For those loyal readers of the Kona Hawaii fishing report, Sorry that there was no August '06 wrap-up. I was on vacation for most of August. The beginning of the month wasn't looking too good anyway and although I did keep in contact with a few of the captains during my vacation, it doesn't appear that I missed much of a bite during August. Many people ask me "where do you go on vacation if you live in Hawaii"? To visit relatives that do not live in Hawaii of course. People also ask if I fish while on vacation. YEP! I fished almost every day this time. Also got in some white water kayaking, skydiving, flew around my brothers gyrocopter (a lot) and got to fly (with an instructor) a trike (powered hang glider) for the first time. Hey, if you're not catching big fish in Hawaii, it's real hard to find anything else that can come close to the thrill!
So, on to the September wrap-up. I think this is a crack up. I'm sitting here with writers block wondering what I can say about the month. I started wondering about last September so decided to look at last years report. What I found really made me laugh because it's the same as this year. Here's a quote from the '05 report: "Fishing in September is really a gamble in Kona. I was just looking at my September fishing report from last year along with my own catch records from September '04. What I saw prompted me to go ahead and look at my '03 and '02 reports also. I did find somewhat of a pattern. September is a good month for marlin overall but the bite seems to turn on and off throughout the month. Not just a slow down or pick-up. I'm talking` a definite ON / OFF. It also seems to be one of the best months for big marlin. Several 500+ marlin are caught in September and this year proved it again with quite a few big marlin both brought in and many released."
And so the "pattern" continues. I had a shot at one of the big blues just a few days ago but it came off after straightening out the Mustad 12/0 stainless hook.
The 100+ yellowfin bite was pretty good all month long. The porpoise schools holding them have been near shore and easy to find. Usually it's just the first boats in the school that get bit. The ahi get shy (or wise) after the first bite but there a few captains (not me) here that constantly catch them every time (almost). They pick one or some out of the school even though the rest of the fleet is having no luck. It takes a lot of dedication to keep up with the ahi. They're fast, smart, have excellent eye site and are picky eaters. That's where skill and luck separate.
Mahi mahi are a fairly common catch right now followed by just a few ono and spearfish. The mahi mahi seem to be small this year. The bottom bite has been slow this September. As you may have noticed from recent reports, I've been doing a lot more jigging lately. Jigs of all size and shapes are now (as of this year) available at the local tackle shops in Kona. I'm also testing some new jigging equipment. I've had some good catches with the jigs including a couple of ono recently, the biggest kawakawa I've ever seen (made Kona's "Big Fish List") and even tried for some of those fast, smart, eagle eye, picky eaters but it seems that only the younger and smaller ones are stupid enough to fall for a jig. I guess the big ones don't get big for nothin'.
See `ya on the water,
Capt. Jeff Rogers ,
Kona Hawaii fishing