Old timers up and down the Kona Coast are saying that the fishing this year is as good, if not better, than ever before.
Three boats that we know of have caught five marlin in one day. Multiple catches are common, as are mixed bags, and “Kona Slams” — all flag fish in one day — have been reported a number of times.
The Ihi Nui II reported four ahi in the boat by 7:30 a.m. one morning. Not bad! For every story we mention, there have been a dozen more great catches we don’t. It has simply been that good.
Most notably, more than 60 blue marlin over 500 pounds have been caught or tagged in Kona waters since the New Year, and one was tagged and released by a veteran crew at 900-plus pounds. With fishing like this, it seems only a matter of time before a “grander” — a marlin 1,000 pounds or more — is caught. Kona is known around the world as a “big fish” fishing hole, and this year it certainly is.
And last year was not bad either, it was just a late season, at least for marlin.
The Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series runs events from June through September. Last year, Rick Shedore of Tustin, Calif. ran away from the pack when he scored 2,215 points in the final two tournaments.
Shedore was named Series Champion Angler with a total of 3,037.5 points. He weighed a 422.5-pound blue in the Firecracker Open, continued scoring with a tag at the Skins Marlin Derby, and then made his move with a 620.5-pound black along with a 594.5-pound blue in the Big Island Marlin Tournament in August. When he tagged three marlin at the It’s a Wrap tourney, he wrapped in all up.
Edgar Artecona, of Texas, was second with 1,938 points, all earned on the boat Sapo with Capt. Chris Choy and L’il Purdy.
Shedore earned his points from a few boats. He started off fishing with Capt. Scott Fuller on J.R.’s Hooker, and scored in the Firecracker Open and the Skins Marlin Derby. From that foundation, Shedore and Fuller jumped on with Capt. Rob Ellyn on Lightspeed for the Big Island Marlin Tournament. In September, he and Fuller hopped on Bwana with Capt. Teddy Hoogs, where he iced the win.
Hoogs fished with Capt. Randy Parker on the deck of Bwana. They scored big at the Lure Makers Challenge in July, and then consistently tagged their way into the final position of Champion Boat and Crew in the 2017 HMT Series.
Interestingly, right on his heels were Capt. Rob Ellyn, on board Lightspeed. The team totaled 2,215 points total to be runner-up in the Boat Division of the HMT Series.
Things started picking up at the Skins Marlin Derby, where Robert Rosado caught the largest blue of the 2017 series — a 731.5-pound fish, which they combined with a tag for a total of 931.5 points on Ihu Nui with Capt. McGrew Rice and the legendary Carlton Arai on the deck. Kona Blue tagged three, and Strong Persuader and Bwana each tagged two blues in the Skins, so the fish were moving in along the Kona Coast by mid-July.
As more evidence of a somewhat late season last year, Aussie Jay Edwards tagged six blue marlin during the Lure Makers Challenge, which is the final event of the July schedule. Jay won that event fishing with Capt. Jason Holtz and fellow Aussie Nick Durham. Nick is the owner of Tantrum Lures, and they earned a complimentary sponsorship to the 2018 Lure Makers tourney with the walkaway win. Tantrum Lures are available at Pacific Rim tackle in Kona, for those interested to try something new.
Prior to that, there had been some notable catches, such as the 533-pound blue caught on the 16-foot skiff Krista O that won the Firecracker. But multiple marlin catches were few and far between until mid-July, when it started to fire pretty good.
By August everything was in a full-court press, and the competition got heated.
The Big Island tourney is in August, primarily a “Biggest Fish” event. That was won by Huntress and angler Scott Brickell of Los Angeles. Capt. Stymie Epstein and crew Dana Boardman were on the assist as Brickell brought a 670-pound blue to the boat. Shedore and Co. won the Most Points division.
The first event of the HMT Series is always the Kona Kick Off and last year it was won by Marlin Magic, scoring the first marlin tagged of only six marlin caught in the event, proving that every tag counts.
The 2018 HMT Series starts fishing this weekend with the Kona Kick Off and most of the folks mentioned above will be returning to duke it out again. Tournament fishing can be addictive and a number of anglers compete all season long. Participation is open to anyone though, and no experience is necessary. Kona charter boat crews teach novice anglers to catch big-game fish every day, and each season someone picks up a purse check by catching their first marlin or ahi — ever.
For more information, contact Jody Bright at 557-0908, jody@konatournaments.com, or visit konatournaments.com.