Blue Marlin Release

Kona Tournaments 2020

Update from Jodi Bright / Konatournaments.com

TOURNAMENT DATES SHIFT DUE TO STATE RE-OPEN DIALOG!

I’ve (Jody) finally saw a brief on “the plan” for re-opening the visitor industry in Hawaii….and it really isn’t a plan yet. The general idea is open up the local “kama’aina” economy and assess, and then roll out a phased re-opening of tourism.
Even with an exemption from the Governor to run as scheduled, it appears that mainland travel will not be “back to normal” by early July.

With this in mind, it looks like the June and July months will be early in this process, so we are making plans to shift the tournament schedule so we don’t get caught up in any State ordered delays, and Not Cancel Any Tournaments.

The HIBT has cancelled so we are planning to shift the Firecracker, Kona Throw Down and Skins to that week, August 8 through 16.

The It’s A Wrap will be September 18, 19 & 20

We will plan the Kona Kick Off with move it into July, and run in on consecutive weekends with the Lure Makers Challenge.

So the 2020 summer schedule will be:

KONA KICK OFF JULY 4 & 5
LURE MAKERS JULY 10, 11 & 12
FIRECRACKER AUGUST 8 & 9
KONA THROW DOWN AUGUST 11, 12 & 13
SKINS MARLIN DERBY AUGUST 14, 15 & 16
BIMT AUGUST 21, 22 & 23
IT’S A WRAP SEPTEMBER 18, 19 & 20



The Hawaii Big Game Club Rock n Reel tournament has been postponed, and does not have a replacement date as of yet.

Please feel free to give me a call to discuss if you like. I’m putting out this notice to get feedback, but I’m 99% sure that this is the right move, based on what I read today.

Jody Bright’s cell is 808.557.0908

Quotes from the article:  

State agencies are studying how to ensure public health and safety while opening up sectors of the economy, including tourism, according to Krishna Jayaram, a spokesman for the AG’s office.

“The various ideas being evaluated for tracking visitors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are right now just that, ideas,” he said in an emailed statement. “Given that we are an island state heavily dependent on tourism, there is focus and forward planning now on how we can get back closer to normal while adequately ensuring that any influx of visitors does not put our residents at risk.”

It’s a very short hop from ‘It’s OK for tourists’ to ‘It’s OK for any number of other groups,’” she said.

Asked about this concern, Jayaram acknowledged that life will likely be different post-COVID-19. “I do hope we get closer to how things used to be before the pandemic, but part of the new normal might be that the state has to re-think certain aspects of the tourist experience here in Hawaii,” he said.

“There’s a way to phase in letting people back in while watching for signs of infections and taking practical, limited steps to test people, without infringing upon their liberty to move around with government supervision.”


Stay Well!

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We stay in touch with everyone who has participated in an event of the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series and bring you news from Kona – where ever you are.

Our mailing address is:
jody@kkonatournaments.com

Konatournaments

P.O. Box 2158 Kailua-Kona, HI 96745

Kona Tournaments 2020



We’re Coming Back Soon

In a decision that was largely expected but nonetheless will be a major blow to thousands of shuttered Hawaii businesses struggling to stay afloat, the governor has extended the statewide stay-at-home order along with the mandatory quarantine for travelers through May 31. Governor Ige added that Hawaii — which has one of the nation’s lowest infection rates — has made significant progress in stopping the spread of corona virus. But he said lifting restrictions too early could drive up cases quickly. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/04/25/watch-gov-ige-holds-media-briefing-expected-clarify-recent-policies/

We are looking forward to picking up where we left off back in February. In all of this uncertainty with the Corona Virus, Mother Nature didn’t realize we were in trouble. Our fish are back in numbers, seals have returned to some beaches, Spinner Dolphin have been spotted in areas they had long since vacated, and the coral reefs are healing. We are beginning to book charters again. Although we are not certain what the procedure will be, we are awaiting instruction and guidance from the state. We will update our guests again as the date gets closer. All we want to do is fish!!

We have not been sitting idle. Many projects have been completed. All our rods and reels have been serviced, engine room maintenance has been completed, the decks have a nice new coat of nonskid and the fighting chair is redone. Final waxing and polishing is being done as we speak. Even the access to the dock has been given a nice new coat of paint…thank you Daron.

New Fire Hatt Sportfishing artwork and logo for shirts, hats and koozies.
New Logo for Fire Hatt Sportfishing

As we had some downtime, Captain Chuck has designed new artwork for our Tee Shirts! New logo for Hats, Shirts and Koozies. We have the Tee Shirts and Koozies in stock and are awaiting the hats. (Delayed because the embroidery shop was shut down) They should arrive shortly as employees are beginning to slowly return in limited numbers to their shop.

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.