Captains Blog Archives - Page 5 of 21 - Kona Fishing Charter

Banner Day Aboard Fire Hatt for Hank and Jinx

June 28, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

Banner Day Aboard Fire Hatt for Hank and Jinx! This is the third year Hank and Jinx have spent fishing in Kona Hawaii with us. Every year the stakes get a little higher, actually a lot higher! I don’t know what it is about these two, but they are fishy….this year Hank brought in our largest Mahi Mahi to date, a whopping 46 pounds. That is considered a nice one for these waters. As you can see in the photo it looks like we had assigned uniforms, it was just by luck that we arrived wearing what turned out to be a winning combination. With that in mind, Hank and Jinx hand washed the lucky garments and wore them again the following day….gotta tell you, the luck was there! On day one we had the Mahi along with a Blue Marlin Release, day two produced the nice Shortbill Spearfish for Jinx while the 150 pound Yellowfin Tuna came on the last day with Hank on the rod. We are looking forward to your visit next June and landing the elusive Ono!

We love starting out each day with the greeting of Hi Hank, Hi Jinx!

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

685 Pound Blue Marlin for Paul Musgrave

June 11, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

Capt. Joe Schumaker and crew Brett Lazenby’s Wednesday trip on Fire Hatt was cut short by a 685.5- pound blue marlin — the biggest weighed here last week. Joe and Brett left Honokohau Harbor early enough to be down off Keauhou in time for the 8:30 a.m. bite. They found their fish on the 400-fathom line off the “Red Hill” landmark.

Their angler Paul Musgrave was a visitor from Australia with a bit of previous big-fish experience, which helped make for a shorter than usual fight. Musgrave’s previous biggest was a black marlin of around 150 pounds. With some expert boat handling assistance from Joe, Musgrave had the leader to Brett in about 40 minutes. After securing their catch, the happy gang had the fish back at the Honokohau scales by 10:00 a.m.

The big fish struck a lure with some very significant history. The same lure caught a 1,058-pound blue marlin for Fire Hatt in March 2013. Joe says he was originally nervous about running the lure on routine daily charters for fear they might lose it. Fire Hatt owner Chuck Wilson told him not to fret. The lure is a black MoldCraft Softhead, which is easily replaced. Moldcraft is a high-production manufacturer that turns out thousands of identical lures every day at its facility in Florida.

For those of you who are technically-minded, Joe rigs all of his lures with a single-hook positioned at the tail end of the skirt. Joe opts for singles rather than tandem pairs because singles are less dangerous to the crew and easier to release from the fish.

In the case of the 685.5, however, ease of release didn’t matter. Fire Hatt kept the fish to donate for use at the June 19th memorial tribute to the late skipper Randy llanes. Organizers are expecting a large crowd to remember the popular fisherman.

The Fire Hatt’s 1,058-pound blue marlin initiated a rather strange coincidence. Three of the last six grander blue marlin caught here in Hawaii scaled at the exact same 1,058-pound weight. Considering how random the events were, you can imagine that a mathematician would want to rule out coincidence in favor of a logical explanation. Most likely guess? The three fish were all weighed on the same scale, which topped out at 1,058.

Nope. They were weighed on three different scales — one at the Charter Desk, the second at the Bite Me dock and the third in Lahaina on Maui.

Two-for-Two Blue Marlin Releases

May 13, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

We were two-for-two with blue marlin releases today! Welcome back Captain Joe Shoemaker. We had two releases before noon for our guests from Ontario, Canada. The group are vacationing aboard the Pride of America Cruise Ship and spent the day fishing aboard Fire Hatt.

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

2019 Kona Fishing Tournaments

May 10, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

To those of you that are interested in fishing some of the Kona Fishing Tournaments in 2019, we are wide open for bookings this year and we have availability. With an El Nino developing we expect an awesome year. We have seen some big fish at the scales and the big ahi tuna are starting early.

Below is the Tournament Schedule for 2019. Contact us to discuss and we can go from there.

2019 Kona Fishing Tournaments

Kona Kick Off
June 22nd & June 23rd, 2019

Firecracker Open
June 29th & June 30th, 2019

The Kona Throw Down
July 2nd, 3rd & 4th, 2019

Skins Marlin Derby
July 5th, 6th & 7th, 2019

The Hawaii Lure Makers Challenge
July 12th, 13th & 14th, 2019

Big Island Marlin Tournament
August 16th, 17th & 18th, 2019

Please feel free to contact us about availability and information about these events.

Awesome Spring Break for Corbin Kinder

March 24, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

Awesome Spring Break for Corbin Kinder and his Dad, David from Houston, Texas. I start the story with Corbin and his Dad because it was an all Corbin day. As we headed straight out of the harbor to the 1000 fathom line things got busy right away. Just after the chair talk, the short rigger line came down screaming off line. We are Hooked Up! Corbin gets into the chair and the fight begins. Corbin brings in what turns out to be his first fish of the day. A nice 45 pound Shortbill Spearfish! While the deck is being cleared and lines go back out, we are still taking photos of the Spearfish when another line comes down. Hooked Up again! This time it’s a nice blue bullet on the stinger and line is screaming off as Corbin is back in the chair fighting what turns out to be an impressive 30+ pound Mahi Mahi! The stamina this young angler has is phenomenal. An hour goes by and things have settled down. The crew today, Captain Joe Schumaker and First Mate Brett Lazenby are feeling quite proud of the activity so far when they get another strike, the stinger is bit again. Assuming that his Dad, David would bring this fish in was so wrong! Corbin jumped in and brought the fish to the boat, another Shortbill Spearfish! These are the days you dream of especially when you have young ones with you. We love having children on board and try our best to get something for them to pull on. This day will not be forgotten by Corbin and his Dad any time soon.

Corbin has enjoyed fishing since he was 4 years old. Each year his Dad tries to take him to a different spot to fish. From offshore trips in Louisiana and Texas to the Caribbean and Central America he has caught Red Fish, Flounder, Barracuda and others. His Mahi Mahi he caught in Kona Hawaii aboard Fire Hatt was the biggest he has ever caught. He also enjoys fresh water bass fishing on our farm. Corbin has great patience in fishing and gets the “fishing bug” from his grandfather and great grandfather.

We hope to see you guys again.

Featured in the top photo is First Mate Brett Lazenby with David and Corbin Kinder

Featured in the lower photo is David and Corbin Kinder from Houston, Texas

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

Barks Family Trophy in Kona Hawaii

March 16, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

The Barks Family have a Trophy Shortbill Spearfish, compliments of Kona Hawaii. Fifteen year old Dillon Barks along with his parents Gary and Susan Barks and his sister Reagan fish aboard Fire Hatt for two days with lots of action. Day one started with Susan and Reagan both landing a couple of Mahi Mahi followed by the very nice Shortbill Spearfish being boated by Dillon. The Spearfish weighed in at 45 pounds. Not bad for this young man! Day two was a little slower in action but Dad did release a small Spearfish. The weather was not picture perfect for Kona during their visit, there was some light rain, swells and some clouds….but the fish didn’t seem to mind at all. This Fort Worth family proved to be troopers! A perfect Family Fishing Trip!

Featured in the top photo is Fire Hatt Crewman, Brett Lazenby along with Dillon and Gary Barks.

Featured in the lower photo is the Barks Family; Gary, Dillon, Susan and Reagan from Fort Worth, TX.

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

KONA the Anglers Paradise ~ March and April Fishing Forecast

March 11, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

KONA – The Anglers Paradise

The forecast for March and April typically is slightly warmer water arriving, an uptick in the numbers of Blue Marlin and strong numbers of Striped Marlin, Shortbilled Spearfish and big Ahi (Yellow Fin Tuna) under the porpoise schools. Mahi are in peak season and some of the larger Bulls will be caught now.

One way to look at how water goes by the Islands is to imagine a bathtub of water over 1500 miles across between 77 and 79 degrees. That is the one here now and is a little cooler and Mahi, Spearfish and Striped Marlin love our coolest water. Coming next in the 79 to 81 degree “Bathtub” will be big numbers of Ono (Wahoo) usually starting in late March and April, and some Black Marlin. One thing for sure, the Black Marlin here are small, a 300 pound one is big in Hawaii, compared to Australia and the Southern Hemisphere where they go to 1500 pounds.

Bait fishing will also improve and the offshore FAD’S (Fish Aggravating Device also known as Fish Attracting Device) will start collecting bait and their predators’ which is great news for anglers. When you a book a Charter boat in Kona, most of the Captain’s will have fresh information on what happened and where it happened over the last few days.

In February, the Mahi and Spearfish bite had been excellent and FIRE HATT boated a 45 pound Short Billed Spearfish in early February as well as an almost daily Mahi Mahi. Blue Marlin are still around in the 77 degree water we have off the Kona Coast now and their numbers will only continue to grow as we head to our peak summer season.

Speaking of our peak season, it is just around the corner, so if you plan to fish a Tournament, NOW is the time to book if you want a particular boat before the good boats are gone. Our economy is picking up, and there is improving interest in sport fishing on all the Islands and many top boats are booking the summer now. If you want specific information or we can help in any way, do not hesitate to call us at: 808.987.0038

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

Fellow Fire Fighter Releases His First Striped Marlin

January 15, 2015/in Captains Blog /by linda

Fellow Fire Fighter Releases His First Striped Marlin. Rod Bieller and Lisa Yellowlees from Victoria BC has been fishing in Kona, Hawaii on Fire Hatt for the last Six Years. He and Lisa have been troopers when it comes to fishing. Over the years our adventures with Rod and Lisa include many attempts at catching the elusive trophy blue Marlin. We have not checked that one off his bucket list ….yet! We left the harbor around 8:00 AM and headed north to where bait had been reported. We were about about 1400 fa off “Pine Trees” when the stinger line started screaming off line. We are Hooked Up! Once lines were cleared, Angler Rod Bieller had the striped Marlin to the boat in just over five minutes. Crewman Brett Lazenby had a tag in the fish and made a quick release. Rod’s Stripey was caught on a “Silver Fox Bullet Lure” made by longtime luremaker Al Bento from Honolulu. Rod and Lisa have caught several food fish here in Kona including Mahi Mahi, Ono and a nice dinner size Big Eye Tuna they took home for shashimi last night. His real target yesterday was to land a Shortbill Spearfish. The Spearfish and Striped Marlin are here in numbers now. We did have a Spearfish come into the pattern and poke the stinger several times but did not take the lure. this is quite comon with this species. Sometimes you can tease them into taking the lure… however, not this time. We look forward to continuing the adventure next year.

Featured in the photo is Lisa Yellowlees and Rod Bieller with their release flags. Rod is a retired Fire Battalion Chief from Victoria,

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

Wintertime Fishing in Kona Hawaii

December 21, 2014/in Captains Blog /by linda

Wintertime fishing in Kona Hawaii, no gloves, no scarves, no boots, only sunscreen needed! There are few months out of the year when something is not biting in Kona Hawaii. In December however, there are still several species hanging around. This December there was a Grander Blue Marlin caught, another 900+ pound Blue Marlin caught along with several nice size Bull Mahi Mahi and Shortbilled Spearfish showing. These guests aboard Fire Hatt had a great day landing these nice Mahi Mahi.

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

Betti’s First Billfish

December 19, 2014/in Captains Blog /by linda

Betti’s first billfish. Betti DeRoy long time resident of Kona Hawaii, and an activist in the community working on projects such as the trails at the Old Airport allowing hikers to explore the ocean areas where they did not have access before. Everyone knows Betti. Betti was not feeling wwll and went down below into the salon area when the lines went off. We are Hooked Up! One fish escaped while the other one gave Betti an exciting fight. She was quickly in the chair and captured her first ever billfish, a Shortbilled Spearfish weighing an estimated 35 pounds. Everyone was beaming when she landed it. Lots of meals for her and the other guests of hers that accompanied her . You will see the fish listed in local resturants as “Hebe”. It is a delicious white meat fish.

Featured in the photo is First Mate Brett Lazenby along with angler Betti DeRoy and her 35 pound Shortbilled Spearfish.

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