Kona Hawaii fishing report – Jan. wrap-up .
Tourism remains pretty good here with a fair number of boats going out daily. Not as many as in previous years but I think the cold mainland temperatures are keeping more people thinking about Hawaii sun and fun. The blue marlin are biting good right now. It's striped marlin season and there are some of those being caught but the number of blue marlin around is exceptionally high for this time of year. The big ones are here too. So far the biggest blue weighed this year stands at 914 lbs. Spearfish are in abundance too and are great fun on light tackle. Last week I caught and released a blue marlin that weighed about 250 lbs. and when it came up jumping next to the boat, I saw that it had no bill sticking out. When I got the marlin right next to the boat. I saw that it did indeed have a bill but it was bent 180 degrees backwards and growing tight across the top of it's head. On each side of the backwards bill were two smaller stunted bills sticking in the right direction (forward) that more resembled tusks. The story and picture hit the Kona paper with the title "World's ugliest marlin caught" written by Jim Rizzuto. The black and white photo in the local newspaper doesn't show near the detail of the full color photo. I know many of you want to get a look at this thing. There is a photo of it on my fish photos page but it doesn't show the detail of the close up head shot I got. Sorry, but I'm reserving putting that out on the internet for a later time because a few fishing magazines have expressed interest in using it. Once it's old news, I will definitely put a full color close up on my "Hall of Fame" page. Some people say that I should have killed the marlin and given it's head to science. I think it will be even more interesting if it's ever caught again and to see a photo of this 3-billed marlin when it grows to 500+ pounds.
The mahi mahi are biting good also and are the most common fish being caught right now. There are some ono being caught even though it's not season for them. Shibi (small yellowfin and bigeye tuna) are on the buoys and ledges but not in great numbers.
Continuing the story of the "forbidden seven" fishery, the number of boats fishing for them has dwindled to just a few of the old regulars. This brings the fishery back to more "normal" catch levels. I don't think that will keep the DAR from having a panic reaction when they compile the catch reports from December though. The bottom bite for bigger game has been frustrating. The fish are being shy. Hitting the baits but not wanting to commit to eating them. Some of the time it's that the bait fish are just too big for the fish to swallow but in other cases, I've found the fish I'm catching are so full that they can hardly get in another bite. The bait fish are in abundance right now too but again, not biting well for the same reason. They're already full.
Overall, The Kona bite is good for a January. There are plenty of fish here. The fact that the ugliest blue marlin in the world even showed up to get in on the action proves it.
See ‘ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers
FISHinKona.com
