Celebration Aboard Fire Hatt

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Max Collins tagging and successfully releasing his first Pacific Blue Marlin estimated at about 150  pounds.

A Spectacular day aboard Fire Hatt with Captain Joe Shumaker and first mate Austin Toth today. Monte Collins from Rossmoore, CA along with his two sons, Max and Ethan are keeping this crew hopping! The family is back on the Big Island celebrating Max’s Graduation from Los Alamitos High School. The day started before 7:00AM with Max Collins tagging and successfully releasing his first Pacific Blue Marlin estimated at about 150  pounds. Ethan Collins then proved me right today when I commented earlier that there were Ahi busting on the surface for the past several days and then at about 9:30AM, we are hooked up! Ethan lands his first Ahi weighing approximately 140 pounds! Not bad! After securing the Ahi and getting lines back out….we are hooked up again, this time Monte Collins is in the chair and brings in this nice Ono! These guys are fishy! It isn’t even noon yet! The family fished with us two years ago and released a Pacific blue Marlin about this same size… so someone has to break the tie now. We are hoping for a Mahi Mahi today to earn these guys a Grand Slam!

Monte Collins not to be outdone,
lands this nice 20+ pound Ono!

Ethan Collins lands his first Ahi weighing approximately 140 pounds! Not bad!

Fire Hatt is a proud member of the AFTCO  Pro Fishing Team.  You can go to AFTCO.com and read their amazing story.

Nine Years of Exellence

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FIRE HATT SPORTFISHING Earns TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 9 Consecutive Years in a Row.

FIRE HATT SPORTFISHING EARNS 2019 TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE 9 CONSECUTIVE YEARS IN A ROW

Kailua Kona, Hawaii  May 28, 2019  FIRE HATT SPORTFISHING announced today that it has received the TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence. Now in its ninth year, the achievement celebrates businesses that are consistently excellent – having earned great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. Certificate of Excellence recipients include restaurants, accommodations and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a quality customer experience. 

Our Motto: “We welcome you as our guest and want you leave us as a friend.”

“TripAdvisor is excited to announce the recipients of the 2019 Certificate of Excellence, which for nearly a decade has celebrated businesses that have consistently received positive ratings from travelers and diners on the world’s largest travel platform,” said Neela Pal, Vice President of Brand, TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly recognize businesses that are actively taking into account customer feedback to help travelers confidently experience the most highly reviewed places to eat, stay, and explore.”

The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

About TripAdvisor TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site*, enables travelers to unleash the full potential of every trip. With 760 million reviews and opinions covering the world’s largest selection of travel listings worldwide – covering approximately 8.3 million accommodations, airlines, experiences, and restaurants — TripAdvisor provides travelers with the wisdom of the crowds to help them decide where to stay, how to fly, what to do and where to eat.

Fire Hatt is a proud member of the AFTCO  Pro Fishing Team.  You can go to AFTCO.com and read their amazing story.

The Fire Hatt Difference

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Story Credit from Pacific Coast Sportfishing Magazine

The Fire Hatt Difference

Former Southern California Team Fire Hatt, husband and wife Chuck and Linda Wilson, have found their dream life, running their charter boat Fire Hatt in Kona, Hawaii. The two were well known for fishing both mako shark and marlin tournaments in Southern California and spent most of their summers in Avalon, fishing, snorkeling, diving and being with friends. For two seasons they were featured on the network series The Shark Hunters as well as winning the Zane Grey Marlin Tournament.

When Chuck retired from Manhattan Beach Fire Department, the couple decided to move and live in Kona, Hawaii. Making that move was not for the faint at heart. The logistics of moving their boat on a freighter and all of their belongings in an oceangoing container to unfamiliar ground was a real test.

The Fire Hatt has been an amazing business as well as such an amazing way to meet some really amazing people. The couple’s philosophy is “when folks show up on the boat as a guest, I want them to leave as a friend,” Chuck says.

Chuck and Linda have made some amazing headway and accomplished every top captain’s dream by catching their grander blue marlin off Kona. They have had many other large marlin, but that grander is about the most prestigious accomplishment any skipper can make.

Years into the business they have continued to provide a better program than the year before so they do not risk being left at the dock. Chuck’s belief is:”If you focus on your business, it does not matter what others are doing. Providing a better service model benefits everyone, especially future charter guests.”

Please give Chuck and Linda a shot to show you an angling good time while in Kona. They will show you both the similarities and differences with your own fishing experience and how they do it and why. Their 43ft Hatteras is immaculate, and they employ the finest in reels and equipment-all matched in size and manufacturer from light tackle to the 130 Shimano Tiara reels for the trophy fish.

Visit www.firehattsportfishing.com or call 808-987-0038 to book your adventure today.

Another Exciting Day on the Water

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Austin Toth releasing Peter Lamm’s 175+ pound Blue Marlin

The big boys are here! Spring continues to be a banner time for the Pacific Blue Marlin in Kona Hawaii. Today was no exception! Peter Lamm visiting the Island from New York landed this beauty fishing aboard Fire Hatt. A nice 175+ pound Blue Marlin was tagged and released by Captain Joe Shumaker and First Mate Austin Toth.  Peter has been fishing the Big Island for many years. Wonder what keeps him coming back?  Another exciting day on the water… 

Fire Hatt is a proud member of the AFTCO  Pro Fishing Team.  You can go to AFTCO.com and AFTCO Logo 2read their amazing story.

Five Star Day

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It was a Five Star Day aboard Fire Hatt for a family visiting from Los Angeles.  Our guest released his first Blue Marlin today. To add to the thrill, Captain Joe Schumaker and First Mate Austin Toth hooked another one on the way back to the harbor. Our guest released two trophies in one day!  Making this family fishing trip in Kona, Hawaii a memorable one for his two Sons on board too!

Fire Hatt is a proud member of the AFTCO  Pro Fishing Team.  You can go to AFTCO.com and AFTCO Logo 2read their amazing story.

Escape to Paradise

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Bill Emery and Kim Graham Rawlins proudly display their catch for the day, two nice 20+ pound Ono. featured in the photo with Kim is Fire Hatt’s First Mate, Austin Toth. Nice Job Guys!

When Bill Emery and Kim Graham Rawlins arrived in Kona for Spring Break, their main goal was to escape to paradise and go fishing aboard Fire Hatt, enjoy sunsets, have a lot of beach time, enjoy good meals and just chill.  Bill’s main goal was to catch food fish.  Sometimes that is a tall order.  We headed out to “Ono Lane” and had our first fish early.  Bill brought in a nice 20+ pound Ono.  We had another mystery bite and then on the way back to the harbor, we had a Hail Mary bite just as First Mate Austin was starting to bring in the lines.   Kim is in the chair and brought in her 20+ pound Ono!  Neither Bill nor Kim had ever caught this species.  They did great!  We had excellent weather, calm water and we were so lucky to have had such a great fishing & memorable experience with an awesome couple!! They couldn’t wait to eat some of their fresh catch, so Captain Joe sent them to a local restaurant that will prepare some of the Ono for them for dinner!!  Armed with a cooler full of Ono, Bill and Kim returned to North Pole, Alaska where they will have fond memories every time they enjoy their catch from paradise.

Fishing in Kona Hawaii has always been known for the calm waters and sunshine.  Bill and Kim have been fishing in Alaska, Mexico and Hawaii.  They put this trip is at the very top as their favorite!

AFTCO Logo 2

Fire Hatt is a proud member of the AFTCO  Pro Fishing Team.  You can go to AFTCO.com and  read their amazing story.

Escape to Paradise

Reality Check for East Coast Family

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John Bolton and his son, Kyle, both from Northern Virginia, and John’s nephews Kevin and Alex Harrison from Beaumont, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, respectively…

Well, they’re back on the snowy East Coast and regretting every minute of it.  It’s 28 degrees and they have 10 inches of white on the ground. a reality check for this East Coast Family, and fellow Texans as well!  The Bolton family has fished aboard Fire Hatt with Captain Chuck Wilson for several years, nothing compares to the day they had this time…Christmas Magic?

John Bolton and his son, Kyle, both from Northern Virginia, and John’s nephews Kevin and Alex Harrison from Beaumont, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, respectively, booked a half-day of family fishing in Kona Hawaii aboard Fire Hatt for the day after Christmas.

We took off from Honokohau Harbor around 7:00 AM with Captain Joe Shumaker at the controls and first mate Anthony De La Cruz setting the lines.  About 10 minutes out, we’re hooked up on two lines!  Kyle is in the chair reeling in the larger fish, while John tries to bring in his fish from the starboard aft.  Kyle’s fish makes a couple of long runs, so Anthony first helps John bring in a nice striped marlin, which we estimated at about 80 pounds.  Anthony successfully tags and releases the striped marlin, then goes to help Kyle bring in and then release a blue marlin, estimated at 175 pounds. Also tagged and released.

Captain Joe brings Fire Hatt to a spot where we see at least four humpback whales frolicking. One of the whales puts on a spectacular breaching display

A great start to the morning only gets better.  After trolling near an offshore buoy, Kevin and Alex spot whale spouts closer to shore, and Captain Joe brings Fire Hatt to a spot where we see at least four humpback whales frolicking.  One of the whales puts on a spectacular breaching display.  After about 30 minutes whale-watching, we’re off to do more fishing, and not long after we’re hooked up again!

This time, Kevin is the chair, and after 15 minutes of hard reeling, he brings another blue marlin — this one estimated at 225 pounds — to the boat.  Beautiful fish, as you can see from the pics.

Unfortunately, we could not get a fourth fish for Alex to bring in, but Fire Hatt entered the harbor flying flags for three marlin.

Fire Hatt is a proud member of the AFTCO  Pro Fishing Team.  You can go to AFTCO.com and AFTCO Logo 2read their amazing story.

Reality Check for East Coast Family