hot and cold. Normally the jacks are hanging on the edge of the ledges but bait schools running around is the flats, a very large area, have been scattering them and making them hard to find. A lot of big sharks have shown up too. Several 1000+ lb. tiger sharks have been spotted lately. One followed up an almaco jack that we brought in last Thursday but it was getting late in the day and not the type of people on board that could handle a big fight like that. I had several big shark fights in April and either pulled hook or broke terminal tackle on every one of them. I’ve been beefing up my rigs trying to prevent more failures but mostly it’s been a problem of me being too stingy with the drag at the end game. My anglers for the most part have been getting these huge sharks close to the boat but that’s when they go nuts, do a lot of thrashing and head shaking. It’s funny when anglers do that …… no no no, just kidding. Some of them have been less that happy that they didn’t get a chance to get a good shark photo though.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sportfishing (http://fishinhawaii.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers (Capt_jeff_rogers)]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – May wrap-up

May started off pretty slow but it ended with many nice catches. Several “Beast” blue marlin (over 500 lbs.) have been caught recently. Most are getting tagged and released. This is just one of the things that marks summer time in Kona. With the big females will also come many smaller male marlin to join in the fun. As I mentioned in last months report, the summer yellowfin tuna run is marked by “blind strikes” and that’s starting to happen now also. A few boats got a big surprise while trolling for ono this month when a school of big yellowfin tuna went cruising into the ono lane looking for breakfast. Everyone who was in the lane near the airport got multiple bites from 100+ lb. tuna. The lane is very close to shore and 40 to 60 fathoms deep. The big tuna usually don’t like coming in so close to shore but that particular area has a unique topography and as a result, often gets a mix of both near shore and off shore species. It was the hottest spot for ono around the middle of May and besides regular catches of tuna under 100 lbs., there were also some nice size mahi mahi caught in that same area.

In Kona, the speed and direction of the current is the most important factor when it comes to the bite being good or bad. Moon phase comes next followed by the tide height and times. The current was really weird in May and made the fishing very unpredictable. In many parts of the world, water temperature and tide changes are the most important factors. Here is Kona the tide is only about two feet and the water temperature remains about 80 degrees +/- four degrees between summer and winter. A temperature “break” is usually less than one degree and hardly a factor when fishing. The reason I’m mentioning this is that visiting fishermen will sometimes try to plan their particular day(s) of fishing around a moon phase or the solunar tables. I’ll admit that there is a slight factor there but in Kona, the current is the king and as far as I know, no one has figured out a way to predict what it will do. I suggest the high tech method of throwing a dart at the calendar.

The bottom bite has been pretty good for jacks and big sharks. These types of fish are a specialty of mine. In fact, I’m officially recognized as the discoverer of almaco jacks in Hawaiian waters (2002) and my oldest daughter caught a world and state record dusky shark that also was thought to be, but not proven to be in Hawaiian waters until her record catch in August 2000. While I do like trolling for billfish, tuna ono, mahi mahi and such, I’ve found with my years of experience that deep sea trolling is mostly just a game of luck. With bottom fishing, you can go where the fish live and get into some (almost) guaranteed fishing action. Doing both styles during the day mixes up the action and provides a bigger opportunity for a successful trip. Either way, luck or skill, come visit the flat blue waters of Kona and let’s catch some big ones.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing (http://fishinhawaii.com)

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – August wrap-up.

Pacific blue marlin tops the list of the most common fish being caught in August. Sizes are ranging from just over 100 lbs. to just under 1000 lbs. Just like last month there were a few 900+ fish caught but that magical 1000 lb. mark has escaped many. Spearfish also had a decent showing in August and even some sailfish caught. Sailfish are a rare catch in Hawaii with only about a dozen caught in a year. There were at least half that many caught this month. There’s been some yellowfin tuna coming out of the South porpoise school (if you can find ‘em). Otaru (skipjack tuna over 10 lbs.) have been running in bird piles and up on the grounds. I know in some places of the world people don’t eat their local skipjack tuna but here in Hawaii, the meat (of the big ones) is quite good because of their diet. On the East side of the Big Island, you actually get more $ per pound for otaru than for yellowfin of the same size. The ono run that didn’t happen, well, it’s still not happening. I’m not giving up though. They could show up any time.

The bottom bite has been fairly consistent. The live bait bite has been best but the bait fish have been hard to find and catch. I get asked all the time about buying live bait. There’s no live bait business here so you’ve got to catch your own. Dead bait works sometimes but at other times, if it’s not live, they won’t touch it. That’s where jigging comes in. If you can’t get bait in a reasonable amount of time then the next option is to go jigging. Live bait averages bigger fish than jigs but jigging has it’s own rewards.

Last month I got some remarks about a statement I made in the July wrap-up. I said ”you can expect the sale of Marlin in Hawaii to be totally outlawed soon”. While some organizations and individuals are supporting this, it may not end up being a total ban and “soon” is a relative term. I you’re not familiar with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, I suggest you do a Google search for Magnuson-Stevens summary, click the top link and find out about it. Terms like National Fishery Management Program and Individual Fishing Quota Programs should get the attention of some of you. Back in my March report I told about Hawaii’s first ever seasonal closure for snapper and Hawaiian grouper. The Feds gave us an ultimatum. Either come up with your own regulations or we’ll come in there and make them for you. After Hawaii successfully met the Fed requirements by implementing its first ever bottom fishing closure areas, The Feds pushed for even tighter regs in this fishery. Whether they’ll be satisfied with the outcome of the latest area closure expansion and the current seasonal closure remains to be seen. This is just the tip of a whole bunch of regulations being forced on Hawaii. Next on the list looks like there will be stricter tuna regulations that probably include quotas. With billfish, the big decision for Hawaii seems to be either a slot limit or a total ban on the sale of billfish. Either way, we were told that if Hawaii doesn’t regulate billfish on it’s own by 2011, the Feds will do it for us. Look at the track record of both sides when it comes to fisheries management……
Looks like more bumpy seas.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
http://fishinkona.com
Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – September wrap-up.

September is typically the slowest tourist month of the year. The trolling bite on marlin was a bit slow too. Part of the reason was the lack of boats going out. You might think, well, not many boats out so there’s more fish for me but that’s not really how it works. Picture this: A map of the Kona coast and off shore in a 25 square mile area, make a dozen scattered blue pinpoint dots that represent marlin. Then make a dozen scattered black pinpoint dots representing boats. As these dots are set in slow moving motion, remember that they have to randomly touch each other for a hit (hopefully not boats colliding) to occur. The more dots of either blue or black, the more likely the chance of a hit. Take away some of either color of dots and the chances of a hit diminish. Yea, it would be great if there were tons of blue dots but that’s just not realistic. Take away half of the black dots and you’ll now see the chance of a hit decreases by a whole lot and the overall situation may look like there’s no fish around when the real reason is the lack of fishing effort. It happens many times in fisheries management that when a total catch rate diminishes that it’s assumed that the cause is a lack of fish when sometimes the real reason is a diminished fishing effort.

There weren’t any spectacular marlin catches this month but the sailfish continue to make weekly appearances of the fish catch board. The otaru are mostly gone now but some small yellowfin tuna have shown up on most of the FAD’s. Mahi mahi are starting to show up too so I guess you could say that the Fall run has started. I’ve given up even trying for ono.

The first ever seasonal bottom fishing closure for Hawaii ends in less than a week. The closure made it illegal to keep six different kinds of snapper and one kind of grouper but fishing for bigger bottom fish like jacks and sharks luckily wasn’t prohibited. Some Dept. of Aquatic Resources people think that when the season opens that there will be such a rush to catch those valuable seven kinds of fish that it will negate the closure. I think they’re wrong when it comes to Kona. I can’t say what the other islands will do but I predict that little Kona town will see the same few boats that were out there bottom fishing prior to the closure and not much more than that. Hey, I’m not really a psychic but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
http://fishinkona.com Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – October wrap-up .

I’ve said before that it’s the current direction and strength that is the most important factor when it comes to the bite being good or bad in Kona. For most of October we had a prolonged bad split current situation. There will always be some fish around during a bad current but they are certainly few between. The best news is that it’s finally over! The current has stabilized to its typical North direction and although it’s moving a bit fast, the fish are coming back. It started with a sudden influx of blue marlin catches and what soon followed was a fantastic mahi mahi run that is still going strong.

Mahi mahi is a fish that can be caught any month of the year here but we get two seasonal runs per year. The spring run is commonly the smaller variety known as “schoolie dolphin” or “smurfs” (little blue guys) and are typically about 5 to 20 lbs. but it’s the Fall run that brings in the big ones. Right now a typical mahi mahi runs anywhere between 20 and 50 lbs. with a few even bigger. The Hawaii state record of 82 lbs. was landed in Kona in ’87 and I remember it well because just a week after that fish was caught, my dad and I landed an 80 pounder that would have been the new state record if the 82 pounder hadn’t been caught.

Targeting the bottom fish and nailing a few nice tuna on the troll was the ticket for scoring a %100 catch rate for the month. Some of those days it took a lot of work to get a fish though. The commercial snapper fishery re-opened on October 1st and in my Nov. wrap-up I made kind of a prediction. What actually ended up happening was something I don’t think anyone would have guessed. There were indeed a bunch of boats fishing the Kona snapper grounds the first week. Many that I’ve never seen fishing there before and only a couple of the old regulars fishing it. By the 2nd week not many boats were fishing it at all. I think the current was messing up that fishery too. The 3rd week had even fewer boats. So here we are now at the end of October and what I see are the same few regulars that fished the area before the closure going back to work. They’re bringing in about the same numbers of fish that they were before the closure so it seems like business as usual. Fisheries people will be crunching numbers over the next few months to attempt to analyze the effect of the closure on fish populations. Reports will be made and people will analyze the reports. The worst part of all that is, the powers that be have already set their plans for the future closures and the data collected from this first closure won’t make any difference in their plans anyway. That bites!

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
<A href="http://fishinkona.com"> Kona Hawaii Sport Fishing</A>

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – November wrap-up .

If you`ve been following my reports you know that last month the current (or lack of) killed the trolling bite for most of the month. Just when things were getting back to normal, a big storm came through on Nov. 4th and shut the current off again. Here it is over three weeks later and the current is just now starting to pull in it`s typical North pattern. The bait fish stayed on the ledges and FAD`s the whole time the current was slack but there was certainly a lack of marlin in the area even though in some areas, bait fish abounded. Good thing the mahi mahi bite stayed good throughout the month.

The striped marlin should be here shortly. There were two caught last week and they were pretty good size ones. When the run does happen, typically they`re all about the same size. We never know if they`ll be in the forty to fifty pound range or the eighty to one hundred pound range. One of the ones caught last week weighed in at 128 lbs. When the average size runs big, one of my claims of fame is in jeopardy. I have the biggest striped marlin so far this decade. At only 186 lbs., it`s a surprise that it hasn`t been beaten yet but the striped marlin in Kona tend to run a bit on the small side compared to other parts of the world. I also have the biggest black marlin of the decade here in Kona and that one would be hard to beat.

OK, since I`m bragging about catches, I got one more. It has taken nearly eleven years to get one but I finally got a 100+ lb. giant trevally (GT) this month. I wasn`t the angler but the captain gets some credit too. The 100+ is a special category for GT much like getting a 1000+ marlin and there is a published list of the anglers who have accomplished it. I always said that if I caught either one of these special fish that I would kill `em for the publicity. Well, I had my chance and I just didn’t have the heart for it. The GT came up strong. It was just too easy to tag it and let it go rather than kill it, hang it for the photos and then dump the carcass or find someone willing to risk eating it. A beast that big would almost certainly have ciguatera toxin in it. Personally, I don’t think it`s worth the risk to eat any fish that might have the toxin. There are several people who get “hit” here every month. If you don’t know what ciguatera toxin is or the nasty effects it will have on you, try a wikipedia.org search and check it out. After reading about the symptoms, would you risk it?

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – December wrap-up .

And so ends another year. The spearfish came in early this season to help us celebrate and they are currently the most common fish being caught. Mahi mahi are still biting too but they`re not as abundant as they were at the beginning of the month. Otaru tuna are another fish that put on a good showing for us around the middle of the month and are normally a summer bite but we`ll take `em any time we can.

The blue marlin bite picked up a bit in the last couple of weeks even though this is the slow season for them. The striped marlin should be here already but they haven’t really shown up yet. There has been a few caught but not like it should be for December. Another animal (not a fish) that should be here in numbers are the humpback whales. I’ve only seen a couple so far this year where usually, they are a daily sight in December. Hopefully when more whales do show up, they`ll bring in the striped marlin with them.

The bottom bite has been slow. I’m seeing plenty of fish on the sonar but they`re just not biting much. Live bait is usually the best method for catching a variety of bottom fish but lately the baits are either not taken at all or just crushed and killed but not eaten. Catching with jigs has been fair but it`s a lot of hard work deep jigging. Another down side to jigging is that fish caught on jigs are generally smaller on average than the fish caught on bait. So, what are the up sides to jigging? For one, that hard work is a good workout. I love to jig for at least an hour a few times a week just to stay in shape. Most of my customers only last 20 to 30 minutes of hard jigging before whimping out. Because I`m usually the one that hooks up (the faster you jig, the more likely you hook up), I get to feel most of the hits and the first pull of the fish. Most charter captains rarely “fish” themselves, they just drive the boat. I think in many cases, I`m just as excited (if not more) about hooking up fish as my customers are. They can have the big fish fights though. IMHO, there can come a time where a workout becomes more like grueling work.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. wrap-up .

January has been a good month overall for trolling. The spearfish are still in abundance and if you’re looking for some good fish to eat, it doesn’t get much better than fresh spearfish. The mahi mahi bite was good all month too and that’s a bit unusual for January but I don’t hear anyone complaining. Also during this month, yellowfin tuna of all sizes showed up. The small bait size yellowfin are a common winter catch here especially on the FAD (fish aggregation device) buoys and F buoy was even producing 20+ pounders for a while. Other 20+ pounders were being caught in the blind and in the current lines. As for the 100+ size yellowfin tuna, they’re here too. Working the porpoise schools has been very profitable for the boats using the more commercial type methods for catching them. There are different baiting methods and the “green stick” method but just trolling lures through the school hasn’t been getting too many bites.

Normally I open my monthly reports talking about the marlin bite but there’s not really much of a catch to report on. The striped marlin bite picked up just a little bit this month and went from a average of about four per week to a few a day coming in on some days. There were a few “beast” (over 500) blue marlins caught, typical for any month of the year in Kona but most of the (few) blues being caught right now are babies under 100 lbs. that haven’t even grown their noses yet. Some people who don’t know how to tell the difference between a blue and a striped (many don’t) are actually thinking that the small blues are striped marlin. Bill proportions, stripe density and white belly shade are just a few ways to distinguish between the two but the ultimate test is the dorsal fin. The size of the dorsal fin in proportion to the body is yet another clue with the striped marlin having a larger fin in proportion to it’s body but as with the previously mentioned signs, these are all comparative differences. A hard way for the untrained eye to tell. The most distinguishing characteristic and sure-fire way to tell is that on a striped marlin, the first dorsal fin bone is flexible and on a blue marlin, it’s not.

I always like to wrap up the wrap-up with the bottom fishing report. It’s usually where most of the action and unusual catches are. Winter is a peak time for bottom fishing but it’s also the season when Hawaii gets its roughest sea conditions. Watching the news this morning, I see that even the Hawaii Super Ferry is docked due to rough sea conditions. Kona is unique in that the huge mountains protect us from those sea conditions but the most productive bottom fishing grounds to the North of the harbor are less protected and as a result, I wasn’t able to fish the good bottom grounds for most of the month. When forced to go South, I pray for a good trolling bite because the bottom spots are few, far between and usually not as productive. The up side to that is the water is flat like a lake almost every day. The flat sea conditions also make fighting a fish easier. It also helps if you got a marlin up next to the boat and you’re grabbing at it trying to see if it’s first dorsal fin bone is bendable.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – February wrap-up .

The biggest blue marlin of the year was weighed in on the 15th. The year is still young but a 934 pounder might just stand for a while. The marlin died 1-½ hours into the fight and it took another ½ hour to plane it up. It’s a lot of work to plane up a dead fish and luckily they were using 130 lb. test line. There’s a theory among fishermen that if the dead fish is 10X the weight of the line, then it can’t be planed up. I proved the theory wrong about 8 years ago by planning up an 843 lb. black marlin up on 80 lb. test line. It took 45 minutes of hard work and I don’t think I’d ever like to test the theory out again. I think we were just lucky that the line didn’t snap.

We had some striped marlin caught this month but it looks like striped marlin season will remain slow this year. The last good season we had on them was back in ’04 so we’re over due for a good one. It’s a good thing we’re having a good spearfish season. Spearfish and mahi mahi top the list as the most common catches and there’s still some yellowfin tuna being caught also. I got word that there was a decent ono run happening down by South Point but it takes an overnight trip to fish that far away. I hoping they make their way North.

The North bottom fishing grounds has had flat water fishing conditions and the bite was pretty good until just recently. The current is switching around so the baitfish took off. Hopefully it won’t be long before they show up again. It’s usually easier to catch the bottom fish using live bait and on some occasions, jigging may even out-perform live bait but the average size fish caught on bait is much bigger than on a jig. Big sharks usually won’t take a jig and if they do, they usually bite it off anyway. The monster amberjack and trevally rarely eat a jig either. OK, so I know what some of you are thinking. Why be so cheap? If you want the bigger fish, go buy some live bait! And I would have to say to you, you’re spoiled if you can go buy your live bait. I would gladly buy some if someone sold some. The bait we use here are mackerel and tuna in the 2 to 10 lb. size. For many of you, the fish we use for bait would be for you, a “keeper”. Not only are these baits usually in abundance here so it’s pretty easy to catch your own but, they’re also hard to keep alive. Forget about putting them in a bait tank unless your tank is a hundred + gallons. The tuna tube was invented about 12 years ago and this, for the first time allowed us to keep bigger baits alive for a while but, they also tend to get weaker and weaker the longer they stay in the tube. I take frozen bait with me sometimes but it just doesn’t catch as well as live bait. If there are any really really smart people reading this, let me know when you get baitfish cryonics figured out. Sometimes I put frozen tuna into my tuna tube just to thaw them out a little and have actually had customers ask me if the bait is now alive.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinHAWAII.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – March wrap-up .

March isn`t considered a good month for blue marlin but one thing about these animals is that they will group somewhere. Even in the off-season we can get a decent run of blue marlin and that happened this month. Not only are we getting a fair number but we`re getting some real big ones too. The biggest blue marlin of the year was caught last Tuesday and weighed in at 1251 lbs. A marlin over 1200 lbs. hasn’t been weighed in since `04 (a summer time catch @ 1258 lbs).

Spearfish and mahi mahi were again the most common catch of the month. We`re at the beginning of the season for mahi mahi and the middle of the season for spearfish so you may end up reading next month that these fish top the list again as the most common catch. That being said, the ono have indeed started to show up but it`s a bit early to say that the run has started.

Bottom fishing in Hawaii is again being pounced upon by more regulations. It`s just around the corner and we will see the first ever “recreational” fishing licenses required to fish in Hawaii but for now, it will be just for bottom fishing. Other bottom fishing regulations are being looked at but it`s clear that the Feds are pushing for the bottom fishing license option and it will probably be implemented this summer. Right after that will be fishing licenses for all fisheries! It’s already being pushed through by the beaurocrats. The state also announced yesterday that they are making it illegal to fish for or take six different kinds of snapper and one kind of grouper effective April 7th within state waters. There was already a Federal and state closure (implemented for the first time last year) on those fish scheduled for May 1st through August 31st. Hawaii has always been fishing regulation free (for the most part) and bottom fishing was the easiest way for both federal and state beaurocrats to get an easy “foot in the door” on their way to regulating all of Hawaii`s fisheries. I know that all of the other 49 states have had to deal with fisheries regulations for a long time so boo-hoo, poor Hawaii. Well, I say, just another piece of paradise stolen.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinHAWAII.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap-up .

I did last month’s wrap-up a day before the end of the month and in last month’s report, the big news was Kona’s first “Grander” of the year. The very next day after that report, last day of the month, another “Grander” was caught. It was an awesome battle! I know because I was the captain on the boat! It’s a huge milestone for any captain to bag a grander and most Kona captains never attain the goal. A lot has to go right in order to get one. It really is a combination of skill and luck. We came close to loosing her a couple of times and then, once we had her subdued, we almost became a sad “almost a grander” story. Three Oceanic white tip sharks attacked the marlin as we were trying to pull her in the boat. They took about 150 lbs. of meat off of her in about 1 minute but even with that, she still weighed in at 1056 lbs. There’s more about the trip at FISHinKONA.com on the “Hall of Fame” page and for only about a week more, on the “Fish Photo’s Page”. The angler also wrote about the trip in the “Guest Book”. A note for you fish huggers out there, I release almost all my marlins and I don’t feel bad at all for killing this fish. If I ever get another grander, I’ll kill that one too. Any blue under 1000 lbs. is free to go. I keep small striped marlin to eat. Any big ones are free to go. It’s most likely that because I target a wider variety of fish than any other captain in Kona and, I let most everything go, that I lead the Kona fleet in released fish and have for many years.

Mid size fish are plentiful right now. Spearfish, mahi mahi and ono are the most common fish being caught. There’s also plenty of shibi (small yellowfin tuna) in the 5 to 20 lb. range and Skipjack tuna in the 5 to 15 lb. range. I caught some shibi trolling in the deep yesterday and filleted them for my customers. It was saddening to see what they were feeding on. They’re stomachs were stuffed with 4” to 5” baby spearfish! False killer whales were also in the area feeding on the shibi. It’s a tough life cycle out there.

Bottom fishing was pretty good for most of April. The current started moving North pretty fast and hard this week so it’s been more difficult to work it. With the current finally moving though, the baitfishes are congregating in their usual spots. With baitfish fairly easy to get, the bottom bite for sharks, trevally, amberjack and almaco jack has been the easiest way to score some hard fighting fish. With a decent trolling bite going on at the same time, it’s been a fun month for fishing even though a few of the 3/4 days I fished drew a blank. Bites and fights but no catches other than small tuna. I said earlier that to catch a grander, a lot has to go right and it’s also a combination of skill and luck. I think that also applies to fishing, or I should say “catching” in general.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com
http://FISHinKONA.com/Grander.jpg

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – May wrap-up .

Marlin were in short supply for most of May but the number of marlin catches has increased over the past week. Spearfish are the most common billfish being caught right now but with the summer season just starting up, we should see the numbers of blue marlin increasing and the number of spearfish decreasing. May is listed as the peak season for black marlin in Hawaii but what most people don’t realize is that black marlin are a rare catch in Hawaii. The spot on Kona’s “Big Fish List” for the biggest black marlin of the year remains vacant. With most marlin being caught and then released by the majority of captains now, it’s possible that one or more blacks have been caught this year and released without it ever being known that it was a black. It takes a keen eye to spot the subtle differences between the three types of marlins we catch here. The best way to tell a black marlin from its cousins is that the pectoral fins stick straight out and are fixed. Striped and blue marlin pectoral fins can fold back and lay tight against the body. If you’re going to release a marlin, it’s not likely that you’re going to take the time to try to move its fins. There is another way to tell a black from the others but that’s reserved for people who can spot those subtle differences I mentioned. A black marlin has a larger, fatter bill in comparison to its body. In fact, all three types of marlins caught in Hawaii have differences in the bill-to-body size proportions but it takes years of seeing these marlins next to the boat to readily spot those differences. .

Other billfish that are rare in Hawaii are sailfish and broadbill swordfish. The first broadbill of the year was brought in this month. Broadbill are caught at night and are usually a bycatch of the night time tuna fishery. There are only few broadbill and about a dozen sailfish caught in Kona in a typical year.

The blind strike ahi (yellowfin tuna) bite started right on time this year. From May until the end of summer, when a lure is taken on the troll, it just might be a 100+ lb. ahi.

The ono run started early this year. Last year they didn’t even show up. We had a little spurt at the beginning of the summer last year and then nothing for the rest of the summer. This year it looks like things might be back to normal.

Mahi mahi are still being caught on a regular basis but their close cousin, the pompano dolphin are being caught here also. I think there are only a handful of us here that even know the difference between a pompano dolphin and a mahi mahi. Most of the pompano are being mistaken as baby mahi mahi. It’s another one of those “subtle difference” things. I tried doing some research as far as how big they get. My IGFA world record book is from 2001 and the pompano dolphin isn’t even listed in there. I caught one yesterday that was about 14 lbs. and I found out today that the Hawaii state record for these is only 7 lbs. Most of them I’ve been catching are under 5 lbs. but the next big one I get (if I get another big one) will definitely get submitted for the state record.

The bottom bite was pretty good this month. The sharks have been thick so getting fish to the boat has been tough but the sharks in turn are a fairly easy hook-up and they make great sport. With the marlin in short supply right now, sharks are the biggest animal that you have a good shot at catching. On stand up tackle, they can be more of a fight than most anglers are up for. The “subtle differences” on shark identifications are even more complicated than with most fish. For instance, the difference between a bronze whaler and a dusky shark is the shape of the bottom teeth. I have to admit, most of the time I’m just guessing as to what kind I’m catching. I’m leaning. But just like playing with marlin fins, It’s too dangerous to give a P.O.`d shark a close dental check-up.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – August wrap-up

Kona’s hot marlin bite continued to be good through the first couple of weeks in August but then slowed a bit. Part of the reason is simply less people fishing. The tournaments are over and August has typically been slower than June and July for tourism anyway. Couple that with the news media promoting a recession, presidential and other elections just around the corner not knowing if your taxes are going to go through the roof or not, The rising interest rates to even have a roof, electric bills, food, gas prices …… The price we pay to play has tightened up. Bigger ticket tourist activities like helicopter tours and fishing excursions are being replaced by cheaper things like more time on the beach, snorkeling and kayak rentals. September is typically the slowest of all the months here for tourism so it looks like I’ll have some time to go to the beach myself, do some surfing, ride my ATV, cruse my street bike, hang out at my new house and enjoy the awesome ocean view (while putting off all those unpacked boxes in the garage). Some of you may wonder if I like to go fishing on my days off. The fact is, I can’t afford to. I have to pay for the use of the boat and the fuel too. I’ll just wait for a paying charter to go have some fishing fun.

The yellowfin tuna bite has slowed down a whole bunch. Even the night time commercial guys have stopped trying. There has been smaller yellowfin tuna on the FAD’s in the 8 to 15 lb. range so for the people looking for some meat to cook up, it’s a good time right now. The ono bite hasn’t been very good but there are still some coming in. We’re seeing some mahi mahi around, an occasional spearfish coming in and the otaru are starting to show up so for those looking for some food fish, There shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

The bottom bite is really off right now. Bait fish are in abundance along the ledges but the bigger predators like sharks, amberjack, trevally and such that are normally around when the bait fish are, have traveled elsewhere. I’ve been chasing tiger sharks after hearing reports of them being sighted in certain areas but have yet to see one myself. As long as I run into one while fishing on my boat and not while surfing, I’ll be happy.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinHAWAII.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Sept. wrap-up

It’s really difficult to determine if the fish are biting or not when the fishing effort is at it’s lowest in many years. As I mentioned last month, tourism is down and big ticket activities (like charter fishing) are at an even lower low. I have been luckier than most and I’m getting out one or two times a week so I’m still able to see a little of what’s going on out there but us fishermen rely on reports from other boats to determine where (or even if) there is a bite going on. It’s a big ocean out there and a single boat can only cover so much of it in a day. The marlin bite definitely slowed recently as a result of less fishing effort and the current switching from the typical North direction to a South direction had it’s effect too but trying to look at the big picture I would have to say that the marlin bite is down a little but not bad.

The yellowfin tuna bite from the porpoise schools has been hot! That’s a big change from what we were seeing near the end of August. Unfortunately for the charter boats out of Kona, the porpoise school has been far to the South so you have to be willing to burn a bunch of fuel and get there quick or else you’ll only have a short amount of time to work the school before it’s time to head back to port. I’m still waiting for the mahi mahi bite to kick in. I’ve been seeing a few mahi mahi flags flying but I didn’t even get a single bite from one in September. I tried some near shore ono fishing also in September also with no luck.

Back to the fishing effort issue. I’ve been spending a lot of my fishing effort sending bait and jigs to the bottom and have been rewarded with good action and some pretty spectacular fights. Most of the fights have been with sharks and some mixed giant trevally and amberjack action too. I had a few sharks hooked up this month that just outclassed my tackle so broken line and even a snapped rod a couple of days ago ended those fights. Tigers? Probably were. I got one tiger to the boat for a photo this month. At about 400 lbs., it was just a baby. A good fighter and one of the smallest tigers I’ve ever seen. Early in September, several beaches in Kohala (North of Kona) were close for more than a week because of tiger shark sightings. Against a swimmer or a surfer, even a 400 lb. baby has the home turf advantage and could easily make baby food out of a person.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – October wrap-up

While tourism is still down for the state of Hawaii, the amount of blue marlin in Kona was on the upswing in October. Marlin are odd critters in that they tend to run in packs of about the same size when a run starts and also about the same aggressiveness. We get runs of “light biters” that have a tendency to come in and check out the lures and nose around a little but not really come after them. On other runs that happen they may be collectively very aggressive and that makes for many great catches. Unlike Cabo where marlin hunting involves searching for fins on the surface, here in Hawaii seeing free-swimming marlin is rare. In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen more free-swimming marlin than I usually see in a whole year. The problem is, they don’t seem interested and there are no signs of aggressiveness at all when I drive past them with my lures. The color brightness of a marlin usually gives you a hint as to its attitude. All lit up brightly shows aggression. That’s the kind of fish that’s going to come in and smack your lures. The marlin I’ve been seeing the last couple of weeks are dark, swimming slow and for the most part, disinterested in those bright splashing and popping objects trailing behind my boat. I’ve heard the same description form a couple of other captains but at the same time, there are fair numbers of marlin being hooked up by the few boats going out. I really don’t want to kill any but I think my chances with a harpoon might be better than lures at this point.

The Fall mahi mahi run has started and, as is typical for the Fall run, they’re BIG! Thirty to fifty pounders are a common size this time of year. A great fight and great eating. The ahi bite slowed for October but as is typical for the winter months, the small yellowfin and bigeye tuna (shibi) will be here and some have already started to show up on the buoys and ledges. The ono bite was real slow this month but it’s not a good time of year for them anyway.

Some great news on the bottom fishing front. The biggest amberjack of the year was caught last Monday on the Monkey Business and weighed in at 137 lbs. That’s a big one! Bottom fishing for sharks, jacks and trevally was pretty good in October. As we come into winter, it will only get better. I had what you could call a spectacular catch myself this month. I started tagging amberjack, almaco jack and trevally in 1998 and I was a part of getting the statewide jack tagging program started. We caught an amberjack this month that had previously been tagged and was #225 of the number series that is now in the 10,000’s. I knew right away that this fish had not been tagged on the Big Island. Records show that this fish had been tagged at Maro Reef more than 1000 miles to the North of Kona in Sept. 2000. At a recorded length of 21” that put this fish at less than 10 lbs. when it was tagged. When we caught it (and released it again) it was 51” and weighed about 75 lbs. When the tagging program was started, the “known science” was that jacks live their whole life on one section of reef. The tagging program soon proved that to be false. In fact, it became apparent that the jacks around the island of Hawaii trend to circle the island in a counter-clockwise direction while on Maui, they circle in a clockwise direction. On Oahu, they do six months clockwise and six months counter-clockwise. Cool data! Also, this isn’t the first time a tagged fish has gone between islands but this is the longest distance traveled and may be the longest time span (more than 8 years) from tagging to recovery. I’m proud and privileged to be a part of one of the best fisheries in the world, Kona, Hawaii and also to be involved in the study of our ocean resources (I’m also on the billfish advisory committee for DAR) so my children’s children can have as much fun as I do rippin’ fish lips.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – November wrap-up ,

Not what you would expect for the winter season in Kona but the striped marlin haven’t shown up yet but some BIG blue marlin have. Like I said in last months report, they tend to run in packs of about the same size. The BIG ones are usually expected in the summer time but the fact is, They`re swimming around somewhere so why not cruise by that big pimple in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? I remember around Christmas time some years back that the same thing happened and any marlin caught under 300 lbs. was considered a baby. The biggest marlin of the month (a few more days to go so it’s not over yet) weighed in at 975 lbs. My buddy Chuck, Captain of the boat that caught it was a little disappointed in being just 25 lbs. shy of making “Grander” status but a fish that big is really nothing to be disappointed about. The very next day he had another BIG one on and broke line on it. Tourism is still way down but it appears to be getting better for the holiday season. Not many boats are going out right now so it’s hard to put a finger on how good the marlin bite is, only the size of the fish.

The mahi mahi bite continues to be good. The big ones (30 to 50) are still here. Most are being caught “in the blind” but the FAD`s are a good place to look also. I found a huge “floater” this week. A huge wad of netting and when I found it, I figured there would be mahi mahi all around it. All I found was small yellowfin, bigeye (shibi) and skipjack tunas. Very disappointing. I guess someone else beat me to it and cleaned it out. The South porpoise school is still producing some nice size ahi and the ledges are also holding shibi. Some ono were caught way down South but up by Kona, not good.

Bottom fishing season opened for the “forbidden seven” this month. These seven fish are six types of snapper and one type of grouper. The closed season was extended by another 46 days because the DAR (Dept. of Aquatic Resources) said they needed more time to “access the fishery” as if more than five closed months wasn`t enough time. What a bunch of B.S! They also implemented the first ever recreational fishing license in Hawaii that is required if you intend to deep drop for “the seven”. It’s nothing more than a foot-in-the-door technique to eventually require recreational fishing licenses for all fisheries in Hawaii. Recreational fishermen rarely do the deep bottom drops (I’m out there, I see what`s going on) but DAR states that the recreational catch of these “seven”, according to their statistics, stand at a rate of 3 to 4 times that of the commercial catch over the past several years. I’m still trying to figure out how they came up with that number seeing as how recreational fishermen (up `til now) didn`t report their catch? It`s a fictitious number that they made up. It just shows us how ignorant these desk jockeys really are about what goes on out on the water. If they dropped the amount of recreational catches down to a believable value, they would have the Federal catch reduction they are looking for. Maybe with the new license requirement (though not necessary) they`ll figure that out or, maybe they skewed the statistics on purpose in order to implement that recreational license? Hard to say. Another value they ignore is that people mainly fish the bottom fishing grounds that are near ports and boat ramps. That leaves most Hawaii bottom fish habitats unfished. Hmmmm. Last year they closed the bottom fishery earlier than required because they said the “total allowable catch” had been reached. They came up with this figure even though 85% of the commercial bottom fishermen had yet to turn in their reports. It must be those recreational guys catching all the fish huh? It’s just plain stupid to think that a degree and a desk makes you more knowledgeable about a fishery than people working behind the wheel on the water but the power of a DAR pen has time and time again proven mightier than any number of fishermen speaking out.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Dec. wrap-up .

Tourism definitely picked up for the holidays. With all the snow, ice and freezing temps happening in the continental US, Hawaii was a good holiday destination choice for many. The tourists aren’t afraid to spend their money either. It’s the most boats I’ve seen going out since September. The trolling bite has been fair but not great. Good size blue marlin continue to be caught by the fleet on a daily basis and finally, the striped marlin have shown up. There were two of them caught on the 22nd and more followed after that. I’m really looking forward to catching my first small one of the season because it’s my 2nd most favorite fish (after the Hawaiian grouper) to eat. Like most billfish, the small ones are tender but as they get bigger, the meat gets tougher. The flavor of a striped marlin really depends on what they have been feeding on. Killing a striped marlin only to find that the meat is white is somewhat disappointing. It doesn’t taste much different than a blue marlin so it’s just not very tasty (not bad though) but usually the striped marlin meat is some shade of pink. It makes great sashimi and I personally think it tastes better than sashimi cut from yellowfin or bigeye tuna. Once in a while you get the real big treat and find pumpkin orange colored meat. It is indeed the most awesome of all the billfish meats even beating out broadbill swordfish and spearfish. The spearfish are running now also so I wouldn’t pass up a fresh spearfish meal either. We really do get spoiled here in Hawaii with all the varieties of tasty fish we catch here. More on that later.

The big mahi mahi are still here even though it’s late in the season for them. We had a nice yellowfin tuna run this month. Not the little guys that are typical for this time of year around the ledges and buoys but the 100+ ones. They were hanging out with the porpoise school as they usually do but in the winter months we usually don’t see this many around. Yellowfin tuna sashimi is a big favorite here in the islands for Christmas and new years parties.

The bottom bite for sportfish like sharks and jacks should be good right now but it’s a bit slow. The bite should be picking up soon on those. In last months wrap-up I talked about the “forbidden seven” and the regulations that have come down from the DAR. It seems to me that they have created even more of a problem with their regulations this year than in years past. By extending the closed season by a month and a half, they brought the open season closer to the time of year when there is the highest demand for red and pink snapper. Just like yellowfin sashimi is a desired holiday favorite in Hawaii, so is steamed snapper. Because there was no snapper on the market for several months, the price for them was WAY up when the season started. The snapper bite started off slow in November but this month they were easier to catch and the commercial fishermen were filling cooler loads. More fishermen heard about the good bite and shifted their efforts toward catching snapper. Well, with the high number of snapper being caught, the price went down. Easy fix, just spend more time and effort catching more of them to make up the difference. In all my years fishing here I have never seen so many boats targeting the deep snapper. When the DAR first started their public forums about upcoming regulations, one of their concerns was that when the season opened, there would be so much fishing effort on them that it would negate the closure. In years past, that didn’t happen but it may be happening this time. I expect a panic reaction by the DAR with an immediate closure of the fishery within the first couple months of the year. Of course, if they just left it alone, it would settle out on it’s own but if they create another closure panic, the price will shoot back up and the fishing pressure will increase just prior to the closure. That’s my (professional) opinion, we’ll have to wait and see how it pans out. In the mean time, I have fresh snapper in the fridge to bring in the New Year and expect some fresh striped marlin sashimi is not far behind.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. wrap-up .

Tourism remains pretty good here with a fair number of boats going out daily. Not as many as in previous years but I think the cold mainland temperatures are keeping more people thinking about Hawaii sun and fun. The blue marlin are biting good right now. It’s striped marlin season and there are some of those being caught but the number of blue marlin around is exceptionally high for this time of year. The big ones are here too. So far the biggest blue weighed this year stands at 914 lbs. Spearfish are in abundance too and are great fun on light tackle. Last week I caught and released a blue marlin that weighed about 250 lbs. and when it came up jumping next to the boat, I saw that it had no bill sticking out. When I got the marlin right next to the boat. I saw that it did indeed have a bill but it was bent 180 degrees backwards and growing tight across the top of it’s head. On each side of the backwards bill were two smaller stunted bills sticking in the right direction (forward) that more resembled tusks. The story and picture hit the Kona paper with the title “World’s ugliest marlin caught” written by Jim Rizzuto. The black and white photo in the local newspaper doesn’t show near the detail of the full color photo. I know many of you want to get a look at this thing. There is a photo of it on my fish photos page but it doesn’t show the detail of the close up head shot I got. Sorry, but I’m reserving putting that out on the internet for a later time because a few fishing magazines have expressed interest in using it. Once it’s old news, I will definitely put a full color close up on my “Hall of Fame” page. Some people say that I should have killed the marlin and given it’s head to science. I think it will be even more interesting if it’s ever caught again and to see a photo of this 3-billed marlin when it grows to 500+ pounds.

The mahi mahi are biting good also and are the most common fish being caught right now. There are some ono being caught even though it’s not season for them. Shibi (small yellowfin and bigeye tuna) are on the buoys and ledges but not in great numbers.

Continuing the story of the “forbidden seven” fishery, the number of boats fishing for them has dwindled to just a few of the old regulars. This brings the fishery back to more “normal” catch levels. I don’t think that will keep the DAR from having a panic reaction when they compile the catch reports from December though. The bottom bite for bigger game has been frustrating. The fish are being shy. Hitting the baits but not wanting to commit to eating them. Some of the time it’s that the bait fish are just too big for the fish to swallow but in other cases, I’ve found the fish I’m catching are so full that they can hardly get in another bite. The bait fish are in abundance right now too but again, not biting well for the same reason. They’re already full.

Overall, The Kona bite is good for a January. There are plenty of fish here. The fact that the ugliest blue marlin in the world even showed up to get in on the action proves it.


See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKona.com

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[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – February wrap-up .

The bite has been soooo good for February that the term I first thought of to describe it is “off the hook”! That’s urban slang for awesome, incredible, wicked, unbelievable, gnarly and such but the term sounds almost derogatory when used to describe a really really good fish bite happening. On the hook? Yes, many of them. I suppose the fish themselves like the term “off the hook” but anglers only like it when a fish is released “off the hook” on purpose. The blue marlin bite has been as good as any summer month, the time when blue marlin fishing is generally at it’s best. I always tell my clients, fish don’t know what month it is and, it’s a huge ocean. The fish are going to be swimming around somewhere in it. Hawaii is just a little pimple in the big pond. The striped marlin and spearfish showed up also as is typical for this time of year but for the last few years, the numbers haven’t been too impressive. It’s good to have them back around in decent numbers. On a recent trip we hooked two striped marlin at the same time within the first hour of the trip but they both came “off the hook” in the bad way. Later we had two spearfish on at the same time. One came “off the hook” but we boated the other one. Later in the day we hooked a nice size blue marlin but it also came “off the hook” in the bad way. Just realizing that in today’s urban slang, bad sometimes means good but obviously that’s not what I talking about. I really would have liked to catch and release that blue. The rest of the day resulted in two more billfish bites. One of them happened so fast that we didn’t see what kind it was. The last bite of the day resulted in boating another spearfish. We intended in releasing the second one but the hook mortally wounded it so we took it. The option of taking or releasing the fish varies from boat to boat. Some boats are “kill all” boats and some are “release all” (except food fish and dead billfish) boats. If you plan on fishing Kona and have a problem either way, keeping or releasing, make sure you find out your captains policy first. I’m right up front with my policy on my web site’s Frequently Asked Questions page.

The mahi mahi are biting good right now but a little slower than last month. The small yellowfin tuna (5 to 30 lbs.) are on every single FAD (fish aggregation device) and along the ledges. Bait fish like small skipjack tuna and mackerel are here in abundance on the buoys and ledges also.

With the trolling bite being so good I’ve been spending less time bottom fishing but even that bite has been so good that it’s been an easy way to break up the trolling day with some quick shark action. That’s what I’ve been catching most while dropping baits and only a few bites from GT, amberjack and almaco jack.

I know this is a fishing report but one thing I almost never mention in my reports or even on my web site is the awesome whale and dolphin watching opportunities we get on almost every trip. I guess I’m just so use to seeing them all the time that I don’t give it much thought. It’s usually the guys that are interested in catching fish and the gals are just along for the ride. If your one of those guys having a hard time convincing your gal to let you go fishing, let them know about the whales and dolphins. Promise that you won’t try to hook one though. It does happen once in a while and that kind of action is REALLY “off the hook”.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKona.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – March wrap-up ,

What a difference between February and March. The trolling bite went from “soooo good” (last months report) to “not so good”. Typically March is better than February but as I’ve stated before, pelagic fish have no idea what month it is. There going to be swimming around somewhere in the ocean and the Kona coast is just a very small part of it. Very few striped marlin were caught this winter, the season when there are more caught. By this time I think it’s safe to say that for the 4th year in a row now, the showing of striped marlin in Kona was pitiful. It’s my hope that they were just swimming around elsewhere and hope that the schools have not been decimated by the many fish catching and processing factory ships that roam the seas. Our blue marlin bite can be hot or cold any time of the year and the blues don’t tend to congregate as tightly as striped marlin. With that in mind, blues would be less vulnerable to being caught and processed by factory ships. OK, so I’m (kind of) doing some finger pointing without any proof. I really don’t know how many metric tons of what kinds of fish they’re catching and processing, only that they do it. I know that yellowfin tuna is a big one on their target list of fish and with that said, I’m about to contradict the “they did it” theory. Usually the big (100+) yellowfin tuna start showing up in bigger numbers around May and the bite can be good through September. Some years the summer run is poor but for the last two years, the yellowfin tuna bite has been good. It’s really too early to tell but it looks like it’s going to be another good year. There are a handful of boats in Kona that specialize in yellowfin tuna year-round. These few boats go out and target the yellowfin on nearly all their charter trips and if they think they can catch enough yellows to sell and make it worth their while, they go out without a charter. These few boats have been doing quite well lately catching big yellows, some over 200 lbs., that are in the porpoise schools. When/if the summer yellow run really kicks in, we start getting “blind strikes” while trolling anywhere off the Kona coast. Kind of like, if there are enough nuts lying around, even a blind squirrel can find one.

The trolling bite hasn’t been all bad. Also showing up bit early for their summer run has been some ono. They’re biting mostly on the South ledges and should be starting to show up near the harbor soon. Personally I like the North ono run and have been trying it a little but haven’t had any luck there. We have a good network of captains here so when they start showing up on the North run, I’ll know it. Mahi mahi are currently the most common fish being caught on the troll. Sizes are ranging from large to small and good eating no matter what the size.

The bottom bite has been producing a good number of giant trevally. They are one of the most prized fighting fish in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Personally I love watching anglers match strength with these fish only to find the shocked look on their face when I bring the fish on board (for photo, tag and release) and they see that it’s only half the size they thought it would be. The shark bite has been pretty good too. Most of them have been sand bar sharks in the 40 to 80 lb. range and they put on a good fight too. I split up my charter days by doing both trolling and bottom fishing but it’s the bottom fishing that gives me the most anticipation of a bite. The key to the bottom fishery is using bait fish, live bait being best. If a blind squirrel were looking for a nut and that nut was shaking and smelling very nutty…… well, you get the picture.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKona.com

http://FISHinKONA.com/jefftrev.jpg

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap-up

Kona is the Pacific blue marlin capital of the world for more reasons than one. First, it a year round fishery. There’s usually at least one marlin brought in each day even in the off-season. Second, we can get a good blue marlin run any month of year and third, we beat every other destination with the size of our marlin. It’s size that I want to focus on in this months report. With any fish species there is a “magic number” to claim the big bragging right prize. With blue and black marlin alike, that number is 1000 lbs. also known as a “Grander”. The last grander marlin caught in Hawaii was a little over a year ago and was caught by Matt Prater while fishing with me on the Intrepid. We came close to loosing that “grander” status when three sharks attacked our fish while we were trying to get it in the boat and they ate over 150+ lbs. of meat off in less than a minute. It still came in with a little weight to spare at 1056 lbs. Most granders are closer to the ‘make it or break it’ weight. Last year in November the “Hooked up” caught a 975 pounder and followed it up in February this year with a 914 pounder. In April this year the “Marlin Magic” brought in a 940 pounder. Close but no cigar. Just last week another beast was brought in on the “Sundowner” and while being hoisted up on the scale the number hit 1005 lbs. but….. oooops… no one taped or tied the marlin’s mouth shut. Half digested fish, squid and liquid started pouring out of it’s mouth and the scale finally settled out at 990 lbs. While the captain, Randy Llanes is far from being a rookie, it is none the less a rookie mistake. I know because I’m still beating myself up for doing the same thing on my big black marlin although it still remains the biggest black caught in Hawaii this decade. On mine, the scale hit 871 lbs. and then two mahi mahi and two tuna fell out bringing the weight down to 843 lbs. While it’s still holding the record, I’ve always said that if someone beats me out by less than 871 lbs., I’ll sure be sorry about that mistake. As things turn out, Randy’s dad, also a well seasoned Kona charter captain (retired) made the same mistake some years back and also lost the famous “grander” status with a marlin that settled out at 985 lbs. Just to let you know how important those stomach contents can be, the largest marlin ever brought in on rod and reel was a blue marlin caught here in Hawaii and weighted in at 1805 lbs. That fish had swallowed a 150 lb. yellowfin tuna that they were fighting. The tuna got caught in the marlins throat and the marlin gagged to death on it. The marlin was weighed with the tuna still in. Years later there was a 1656 pounder caught and the captain claimed that his fish was actually the biggest ever caught pointing out the 150 lb. tuna but, his fish was also weighed with the stomach contents still in the fish. I’m sure there was more than a pound of something in there.

Yellowfin tuna of all sizes are being caught right now but the big news for the month is the numbers and sizes of bigeye tuna being caught. We usually don’t see many of those here but we had a good run on them this month with the biggest weighing in at 223 lbs. Mahi mahi and ono remain a fairly common catch. In fact, the commercial fishermen that have been hitting the ono hard down by South Point are now finding them hard to sell because the markets are flooded with them already.

The bottom bite remains good with a combination of jacks and sharks biting. With amberjack, that “magic number” is 100 lbs. The biggest of the year was weighted in last month at 99.5 lbs. and was caught from a kayak. I also caught a big one last month and I know it was over the 100 lb. mark but it came in strong and healthy. I didn’t want to kill it for publicity’s sake so I tagged and released it. Shark fishing is gaining popularity in Kona so more and more boats are targeting them. Tiger sharks are fairly plentiful here and the “magic number” for those is also 1000 lbs. The average weight of tiger sharks here in Hawaii is right around 1000 lbs. so your chances of catching a “grander” is much better with tigers than with marlin. I catch and release several tigers a year with at least one going well over the1000 lb. mark. I don’t see any reason to kill ‘em for publicity’s sake and I’m glad that there’s at least one other captain here that feels the same way. Captain Gene Vander Hoek is no stranger to 1000+ lb. fish. In fact he has landed three 1000+ marlins, more than any captain in Kona and has even released some. He recently released a tiger that he estimated at 1300 lbs! Knowing Capt. Gene, he was probably underestimating the weight. The option to kill or release varies widely from boat to boat. I don’t think it’s right to be dogmatic about doing either one. Killing a huge healthy fish that isn’t good for food but killed just for the publicity is something I’ve done in the past but shy away from doing now but that doesn’t mean I would never do it again. Releasing a fish that you know would make all the papers is also something I have done in the past. On both accounts, it’s no use saying I should have, would have or could have. It’s now history.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKona.com

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[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – May wrap-up .

In last months fishing report I focused in on “Grander” (over 1000 lb.) marlin. Just a couple of days ago another “close but no cigar” was weighed in. This one tipped the scale at 913 lbs. There have been other big ones both brought in and even more released recently. We have year round blue marlin but the summer months usually have more abundance. Last year it was the small male blue marlin that showed up first and the big females didn’t show up ‘til later in the summer. We’re not seeing the males yet but with the big gals around, I don’t think it will be too long before they show up. Striped marlin are more abundant in the winter months but we’ve had a run going on those. There have been almost as many striped marlin being caught as blues. The spearfish should have shown up months ago but we’re starting to see some around now. Better late than never.

The big yellowfin tuna (ahi) usually start showing up in May but we’re not seeing the numbers yet like we have the last two years for May. They can be found year round in the porpoise schools but in the summer months we get “blind strike” ahi. It’s not happening yet. Shibi are the small yellowfin tuna and that’s usually a winter bite but the shibi are still here being caught on the ledges and FAD’s. Otaru are the big skipjack tuna and are usually only around in the late summer but I’ve been catching these sporadically for months now. Hopefully that means that they will be in abundance later this summer.
The mahi mahi and ono bite is still good.

Sharks, sharks and more sharks! I’m one of only a few boats here that regularly targets sharks and I catch more than anyone here. They have been thick around the FAD’s and ledges and put on a real good fight. Boats that have been live baiting for marlin around the FAD’s are hooking sharks whether they like it or not. Most of the charter boats around here are trying NOT to hook them. In fact, if you don’t use a cable trace or wire you probably won’t get it all the way to the boat anyway. Shark teeth slice through monofilament line pretty easy. I’ve been taking the opposite approach by rigging for sharks with a cable trace and a circle hook knowing that the likelihood of hooking a shark is much higher than hooking a marlin. If a marlin takes the bait, fine. I had that happen recently but pulled hook on the marlin. You may not get the spectacular jumps from a shark (except a mako) like you do from a marlin but pound for pound fighting, sharks are just as tough a fight. At the boat, you can usually get the hook out of a marlin but I don’t even attempt that with the sharks. I cut the cable as close as I can (dare) and leave them with a fashionable lip ring to show all their shark buddies.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKona.com

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[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – June wrap-up

The male blue marlin showed up in force this month. These guys average around 150 lbs. and are so abundant now that on a full day charter, you’re almost guaranteed to run into at least one. So what about the big female marlin I’ve been reporting about the last couple of months? Yes, there was finally a “grander” landed on June 5th and weighed in at 1064 lbs. There were also other big marlin both caught and released in the first half of June but in the last couple of weeks, almost all the marlin caught have been the small males and the females seemed to have moved on to other waters. I’m hoping there’s still at least one big one out there with my name on it though because I’m fishing the Marlin Magic tournament tomorrow and the next day. The minimum qualifying weight is 400 lbs. and only pays out for first and second place. Wish me luck! We have many tournaments coming up in July including the World Cup coming up on the 4th. The World Cup is the only worldwide marlin tournament and Kona has produced the winning fish more often than any other fishing destination. Without a doubt, Kona is the Pacific Blue Marlin capital of the world and I hope we can prove it again this year.

The yellowfin tuna “blind strike” bite is on! We’re seeing free jumpers too. The otaru are around but are not biting much of anything. The spearfish are now here in bigger numbers and are a common catch. The ono bite continues to be good and there are still some mahi mahi coming in.

I haven’t been doing much bottom fishing lately because the trolling bite has been so good and the best bottom fishing grounds, North of the harbor has been too rough to fish.
The water South of the harbor has been flat like a lake but there are only a few spots to bottom fish and they haven’t been any good lately. For the next couple of days I’ll be concentrating on huge marlin anyway and using my (not so) secret weapon. I’ve been using 12 oz. plastic Gatorade bottles and 10 oz. plastic juice bottles as lures and stuffing them with anchovies. I gave up my secret to Marlin Magazine for $100 and it was published in last months issue. I kind of doubt that anyone else will be using them in the Marlin Magic tournament. If I win with it, most likely everyone will be using them in the tournaments to come.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
Fishinkona.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – July wrap-up .

We had some big tournaments this month. The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) was a huge success with a huge amount of marlin and spearfish tagged and released but almost all of them were the small. The biggest marlin killed and weighed in was a 566 pounder. There were some bigger ones hooked up but the biggest tackle you can use in that tournament is 80 lb. test. For using 50 lb. test you get even more points for your fish so many of the boat only used 50 lb. test. The chance of getting a huge marlin in on that light of tackle is slim to none. The World Cup tournament was surly a disappointment for Kona. Bermuda took the prize this year so now they are tied with Kona at 6 wins each. The only saving grace is that, as I stated last month “Without a doubt, Kona is the Pacific Blue Marlin capital of the world” and that still holds true. Bermuda doesn’t catch PACIFIC blue marlin, they catch ATLANTIC blue marlin. As far as the “blue marlin” title, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next year. In the Marlin Magic tournament, just 30 minutes after the fishing started, the boat “Marlin Magic” called in the first hook-up and 45 minutes later they boated a 782 pounder. No other qualifying fish were even landed in the 2-day tournament. As for my “(not so) secret weapon” I mentioned in June’s report, on the first day of the tournament the 12 oz. Gatorade bottle was caved in by a marlin. We didn’t see it but it must have been a big one to do that. On the 2nd day my 10 oz. bottle was inhaled by a marlin that was well over 500 lbs. but the hook came out after a short run. Our only prize and surprise in the tournament was catching a 50 + lb. ono out in the deep so there was plenty of fillets to go around.

Yellowfin tuna are still biting in the blind. Otaru tuna are biting also. During all of HIBT week (no I wasn’t in the HIBT) I fished with a guy that has come to fish with me 6 years in a row now all the way from Holland. He brings lots of cool rods, reels and other tackle to test out and that really adds to our fun. We caught the biggest Otaru tuna of the year with one of his light rigs and made Kona’s “Big Fish List” with a 31 pounder. We also caught what would have been the biggest striped marlin of the year but we released it. It was an easy 130 lbs. and the biggest on the list so far this year is only 117 lbs. No big deal though, we were happy to see it swimming away strong. The mahi mahi and ono are still biting good too so we added some of those to our catch list also.

The bottom bite hasn’t been good at all but bottom fishing gear is the majority of the tackle my Holland buddy brought. We had a lot of testing to do and luckily I found a spot that consistently produced bottom fish for us. Our biggest goal though was to match or beat the 1000+ tiger shark he caught with me in ’03. There have been rumors of a couple of tigers that “live” by the green buoy right in front of the harbor. All I can say to that is a big B.S.!!! We spent hours fishing the area with live, dead and chunk bait at various times over several days. We raised a shark but it was far from being the big tiger we were looking for. The local dive shops have perpetuated the rumor and have even named the tiger shark(s). There’s no doubt that some of them have seen tigers in the area but I’ve always known that same area is a major corridor for all kinds of sharks. I’ve been fishing it for years. Tiger sharks that have been satellite tagged have all shown to be highly migratory. I once thought that there was a tiger that “lived” out by the airport when I worked underwater construction there years ago. The satellite tagging data made me realize that this too is just part of that same corridor. Hmmm, maybe I just need some more enticing bait. And adventurous divers want to volunteer?

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
http://fishinhawaii.com

Jeff@FISHinKONA.com/31otado.jpg

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – August wrap-up .

The marlin bite remains good for Kona. So, “good” being a relative term, what exactly is a “good” bite for Kona? Any day you catch a marlin is a good day but the yearly average for Kona boats is only one marlin for every four days of fishing or a 25% chance at catching one. Some boats beat that average consistently while others consistently come under the mark but I’m talking about the yearly average of all charter fishing boats in Kona. I go into more detail about how the “average” is calculated on my fishing Season Calendar page under the chart at http://FISHinKONA.com/calendar.htm but the Kona bite is considered “good” if 50% or better of the boats going out marlin fishing are catching. We have times where it gets even better than that as we saw last month but right now Kona is still hitting above average at close to 50%.

Marlin isn’t the only thing biting right now. The yellowfin tuna are less common right now but the ono bite is good. In fact, hardly anyone is even fishing for them. That doesn’t make sense to me seeing as how the majority of the people I take out are looking for food fish to eat during their stay here. The otaru tuna are biting also and make good table fare. There’s some mahi mahi and spearfish mixed in with the Kona bite also. Make sure you check with the captain/crew of the boat you’re going out on BEFORE you book it to make sure you know their policy on keeping fish. Each boat has it’s own policies and some won’t let you keep any! While many of the boats here have veered away from that policy, I’m giving you a “buyer beware” notice. My fish keeping policy is clearly spelled out on my web site’s FAQ page.

Today is the re-opening of the bottom fishing seasonal closure. The price of snapper is very high right now so the first guys to hit the fishery hard will make the most money. I get to go bottom fishing year-round because the closure is for the type of fishing gear you use to catch certain kinds of snapper and the Hawaiian grouper. I don’t use fishing gear that is specifically designed to target snapper but I do catch them (and grouper) once in a while anyway. The most common snapper I do catch is the gray snapper and there is no closed season on those. When dropping to the bottom I’m doing more of a sport fishery than a food fishery. The most common fish I catch while dropping bait or jigs is amberjack, almaco jack, giant trevally and sharks and they get released to fight another day. At least now it’s legal to keep the few of the other kinds of snapper I end up catching. While I’m on the subject of releasing fish, just like each captain/crew has their own food fish policy, each one also has their own marlin kill policy. While most Kona boats now release the majority of their marlin, some boats still have a “kill `em all” policy. If the boats web site doesn’t make their policy clear, make sure you find it out BEFORE you book the boat. Imagine you booked your first Kona fishing adventure just assuming that you would get to keep that ono you just caught to cook up back at the condo and you also assumed that the marlin your now fighting would be released, just to find yourself horrified as you look upon the dead marlin laying next to you in the boat for the rest of the day and your thinking, “well, at least we got some tasty ono for the dinner table …… ooops! Wrong again!

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – September wrap-up .

The beginning of September was pretty good fishing but I haven’t been getting out much. September is the slowest month for tourism. I’m one of the busiest captains in Kona so if I’m not going out, hardly anyone else is either. It’s not that bad of a thing though because the water has been real dirty and that hurts the bite. We call it “dirty” here when the water clarity is low but in this case, it’s not dirt. It’s all living organisms. Coral polyps are released at certain times and float to the surface. Usually it’s not much and the current takes it away pretty fast but this time it was a lot more than usual and it stayed around for a longer time also. As the coral grows it gets heavier and starts sinking. That’s how it distributes itself. As it starts that slow sinking process, it stratifies in the water column and the fish don’t like it. Especially if there are several layers of it. Along with that we had a bloom of Sea Wasps, Portuguese man-o-war and some other stuff I couldn’t identify. The water clarity got pretty bad for a while and although there were still some marlin, mahi mahi and ono around to be had, it wasn’t our normal bite. I haven’t been out lately but I’m sure it’s cleared up and the fish are back by now.

The yellowfin tuna bite has been hot way down South. That’s more commercial fishing territory because it’s so far from the harbor in Kona. There are a few launch ramps down South for skiffs to launch but for the bigger boats, it takes most of the day just to troll down there and back. You can blast it down there if you got lots of fuel money to spare but because so many skiffs are down there catching yellowfin, the price on the tuna has gone way down and even hard to get rid of.

The bottom fishing season opened up for the protected snapper and grouper on the 1st but there wasn’t a whole lot of commercial boats out there trying for them. I’m not sure, but I think the dirty water may have affected that fishery too. I’ve been catching sharks and jacks from the bottom when I have been out but I’m generally not going as deep as it takes to get into the red snapper. They hang out in about 800’ of water, or the pink snapper in about 600’ of water. A couple of years ago Hawaii implemented the first ever recreational fishing license requirement for fishers targeting the deep snapper. It was a foot-in-the-door tactic that was forced on Hawaii by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. They have jurisdiction in federal waters starting three miles from shore but most of the deep bottom fishing is closer, within state waters. The Council forced the state back then to regulate the fishery as they deemed necessary and now they are wanting to go even further! Today there is a WPRFMC meeting and on their agenda is the proposal to mandate reporting of all fishing activities in not just federal waters but in state waters also. In other words, federal fishing licenses and reporting for all fishing activities even if those activities are within state waters! And it looks like the state is going to protest but still bow down to their demands. Hawaii has another option and that is to implement their own fishing license program but it doesn’t look like they are going to do that. The fed’s are going to cram this down our throats. Get ready Hawaii fishers. Like it or not, it’s coming.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKONA.com
http://FISHinKONA.com/HFN.JPG

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – October wrap-up .

The marlin bite is picking up quite nicely especially compared to the end of last month and the beginning of October when the bite was pretty poor due to the water conditions. The waters have cleared up and the marlin have moved in on the abundant tunas that are swimming along the ledges and FAD’s. October has usually been a good month for catching blue marlin in Kona but tourism remains slow so I’m not getting out as much as I have in years past but I’m not complaining because I’m actually having good fun doing several “to do” projects around the house that I’ve let slide for far too long.

October is the beginning of the Fall mahi mahi season. Of all the varieties of fish we have here, the mahi mahi are among the most predictable. True to form they showed up with more consistently as the month progressed, November is the peak month for them and then (usually) the bite slows again by the end of December. We can have a run of mahi mahi any time of year but that’s usually associated with unusual water temperatures or currents bringing in a variety of debris where mahi mahi love to hang out. The Fall run is the time of year that the biggest mahi mahi show up. The ono run hasn’t produced much lately but there were several small ones being caught in the deep this month. As mentioned above, there has been a lot of tuna activity on the FAD’s and ledges. Yellowfin tuna from a mere 1 pound to 30 pounds and over are pretty abundant so catching some for the dinner table has been a regular part of my fishing days.

Shark! That’s the common call while you’re trying to get those tunas in. The FAD’s have been loaded with them and so have the ledges. A wide variety of them too. Drag any tuna along the surface and it won’t take long for one or more to show up. Drop a tuna to the bottom and it won’t take long either. My fish photos page currently looks like all I do is go shark fishing. I haven’t been putting the tuna photos on it except for my last trip. People are usually thrilled to catch one or two tunas but after that, it’s not much of a challenge anymore. Sharks are another story. They’re almost always a challenge to do battle with. We caught one shark this month that I’ve never seen before. It was a surprise when the shark jumped several times just after hooking up. That behavior prompted an investigation and made a good story for the local paper when added with the 300 lb. marlin we caught on a bait rod that same day. The final result, a black-tip. Not the reef black-tip but an open ocean one. With no black tip on the dorsal fin and black spots all over the body, I wouldn’t have guessed a black-tip but a close examination of the photos did reveal black on the underside of both pec. fin tips. I was further convinced when another charter captain showed me a photo he has of a shark he caught jumping in mid air during the fight and it had the same markings. I hope more of those show up because it was a VERY exciting fight. As for the marlin on the bait rod, that was exciting too and I was lucky to have a good angler on board that day. The only reason we got it (photo and released it) is because the marlin stayed on the surface where I could out maneuver it with my boat. If it wanted to fight deep, we had no power with the bait rod to lift it. I always say, “I’d rather be lucky that good any day of the week” but usually, it takes a combination of the two to get the job done.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
http://fishinhawaii.com

http://FISHinKONA.com/btshark.jpg

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – November wrap-up .

Mahi mahi tops the list as the most common catch of the month. Normally these fish are caught in the deep either “in the blind” or around the FAD’s (Fish Aggregating Device’s), or on any floating debris (called a floater here) you can find. BTW, Hawaii water is VERY clean so floating debris is rare. Putting your own floater out there might seem like a good idea but first and foremost, it’s illegal. Second, what makes a floater work is that eventually algae and other organisms grow on the floater. That attracts very small fish and that starts the whole food chain in motion so a new floater won’t attract fish. Last, have fun finding any floater that isn’t somehow anchored to the bottom. Currents and winds move objects in unpredictable patterns so going out to search for a floater that you fished on the day before will be nearly impossible to find again. That’s why we have the FAD’s. Floater Anchored Down. No, no, no. I just now made that up. The correct acronym is the one above. Same idea though. So, notice I said “normally” they’re caught in the deep and there’s a reason for that. While some are being caught in the deep, most of them are being caught near shore in the ono lane. We had a nice ono run in November and that changed recently from mostly ono being caught in the “ono lane” (40 – 60 fathoms) to mostly mahi mahi being caught in the lane.

I normally lead the Kona fishing report with the marlin bite but with an average of only one being caught every other day, there’s not much to report. There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason for this is due to a lack of fishing effort. There are few boats going out, me included. Staying in the ono lane will get you fish but the marlin don’t go in that shallow. Forty to sixty fathoms is 240 to 360 feet deep. That may seem deep enough but not for marlin. They rarely venture in closer than 600 feet. They can see the bottom at 600 feet! I told you our water was VERY clean. In fact, a submarine driver for the Hawaii Underwater Research Laboratory (HURL, how’s that for an acronym) told me he could read a newspaper without a light on down to 1000 feet.

The FAD’s are still loaded with small tuna, some mahi mahi and so many sharks that only a good angler is likely to get a fish in. Poor anglers take too much time and that gives the sharks more opportunity to take your fish. The commercial bottom fishermen would normally be hitting an area called “The Grounds” pretty hard this time of year for snapper but the sharks have been giving these fishermen a hard time too so not many are even trying. A fish that is being fought on the surface can zig zag away from an attacking shark but a fish being pulled straight up is an easy target. Again, visibility is an issue. The sharks see the hook-up, hover above the action and wait for the food to come up to them. I don’t mind the sharks at all. In fact, I love it! They put on a hard fight and it’s an easy way to get an angler onto a fish that weighs more than they do.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com
http://FISHinKONA.com/Islands.gif

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Dec. wrap-up ,

There has been some big blue marlin around lately and the spearfish run has started early but still no striped marlin to speak of. I’ve only heard of one caught recently. They should be here by now but we really haven’t had a good striped marlin run in years. The one that was brought in weighed over 100 lbs. and one thing that seems consistent with the striped marlin run is that they tend to be all around the same size. I remember one year where they were all around 30 lbs. and another year where they were all in the 80 lb. range. Last year they were averaging around 50 lbs. and there were very few caught that made the 100 lb. mark but the year before there were several. When the average size of the stripies runs big, I tend to get a little nervous about hanging on to my claim of catching the biggest striped marlin of this decade. Actually, by the end of this week, it will be the start of a new decade so I’ll need to change it to the biggest of this century. Weighing in at 186 lbs. I figure it’s going to be fairly safe, as our striped marlin here very rarely reach more than 150 lbs. 2009’s biggest so far weighed in at 117 lbs. There are places in the world where the striped marlins are much bigger on average but they don’t travel to Hawaii.

The mahi mahi run is still going pretty good but it will be over soon as the water cools down. We had a nice little spurt of an ono run in December but it was short lived. The winter yellowfin tuna bite has been good this year. We can always count on the small yellowfin and bigeye around the FAD,s this time of year but there has also been 100+ pounders being caught on the FAD’s and in the porpoise schools.

I did very little bottom fishing in December. In fact, I didn’t even fish much. The trolling bite has been active enough to keep things busy but when I did target the bottom; I mostly fished where I knew I stood the best chance of catching sharks. I really have a lot of fun watching people try to match their strength against an angry shark. The typical reaction starts off with a very shocked look on their face :eek: as they realize that it’s taking all the strength they can muster just to not get pulled overboard during the first run. Then comes the look of determination :mad: as they realize this is not going to be an easy battle. Then comes sheer exhaustion! :o Sometimes before the battle is even over. After the catch, photo and release, almost without fail, the anglers are in a very weakened state and just speechless as they try to catch their breath. Then comes the joy of accomplishment :D and the highlight of their Hawaii vacation.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. wrap-up .

The start of a new year so Kona’s “Big Fish List” starts fresh. 22 kinds of fish make up the list but last year, one slot, bonefish, was never filled. “Grander” marlin (over 1000 lbs.) takes the top of the list almost every year but until this years grander(s) are brought in, it’s anyone’s game. On new years day a 197 lb. blue marlin started the top of the list. Just 6 days later I took the top with the first “beast” (over 500 lbs.) blue marlin of the year weighing in at 598 lbs. Both the angler and I had decided to release the marlin early in the fight but it sounded and died during the fight so we brought it in. The glory of making the list was short lived as I was beat out just 3 days later by 2 1/2 lbs. and that marlin currently stands as the biggest of the year. The blue marlin bite has been pretty good for winter but the striped marlin are making a very poor showing so far. I sure hope more show up because they are absolutely delicious! The spearfish are making a strong showing early in the season and are a lot of fun on light tackle and one of the best eating fish you can get. I let my anglers make the decision on whether they want to release those or eat them.

Yellowfin tuna bite remains good for the big ones in the porpoise schools and also for the smaller ones on the FAD’s. Some mahi mahi are still around so keeping some lighter tackle out there for them, the tuna’s and also the spearfish makes for some good fun. It’s been a hard decision lately to go trolling in the deep offshore or to stay near shore and troll shallow for the ono. The bite on ono has been good too and few boats are targeting them so it really boils down to a decision of whether you want a shot at a marlin or not because marlins very rarely go in the shallows.

The bottom bite has turned back on and even though the trolling is good, there’s still a chance of coming up empty handed if all you do is troll all day. With the bottom bite being good, there’s almost no excuse for not catching something. I tag and release the majority of the bottom fish but I had yet another fish die on me. This time it was a giant trevally (GT) so we took it in and weighed it. Though it wasn’t my first GT of the year, you don’t make the “Big Fish List” unless you get your fish weighed in so the ulua (Hawaiian for GT) slot now stands at 41 ½ lbs. Not a hard number to beat but a respectable size for GT anyway. Personally I’d rather not have anymore fish die on me but I have been eating plenty of that marlin because I had it smoked and my neighbors, family and friends are having a good time with it too. There’s lots of meat on a fish that big. The GT was caught by locals and was also consumed but they also would have rather have see it swim away. We call it sportfishing and some types of fish are commonly kept while others are commonly released. I’ve said it before and I’ll remind you again, some boats kill everything they catch so if you’re not into that, check their policy before you book with them. Also check their policy on keeping a portion, or even all of the eating fish. Many boats now have their policies on their web sites but if they don’t, beware.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinHAWAII.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Feb. wrap-up .

I normally start out with a billfish report but I know many are wondering how Kona was affected by the Tsunami. Out of about 400 boats in Kona’s harbor, all went out to avoid damage except 20. Some of the boats I saw gone were a surprise because I didn’t even think they still ran. I saw only one boat in tow. Myself, I didn’t venture far from the harbor and was one of the first back in. We actually have worse harbor conditions when we get high surf out of the West. This type of harbor water action was WAY different. Instead of boats getting jerked from side to side, in and out, the water level in the harbor just went up and down at about 30 second intervals. We were preparing for a significant harbor surge but the water only fluctuated about a foot up and down and wasn’t surging at all.

The biggest blue marlin spot for the year now stands at 665.5 lbs. I was fishing that same area and my customers got film of the event. Another captain had stated that he had released an even bigger fish this month. I’m all for releasing marlin but some crews are good at estimating the weight of a marlin while some are always way off. The captain claiming a bigger fish in February has so little experience, there’s no telling what it could have been. Bigger or smaller than the current leader we’ll never know. The proof is at the scale. Spearfish continue to be a regular catch here as we near the middle of the peak season for them. Several people emailed me wishing me well during Tsunami day and a couple have emailed saying “Isn’t that you in this month’s Marlin Magazine with the spearfish? Yes, that’s me. Full page photo. Though I’m not mentioned in the article it is a nice shot to hang on my wall.

It’s not yellowfin tuna season but you would almost think it was. Several 100+ pounders are being caught daily in the porpoise schools. There are a few that specialize in these guys and they are the ones catching most of them. Mahi mahi are still a good bite and now we’re entering season for them so hopefully that’s a good sign that it will be a good spring run. Ono are showing up sporadically also so the ono lane is always an option for the day.

We just hit the start of the peak season on almaco jack and amberjack and they are THICK! Not just the numbers but also the sizes. They are a year-round catch with the peak being in the winter but last winter fell short due to the massive amount of sharks that showed up. That’s my opinion on why it happened anyway. The shark population has thinned out and the jacks have come back to take their place as the most common catch when dropping bait near the bottom. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on who’s fishing. The sharks are a lot tougher fight but also harder to find and fewer catches during the day. The jacks are a hard fight too and you can basically catch them all day long right now but usually after just a couple, it’s time to go trolling and give the angler(s) a little rest time. If you really want to pull on them all day long, better be hittin’ the gym often before coming to Kona.

See ‘ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
http://FISHinHAWAII.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – March wrap-up .

The March marlin bite has been a let down this year. I hate doing a negative report and I catch some heat from other captains about not pumping up the fishing here but the truth is the truth. There were a few days when the marlin bite was pretty hot but on average, this March just didn’t cut it compared to previous years. Almost totally missing from this March was the striped marlin bite. It’s the end of the best part of the season for them but they just didn’t show up this year. The blue marlin bite has been pretty good in recent months but slowed in March. Spearfish is another fish that should be abundant in March and we’re right in the middle of the peak season for them. The beginning of March was really good for them but fell flat in the later part of the month. March is also known for “grander” marlin and though there were a few released in the 800 lb. range we’re still waiting for the biggest blue of the year (so far) to be beaten out by a grander.

The start of the peak mahi mahi is here and there have been some around but it’s the tuna that are making the best showing even though it’s not season for them. 200 lbs. is the big mark on those guys just like 1000 lbs. is the big mark for marlin. A good friend of mine boated a 205 pound yellowfin this month to make the “Big Fish List” for his first time ever to make the list. Bigeye tuna in the 200 + lb. category are fairly rare here and also this month, an out-of-the-ordinary pair of them, both hooked at the same time were brought in. The small one (tongue-in-cheek) weighted in at 153.5 lbs. and the big one weighed in at 211.5 lbs. and very well may hold as the biggest bigeye of the year for the remainder of the year. Otaru tuna, meaning skipjack tuna over 10 lbs. have also been a frequent catch this month. It’s not ono season either but a few are coming in.

The bottom bite remains as good as it was last month. With the trolling bite being so slow it’s a good thing. I have a guy from Holland that fishes with me every year and he has connections with Shimano. Last year he caught the biggest otaru of the year on a Shimano outfit that he brought over. We wanted to do something noteworthy this year also, hmmm. It just so happened that Shimano TV from Japan wanted to charter me that same week so we just brought them along, one angler and the cameraman along for two of our fishing days. What a blast! We caught a boat load of fish both days. We caught and released 17 amberjack and almaco jack the first day along with a giant trevally (GT) and two gray snapper kept for the dinner table. All caught on jigs. The next day we did another 7 amberjack and almaco jack along with two more gray snapper on jigs but one thing the Japanese TV guys wanted to do really bad was casting poppers near shore. I informed them that we don’t have much of a shoreline fishery for that here but I do know of a few spots that might produce an occasional good catch. The third spot we tried the Japanese angler was rewarded with the biggest bluefin trevally I’ve ever seen! Had we not tagged and released it, it would have taken the “Big Fish List” with no problem. A fantastic time for both anglers and for the TV show that should air in Japan some time in the next month or two. Maybe next year we should invite Dan Hernandez?

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap-up ,

This month, the biggest marlin of the year was made 4 times! If you’ve been following my reports, you might remember that I had the biggest of the year in January but was beat out by 2 ½ lbs. just 3 days later and that 600 ½ pounder has been the leader until this month. On April 1st, there was a tournament and a 669 blue marlin was caught, winning the tournament. These guys weren’t only happy about the win but also making the “Big Fish List” until, a 672 pounder was weighed in later the same day. The 672 wasn’t in the tournament but being knocked off the “Big Fish List” so soon was a bad April fools day joke. Even the 672 was short lived too because a 940 pounder was weighed in just 8 days later. That one should have stuck for a while but the very next day, Kona’s first “Grander” of the year was weighed in and topped the scales at 1104 lbs. The sizes of the blues have been pretty good this month but the numbers are still a bit on the slow side. The striped marlin and spearfish were barely around this month although the biggest spearfish was caught and now stands at 62 lbs.

Ono tops the list right now as the most common catch and again, the biggest of the year was caught a few times this month also and now stands at 78 ½s. lbs. Some mahi mahi have been around too and the biggest of the month again, was caught this month and now stands at 38 lbs. With the ahi, there have been a few of the big ones caught, biggest of the year (again this month) now at 209 ½. The smaller “shibi” size have been showing up on the ledges and any debris that happens to be floating offshore.

The bottom bite has been good and two bottom fish made the big fish list this month, gray snapper and GT. The GT came in just ½ lb. shy of making the prized 100 lb. mark but it may have been the mode of transportation to blame. Fish loose weight after being caught if bleeding (this one was) and also when left in the sun. The GT was caught from a kayak. No fish box there. I imaging it was a little slow paddling with a 100 lb. fish on his lap also. To top it off, then he had to drive it to the official scale at the harbor in the trunk of his car. This was all done on April fools day. Another bad joke but true.

Obviously April was a great month. No Joke!

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – May wrap-up .

We’re experiencing a good ono run right now so ono tops the list of the most common fish caught this month. The marlin bite has been real slow so most of the boats are pounding the ono lane in order to have a successful trip. The mahi mahi are just now starting to show up on a regular basis so the mahi mahi are here late and the ono are here early.

More and more yellowfin tuna are showing up but we’ve actually had a steady supply of them all winter. In the summer we get “blind strike” yellowfin tuna in the 100+ lb. range and that is starting to happen already but in the winter, about the only place the big yellowfin can be found is in the porpoise schools. There are only a few boats in Kona that specialize in targeting the big ones all year long and their success comes by using a device called a green stick. I won’t go into detail about the method but it has gained popularity in the last 10 years because it is so much more successful for catching yellowfin tuna in the porpoise schools than trolling conventional lures. Many boats have them installed on their boats now but only a few use them with regularity and success.

The bottom bite has been a little slower than normal but one of the most common fish we’ve been catching lately is giant trevally. These are one of the hardest fighting fish you’ll ever catch and it’s one of the most prized catches of the Pacific. Normally they are more of a winter fish but there’s one area near the airport where they’re hangin’ out right now. There have also been sharks hangin’ out in that same area. Either one makes for a great fight on stand-up tackle.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – June wrap-up .

The summer marlin bite is kicking into gear so marlin are now a daily sight on the catch board. Mostly blue marlin but the striped marlin are also making a showing. Last summer we had more striped marlin show up in the summer than we did in that previous winter even though the winter months are the peak season for them. It’s very possible that we will see the same thing happen again this summer because this last winter, there were very few around. The spearfish bite has been in a real state of flux this season with them showing up in numbers for a while, leaving, showing up again and then leaving again.

Big Yellowfin tuna are remaining a regular catch on the board with some days good and some days not so good. These are one of the most fickle of the pelagics. While working the porpoise schools, you can mark them on your finder but only they decide when feeding time is. I had one customer insist we go work the school all day because he had heard that the bite was good. We worked the school for many hours along with several other boats and several methods were being used. Green stick, dropping bait, trolling and during all that time, we saw only one boat catch one tuna. The customer realized that the fishery wasn’t what he thought it would be (pulling in 100+ tunas all day long) but the day before, almost everyone who fished the porpoise school caught tunas no matter what method they were using. The customer was basing the fishery on the best bite day we saw all this month. The day we fished was more typical of the fishery. The ono bite isn’t much different with some days being really good and on other days you can spend your whole day trying without a single bite. Mixing up the day targeting all kinds of fish and switching methods is the best way to have a successful trip.

The bottom bite has been fantastic due to several commercial fishermen dumping tons of anchovies and chunk bait as chum while targeting the smaller “shibi” size yellowfin tuna near the airport. I’ve been catching and dropping small skipjack tuna in the same area and the bites have been almost instantaneous! GT, amberjack, almaco jack and sharks abound in this area right now. Big tiger sharks are among the group and we’ve been hooking ‘em but as yet haven’t been able to get one up to the boat for the photo and release this month. Last March in that same area we caught and released a tiger just under 2000 lbs. and just this last week we had another tiger follow up our catch that looked to be about ½ that size. It’s hard to tell how big they are while they’re still under water so I need a volunteer with mask, snorkel, fins, measuring tape and a good life insurance policy with me as the beneficiary.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – July wrap-up .

This morning as I’m writing this report the Wahine (female in Hawaiian) Tournament that hosts only female anglers is happening. In recent years it has been the biggest tournament in Kona but the economy has slowed it down to about half of its normal size. Marlin are the prize money fish with a minimum of 300 lbs. for weigh in and only a trophy going for the most tuna, ono and mahi mahi points. The marlin bite has been slow so as far as the number of marlin catches go, I don’t expect much but there have been some big wahine marlin around and it’s those female marlin that are the 300+ ones. I hope some Hawaiian girl has the muscle it takes to bring in a big marlin girl. The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament starts Monday and goes for the whole week and there also, I suspect there won’t be a large number of marlin caught as happened last year where every team caught at least one marlin but I suspect there will be some real big ones brought in this year. I use to fish most of the Kona tournaments but I don’t like fishing them anymore for a variety of reasons.

Both ono and mahi mahi are the most common catch right now. Ono are usually caught close to shore but sometimes there are plenty of them caught offshore in the deep and that’s happened to plenty of us this month. Some of the mahi mahi are being caught in the ono lane also but most of them are in the deep and there are also some spearfish around. Summer time is also the time of the year you can expect “blind strike” yellowfin tuna. Generally you need to work a porpoise school to get the big yellowfin but in the summer, when a line goes screaming, it just might be a big yellowfin on the line and that has happened to a few of the boats this month just proving that trolling offshore in the summer can get you hooked up to just about anything.

While summer is Kona is usually a better trolling bite, it’s usually the slowest bottom fishing bite of the year but that’s not what’s happening this summer. The bottom bite has been HOT! In fact, on my boat the Aloha Kai we caught the new state record amberjack this month. When I saw it come to the surface it was hard to believe. When I pulled it in the boat I told the anglers that it might even go a hundred and a half. Three of us on the boat fought the fish and weighing in at 151.5 lbs.(good guess huh), it’s the new Hawaii state record. More than one angler is allowed to fight the fish for a Hawaii state record but for a world record, that’s a big no-no. It was 3.5 lbs. shy of the world record anyway. Sharks have also been a regular catch while bottom fishing but it’s the GT that are the big out-of-season odd ball. I drop bait to the bottom more than any charter boat in Kona and normally I’ll catch only a dozen or less GT in a whole year. I’ve caught GT’s on my last 8 consecutive trips and have caught and released 16 of them. One of them that we weighed on a spring scale was a 95 pounder! Pound for pound the GT is one of the hardest fighting fish you’ll ever hook in to and it’s one of the most highly prized trophy fish in the Hawaiian Islands. We’ve also fought and lost several REALLY big ones. At this catch rate on the GT’s we just might be able to catch the new state record on that one too. Wishful thinking anyway.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – August wrap-up .

So maybe I should stay out of the fish prediction business. Last month I predicted that there wouldn’t be a large number of marlin caught in the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament but there would be a good number of big ones weighed in. I was right about the big ones but gladly I was somewhat wrong about the total number of marlin caught. There was indeed a fair number of small marlin in the 100 to 200 lb. range caught and released this year. Not as many as last year, in fact, the total number of fish caught this year was a little less than ½ of what was caught last year but I was expecting a more dismal outcome based on what was being caught right before the tournament. Out of the 31 teams that participated, only 3 didn’t catch during the 5 day tournament. The number of teams participating this year was lower too.

The big news in the tournament this year wasn’t just the big mama marlins that were weighed in but that the press boat was attacked (yes, attacked!) by a big marlin. Fisherman, photographer and a friend of mine Jon Schwartz who has fished with me several times in Kona, has also been an official photographer for the H.I.B.T. two years in a row. He got some great shots of the attacking fish. Last year after the tournament was over Jon fished with me a few days where I put him in the water to photograph a spearfish, a marlin and a shark! The spearfish shots were in February’s issue of Marlin Magazine. We also went swimming in the Kona Kampachi fish pens but the story that goes with those photos hasn’t been released yet. Jon Schwartz has a fantastic web site, bluewaterjon.com where he has several stories, blogs and magazine articles that he has published about his adventures including the story of the attacking marlin.

The mahi mahi run has pretty much stopped which is typical for this time of year but the ono bite should have been at a peak this month. There are a few coming in but basically the run is over for now. I say “for now” because we can easily get another run at any time, even in the off season. The “blind strike” yellowfin tuna bite remains good with even more being caught in the porpoise schools. A trip in the porpoise school last week I deployed my mini Green Stick rig and got bit within 10 minutes. The ahi (Hawaiian for yellowfin) didn’t stick and the strike was so hard it broke my gear. I had to order a part and it just arrived so I’ll be back in action with it next week. Yesterday via “blind strike”, I got a 147 ahi.

The bottom bite remains HOT and it’s the easiest way to catch several fish per trip. A combination of GT, amberjacks and sharks are quick to gobble down the small skipjack tuna that are all over the ledge just outside the airport, a short distance from the harbor. While the trolling bite is pretty good right now, as 3 teams in the H.I.B.T. found out, there’s no guarantee of catching anything on the troll even with 5 days of fishing. A combination of both trolling and bottom fishing breaks up the day with exciting new prospects but be advised that there are only a few of us here that do it. There are a couple of charter boats here that advertise bottom fishing on their web sites and while they say that they do it, I almost never see them on the bottom fishing grounds actually doing it. What I hear from people who have been on these trips is that on the day of the charter, they are told that the bottom bite isn’t any good right now even though it actually is. Just a “buyer beware” note for those that really want to be assured of a catch while in Kona.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Sept. wrap-up .
While September is the slowest time of the year for tourism, it can be the best time of the year for blue marlin and that happened again this year. The few boats that were going out this month were seeing marlin on almost a daily basis. So what are the odds of getting one? First of course, the more marlin that are around, the more bites, the better the odds. Of the marlin that hit your lures, on average, only 1 out of 3 will stay on the hook long enough to even get the rod to the fighting chair. Of the ones that stay on the hook long enough to fight, only 1 out of 3 will make it all the way to the boat. Angling technique does either increase or decrease your odds. If the fish is hooked good, you can make about every mistake in the book and still get your fish but in many cases, one mistake such as slack line or jerking on the fish will end your fight. With those odds it’s a wonder how so many are caught here in Kona but there are first time winners all the time! One hit, one marlin to the boat. On a good day you might even catch more than one as was done by several boats this month.

The yellowfin tuna bite is pretty good too right now. Not so much of a “blind strike” bite but the porpoise schools have been producing a steady number of fish for the commercial fishermen. There are a few spearfish, mahi mahi and ono being caught too but not in any kind of frequency.

The bottom bite is still HOT! Catching small tuna for live bait has been pretty easy and my “honey hole” has supplied quick action on almost all my trips this month. I get bit almost every time in there, usually by sharks, giant trevally and amberjacks but sometimes there’s bottlenose dolphin hanging out in the area too. They are smart and excellent at stealing the bait off the hook. It’s no use even trying to bait fish when they’re around. Time to move on but sometimes they will follow me to other areas looking for an easy meal. It becomes a game for them and me also. If I can get them to follow me away from my honey hole, I can quickly double back to my honey hole and get a bait dropped before they get a chance to catch back up to me. Sometimes it works, sometimes not but it always adds a challenge and some excitement to the fishing day.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Oct. wrap-up .

October is one of my favorite months to fish because it’s this month that offers the most variety of fish. The blue marlin bite usually starts decreasing this month as does the ono bite but then the fall run of mahi mahi shows up this month, yellowfin and bigeye tuna start congregating on the buoys and ledges and the bottom bite gets better too. All this happened this month so that’s my report….Done.

OK, I know many people read my report every month so I won’t disappoint you. With midterm elections less than a week away, Politics is the big news. When it comes to fisheries, it’s important to know where our politicians stand or we may just see fishing as we know it get regulated beyond practicality. A couple of things that are in the progress of becoming law are HR5804, the billfish conservation act and also a petition to include lead as a toxic substance, making lead bullets and lead used for fishing illegal. In a nut shell the billfish conservation act will make it illegal to import, export or sell billfish except swordfish. While blue marlin stocks are in decline, striped marlin and spearfish stocks appear to be doing OK. Most of the billfish caught here are released without any law being enacted to force us to do it! Billfish are a favorite food for many so if the law is passed and you don’t have first hand access to a local fisherman who will ‘give’ you some, billfish is off the menu except swordfish. Why not swordfish? In the world wide market swordfish has been regulated more than any other but they’re big business so as to not step on the toes of big business, swords were excepted so the bill has a better chance of getting passed. Now on to the evils of lead. Yes I understand that birds eat lead shot and small sinkers but with an across the board ban on using lead to fish with, you can forget using lead for downriggers, jigs, ballast in lures, throw nets and a whole lot more.

A new law that just passed in the state of Hawaii this last summer makes it illegal to possess shark fins. I called the senator that proposed the law to see if there was an exception if the fins were still attached to the shark when it’s brought in. His reply was NO! To get caught with any kind of shark with its fins still attached is a minimum $5000, and up to $15000 fine for a first offense. You can still kill ‘em and eat ‘em but getting caught with the fins, attached to the shark or not, can be a costly mistake.

Not really fishing related for the most part but just to let you know that our politicians made the standard incandescent light bulb illegal and fazing them out completely is now on the way. Fluorescents and LEDs just won’t do for some lighting applications just like a material other than lead just won’t do for certain fishing applications. How about we vote some of these pinheads out of office this Saturday?

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Nov. wrap-up .

November was a very slow month for charter fishing as the uncertain economy and uncertain tax burden has many vacationers in a wait-n-see mode. The new TSA procedures aren’t helping either. And as I’ve said before, many of the vacationers that are coming to Hawaii are skipping the big ticket items like helicopter tours and fishing charters but on with how the bite was for November. The month started with a very low catch rate as the current direction and speed kept playing tricks on us but now the bite’s pretty good with mahi mahi leading as the most common catch of the day. The blue marlin bite is pretty good now also and it seems that the spearfish have started moving in already. A bit early in the season for the spears but hopefully the run will continue and not peter-out before the peak of their season hits.

There has been yellowfin tuna around the FAD’s up to about 30 lbs. but they’ve been very finicky about biting. The bigger yellowfin in the porpoise schools have been playing hard to get also. We’ve had some spurts of ono and otaru tuna but nothing that can be counted on.

The bottom bite as usual has been good and the method that almost guarantees a successful fishing trip. In last month’s report I talked about our new Hawaii shark fin law and since then, I’ve kept talking to people both in authority and people who are fishing rights advocates and as it stands right now, it’s in the hands of the States lawyers who now find it necessary to clarify if a shark, brought in with its fins still attached is a violation of the law. The law (as written) makes no distinction in the matter so it comes down to an issue of interpretation. I catch more sharks than any captain in Kona and I let them go but I would most likely keep a small thresher for the dinner table and others readily kill and land mako sharks. According to our local harbor police, landing a shark with its fins attached is a violation of the law and I don’t have the extra funds to get into a legal battle about the issue so for now, if I want some thresher, I’ll just fillet it out at sea. In many States it’s illegal to bring in only fillets of a fish but Hawaii hasn’t made a law against that yet. As I find out more on the shark fin issue, I’ll keep you informed.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Dec. wrap-up .

The year ended with a bang as Kona’s 2nd “grander” marlin was weighed in. Usually there’s more than one grander caught in Kona each year but this year looked like it would be the exception. During a year there are several granders hooked up but most of these fish win the fight. There’s also the tag and release factor and this factor alone almost kept Kona’s grander count down to only one this year. The grander, weighing in at 1011 lbs. was caught on the “Game Plan”. It was brought to the boat in only 45 minutes and then tagged and released but after the release, the fish just rolled over belly up, floating, dead. Some fish, especially the old ones just can’t survive a battle. We don’t know how many granders die each year during a fight and sink, making them nearly impossible to get back up. Getting spooled by a grander will also likely cause its death as they can’t continue to swim and feed towing nearly 1000 yards of line behind them. Some granders are released in good health but you get no credit for releasing an “estimated” grander. The only proof of a real “grander” is at the scales.

Some striped marlin showed up this week so we may actually have a run this year. We haven’t had a good striped marlin run in several years. There’s been some spearfish being caught also. With both of these billfish, the season is just getting started.

Mahi mahi actually tops the list as this month’s most common catch and there’s also been a fair amount of big yellowfin tuna. We often find the small yellowfin (shibi) on the FAD’s and ledges this time of year with only a few big ones being caught in the porpoise schools during the winter but for the last few years, the winter bite for the big ones has been pretty good.

The bottom bite hasn’t been all that good but the variety of fish caught has. Sending a jig, live bait, dead bait or chunks has been producing snapper, grouper, trevally, sharks, amberjack and almaco jack.

Do you have your Federal fishing license yet? Many people don’t even know that such a thing even exists but as of last year when the law went into effect, if you’re fishing outside of state waters (3 miles here in Hawaii) you could be fined heavily for not having one. In 2010 the license was free. This year it’s $15, next year It will be $25 and you can expect it to go up even more in years to come. Many of us fishermen in Hawaii have a CML (Commercial Marine License) so we can legally sell our catch and having that makes us exempt from needing the Federal license but, since the Hawaii CML is issued to an individual and not the vessel, the Feds have the right to require each individual person out fishing beyond 3 miles to have their license, even on a charter. Look out tourists, my guess is that will be just around the corner. The Feds NEED more money. So, think you’re safe in state waters? Not for long. On July 19th President Obama signed an executive order to form the National Ocean Council. Part of the power given to this new bureaucracy is to regulate coastal waters, effectively giving them the power to tell the states how to regulate their own waters. Some states have taken the Feds to court on both of these issues but Hawaii has a reputation of being like an old marlin on Federal fisheries issues. It will likely roll over, belly up and let the Feds do whatever they wish.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. wrap-up .

Great news! Yes, we have striped marlin :) Kona hasn’t seen a good striped marlin run in the past 5 seasons so I’m very happy that we’re finally getting them. Striped marlin is my 2nd favorite fish to eat after the Hawaiian grouper. Raw with wasabi and soy sauce or seared on the outside, it’s fantastic! I salivate just like Pavlov’s dog every time I talk about eating striped marlin, it’s that good. The meat is usually pink but sometimes its pumpkin orange. The orange meat is the best.

It’s the first month of the year and Kona’s “Big Fish List” starts new. In the first week of this month a 914 lb. blue marlin was weighed in so that one might stand as the biggest for a while. The yellowfin tuna category on the list has been changing almost daily while we wait for the first 200+ pounder to be caught. This is the time of year for the smaller yellowfin and bigeye tuna that hang around the buoys and ledges. C buoy has been the #1 place to go for them.

Mahi mahi tops this month as the most common fish caught even though it’s late in the season for them. It’s a bit early in the season for spearfish but they have moved in and are now a pretty common catch also. It’s not ono season but a few are coming in here and there.

The bottom bite has been spotty with some good days and some bad. It’s a good thing that the trolling bite has been exceptionally good to make up for it. One fish that I have caught more of in the past 6 months than in the past 10 years combined is giant trevally (GT). They are one of the hardest fighting fish pound for pound and are one of the most prized sportfish of the Pacific. Some minor regulations on these fish have been made in recent years but there has been talk of making very severe regulations on targeting these fish because they’re “endangered”. A tag and release program that started on GT about 10 years ago has indeed helped their numbers grow and now there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of them at all. Do you think the DAR will back off on their plans to severely regulate them as a result? One can only hope. We just got a new governor who seems to be more of a friend to the fisherman than to the fish huggers so we will see what the next 4 years bring.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Feb. wrap-up .

The striped marlin are still biting good in Kona but they certainly are running small. When they do show up in the winter they are usually all close to the same size. Some winters they’re all about 50 to 60 lbs. Other winters have had most running around 100 lbs. but this season most of them are under 40 lbs. The spearfish bite has picked up and now it’s about 50/50 with the striped marlin bite. The spears are also under 40 lbs.

Sounds like great fishing but there’s a problem. Very few Kona charter boats own light tackle! Other than a couple light rods for catching bait fish, Kona is typically a heavy tackle fishery. Some charter boats troll only with 130’s. Some have a mix of 130’s and 80’s. Some even have a 50 that they use for the 5th stinger line when the smaller fish are biting but even that is a bit of overkill on small billfish, mahi mahi and ono. BTW, we’re getting a good bite on the mahi mahi and ono right now too. So why all the heavy tackle? Well, because you simply have no idea if one of those big Kona blue’s is going to eat your lure. The big ones are around every month of the year but I’ve found that there is a viable solution to the tackle overkill problem.

A 130 (wide) is designed to hold close to 1000 yards of 130 lb. test, an 80 (wide) is designed to hold close to 1000 yards of 80 lb. test and a 50 (wide) is designed to hold close to 1000 yards of 50 lb. test. You may think that’s more than enough line on there until you do hook up with one of those big Kona blue’s and see that 1000 yards of line disappear off your reel in less than a minute!

The solution is braided line. I been using 100 lb. test Tuff Line for bottom fishing for years now because anything lighter just won’t give you enough stopping power on some of those big sharks and jacks as they try to wrap you around the rocks. A 30 (wide) holds over 1000 yards of 100 lb. test braided line! Another reason that I use 100 lb. is that braided line has a tendency to over-test so 130 lb. braided line might just keep you away from qualifying for that world record fish.

You may think that there’s an issue with the drag system between a 130 and a 30 but I’ve been using the 2 speed Penn 30 VSX with a twin drag system for years and it has all the drag you could ask for. I know because sometimes I get stuck on the bottom and need to break off that 100 lb. test. It’s not easy. I have more Penn 30 stand-up rods that I use for trolling. I topped the 1000 yards of braided line with about 200 yards of 80 lb. test mono. The reason for the mono top shot is to get some line stretch and something else to consider, if you’re rod has roller guides; braided line is thin enough to get in-between the roller and the roller frame on some guides when there’s a side load on the rod. If your fish takes a lot of line out, the braided backing isn’t an issue but when your fish is close to the boat, side loading of the rod is likely. All of my 30’s are mounted on stand-up rods without rollers. It’s just easier that way but a quality rod with a good back bone, light tip and no rollers is a hard item to find now days. I also have a wide selection of quality stand-up fighting belts and harnesses. A good harness is essential for fighting big fish on stand-up but for small billfish, mahi mahi and ono, just a fighting belt is enough. That way you get to actually feel the fight as opposed to the typical Kona fight from a chair with a huge reel mounted on a rod as thick as a broom stick.

With the current fishing conditions I’m still using a 130 and an 80 for my short and long corner, pulling big lures looking for the beast marlin. I’m pulling small lures on the stand-ups for the smaller fish but that doesn’t mean that a big fish won’t eat my small lures. It’s happened many times in the past and it even happened recently but it wasn’t a problem, my tackle can handle that! Even my bait rods are backed with braided line and I’ve been trolling the deep with them too. My lightest bait rod is only rated for 12 to 20 lb. but I’m using a 150 yard top shot of 40 lb. mono and the rest of the reel is loaded with 50 lb. braid. The small striped marlin, spearfish, mahi mahi and ono are a blast to fight on this rod! My biggest blue marlin so far on this bait rod was a 300 pounder. Other than a slight issue with the lifting power of the rod, there was enough line on the reel and enough line strength to get the job done.

With all this said, I have just one more thing to say to all those guys who only troll with 130’s. “Lighten up, have some fun”.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – March wrap-up .

The trolling bite is still doing real good in Kona with a mix of striped marlin, spearfish and mahi mahi. There have even been a few blue marlin around with one coming in this month just 22 lbs. short of the “grander” mark. While the blue marlin are generally solitary critters, striped marlin swim in schools so many of us are experiencing double, triple and even quadruple hook-ups.

There are some ono being caught also even though it’s not really season for them and one of the stranger catches is “blind strike” yellowfin tuna. Yellowfin tuna will be the main focus of my report this month. You can catch yellowfin tuna in Hawaii year-round with the peak season of the 100+ pounders in the summer time. In the summer you can expect blind strikes from yellowfin tuna but in the winter, a blind strike (until recently) has been almost unheard of. In the winter you would generally need to be fishing a porpoise school to score a big yellowfin but that’s changing. Not only have the past several summers been really good for big yellowfin here but so have the winters. So, what might be the reason for such an increase in the fish supply? I have a theory.

Big commercial fishing vessels are limited by the number of fish they can hold. Then it’s back to port to gear up for another trip. In the past 10 years a newer method has developed to take even more tuna from the ocean. The now popular method is to surround a whole tuna school with a huge net and drag the whole school closer to whatever continent you come from and then over a period of time, pull the fish out. This method has a high mortality rate and also produces skinny fish because of the lack of food. It sounds absolutely awful and you would think that a continuance of this type of fishing practice would wipe out the tuna industry in a short period of time but in reality, the opposite is happening. Why? Here’s my theory: The tuna are in very close proximity. They’re stressed out because of the confinement and as a result, they’re breeding at an accelerated rate. Sperm and eggs are flying everywhere. With the closer proximity, more eggs are being fertilized than would normally happen in the wild. The now fertilized eggs drift right on through the net and more yellowfin tuna are being produced as a direct result of the confinement. Of course I don’t have any proof of my theory but it sounds like it makes sense. I’ve run this theory by several fishermen here and it generally gets the yes nod.

The bottom bite is, as usual the best guarantee of a successful fishing trip. It’s nice having a good trolling bite happening at the same time so I haven’t had to rely on the bottom bite as much. In my January report I mentioned that I had caught more giant trevally (GT) in the previous 6 months than I had in the previous 10 years combined and that trend is continuing. Is someone netting and confining these fish also? No. The tag and release of GT’s has gained in popularity so that has some to do with it but at the same time, the kampachi fish farm just offshore of the Kona airport has become a very popular spot for GT’s to hang out. They are a common site around the nets because the nets are also providing structure for a fish called opelu, a favorite food of the GT and they’ve both been camping out around the fish pens for some years now. Opelu populations rely on underwater structure to congregate so the more structure the better. Again, close proximity of a big population of fish produces even more fish so I’ll stretch my theory even further and say that it’s also helping the GT populations. I have no proof of it but the increase of yellowfin tuna and GT populations in Kona has to be due to something.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap-up .
So here I sit at the computer again about to write the Kona Hawaii Fishing Report. I’ve been doing it once a month for over 10 years now and I always try to get it done just before the month ends. Last month I didn’t even realize the month had ended until after the fact and I found myself cramming the time into my schedule to get the report done. Just to let you know, it takes the better part of a day to write it and post it in several fishing forums. I decided to make yellowfin tuna the focus of the report because I had recently talked to several captains about my tuna theory but in doing so, with blinders on, I didn’t do my billfish homework. My bad. There was a new State record Striped Marlin caught in late March weighing in at 212 lbs. and I had even forgotten that Hawaii’s first “grander” of the year was caught about the middle of the month weighing in at 1062 lbs. That catch had just escaped my tunnel vision mind. This month the billfish bite remained pretty good although slightly less than last month with striped marlin, blue marlin and spearfish being caught in Kona almost daily.
On a trip earlier this week we landed a 519 blue marlin that died during the fight. A 500+ pounder is called a “beast” and I wasn’t sure if it would make the weight or not but I knew it would be close. We weighed it and were happy that it made the grade. The guy who filleted it up called me the next day and said that it had a 30 lb. spearfish in its stomach that had just been eaten. It was so fresh that no digestion had even taken place. I’ll take the “beast” status anyway :) The already full marlin just couldn’t resist the smell of my anchovy stuffed Gatorade bottle lure. That’s right, a plastic bottle. I describe these lures on my web site and they were also featured in Marlin Magazine in ’09. To my surprise I found out last week that I’m in this month’s issue of Sport Fishing Magazine on page 55. There’s no mention of my name but that’s me with the spearfish.
Yellowfin tuna, big skipjacks, mahi mahi and ono are still biting pretty good. There were several more instances of blind-strike yellowfin this month. I had a nice blind-strike yellowfin on myself recently but we broke line on it during a hard run. I’ve had some people comment on the yellowfin theory I wrote about in last month’s report. The theory makes too much sense to just discount it. The increase in yellowfin tuna populations has to be due to something. There’s so many out there now that fishermen are having a hard time finding someone to buy them because there’s so many on the market.
The bottom bite has been mostly sharks lately with a few amberjack thrown in. I haven’t had time to update the fish photos page on my own web site lately between fishing trips and other duties but now that this fish report is written, with still several hours more needed to publish it on fishing forums and, got to go into town today, I might just be able to update my fish photos page soon. Darn, just realized I got to stop by the boat too and get my camera with all this weeks photos in it.
See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
http://FISHinKONA.com

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – May wrap-up .

The early part of May was pretty good as far as the trolling bite was concerned. Ono topped the list as the easiest bite but there were also several yellowfin, marlin and spearfish coming in. As usual, when the current direction switches, the bite slows and that’s what happened a little over a week ago. Even though the bite slowed, there remains a bite from some BIG blue marlin. Nearly every day, one or more “best” marlin are being caught or fought and lost. In fact, one marlin that was brought in recently was a “grander” when it was hooked up but during the fight, it threw up the live bait that was used to hook it, a 10+ lb. skipjack tuna, along with everything else that was in its stomach. The weight at the scale was 995 ½ lbs. Close but no cigar. Every year there are marlin brought in that end up being just under the coveted 1000 lb. mark but in the grander game, close never counts! Many of Kona’s career captains have fished here for many years and will even retire (like my dad) having never landed a “grander”.

The mahi mahi are basically gone and even the ono bite has slowed. There are small yellowfin and skipjack tuna on the ledges, in the deep and on C and OT buoys but there is also an unusual amount of sharks around. The buoys are especially plagued with them to the point where you can hardly get any fish to the boat before they’re eaten by a shark. Galapagos, whit tips and bronze whalers are the most common but even some tigers have been getting in on the action near the ledges. Sharks make for a great fight because unlike marlin, they don’t tire out easily. When they get near a boat, that’s when they really put the brakes on. For most anglers, targeting sharks is the easiest way to catch something that weighs more than you do and the last minutes of the fight when they get near the boat can be very challenging. Shark attacks have also caused some beach closures this week. Two surfers were attacked and their boards were bitten. Both were in the same surfing area but it’s not known if it was the same shark that did it. The boards will be examined by experts to determine that. Neither of the surfers were injured. A tiger shark is the most likely suspect since they don’t mind swimming right next to the shoreline and are known to be aggressive but there are other aggressive types out here also. There’s one tiger hanging out around Kona waters that is estimated to be just over 2000 lbs. I first encountered this one a little over a year ago and actually hooked it after it ate a 60 lb. amberjack we were fighting. I angled it all the way to the boat where we got several photos and video. It’s been spotted by both fishermen and divers this year but I don’t figure it’s the one doing the attacks. If that monster wanted to eat a surfer, it could just about do it with just one bite. I just hope someone doesn’t kill that big tiger for the publicity.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – June wrap-up .

HUGE blue marlin tops the report this month. Several marlin over 500 lbs. (beast status) were caught in June with a few hitting the 900+ mark and many in the 500 to 800+ lb. range. It was almost a surprise that another Kona grander wasn’t caught. There very well could have been a 1000 pounder hooked and fought but many of the “beast” status marlins win the fight. One of the biggest marlin brought in this month @ 982 lbs. was previously lost by another boat and was towing the lure along with several hundred yards of line. The famous World Cup tournament will be happening soon on July 4th with the prize going to the biggest blue marlin caught that day anywhere around the globe. Kona really needs another win this year. Several years ago Madeira tried to take the title away from Kona as “The Blue Marlin capital of the world” when both Kona and Madeira were tied at 3 wins each. Kona has since taken the tournament 3 more times and Madeira none but now Bermuda has a shot at the title. The current standing is 6 wins each for Bermuda and Kona. The suspense is high but the tie might not be broken this year or even for several more as several other areas around the globe have also won the tournament. While the marlins caught here lately have been big, the numbers of marlin catches haven’t been. The big ones are all females and it’s the beginning of the summer breeding season so the smaller males will be showing up soon.

The spearfish bite has been sporadic but during a recent tournament, spearfish was the hottest bite. The yellowfin tuna bite has been pretty good for the 100+ ones and the smaller ones have been easy to catch on C buoy, OT buoy and even on some of the ledges. It’s ono season but the bite has been sporadic too.

The bottom bite hasn’t been all that hot but like the marlin bite, there’s some big fish down there. Just like 1000+ lbs. is the ultimate goal for the marlin fisherman, 100+ lbs. is the goal for giant trevally. These fish have amazing strength and pull like a fish that is 3 to 4 times its size. Last month we caught one that was just under the 100 lb. mark (about 85) but this month we got one that was over 100 lbs. I don’t know what happened to the amberjacks, they’ve been a rare catch lately. The shark bite is still good on the bottom and at OT buoy. Again this month, tiger sharks have made the news but I personally haven’t had any encounters lately and it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. Just like any other fish, its right place – right time but there’s one thing I can say with certainty …. There are a lot more 1000+ tigers swimming off the Kona coast than there are 1000+ marlins.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – July wrap-up .

So how many of you regular readers of my monthly fishing report Google’d to see who won the Blue Marlin World Cup Tournament on July 4th? You don’t need to email me with the answer but I have thousands of fishermen who regularly read my monthly fishing report and I figured at least some of you would have been curious enough to see if Bermuda was able to take the “Blue Marlin Capital” title away from Hawaii. Drum roll…… Hawaii wins again! Not only did we win but we smoked the rest of the world! In this tournament the minimum qualifying weight is the “beast status” of at least 500 lbs. There wasn’t a single qualifying blue marlin caught anywhere else in the world except Hawaii. In fact, there were 3 qualifying “beast” marlin caught here. The winner was Maui Jim with a 729 pounder but the Maui Jim wasn’t fishing his home turf off Maui, he was fishing right here in Kona where all 3 qualifying beasts were caught. In last month’s report I said that the big blues were here but the smaller males hadn’t shown up yet. Well, they’re here now and the bite is ON! The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament started last Monday and by the end of the first day, more than half of the teams had tagged and released at least one marlin. The tournament runs for 5 days so we’re right in the middle of it now so I’ll bring you the results in next month’s report. Of course you don’t have to wait to hear it from me, they have a web site.

The smaller yellowfin and bigeye tunas are biting on the ledges and buoys and the 100+ yellowfin are biting “in the blind” as is typical for this time of year. The spearfish are biting too, also typical for this time of year. The bummer is that the ono, that are supposed to be here now, aren’t. We’ll see if they’re just running late in next month’s report.

The bottom bite, as usual, is the best way to get some quick action. Even though the marlin bite is on, you can still end up empty handed if all you do is troll all day. When the trolling bite is on, I like to spend most of my day trolling but to ensure a catch for the day, nothing beats targeting the deep. Mostly I’ve been catching and releasing sharks with a few GT’s (giant trevally) thrown in. Both offer a fight that humbles even the studliest of anglers. The GT’s fight as hard as a fish 4 times its size and the biggest ones sometimes don’t survive the fight. That just happened to us yesterday so we took it in and weighed it. While we did make Kona’s “Big Fish List” with the biggest weighed in this year at 95 lbs., both the angler and I would have rather seen it swim away. We made several attempts to get it to swim but it just wouldn’t go. I actually have tagged and successfully released bigger ones this year. That makes me wonder…… If there were such a thing as a GT World Cup Tournament with the minimum qualifying weight of 100 lbs., would Hawaii be the “GT capital of the world” also? With my mind wandering and wondering of that thought, I’ll wish you all tight lines and screaming reels.

See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
http://FISHinKONA.com
http://FISHinKONA.com/95ulua.jpg

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – August wrap-up .

This month was one of the best months for blue marlin that Kona has seen in quite a while. With that, the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, the Lazy Marlin Hunt and the Big Island Invitational Marlin Tournament were all BIG successes. The marlin are still here in numbers but since the tourism has slowed (as usually happens toward the end of summer) there aren’t many boats going out. Even with a good marlin bite going on though, the only guarantee that you’ll catch one is if you fish multiple days. Even the best marlin captains can come up with a zero during a hot bite. I don’t consider myself one of the top marlin captains here but just yesterday we had 4 marlin bites and that’s some pretty good marlin action but by the end of the day, we only ended up with 1 mahi mahi in the box. I didn’t do any bottom fishing on this trip at the request of the customer. More on that later.

The ono bite has picked up so there’s still hope for some kind of end of summer run. The ono bite has been pretty good way down South but the “ono Lane” right in front of the harbor and the airport has only been producing a few. There are still some spearfish biting but we’re heading toward the slowest season for them over the next 2 months. Mahi mahi seem to be showing up here and there so maybe we’ll get an early run on them. Customers often ask me if I like eating ono or mahi mahi the best. The two both taste excellent but here’s my take; if I’ve been eating a lot of mahi mahi, an ono sure does taste good. If I’ve been eating a lot of ono, a mahi mahi sure does hit the spot.

Now it’s time for the “more on that later”. Hawaii’s bottom fishing season opens up in just a couple of days on Sept. 1st. the season closed last March and it’s illegal to bottom fish out of season. Hey, wait! I bottom fish year-round. How does that work? Am I breaking the law? No. Luckily there’s a loophole for us that are targeting the big game bottom fish instead of the fish known here as “the deep seven”. It has to do with the specific type of gear I’m using so us catching one of “the deep seven” only happens on rare occasion. While I think any of the deep seven bottom fish beat out an ono or mahi mahi for taste, they just aren’t very exciting to catch. Especially for people that come here to sport fish and aren’t interested in eating their catch as was the case with yesterday’s charter. He only wanted marlin. I’m OK with that though. That means mahi mahi for dinner tonight. I’m so spoiled when it comes to good eating fresh fish :)

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Sept. wrap-up .

As usual September is the slowest time of year for tourism and with the economy still in bad shape; it’s even slower than normal so there’s not many boats out fishing, including me. I used the extra time off to do some work on my web site and I made a videos page. Not only are there some videos that I took myself but also some customer videos and a Hawaii Goes Fishing show. FISHinKONA.com is the largest fishing web site in the state of Hawaii especially with archived fishing reports form the past 10+ years. The next project I’d like to do is an angling “how to” video for fighting fish out of a fighting chair. The deckhands are usually the ones that give the instructions on how to fight a fish from a chair and many simply suck at it. Knowing proper technique not only makes catching easier and more fun but many of the fish aren’t hooked too good and one mistake like jerking hard on the rod, letting the fish have slack line and other rookie mistakes can easily cost you the fish . With all my years of experience, I know I can help many. It just remains to be seen if I can do a good job of explaining it in a short video.

The marlin bite remained good throughout the month of September. That’s really nothing unusual. The last of the summer marlin tournaments was the 3 day September Challenge and there were plenty of marlin to go around for the anglers. The winning marlin was taken by the Sundowner weighing in just under the “grander” mark at 943 lbs. Several boats caught marlin during the tournament with the average marlin running about 200 lbs.

By now it’s safe to say that there was no ono run this summer. We can get them any month of the year but the summer months should pretty much be a guaranteed bite. Hawaii is just a little speck in a big ocean so they’re out there somewhere, just not here. The big skipjack tuna are here as is typical for this time of year but they’re not biting very well and all of us are having trouble hooking ‘em. It’s frustrating to see the tuna jumping all over the place and the customers looking at you with a look like “what’s the matter with this captain?” The biggest concentrations are on “The Grounds” and many boats are just staying away so they don’t have to see “the look” from the customers. The yellowfin tuna bite got really good this month on a FAD (fish aggregation device) right in front of town. That particular FAD hardly ever has fish on it! Not only were the commercial fishermen getting yellowfin tuna of all sizes there but also albacore tuna. Albacore are usually only caught at night here but they were even getting them during the day at the FAD. There were so many small boats concentrated there that us charter guys on the troll couldn’t get in close to the FAD where the fish were biting.

I mentioned that the bottom fishing season opened September 1st for “the deep 7”. In past seasons there was a big rush to get them while the price and demand were high but I’m not seeing that this year. Most of the small boats that I would normally see fishing the ledges for snapper and grouper have been targeting the tunas instead. The bottom bite for bigger game like giant trevally, amberjack, almaco jack and sharks has slowed down quite a bit but bottom fishing is still on average the most productive method for catching. Some trips this month though, I’ve had to put up with “the look” after being unable to entice a bite from the bottom. Sometimes it is fishing and not catching.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Nov. wrap-up .

So what happened in October? Where did the report go? Well, I didn’t write one. I was out of action for most of October because I had back-to-back bladder cancer surgeries. Not only didn’t I fish for most of October but I didn’t stay in touch with other fishermen during my recovery so I didn’t have a clue how the fishing was for the month. October for me is just a past memory by now but I did fish plenty this month so here it is……

Mahi mahi tops the list as the most common catch. While it is possible to catch mahi mahi any time of the year here, we basically have 2 seasons for them, a spring run and a fall run. The spring run is usually the small size ones. I like to call them “Smurfs” because of the small size and that they have that bright blue Smurf color while swimming around. The fall run brings us the big ones and this season was no different. While we can get small ones in the fall and big ones in the spring, in general, it’s pretty predictable. With no ono run this last summer it sure was nice having some quality fish for the dinner table. There are a few ono being caught but you just need to be lucky with that. I know one captain that has been spending some of his time on almost every trip trying for them and he’s getting skunked most of the time.

The blue marlin bite was pretty good for the beginning of November but the deeper we’re getting into winter, the more that bite is tapering off. There has been no “average” size for the month as the daily catch weight range has been all over the board. There has been a few striped marlin caught in the last couple of weeks so I hope that’s an indicator that we’ll have our winter striped marlin run. If you are a follower of my reports you may remember that we went 5 winter seasons without a good striped marlin run until last winter when they returned in pretty good numbers. Small striped marlin is my 2nd favorite fish to eat. The meat is usually pink and sometimes you get meat that is pumpkin orange and that’s the REALLY good stuff. Seared or as sashimi, Hawaii’s striped marlin are only outdone by the Hawaiian grouper when it comes to taste.

The bottom bite has been just OK but as I’ve said many times before, your chances of catching something are far greater going for the bottom vs. just trolling all day. The first part on November I was catching mostly sharks while hitting the bottom but lately the giant trevally are biting again. As winter comes in, the giant trevally bite should get even better.

No worries about my health. I’ve been dealing with cancer for a long time. The last operations were #15 and #16 for 5 different kinds of cancer. I’ve been through radiation and chemo before and kept fishing through all of it. I’ll be starting chemo again soon but the only side effect with this kind of chemo is that I run a slight fever so no big deal. Everyone has issues of some kind or another but the attitude you have as your issues come determines the severity of their effect.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Dec. 2011 wrap-up .

I was really hoping that the striped marlin bite would be better this month and while there are a few being caught right now and with more frequently than last month, it’s not really enough of a bite to call it a “run” yet. It’s still early in the season for them though so I remain hopeful that the bite will get better from here. The blue marlin bite has been fairly average for this time of year so there’s one, two or a few being caught daily. We’re just coming into spearfish season. There hasn’t been any caught in a long time but one was caught last Wednesday so again, we can only hope that there will be a “run” this season.

Even though the sea surface temperature has cooled down as is typical for Hawaii this time of year, the mahi mahi are still here and they again top the list as the most common catch for the month. Mahi mahi tend to be one of the most temperature sensitive fish but we’ve had plenty of flying fish around to keep them fed. We also have clouds of opelu (mackerel scad) right now along the ledges for the mahi mahi to eat and it also prompted an unseasonal ono run that lasted for a couple of weeks. The smaller size yellowfin tuna (10 – 30) are in on the act along the ledges also and the commercial fishermen have been hitting ‘em hard. Small yellowfin tuna (1 – 3) are being caught on some of the FAD’s.

The bottom bite wasn’t very good this month because the current was going the wrong way for most of the month. As soon as the current switched to its normal North direction for Kona, that’s when all the fish showed up on the ledges. If you’re a follower of my reports, and I know there are many of you out there, you’ve heard me say many times that “the current is king” when it comes to the fishing in Kona being good or bad and that there was no way to predict it. Well, I was wrong. A friend of mine sent me a link to a Navy web site and I was astonished! Fairly accurate predictions up to a month in advance with the sea surface height, the sea surface temperature and also the speed (given in meters per second) and direction of the currents. Not just for Hawaii but almost everywhere in the world! I have been following the Hawaii predictions all month and with few exceptions; they were right on the money. I’m sure there are some around that have known about the site for a while but not one captain I talked to knew about it. This information is extremely valuable in an area like Hawaii where the currents can change so rapidly and have so much effect of the fishery. Excited yet? Where is it? Here’s a belated Christmas present to you all. Just Google NLOM Navy and it will be on the top of the search. At least it was for me. Google can tweak its results depending on your previous searches but it should be on the first page anyway. And with that, have fun with it and have a happy new year.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. wrap-up .

Marlin over 1000 lbs., known as “granders” are regularly caught all over the world. Some are taken and some are released but here in Hawaii, we only count the ones that are actually weighted in. Some of the captains here have made the claim that they caught and released a grander and because of their experience, you can take their word for it that they did in fact release a grander but others who have made a claim to have released a grander are received with skepticism. Right before the close of 2011 the word went out that there was a possible grander coming to the scales for weigh in. I didn’t stick around for the weigh in but found out the next day that it only weighed in at 608 lbs. The crew on the boat is experienced so it didn’t make any sense why they thought it would make the grander mark but they only had egg on their faces for a little while because just 8 days later, they actually caught one and weighed in the first grander of 2012 at 1040 lbs. Hawaii’s first official “grander” was caught and weighted in 1954 and the count has continued at an average of slightly over 2 per year since. Hawaii Fishing News keeps the grander tally on their web site so now were up to 128 of them in Hawaii.

The striped marlin bite isn’t very good at all as we approach the middle of their season (bummer) but the spearfish showed up right on time and have been a fairly common catch. I’ve said it here before and I’m saying it again, those spearfish are one of the best eating fish there is! We had another little ono spurt this month and a few mahi mahi are still coming in. The yellowfin tuna are still hanging on the ledges and FAD’s but the numbers and sizes have dropped from last month.

The bottom bite has been a lot better lately with a good variety of fish but there’s hardly any bait fish at the bottom fishing grounds so I’ve been going to the closest FAD to the harbor for bait. It’s in the opposite direction from the bottom fishing grounds but the bait fish have been easy to catch along with the occasional eating size yellowfin as a bonus. I’ve also picked a couple of spearfish off the buoy while catching the bait fish and yesterday we got a spearfish on one of the bait rods. It was some good light tackle action and the spearfish made several jumps. That’s something that they rarely do on our normal size tackle and the more a fish jumps, the more likely it will come off but luckily I had a good angler that was able to handle it so it’s spearfish for dinner tonight :p

Last month I talked about the NLOM web site that predicts the speed and direction of the currents and I said that they were “fairly accurate” and that “with few exceptions; they were right on the money”. I’d now like to retract that statement and go back to “there’s no way to predict it”. Their predictions are updated once a week and they have their older predictions on the site also. Not only were their original predictions way off for most of January but even their most current current data(not a typo) is wrong. I’ll still be checking their web site regularly for reference but certainly not relying on it to be accurate.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – Feb. wrap-up .

Another “grander” (1030 lbs.) for Kona! In last month’s report I stated that since 1954 we have averaged slightly more than 2 granders a year here in Kona so we’re off to a good start with 10 months left in the year to up that average. A few days after the catch I saw the captain and deckhand at their boat so I walked over to congratulate them on their first grander. The captain said it was his third. As I stood there puzzled with a ? expression on my face, he stated that he had caught two grander tiger sharks. It’s not the same thing in my book. In fact, I catch more tiger sharks (and other sharks also) than any other captain in Kona. Because I do variety fishing on almost every trip, it just works out that way. While I do have a grander blue marlin catch already, I have caught and released more grander tigers than I can count. The average size tiger here runs 800 to 1000 lbs. but because I release them, it is an estimate but as I stated in last month’s report, because of experience I know a 1000+ pound fish when I see it. A couple of years ago I even got a tiger up to the boat that was an easy 2000+ pounder. While tigers ( and sharks in general) are indeed a tough fight, the way that marlin and sharks fight is quite different. After you hook a marlin, they usually jump all over the place and wear themselves out. Because of that, the smaller marlins are a pretty easy catch but the real big ones are usually able to catch a 2nd wind and put up a good fight. Sharks fight consistently hard the whole way and don’t seem to get tired at all. In my experience, pound for pound sharks that are under a few hundred pounds are usually a tougher fight than marlin of the same size but when it comes to the power of a really big marlin, big sharks and even grander tigers just don’t compare.

While there are a fair number of blue marlin around for this time of year, the striped marlin and spearfish were a slightly more common catch this month. Since I’ve been talking about fight-ability, I’ll throw it in here that spearfish are one of the wimpiest fighting fish ever. One of their favorite tricks for getting away is to match the anglers cranking speed so the angler thinks the fish came off. If an angler doesn’t have much experience, they’ll stop winding and that’s when the spearfish get’s slack line and is able to shake the hook. Some ono have been caught this month and they also are not a very strong fighter. The mahi mahi bite started early this year and when it comes to a good fight, it doesn’t get much better pound for pound than mahi mahi. In fact, the word “mahi” is the Hawaiian word for “strong” and as it is in many foreign languages, if something is VERY much the meaning or essence of that word, they use the same word twice to describe it. Ahi have also been a fairly regular catch this month and pound for pound every bit as strong of a fighter as a mahi mahi.

Now for the bottom fish. The bottom bite has been pretty good this month. Most of the sharks I catch are hooked while bottom fishing. I also catch and release plenty of amberjack while bottom fishing. In Florida these fish have the nick name of “reef donkeys” because of their power to fight but there is one fish here in Hawaii that puts ALL of the other fish here to shame when it comes to sheer power. The king of all fish fights pound for pound goes to the GT, giant trevally or in Hawaiian, “ulua”. I also catch more ulua than any other captain in Kona and the fight that they put up for their size is sometimes just unbelievable! If the ulua could obtain a size of 1000+ lbs, I don’t think that there’s any fishing tackle currently made or human strength ability that could even catch one.

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report March wrap-up .

After “grander” blue marlin were caught both in January and February, It was looking good for another one in March because March is known to be a good month for granders here. While there is still today left to make the mark, the biggest blue marlin of the month weighed in at just under 900 lbs. In the beginning of March there was a pretty good marlin bite and there were a few “beast” status (over 500 lbs.) marlin caught but the bite has really slowed down lately. Striped marlin and spearfish are still being caught as expected and have also slowed down lately.

The big news of the month is tunas. Strange thing, I remember that it was March of last year that I wrote about a great tuna bite and also wrote about my theory as to why the tuna bite has been increasing over the past several years. I have that March 2011 report archived on my web site and I got several emails about it, even from the scientific community. Now the story’s getting even better. Albacore and bigeye tuna seem to be increasing in population also. Here in Kona we’re use to having small tunas around the FAD’s and ledges. Recently there were big albacore caught during the daylight hours at VV buoy. Our albacore fishery is usually a summer time bite and is a night time fishery also so that kind of bite out of season and in the day is unheard of here. Not only was there albacore at the buoy but some 100+ lb. yellowfin and some good size bigeye tuna were caught there as well. This month we have seen more 100+ lb. bigeye tuna caught than I’ve ever heard of and most of them were caught while fishing in bird piles and schools of otaru, a tuna we normally see in the late summer. In fact, there were a few 200+ Lb. bigeyes caught this month also to include a new state record at 231 lbs!

Mahi mahi are still a regular catch and that bite should be increasing over the next few months. Right now there seems to be a bit of an ono run happening even though it’s not really season for them yet but the cool thing about ono is that we can have a good run of them in any month of the year. Last summer when they were supposed to be here, they didn’t show up in the numbers they should have.

About 4 years ago we had a huge influx of Galapagos sharks come to Kona. They devastated the bottom fishery here. The fish that didn’t vacate the deep ledges soon became shark food. The Galapagos sharks seemed to have moved on because I haven’t caught one in nearly a year now. As a result of them leaving, I’m finally starting to see a good increase in the amberjack bite on the deep ledges like it use to be. I see this as a good indicator (and the marks on my fish finder) that the other fish are returning to the ledge also. I hardly ever see the commercial snapper fishermen on “The Grounds” anymore because it was just wiped out and not worth the effort. Right now the currents are moving too fast to be able to fish it well but as soon as the currents slow down, if I were a commercial snapper guy, I’d be dropping some hand lines ;)

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

[Capt. Jeff Rogers]

Kona Hawaii fishing report – April wrap-up .

I have to report that there weren’t a whole lot of marlin caught this month but I can easily point to the cause being a lack of fishing effort. If only 1/3 of the boats (or less) that would normally be out fishing in April are going out on charters, then you can expect a big drop in the number of marlin being caught also. Tourism is so slow right now that on several days that I fished this month, the parking lot was near empty, I was the only boat in my row of boats that went out and while I was out, I hardly saw another charter boat all day. I’m one of the busiest captains in Kona and I had several unplanned days off this month. Another thing that has brought the marlin totals down for April is that we’re having a pretty good unseasonal ono bite going on as I mentioned in last month’s report. It’s still going on but it’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever hook a marlin while fishing for ono because the ono like the shallow water and the marlin generally don’t. Of the few boats that are going out, many are spending time hunting those delicious ono instead of marlin.

There’s been some spearfish and mahi mahi around but same as the marlin, that’s an offshore bite and there just hasn’t been much fishing effort going on. The tuna bite has slowed also. Last week one boat caught several small yellowfin off one of the FAD’s so I went out there this week and the tuna were gone.

The bottom bite has been pretty good although it has been tough to catch the bait fish. The best bait fish for dropping is a 3 lb. or less skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna or frigate mackerel but you need to catch your own as there are no bait barges here and they’re not sold in the stores either. Live or even fresh dead usually brings success but when I know that bait is hard to come by, I take some that I kept and froze from previous trips. They don’t work near as well as fresh and if the fish are being picky at all, forget it! As a result, I too have been spending more time targeting the ono with pretty good success. While I might complain sometimes about a lack of business, I can never complain about all the delicious fish I get to eat from our abundant Hawaiian waters :)

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