Offshore fishing was excellent last week. The bountiful waters off the Big Island provided a variety of gamefish species, both big and small to those lucky enough to get out and enjoy the majestic realm of the Pacific.
Nice currents and big tidal changes, influenced by the full moon, coupled with the absolutely gorgeous weather for the majority of the week, afforded excellent fishing opportunities for novice and expert offshore anglers.
While it’s always fun for me to report great fishing, it’s even better when I get to see parents enjoying time with their children out on the water, especially, when the children are introduced to Hawaii’s highly productive and dynamic marine ecosystem for the very first time.
The big story this week revolves around children spending quality time out fishing with their families. There was a wonderful keiki tournament held on Saturday, and with the ono biting, I had the privilege to see several children catch their very first saltwater fish ever on consecutive days.
After catching fish, the smiles on the kids’ faces and the dramatic rotation of their reeling arms in agonizing fashion afterward was priceless. Getting to watch three children under 10 years old work a single reel handle at the same time, reeling in a big ono, is pretty fun too.
The 2nd annual Keiki Come First Tournament
The Keiki Come First tournament took place last Saturday and this year’s popular event included 31 boats and 101 keiki anglers. Founders John Lim, Cassie Ellis, and Joy Painter created the tournament to emphasize the importance of a drug and alcohol-free environment for our youth both at home and in the community.
Keiki angler ages ranged from 2-18 years old, and the 31 boats included a host of excellent local, hardworking, commercial boat captains. These are captains you may not read about, but if you buy fish at a restaurant or the market, you have a valuable connection to them. Trust me, these are the commercial fisherman you want to support as their means of fishing is certainly sustainable.
The Keiki Tournament has three different age categories, 5-and-under, 6-12 and 13-18, and anglers compete for biggest fish, smallest fish, and total weight. Every entrant gets a gift bag with items provided by local sponsors, and, while the spirit of competition is always there, the ones who win are the families spending time with their family in a clean and sober, fun-filled environment.
While I do not have all the results, I do know every entrant caught a fish. The largest fish overall was a 31.5-pound ono caught by Kalama Paulson on Divergence with Capt. Kevin Hibbard. The smallest fish weighed 0.01-pounds and was caught by Kaiah Rice with Capt. Oskie Rice on the Kaiah.
I know John, Cassie and Joy, as well as all the participants, and the entire Kona community would like to thank all the sponsors and their donations that made this tourney possible.
High Noon gets the biggest fish of the week honors
Congratulations to angler Max Cohen for catching a 736-pound blue marlin last Saturday fishing with Capt. Jah Nogues and deckhand Stuart (Stu) Clements on the High Noon.
The big blue put on an incredible show of power after eating a Koya 861 medium lure. After the bite, the marlin went wild, continuously jumping and ripping across the surface, throwing whitewater everywhere as it swam with a vengeance in an enormous circle behind the boat. All of this can be seen on Nogues’ Instagram account, jahmon808.
Cohen did a great job in the fighting chair and had the fish alongside the boat after a 50-minute battle. The big blue was captured, weighed, and rest assured, none of its magnificent meat will go to waste.
Nogues, an excellent captain, who I’ve taken upon myself to label as one of Kona’s ‘sailfish kings’ proved once again, it’s not only sailfish he’s good at catching. Congrats to all involved.
Ono are biting
The ono are biting, providing wonderful meals for many anglers and allowing both experienced and first-time anglers fantastic opportunities to bend the rods.
Capt. Greg Hopkins on the Nasty Habit, with deckhand Sean Ferguson, showed the boat owners grandson, Landon Kidd and his pal Gabe, a grand time on March 27 when they caught eight ono. Hopkins, with myself as crew, and the majority of the boats in the fleet, continued to catch ono for charter clients for the rest of the week.
One father hit the nail on the head when I overheard him tell his three young children that offshore fishing was more about the experience of being out on the ocean together and catching fish would only be the icing on the cake.
Even though we caught fish, it was a good lesson to teach his children because you can’t catch fish all the time when offshore fishing. It just doesn’t work that way
Biggest striped marlin of the year
Congrats to angler Duane Colmey for catching a 104.5-pound striped marlin while fishing with Capt. Kevin Hiney on the Kuuipo. The big striped marlin is the biggest of the year to date.
More Big Fish List additions
A shout out to angler Austin Enso who caught a 14.5-pound monchong while fishing with Capt. Shawn Palmer on the High Flier. Another shout out goes to Jason Sullivan for catching a monster 27.5-pound kawakawa (bonita) while fishing with Capt. Brandon Llanes on Bomboy’s Toy.
Sailfish bite
continues
Captains Jah Nogues and Shawn Rotella aren’t the only ones catching sailfish anymore. I’m pretty certain six sailfish were caught on March 26, with Capt. Brett Fay on the Humdinger catching three sailfish, Capt. Cyrus Widhalm on the Honey catching two, and Shawn Rotella catching one.
That’s a lot of sailfish for a single day in Kona and I’m curious to know if anyone knows if that’s a record for a single day — at least in the last decade. Maybe Kona is the sailfish capital of Hawaii after all.
See for yourself what the local boats are catching by visiting or following our Facebook page “Kona Fish Report” and if you think you have an interesting offshore, bottom or shore fishing story, please email: markjohnstoncatchingup@gmail.com or jdegroote@westhawaiitoday.com