Kona Hawaii fishing report – March wrap-up .
The March marlin bite has been a let down this year. I hate doing a negative report and I catch some heat from other captains about not pumping up the fishing here but the truth is the truth. There were a few days when the marlin bite was pretty hot but on average, this March just didn't cut it compared to previous years. Almost totally missing from this March was the striped marlin bite. It's the end of the best part of the season for them but they just didn't show up this year. The blue marlin bite has been pretty good in recent months but slowed in March. Spearfish is another fish that should be abundant in March and we're right in the middle of the peak season for them. The beginning of March was really good for them but fell flat in the later part of the month. March is also known for "grander" marlin and though there were a few released in the 800 lb. range we're still waiting for the biggest blue of the year (so far) to be beaten out by a grander.
The start of the peak mahi mahi is here and there have been some around but it's the tuna that are making the best showing even though it's not season for them. 200 lbs. is the big mark on those guys just like 1000 lbs. is the big mark for marlin. A good friend of mine boated a 205 pound yellowfin this month to make the "Big Fish List" for his first time ever to make the list. Bigeye tuna in the 200 + lb. category are fairly rare here and also this month, an out-of-the-ordinary pair of them, both hooked at the same time were brought in. The small one (tongue-in-cheek) weighted in at 153.5 lbs. and the big one weighed in at 211.5 lbs. and very well may hold as the biggest bigeye of the year for the remainder of the year. Otaru tuna, meaning skipjack tuna over 10 lbs. have also been a frequent catch this month. It's not ono season either but a few are coming in.
The bottom bite remains as good as it was last month. With the trolling bite being so slow it's a good thing. I have a guy from Holland that fishes with me every year and he has connections with Shimano. Last year he caught the biggest otaru of the year on a Shimano outfit that he brought over. We wanted to do something noteworthy this year also, hmmm. It just so happened that Shimano TV from Japan wanted to charter me that same week so we just brought them along, one angler and the cameraman along for two of our fishing days. What a blast! We caught a boat load of fish both days. We caught and released 17 amberjack and almaco jack the first day along with a giant trevally (GT) and two gray snapper kept for the dinner table. All caught on jigs. The next day we did another 7 amberjack and almaco jack along with two more gray snapper on jigs but one thing the Japanese TV guys wanted to do really bad was casting poppers near shore. I informed them that we don't have much of a shoreline fishery for that here but I do know of a few spots that might produce an occasional good catch. The third spot we tried the Japanese angler was rewarded with the biggest bluefin trevally I've ever seen! Had we not tagged and released it, it would have taken the "Big Fish List" with no problem. A fantastic time for both anglers and for the TV show that should air in Japan some time in the next month or two. Maybe next year we should invite Dan Hernandez?
See 'ya on the water ,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
FISHinKONA.com