Great Family Fishing Stories in Kona
Last Friday we talked about our adventure hooking up to either a Marlin or Tuna. Well, it turns out we caught Marlin! Did you guess right?
Well this week we were cruising on a full-day charter. On that kind of trip, you can go pretty much anywhere--you're not limited to the distance you can travel before you have to head back to the harbor.
Captain Deneen was fishing with a family of four and they hooked up to a blue marlin! It just so happened that the 11-year-old girl was the one that got in the seat.
We always say it's a team effort to catch big fish. In this case it was a family affair.
The Dad, the 14-year-old brother and the girl tag-teamed this fish and reeked it in. Everyone was having the time of their life! Yay!!
Afterwards, we headed to the C buoy to catch some smaller tunas with bait rods.
It was super crowded and we ended up getting 3 bites and 1 tuna on board!
Fishing Tip
Often people who are used to catching small fish tend to "set the hook."
When fishing in Kona our fish will attack the lures so violently they hook themselves, and if you go to "set the hook," you'll just break the fish off and lose it.
Another Bite
Well, it was time to head back to Honokohau Harbor, and on our way back we watched another boat hook up to a marlin right in front of us! And while we were getting out of their way, we get hooked up again--in the same spot as before!
I looked back and saw a marlin jump and the 14-year-old boy got in the fighting chair this time.
It was another family affiar for the first seven minutes, and then with the excellent coaching of the crew, the boy ended up fighting the marlin by himself the rest if the way!
20 minutes later we stuck a gaff--not in a marlin- but a 109-pound Ahi!
Yay!!
We heard later at the dock that a couple of the other fishing boats were impressed with the angling skill that they saw.
While the crew filleted and gutted the Ahi, a 7-foot Blue Shark showed up in just three minutes.
We pulled into the Bite Me Fish Market Bar and Grill to weigh our fish in front of a VERY excited restaurant crowd!
The Kiss of Death?
We were late getting in and our next charter was waiting at the restaurant. After seeing all this of course they said "I want one of those!"
Just so you know, in the fishing world that's the "kiss of death." And just by saying that, you'll get the odds stacked against you.
Not this time though!
As soon as we got to the 500-fathom ledge, we hooked up another Marlin and the 16-year-old who was talkihg earlier got in the chair. But, he wanted to give up after the first 10 minutes!
So we told him he was going to have to wear the Bite Me Panties we had on board if he didn't knuckle down! That got him to stop complaining and he got his fish!
So how's that for a nice day of Kona fishing? 2 Marlins and one really big tuna!
