Kona Fishing Book a fishing trip with us!

Nice blue that our friends needed help bringing in this fish that weighted 828. The bill on this one was huge. It was a long fight and she came up dead tail wrapped.

Jay’s dad who just turned 85 years young caught a small blue 10 minutes from the harbor once again at 7:00 in the morning.  We actually got to stay out until 12:00 today and had 2 more blue bites. We rigged up a Polu Kai 12 inch instigator and it went off 5 minute later. 20 minutes after that shot we had another on the same lure. Looks like that one is going to be a winner.

The Marvin’s set sail early again and caught a blue before 7:00. Jay took the second one and again caught an early fish. His son wasn’t feeling well so again we headed in early.

Three generations of Marvins joined us on the Northern Lights and had great luck. Such good luck they were able to catch their fish early and head back to the hotel for lunch and a swim at the pool. Jay’s son 10 years of age caught this nice blue at 6:30 in the morning on day one.

Doug Grunwald and his family had a long day on the boat with us. We love to catch them right away so  the pressure doesn’t build. It was 3:00 and we had to turn south for one more pass through the area there were fish caught down south. I went through there with no luck all day watching a few boats catch them around us. On our final pass through the area the Polu Kai tubulation on the long rigger went off with the fish we were waiting for. Doug’s son caught the fish in about 5 minutes doing a great job. It was a late one and the Grunwald’s patience really paid off.

The 3 day event was interesting again this year. The rules follow the Skins Golf tournament rules. It takes a 500 pound fish to win a skin. A Skin wins the money for the day and depending the different betting levels there can be a ton of money to win especially if there is a roll over. A roll over occurs when no fish over 500 are caught. This year the entire pot went to the High Flier who caught a 500 pound plus fish on the first day. We had to fish for a big fish and fished a home run pattern looking to win the skin. On the last day we raised a fish over 500 on the short rigger on our plunger. The fish bit after in chased the lure for a few seconds and we pulled the hook.It didn’t come back after a half hearted bite perhaps it was full like we were from the dinosaur steaks we ate the night before. I guess we will have to hope for better luck next time.

Day 2 of the Fire Cracker started out great. A new day of fishing and all of the side action open to win. The Pacific Blue wasn’t in the sides so all of the money was there for the taking. About 1:00 we were digesting our Carnita Pork tacos with green chile sauce when we spotted a fish on the stinger. The lure was hard to see because it was a jet but the large wake the fish was pushing let us know it was there. It didn’t bite on its first try. We raised the fish in 200 fathoms and were on a in shore tack. The fish didn’t bite right away and at the second red hill it was quickly getting shallow. We hit 90 fathoms and it looked like We were going to have to turn to head off shore. As we made the move to make another pass on the fish it bit and took off. We were certain the fish would qualify the 300 pound minimum. After a 20 minute fight and 10 jumps the fish came to leader. Dingo got the leader and the fish neared the surface. It grew as it came to the surface. We noticed the fish had the hook wedged on its nose. I reached down deep with the gaff and got it in the shoulder. In the boat it measured 108 inches short measurement. It looked over 400 but was very skinny. At the scales it weighed 399 pounds and won 4th place and was the 3rd biggest fish of the tournament. It took all of the side bets for a healthy check. It was really nice to do well in one of the early events taking some of the pressure off in the events that would follow in the season.

Team Lightspeed Fished the 2009 World Cup in Kona Hawaii during the Fire Cracker Open this year. We got up in the morning and I called Tracy to find out what we need to beat in Madeira and found that a 575 was caught. I thought with the great fishing they have been have that there would be a bigger fish weighed there. 5 fish qualified which were all beatable by Kona standards. About lunch time our time a 887 was caught in Bermuda a big fish to beat. We were entered in the Kona Cup and that looked more realistic at that point. Down at the flow on the southern end of the island the Pacific Blue landed a fish that rivaled the Bermuda fish. It weighed 826 just missing the World Cup but placing first in the Fire Cracker Open.

I fished on the Lightspeed for the Kona Classic. We had a lot of fun and although it is an adjustment to be on the Lightspeed team and not be fishing the Northern Lights everyday this time of year. The Kona Classic is a good format because all of the species of fish count for their own division. We fished for ahi the first day looking for the dolphins allday and later in the day Rob found the pod we hoped would have the winning fish in it. We trolled with the Long Ranger for 2 hours or so and didn’t get a bite. We started our way back to try our luck at the Marlin division and didn’t get any bites. The second day of the tournament we tried our luck down south working to win the Marlin division. The Lightspeed boys tagged a 550 for Judy McCarthy down there a couple day before so we tried that area and found a free jumping Striped Marlin. Rob marked on the sonar and the fish came up and bit. 4 minutes later we were on the board with a tag. A small blue and we were in the money. In the end we had a great day and didn’t get the little blue we need but had a great tournament. The breakfast and lunches Carol made were fantastic! We ate well trying to give the fish the right idea.Good start to the tourn. season and we look forward to the World Cup and the Fire Cracker Open next week.