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One Day Was Not Enough Fishing in Kona

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A swing and a miss!  Sightings of fish either jumping in front of us or in the distance, we could not get one to go!  This group of six friends and family came to fish Kona last week.  They booked their family fishing trip a few months ahead of time and anticipated the trip from then on.  The group arrived early and we headed out.  We had so much fun with this group from the time they boarded till they departed that afternoon.  Linda was the deckhand today, she was a busy girl. The day was just getting started when one of the girls spotted a tuna roll out to the side of the boat, I turned that way and in seconds we are hooked up with the line peeling off the reel. Unfortunately it dropped it after a couple of seconds. We ended up having an excellent day with porpoises swimming beside the boat, great snorkeling in Captain Cook Bay and many sightings of fish, even a huge blue marlin jumping 50 feet in front of boat.  This proved to be so much fun for them that they called the next day and ask if we had an opening so they could go again because one day was not enough fishing in Kona ….we did!  Needless to say, the second day was equally fun with no fish to report.  They are good sports and assured us they are avid fishermen and women and understand you don’t catch all the time.

Family Fishing In Kona

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Family Fishing In Kona.  I want you to meet the Hamilton family from MA.   I dare you find anyone in this family without a smile.  All day long the smiles were contagious.  From the time we met them on the dock until we brought them back to the harbor,  the enthusiasm and camaraderie in this family never faltered.  We started out inshore with the Ono lures in the pattern.  We are headed to Captain Cook to do a little snorkeling.  On the way down the coastline Linda spotted something floating off in the distance.  Knowing this family really wanted food fish, I quickly headed a little offshore to check it out.  There it was, a nice big coiled rope.  Not only that, we had no other boat in sight and it was holding Mahi Mahi.  One pass and we are hooked up!  Dad (Jim) is in the chair.  He lands the first Mahi Mahi effortlessly!  High fives all around and Adam and Linda get the lines back in for another pass at the floater.  Hooked up again!  Caitlin is in the chair fighting her Mahi Mahi.  She too brings her fish in with little effort.  At this point, Dad’s fish is biggest.  Lines back in again and we are making another pass to try for something for Sarah.  One pass, nothing.  Second pass, nothing.  We try several more passes without a bite and then decide to leave it and head back inshore to “Ono Lane” and on to Captain Cook.  When we arrived at Captain Cook, there were Spinner Dolphin in the bay entertaining several kayakers.  We approached with the family on the bow filming the action.  It was awesome!  Later after we finished our snorkel the Dolphin were still in the bay and I was able to put Caitlin and Sarah in the water to swim with them.   What a thrill.  The girls are both Rowers and are very strong swimmers, they had no trouble swimming with the graceful animals.  Now as we are headed back up the coast to the harbor, we have the Ono lures back in the water and as planned…..we are hooked up!  The Ono we have been waiting for.  Now Sarah is in the chair and this is a much stronger fish than the Mahi Mahi.  Sarah buckles down and starts cranking.  She has landed the largest fish of the day!  With that, we decided to head back offshore and try for a Pacific Blue Marlin for Jim.  This is just one of those days… we are hooked up again!  A Pacific Blue Marlin!  Jim is getting to the chair, the stinger line is screaming , the Marlin makes a few jumps and it is off.  AAARRRGG!  Still the excitement was thrilling.  This is one of those perfect Family Fishing in Kona days.  Something for everyone!

Lucky Lady Hooked Up and Lucky Linda Lure is Lost

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Lucky Lady Hooked Up and Lucky Linda Lure is Lost!  This is true.  Katherine and Mark from Lincolnshire, IL boarded Fire Hatt for a day of snorkeling at Captain Cook Bay and an afternoon of fishing.  After trolling to Captain Cook and enjoying some snorkeling, which by the way had two Humpback Whales just yards from shore.  What a sight to see.  The two whales leisurely hung in the bay for hours.  Several kayakers and many boats got to  hover a safe distance and watch them.  Truly a remarkable sight.  Spinner Dolphin joined up later as we were leaving the cove.  Now with lines back in the water and lunches being eaten, we are headed out to the deep.  Not many boats out today and not many reports of fish except a few Mahi Mahi, it didn’t look too promising.  We were headed back to the harbor and had just started to put things away and start to bring in the lines when Linda saw a fish coming in straight for the “Lucky Linda” on the short rigger.  One strike, then another and the fish was on. A nice Pacific Blue Marlin!  Kathy was the designated angler and was in the chair in seconds after the hook up.  The Marlin came up jumping and running, we could clearly see it was a nice fish.  After about 15 minutes the line goes slack, the fish is off.  Ouch!  And the Lure is gone too.  Not to fear though, Bomboy (Bomboy Lures) made the lure for me and will have another one (or five) to me as soon as possible.  Kathy hooked up to a marlin a few years ago in the Bahamas and it came off after about an hour of fighting it.  Looks like third times a charm for this Lucky Lady Angler.

Offshore Adventure for Joseph Sweeney and Company

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Offshore Adventure for Joseph Sweeney and Company.  Joseph Sweeney is getting married this week.  His buddies, Chris, Mack, Jeff, George, Joseph and Justin treated him to a day of fishing and snorkeling here in beautiful Kona Hawaii.  Although Joseph lives in the Hilo area, he had never fished Kona.  The day started simply with Ono lures in the water and we headed down “Ono Lane” for a quick snorkel at Captain Cook Bay.  The guys are excited with the anticipation of what the day may bring.  Just a short distance from Captain Cook the long corner rod is screaming.  Joseph is in the chair fighting what turns out to be one of our biggest Ono this season and His biggest fish ever!  Estimated at 35+ pounds, the Ono was such a thrill for the group.  Once we finished our snorkel, we put the “big guys” out and head off shore for possibly a Pacific Blue Marlin or perhaps the coveted floater.  Sure enough, we spot a pile of birds at about 2700fa.  Once we arrived in the area we spotted a large cargo line that had been at sea for some time.  With the first pass, a nice Mahi Mahi is caught.  Then mayhem breaks loose.  These are all nice 20-30+ pound Mahi Mahi.  We did get another nice Ono in the mix too.  With the fish box full and the long ride home, we put out a few high speed lures and reluctantly headed in.  The group rode the bow all the way back to the harbor laughing and talking about their offshore adventure.  A good time was had by all.

Family Fun with Fire Hatt

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This post is shared with you from one of our guests that posted their experience on TripAdvisor.

“What a great family fishing trip! We were initially a little hesitant about bring our 2 y/o girl and 4 y/o boy, but were assured that children were most welcome. The boat was absolutely beautiful, complete with drinks/snacks (which the children loved) and a lovely doggie, Abby!  We had an incident at the beginning of the trip where Captain Chuck showed such high integrity! He was informed by radio that another charter boat was in distress and needed a tow back into port.  Without a second thought, he immediately swung into action to help. He assured us that we would just extend our time out on the water to make up for the extra trip towing the boat back to port. We loved the extra time on the water and I was very impressed with his obvious involvement and support of the others in the fishing community.  Back to the fishing-their equipment was very obviously top notch. We had so many lines out for fishing, it was amazing. Even though we didn’t catch anything, we had a great time sitting in the “fishing chair”, sitting on the bow, up top with the Captain, etc. Chuck and Linda gave us great information about the waters, fish, geography, including info for the kids! We had also opted to take a couple of hours off from fishing to go snorkeling with our son-they had great gear for adults AND for him! He had his first snorkeling experience at Captain Cook Bay-he was squealing so loud underwater with excitement, you would have thought all sea life would have fled the area. To the contrary! As we left the area, a pod of spinner dolphins ran with the boat for around 5 minutes!! And I mean, RIGHT next to the boat. We could hear their blowhole breathing!  All in all, a fantastic trip. And the to travelers who fear the embarrassment of suffering from seasickness. Have no fear. We discovered our kids have this same ailment…both at the same time. Yuk. But Chuck and Linda handled it just like it completely the norm, even with a little cleaning having to be performed. And they both appeared to still love our children afterwards-God bless ’em!  Fire Hatt is truly a family business who can take you on a world-class fishing charter, and also modify their trips to suit a family. Thank you, Fire Hatt so much!”

We are humbled and honored by the feedback from our guests.  Our goal is for every guest to have a memorable experience to share with others.

A Big Day for Little Fishermen

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A big day for little fishermen Marley and Calin. Mike Williams and Gayle Thomas both Firefighters from Alameda, CA joined us for a day of snorkeling and fishing.  Although we were light on the side of catching fish today, we got to see many while snorkeling at Captain Cook Bay. This was Callan’s first snorkel and by the end of the day after instruction from Mike and Gayle, he was using his mask and snorkel like a pro. As we were leaving the bay porpoise appeared and swam beside the boat.  The children were able to ride on the bow and watch the porpoise weave back and forth in the wash.   With lines back in the water and the journey back to the harbor the little fishermen slept soundly.

 

Another Great Day of Marlin Fishing in Kona Hawaii for Jacob Kleiss

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While vacationing in Kona this week, Jacob Kleiss along with his parents James and Rhonda and sisters, Sarah and Jenna boarded the Fire Hatt for a morning of snorkeling at Captain Cook followed by a little fishing.  Both turned out to be a great success.  We fished our way down to the bay with no luck.  Once out of the water and on our way back up the coast, we were bit just outside of “VV” Buoy.  There were earlier reports of blind strike Ahi at the buoy so we decided to try our luck there.  While we did not get the Ahi we targeted, I think Jacob was delighted with his first billfish, a 80 lb Striped Marlin.  Jacob is a Junior at Ronald Regan High School in San Antonio, Texas and will have a great story to tell about Marlin Fishing In Kona Hawaii.

Snorkeling Tour and Marlin Fishing Yields Big Results

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Snorkeling Tour and Marlin Fishing

Debbie and Jack Cupples along with friends Shannon and Mark Johnson enjoyed a stress free day aboard the Fire Hatt. The day started with an ono run to Captain Cook Bay, near Kona, for a morning snorkeling tour. (One ono was caught and involuntarily released along the way.) Being the first boat to arrive this day, the group had the entire bay to go snorkeling by themselves. After a leisurely snorkel, we loaded up and headed out for a big fish. Around 2:00pm, a nice big blue marlin hit while it was Debbie’s turn in the chair. While getting the rod to her, I told her “This is the real deal”. With wide eyes and a big smile, Debbie began to wind.  Forty five minutes later after a fantastic display by the marlin and the other guests having a turn in the chair, the marlin was released. Good thing the world didn’t come to an end, who would they get to tell their story to?