Deep sea fishing Kona, HI for marlin and other pelagic fish is a unique opportunity you’ll want to enjoy while visiting this beautiful part of the world. Kona is famous for blue marlin and the charter boats that provide deep sea fishing services around Kona, HI. Anglers come from all around the world to fish for giant blue marlin and other Hawaiian Fish that are great to eat and fun to catch. On this page we will talk about the pelagic fish species we catch and the techniques used.
Why Kona Is A Special Fishery!
- Kona has year round calm water.
- Just 3 miles from the harbor its 6,000 feet deep.
- You have a chance to catch all the pelagic species of fish here year round.
- The size of the blue marlin that frequent these waters off Kona. Plus is home to some of the biggest blue marlin ever landed on rod and reel in the world. Kona holds numerous IGFA blue marlin and shortnose spearfish world records.
Mauna Loa and Mana Kea are the two 13,000 feet plus volcanic mountains that protect the Kona Coast from the traditional trade winds. This makes the ocean or the sea’s calm year round. The steep slopes of the volcanic mountains that extend into the sea make the shoreline exceptionally deep. Its 6,000 feet deep just 3 miles from the harbor entrance. In Kona Hawaii, the deep sea fishing charters start just minutes outside of the harbor. Kona is truly a very special place to fish and people that target blue marlin know this.
Deep Sea Fishing Species
Sportfishing charters in Kona target many species of fish, the most sought-after being the giant blue marlin. A couple of grander marlin (those over one thousand pounds) caught every year. Kona also has spearfish, striped marlin and the swordfish. Tuna is also a great sport fish and you will find the albacore, big-eye, skipjack and yellow-fin tuna roaming the seas of the Kona Coast. You can also fish for mahi mahi (dorado), ono (wahoo), kahala (amberjack), giant trevally (ulua) and few other minor species. It’s really no wonder that with the varieties of fish, the calm seas, the wonderful Hawaiian weather and the majestic Hawaiian scenery, the Kailua Kona coast is major fishing destination for many anglers around the world.
Blue Marlin
Blue marlin are caught year round and are the most common fish we catch in Kona Hawaii. The average marlin weighs around 150 pounds. The largest blue marlin ever landed on rod and reel weighed 1,805 pounds and was caught in Hawaii. Blue Marlin tournaments are held June-September and is the peak season for them. But some years our winter months produce more blue marlin then the summer months. Thats what’s crazy about fishing in Kona, you just never know!
Spearfish
Spearfish are the smallest species of the billfish family. They range from 15-50 pounds. Anglers travel to Kona just to knock this species off their bucket list. The best months are January-March and the summer months. Like the blue marlin Kona hosts many IGFA spearfish world records.
Tuna
Like all the species we can catch tuna year round. The two types of tuna we catch consistently are the large yellow fin ahi tuna and the skipjack tuna. The skip jack tunas we find on the buoys or off the ledges. This type of the tuna is usually the easiest to catch for people that want action. Just depends on the currents if we can find them or not. The large ahi tuna best months are March- July. We catch these trolling lures, live baiting or using a green stick.
Ono
The best months for Ono fishing is April-July. We do catch them year round. The preferred technique is using lures and trolling in or around 50 fathoms of water. The Ono average 15-20 pounds. A 40 pound Ono is considered big.
Mahi Mahi
Durado and Mahi Mahi are the same fish. They average 10-15 pounds. Our best months for Mahi are December-March. Mahi Mahi fishing is good around the floating debris or the FADs year round. We will use light tackle to catch these around the FADs or floating debree.
Stripe Marlin
The winter months produce the most numbers of stripe marlin for the Kona fishing charter fleet. Stripe marlin are relatively small in Hawaii. The range from 30-70 pounds With one over a 100 is considered big for Kona standards. Majority of the stripe marlin are caught trolling lures in Kona. Smaller stripe marlin are pretty good to eat.
Fishing Techniques
Trolling Lures
Trolling lures is the preferred and the most common technique used by deep sea fishing services around Kona, HI. Its also the best technique used by charter boats and recreational fisherman in Hawaii to catch marlin, mahi mahi, ono and tuna. The lures used are all hand crafted and locally made in Hawaii. The trolling speed is around 8 knots and we fish 5 lures at a time. The lures are all different shapes, size and colors. This allows us to target all the pelagic fish not just marlin. The lures are staggered behind the boat and are ran out of outriggers. The outriggers help spread the lines apart and give the lures a little more action. If we are trolling around the FAD’s or floating debris, we use the lighter tackle which you can fight standing up.
Trolling Live Bait
Trolling live bait is the other deep sea fishing Kona, HI technique used for catching the pelagic fish in Hawaii. The skipjack tuna, yellow fin tuna and opelu (mackerel scad) are found around the ledges and FAD’s. The small tunas are a blast for kids and beginner anglers to catch on light tackle and they make great baits. Usually we troll two live baits between 2-3 knots. Catching live bait is not a guarantee and we can not buy live bait as we leave the harbor in Hawaii. Using live bait depends on the currents, where the bait is located at and how much time we have to fish.
Bottom Fishing
Vertical Jigging and bottom dropping is the two fishing techniques we use. Bottom dropping for amberjack, giant trevally, snapper and sharks is done by dropping dead or live bait to the bottom. Vertical jigging is where use a high speed jig.
The bigger bottom fish are usually caught at depths between 420-600 feet. This style of fishing is done at an area called “the grounds” which is just north of the Kona airport. Vertical Jigging is very fun fishery for anglers who just want action. The toxin ciguatera is found in the jacks. This is why we do not eat them and just catch and release these fish. The mahi, mahi, ono, tuna and spearfish is what we target for food fish.
Book Your Deep Sea Fishing Trip With Hooked Up In Kona!
With a consistent and proven catch record, Hooked Up is here to help you grab some incredible fish for dinner or land that trophy blue marlin you’ve been dreaming of. Either way, we’ll customize your deep sea fishing trip to meet your needs and exceed your expectations. Hooked Up is great for those interested in catching blue marlin, stripe marlin, spearfish, mahi mahi, ono or tuna – and enjoying that fresh catch for dinner. We’ll fillet your fish for no charge, and you can have it cooked at our family-owned restaurant in downtown Kona.
