Kona Hawaii fishing report - Nov. wrap-up
Capt. Jeff Rogers
November 30, 2011
Kona - Saltwater Fishing Report
Kona Hawaii fishing report Nov. wrap-up .
So what happened in October? Where did the report go? Well, I didn't write one. I was out of action for most of October because I had back-to-back bladder cancer surgeries. Not only didn't I fish for most of October but I didn't stay in touch with other fishermen during my recovery so I didn't have a clue how the fishing was for the month. October for me is just a past memory by now but I did fish plenty this month so here it is
Mahi mahi tops the list as the most common catch. While it is possible to catch mahi mahi any time of the year here, we basically have 2 seasons for them, a spring run and a fall run. The spring run is usually the small size ones. I like to call them "Smurfs" because of the small size and that they have that bright blue Smurf color while swimming around. The fall run brings us the big ones and this season was no different. While we can get small ones in the fall and big ones in the spring, in general, it's pretty predictable. With no ono run this last summer it sure was nice having some quality fish for the dinner table. There are a few ono being caught but you just need to be lucky with that. I know one captain that has been spending some of his time on almost every trip trying for them and he's getting skunked most of the time.
The blue marlin bite was pretty good for the beginning of November but the deeper we're getting into winter, the more that bite is tapering off. There has been no "average" size for the month as the daily catch weight range has been all over the board. There has been a few striped marlin caught in the last couple of weeks so I hope that's an indicator that we'll have our winter striped marlin run. If you are a follower of my reports you may remember that we went 5 winter seasons without a good striped marlin run until last winter when they returned in pretty good numbers. Small striped marlin is my 2nd favorite fish to eat. The meat is usually pink and sometimes you get meat that is pumpkin orange and that's the REALLY good stuff. Seared or as sashimi, Hawaii's striped marlin are only outdone by the Hawaiian grouper when it comes to taste.
The bottom bite has been just OK but as I've said many times before, your chances of catching something are far greater going for the bottom vs. just trolling all day. The first part on November I was catching mostly sharks while hitting the bottom but lately the giant trevally are biting again. As winter comes in, the giant trevally bite should get even better.
No worries about my health. I've been dealing with cancer for a long time. The last operations were #15 and #16 for 5 different kinds of cancer. I've been through radiation and chemo before and kept fishing through all of it. I'll be starting chemo again soon but the only side effect with this kind of chemo is that I run a slight fever so no big deal. Everyone has issues of some kind or another but the attitude you have as your issues come determines the severity of their effect.
See ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
http://FISHinKONA.com
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