Fishing in Kona, HI... - The Hull Truth

Amitchum · 11-03-2004, 08:51 PM

If you have any experience fishing in Kona please chime in. Was thinking about mabey fishing for a few days in May or June. Any feedback is appriciated.

Thanks and take care, Alex

Calcutta · 11-07-2004, 08:28 PM

My wife & I honeymooned there, the weekend after Y2K, Jan 8, 2000. Spent time on Maui and the big island, Hawaii.
Although January is known as the slowest month for marlin, we took a shot anyway. Wandering around Honakau Marina, we spotted a great looking 31Bert with a tag flag in the riggers, called Sea Dancer. Phoned him up and booked charters two of the next three days My wife caught / released her first blue the second day.

It was a great experience, a great value & above all, a great way to kick off our marriage.

I recommend it for anyone!

Jarhead 68 · 11-10-2004, 10:26 AM

Sorry I can't help with any fishing advice but thanks for the memory jog.

I lived on the Kona side for a couple years in the late '70's. I'm ashamed to admit that in all that time I never once went fishing.

Back then Kona was a very small (one traffic light) sleepy town. Weather report was "Same as yesterday Bra" and if things didn't get done today, well there's always tomorrow.

Oops, sorry about that. Flood gates and all that.

Have a great time...

Patudo · 11-10-2004, 11:00 AM

I fished Kona several years back (July 97) and caught a 167# ahi (yellowfin) with Capt. Dennis Cintas who now runs the 38 Bert "Intrepid" and mate Jeff Illingworth.. I've kept in touch with people over there and have friends who go over fairly regularly and the fishing is still pretty good but compared to many other fishing spots it's very crowded as it seems nearly everyone who can own an 18 foot boat can and does go big game fishing and the "mosquito fleet" makes productive spots like the FADs and the North Grounds area pretty crowded.. June should be prime time for blue marlin and yellowfin tuna, May can be great but may be a little on the early side, every year seems to be just a little different.

Captain Jeff Rogers is "The Man" for bottom fishing and deep water jigging, if you're into that.. if you're more of a trolling fisherman looking for blue marlin and yellowfin tuna then some of the top names are the Parker brothers (Marlin and Randy) on the "Marlin Magic" and "Huntress", Kevin Nakamaru on "Northern Lights", Gene Vanderhoek on the "Sea Genie", Jeff Fay on the "Humdinger", Bomboy Llanes, Chip Van Mols on "Rod Bender" and many many more.. There are lots of good fishermen there, it's a big charter fleet and competition is intense. Kona style is probably a little different to East Coast style. They use lures a lot, Kona fishermen are the masters of blue water artificial lure fishing, and a lot of livebait (live skipjack etc. for blue marlin).

If you are targeting billfish and intend to catch and release be sure to check this out with your skipper BEFORE you make the booking. Large tuna will be kept for market but if you get into the smaller game fish most crews will cut some for your personal consumption.