03-31-2005, 11:53 PM
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Kona Hawaii fishing report – March ’05 - [/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Kona is having the blues. If I was speaking of blue marlin that would be a good thing but this time I`m not. March was packed with storms, rough seas and few fish. As in last months report, “rubber hook syndrome” is still in effect here with the billfish acting less aggressively than normal. Blues, stripes, spearfish and even some sailfish are being brought in or tagged and released but not in the numbers we`re used to. There were two huge blues caught this month just under the 1000 lb. mark (we think). One of the beasts weighed in at 916 lbs. but the other was taken and then lost at sea along with the whole boat. One of Kona’s most active boats, the Linda Sue II caught the monster blue out by OTEC buoy and after a 3 ½ hour fight they were on their way back to the harbor. High winds jacked up the seas to very dangerous (I know, I was in it too) heights. In “The Perfect Storm” fashion, the 35` Hatteras hit a huge wave that sent it sliding down the steep wave stern first. Water poured over the transom filling the cockpit with water and with a marlin estimated at 900+ in there also, a sequential second huge wave finished the job, sending the Linda Sue II (and the marlin) quickly to the bottom. Capt. Jeff Hientz was on his cell phone notifying emergency services of their peril as the event was happening. All the passengers already had life vests on but the captain and deckhand didn’t have time to get theirs on. The Coast Guard was quick to react to the call with a helicopter and thank the Lord all were rescued. [/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Ono tops the list as the most common catch right now followed closely by mahi mahi and then spearfish. The shibi are pretty much gone. The baitfish schools are scarce to nonexistent. This should change soon (I hope) as I`ve been marking huge shrimp schools all along the coast at 200 to 300 fathoms. When the baitfishes find these schools, it should start the whole food chain going again.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The bottom bite has been slow but, as usual, it’s the best bet for making sure you don’t come home empty handed. The currents are still inconsistent and there’s no live bait to be had so I’ve been paying retail for fish from the market. One of them I bought called sama, looks very similar to our frigate mackerel (the best bait) so it seemed like the best choice. At a cost of $5 each I bought 10 of them only to find out that the fish (not even sharks) will touch `em. These are strange fish. Even when they get old, they have almost no smell to `em. I guess the old adage still rings true. It’s not the looks but what`s on the inside that counts! [/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]See `ya on the water,[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Capt. Jeff Rogers ,[/size][/font]<A href="http://FISHinKONA.com">Kona Hawaii fishing</A>
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Kona is having the blues. If I was speaking of blue marlin that would be a good thing but this time I`m not. March was packed with storms, rough seas and few fish. As in last months report, “rubber hook syndrome” is still in effect here with the billfish acting less aggressively than normal. Blues, stripes, spearfish and even some sailfish are being brought in or tagged and released but not in the numbers we`re used to. There were two huge blues caught this month just under the 1000 lb. mark (we think). One of the beasts weighed in at 916 lbs. but the other was taken and then lost at sea along with the whole boat. One of Kona’s most active boats, the Linda Sue II caught the monster blue out by OTEC buoy and after a 3 ½ hour fight they were on their way back to the harbor. High winds jacked up the seas to very dangerous (I know, I was in it too) heights. In “The Perfect Storm” fashion, the 35` Hatteras hit a huge wave that sent it sliding down the steep wave stern first. Water poured over the transom filling the cockpit with water and with a marlin estimated at 900+ in there also, a sequential second huge wave finished the job, sending the Linda Sue II (and the marlin) quickly to the bottom. Capt. Jeff Hientz was on his cell phone notifying emergency services of their peril as the event was happening. All the passengers already had life vests on but the captain and deckhand didn’t have time to get theirs on. The Coast Guard was quick to react to the call with a helicopter and thank the Lord all were rescued. [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Ono tops the list as the most common catch right now followed closely by mahi mahi and then spearfish. The shibi are pretty much gone. The baitfish schools are scarce to nonexistent. This should change soon (I hope) as I`ve been marking huge shrimp schools all along the coast at 200 to 300 fathoms. When the baitfishes find these schools, it should start the whole food chain going again.[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The bottom bite has been slow but, as usual, it’s the best bet for making sure you don’t come home empty handed. The currents are still inconsistent and there’s no live bait to be had so I’ve been paying retail for fish from the market. One of them I bought called sama, looks very similar to our frigate mackerel (the best bait) so it seemed like the best choice. At a cost of $5 each I bought 10 of them only to find out that the fish (not even sharks) will touch `em. These are strange fish. Even when they get old, they have almost no smell to `em. I guess the old adage still rings true. It’s not the looks but what`s on the inside that counts! [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]See `ya on the water,[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Capt. Jeff Rogers ,[/size][/font]<A href="http://FISHinKONA.com">Kona Hawaii fishing</A>