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.
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.
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.
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. 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, 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.
Capt. Bomboy Llanes on Lana Kila weighed a 1,041 lbs. Blue Marlin. This is Capt. Llanes 2nd Grander in Kona. The fish took over 8-Hours to get to the boat.
Bomboy Llanes, a native of Kona Hawaii and a world-renowned fisherman and fishing lure maker. Bomboy has over 37 years of experience in hawaiian waters,and sports a reputation of winning over 36 tournaments,including Worlds Largest blue marlin ever caught in a tournament at the weight of 1258.5 pounds. over the years Bomboy has been featured in numerous top magazine and 3 tv shows. Owner of the legendary “Bomboy Lures” he is sponsored by numerous tackle companies around the world.
Nice going Bomboy!
Fire Hatt is a member of the AFTCO Pro Fishing Team. You can go to AFTCO.com and read their amazing story.
Another 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.
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 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.
Fire Hatt is a member of the AFTCO Pro Fishing Team. You can go to AFTCO.com and read their amazing story.
Brother 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.
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. 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?
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