The Bucket List

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Richard BattoBatton 1n and his wife Joy from
Macon, Georgia came to Kona late in the season to try their luck at catching a Pacific Blue Marlin and to enjoy a family fishing trip.   They had never caught a fish larger than 20 pounds.   They baitfish in Georgia and I believe it was their wedding anniversary.   They are a very cute and very gracious Southern couple.  When they met, Joy was 15 he Richard was 16.  (She said no,  you were 17.)  Not to mention this was on their “Bucket List”.  We left the harbor and had been fishing for about 2 1/2 hours and got our first bite!  The fish was on and taking line for about five minutes and then shook the hook.  As the day was coming to an end and the thrill of the first fish was merely a memory, we were headed back towards town when the long rigger line came down.  We are Hooked Up!  Richard is in the chair and the battle begins.  It is such a thrill for me to look at an angler make their way to the chair, get locked in and hear the screaming reel and feel the weight of the fish!  As we clear the deck and start backing down we are at a standoff. Richard gets into rhythm and we start collecting line back.  After a half hour fight, we have the fish beside the boat and Brett holds it until Richard can get out of the chair and touch the beautiful estimated 225 lb Pacific Blue Marlin before we release it.   Check this off the Bucket List!

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

How much does this fisherman weigh? An Instagram.

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We have joined the masses and launched our very own Instagram account and can now be found as @firehattsportfishing. We thank you, our loyal fans and supporters for helping us follow our dreams and passion for fishing off the shores of Kona. If you are on instagram, please follow us and stay tuned for more photos from our fishing adventures.

Check out this gem of a drawing from our archives which was created to launch the ‘Firehatt Sportfishing Charters’ brand many moons ago.

Another Lucky Frank

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnother Lucky Frank, also known as Frankie Lopez has just fought and released his very first Marlin.  A nice 200+ pound Pacific Blue Marlin.  Not bad for an eleven year old!  Frank Lopez brought his family to Kona for a Family Fishing Vacation from Fallbrook, CA where Frank and Frankie spent three days fishing with us aboard Fire Hatt.  On the first two days we did not get a fish,  We had some missed shots where the fish did not stick and we saw Tuna that would not go.  Having to face the fact that we did not get Frankie his first Marlin was not a happy moment for me and the crew on Fire Hatt.  About midway through the second day still not having a bite, I received a call from the guest that would be fishing with us the following day stating he had to cancel his trip and hoped it would not be a problem.  Frank heard this and jumped at the opportunity to give it another try and booked a third day to try to capture the elusive Marlin for Frankie.  DAY THREE, we are all anxious about the day and want a fish real bad.  As we head out,  Brett and Linda select today’s arsenal.  We have a bright sunny sky and fairly calm water.  We head out and south.  It is early afternoon and we do not have a bite….arrgh!  As the afternoon clouds start to build and the water gets a little huffled, Brett and Linda change out the lures for larger dark ones.  We are headed back up the line and just about the time we are second guessing our lure pattern, wham…we are Hooked Up!  The fish took the lightest line in the pattern, on 80lb test Frankie worked on landing his Pacific Blue Marlin for about 35 minutes.  He was awesome!  As the fish ran, jumped, charged the boat and sulked it never shook Frankie.  He was determined to land this one. Once the fish was released, you should have seen the the proud Dad beaming over his son that I think now holds the family record for the largest Blue Marlin in the family.  Frank Lopez is no stranger to Marlin fishing.  Having fished the waters of Southern California and Mexico he has several Billfish species under his belt including a Swordfish.  Frank does not have the flag yet for a Shortbill Spearfish which are commonly caught in the Kona waters.  I’m thinking he will be back to tag one of those soon.

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

The Mighty Mellinger’s

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Release Flag 02 The Mighty Mellinger’s in particular we are referring to John Mellinger.  Colin Mellinger and his two sons John and Bert boarded Fire Hatt for an afternoon of family fishing in Kona Hawaii having hopes of breaking the family big fish record.  After my crew,  Linda and Brett got the lines out and the deck ready, we had the guys gather for the “Chair Talk”.  As they were determining who the first angler would be, the Short Rigger line starts screaming!  We are hooked up!  After we got John in the chair and got him strapped in the fish was off… we looked at him and stated “And that’s how we do the chair talk!”    We worked the area for a while then headed south.  As the afternoon started to wind down we were hoping for another chance at what would be John’s first Marlin.  Then our wishes were answered with the same Short Rigger line getting hit.  John fought the fish for about 30 minutes before successfully tagging and releasing his first Pacific Blue Marlin estimated at about 200 lbs.    At age 16, from Houston, TX.   John Mellinger is the 2014 Texas Cycling Champion for his age group.  Now he is adding the  largest fish of the Mellinger Family to his list of accomplishments.

 

 

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

Let’s Be Franck

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DSCN9931 5Brother Firefighter Bob Franck, a retired Captain from Redondo Beach Fire Department in Southern California along with his wife Mary and son Alex were visiting from Huntington Beach, CA and spent the day with us aboard Fire Hatt.  Bob and Mary are longtime friends and we were thrilled to have them come for a visit.  Alex Franck was treated to a day of  family fishing in the silky blue waters of Kona Hawaii.  After a long day of hitting all the spots where we had gotten fish in the prior days leading up to their trip, we were already late in the afternoon without a bite.  I think Brett and Linda changed lures a dozen times hoping to put something out there that looked appetizing.  Then Finally!  We have our first bite.  We are Hooded Up!  Alex is in the fighting chair and has his largest Yellowfin Tuna to the boat in an impressive 10 minutes using Ken Matsuura 50 pound tackle.  Nice Work!  Brett placed a perfect gaff shot and the fish is on board.  The Tuna weighed in at a solid 100 pounds!  Sometimes when you want a fish sooo bad for someone…it just dosen’t happen.  Im glad Alex and his family have a story to take home with them.  Alex now lives in North Dakota, a Hawaii adventure is just what he needed.  Nice going Alex.

 

 

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

Big Blue Marlin Fishing In Kona Hawaii

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Bailey Release 600lb 2Big Blue Marlin Fishing In Kona Hawaii.  We probably should report this as Big Blue Marlin Catching in Kona Hawaii!  This has been a phenomenal month here in Kona with at least 11 Tag and Releases for Fire Hatt.  We only kept one Marlin as we could not revive him.  To top our scorecard, Brett Bailey from Saskatoon, has our boat record so far this year with an estimated 600+lb Pacific Blue Marlin release.  Bret and his co-workers chartered Fire Hatt while the other group chartered another boat.  They had a friendly wager on which group would produce the largest fish.  We started out with a Shortbill Spearfish bite that put them ahead of the game with angler Garry Fawcett landing the 50 pounder!  About an hour later we hooked the 600+ pounder.  Brett was the angler and after 45 minute fight we had the fish to the boat with a clean and healthy tag and release. I hear the wager was Infinity Drinks at the Four Seasons?

 

 

DSCN9817 Honeymoon couple John and Erica Heckathorn from Kansas City, MO had a banner day releasing two Pacific Blue Marlin.  Erica was “first up” bringing in an estimated 275lb trophy.  Now the competition is on!  We needed to get John a fish too.  We stayed true to the area as there were reports of more fish.  We worked for about two hours when finally we were hooked up with a fish for John.  John’s Blue Marlin was estimated at about 175lbs and was successfully tagged and released after a short 20 minute fight.  Nice going you guys!

 

 

 

Fire Hatt is a member of the AFTCO Pro Fishing Team

Never Underestimate The Will Of An Eight Year Old Boy

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40lb Srearfish Sammy and Sultan June 2014Never Underestimate The Will Of An Eight Year Old Boy.  Sultan Linjawi, his wife Astrid and two young children, Sammy and Yasmine fished three days with us.  Their mission was for the children to catch fish!  Unless of course a Grander came on scene, then that one was going to be Sultan’s.  On Day one, shortly after leaving the harbor, we are hooked up to the perfect fish for Sammy  A 40+ lb Shortbill Spearfish.  Sammy is in the chair with the help of his Dad and we are able to land the fish for Sammy.  We  let the children pick the lures they wanted to run.  Sammy chose a Blue and Green Super Ninja lure that Bret put on the stinger.  It was the one that the Spearfish took…Carma?    It is Sammy’s first Billfish and his first “Flag Fish”.

On Day Two of their adventure, I spot birds and splashing just short of  town and we make a pass to see what might be biting.  Within seconds we are bit.  Astrid is in the chair and wastes no time bringing in a nice 140 lb tuna.   Again we let the family choose lures… This family is incredible.

Day three explodes right out of the harbor with a Tuna strike.  Sammy is in the chair again and with the help of his dad and my crew, a nice 114lb Tuna is on deck!  Yes, Sammy chose the lure…this time a blue Super Ninja lure.  With lines back in the water, we head offshore and south towards Captain Cook.  Linda spots splashing and birds on the horizon and we go to check it out.  We have the whole area to ourselves as Tuna start boiling around us.  We are Hooked Up!  This time the explosion on the long rigger tells us this is a big fish.  After a lengthy tug of war with the fish, we are able to land Sammy’s biggest fish  A nice 180lb Ahi Tuna!  Amazing…. I think Dad set the bar kind of high now for this young man.  The family has a 38 ft Bertram in Australia and are avid fishermen.  Now we have to work on Sammy’s first Blue Marlin…hopefully we will get it for him next time when the family returns to fish in Kona Hawaii.  No Pressure!

TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2014

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For the fourth year in a row, FIRE HATT Sportfishing has been awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2014. Online reviews are so important to us and our little business and we sincerely appreciate our customer’s feedback. It goes to show that hard work and old fashioned values still apply in today’s digital world and that when you treat people well and with respect, they will tell their friend and family (and the whole world) about you. Thank you to our happy customers, we sincerely appreciate it!


A Family Affair

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DSCN9796 1A Family Affair.  When Howard and Deb Tieden from Wasilla, AK booked their Charter they stated that they only wanted food fish.  Any food fish.  They see many trophies in their business and cater to guests in the same manner we do.  The couple own and operate Arrowhead Outfitters in both Alaska and Texas.  Howard is a Brush Pilot and Air Taxi, transporting guests to hunting and fishing camps in the two states.  You name it, Moose, Texas Deer Wild Boar,Caribou, Bear, Sheep Fish and more.  This trip was a Family Affair.  Their Daughter Stephanie was getting married.  As a wedding gift they booked the charter.  Deb shared a story with me about carrying Stephanie in a backpack while hunting and fishing….so fishing is in Stephanie’s genes.   With over a dozen family members wanting to fish, we had to have two boats available.  Fire Hatt had the privilege of taking the Bride and Groom, the Tiedens along with the Grooms Father Leo Gunderson and Grandson Jason Gunderson.   Captain Bill Casey aboard Pacific Blue took half of the group including Deb’s parents, Snooks and Kenny Moore .  We had a mini tournament between the two boats to make it interesting.  Game On! We started out in what we refer to as “Ono Lane” hoping to bag a food fish.  After several hours of no bites, birds or life we decided to move offshore to the pens and see if we could catch a few tunas.  As we approached, we could see the Steno Dolphin there and knew our efforts would be wasted.  So we moved off to “F Buoy”.   Bingo,  the first line in the water is bit.  Jason Gunderson is on the rod and pulls in the first fish!  Nice!  We stayed for several more passes and the Stenos found us.  We couldn’t get any more fish to the boat without having them bit off.  We head further offshore and put out the lures and hope for a tuna.  After about an hour of trolling, the group decided they wanted to go back and take their chances with the Stenos and try for a few more small tunas.  This paid off!  The Stenos had moved on and we were able to pull in several more small tunas.  With time running out, we had to leave and head back to the harbor.  With lures back in the water we head in.  About half way there, the long rigger line is bit!  The line comes down and the fish comes off.  We are able to tease the fish and keep it interested.  He takes a few more strikes at the long rigger bait and then switches to the stinger line.  We are hooked up!  Larry Gunderson  (AKA “The Groom”) is in the chair and makes for a short fight bringing in this 40 pound Short Bill Spearfish.  Talk about a perfect finish for a day!  Oh…we won this little competition.  All in good fun!

Featured in the photo above is Howard Tieden. Stephanie Gunderson, Deb Tieden, Jason Gunderson and Larry Gunderson.  www.arrowheadoutfitters.com

Fire Hatt is a member of the AFTCO Pro Fishing Team

On the Fly

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Hawaii Jan.2014 027 1On The Fly.  This is a review we received from a group we took out on January 31, 2014  We are always humbled and appreciate the wonderful notes we get from our Charter Guests fishing in Kona Hawaii.

“We took Fire Hatt out on a full day charter Jan 31. It was a Trip I bought that Chuck had donated to the IGFA auction.Three of us headed out Todd, Tom & Jack (Tom’s 81 yr old dad). All of us had a great day on the water. Fire Hatt is an excellent operation. The boat and equip is top notch & very well maintained. Chuck is very personable and knows what he is doing. He was able to get me hooked up to a tuna fairly early. A pod of porpoise took it though.I was on a fly rod and just couldn’t wind fast enough. We saw 3 kinds of whales & the beauty of a Volcano topped in snow from quite calm seas. First mate’s can make or break a day. Brett and Rob are some of the best. They took care of everyone. Both are entertaining and genuinely excited to get you on a fish. The Crew used all their resources and found a current line. This led to finding a Log that held a small school of Mahi Mahi. We got 3 in amazing colors off of this log. Another Mahi Mahi hit on the troll closer to the harbor. It was a great day on the water. I would recommend Fire Hatt to everyone.”

Thank You Todd, Tom and Jack

Featured in the above photo is 81 year old Tom

Fire Hatt is a member of the AFTCO Pro Fishing Team