Kona Hawaii fishing report – August `04
This is going to be a reel short “hear-say” report because I wasn`t even on the island for most of the month. The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament was held during the 2nd week of August and produced mostly small marlin that were tagged and released. With a 300 lb. minimum weight to qualify for a weigh-in, only one fish was taken to the scales and weighed in at 605.5 lbs. The next week was the Big Island Invitational Marlin Tournament and the first and second place winners were a mere 8 oz. apart! The first day of the tournament didn`t produce much but the second day was much better. The leading fish were weighed in at 367.5 lbs., 457 lbs. and at 508 lbs. Day 3 of the tournament produced only one marlin that was weighed in and that one took first place at 508.5 lbs. That ½ pound of fish was worth $39,600 to the first place boat vs. a mere $16,830 for 2nd place. Not a bad haul for either team. :^) These figures include tournament and side bet winnings.
The yellowfin tuna bite is winding down but it`s been a very good summer for the ahi overall. Most of the ahi action this summer was way South of the Kona harbor on the FAD`s. I didn`t get much ahi action this season because I tend to stay North of the harbor. The ledges there offer a wider variety of fishing opportunities like the best bottom fishing, the most consistent year-round deep water live bait and trolling action and also the best near-shore ono bite within a short distance of the harbor known as “ono lane”. Speaking of ono, summertime is also the peak time for these guys but this year`s run was a bit shy of the normal run. I hear that they are currently biting! I`ll be back in action next week and I’m looking forward to some fresh fish. You can bet that I`ll eating ono soon!
See `ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
http://FISHinKONA.com
