February 2000
Week of 2/21 - 2/27
| The greenbacks are here, and the open schools
are making for happy anglers all over the state. Many skippers are reporting multiple
Mahimahi days already, with the schools all over the place. A few good sized Marlin in the
200-500 pound range have also been reported, and we've also seen Spearfish, Ono, and a few
big Ahi. Hang on to your hats, the fishing is starting to get good! Oahu Magic and Wild Bunch both had awesome weeks. Captain Russell had a clean sweep (Billfish, Mahimahi, Ono, and a Yellofin Tuna) on the 23rd, then followed it up with 2 Ahi of 120 and 135 pounds and 10 Mahimahi the next day. 5 Mahi and 2 Ono came next, then he rounded out the week with a 320 pound Blue on Saturday and 7 more Mahimahi Sunday. Meanwhile, Captain Timmy on the Wild Bunch reports multitudes of Mahimahi each day, some as high as 46 pounds, along with some Spears and Stripes. Sea Verse continued their assault on the Mahimahi also, reporting multiple fish on the days they ran. Captain Lee also rescued an estimated 400-500 pound leatherback turtle about 8-10 miles South of the harbor on the 23rd. They got some good video and still shots of the rescue also. Reported good areas have been the BO buoy for the Billfish and general open schools all over for the Mahimahi. Kona Spellbound had a good billfish week with a 411 on the 27th of Keahole, along with an estimated 150 pound Blue Marlin released, a couple of Striped Marlin, and a 50 pound Ono. Captain Mike said he prefers catching a huge Marlin to a big Ono because the teeth on that angry fish are tough to contain. Fish Wish had a mixed bag for the week. Happy to have plenty of action, the always optimistic Captain Kent was still pleased with his results. In all for the week, he landed one Blue at 196 pounds and one Ono, released a couple of Spearfish, lost two Blues and two Stripes, and had a few other aggressive Billfish bites as well. Kona overall is showing a pretty good display of fish. Other boats, including the Pacific Blue and Jacque A Pito recorded good catches this week with a fish in the 400 and 600 range respectively. There hasn't been any specific area of note, but boats have been working straight out and South as a result of the trade winds to the North. Kauai The Grander out of Port Allen stuck a couple of nice Ahi at 165 and 145 on the 24th in a bird pile just inside the 1000 fathom line of the South side of the island. Calling their sister ship the Kai Bear to join in on the action, Captain Tim got to the pile after a hard run from Nawilwili and had all 6 rods go off at once. 'Twas a tuna frenzy that day. The Grander also reported several Mahimahi and Aku for the week, and the Kai Bear also managed a few good sized (30 pounds) Mahimahi. One Striped Marlin was reported pulling the hooks at leader on the 27th. Maka Hou got a super 70 pound Striped Marlin on the 25th, a couple of Spearfish and Aku the following day, and they too got their share of Mahimahi for the week. Captain Tim even reported a couple of Ono on the 26th. Said he worked the areas outside the harbor to the North, just following the birds. Lahela's effort paid off for the week also, as they were able to locate some good sized Mahimahi outside Nawiliwili on the days they ran. Maui Maui boats have continued to work the back side of Lanai and K buoy areas, with some good Mahimahi action along with some Stripes and Spears. Hinatea reported a couple released Spears with Mahimahi for the week, and Start Me Up released one Striped Marlin and brought home a few Mahimahi as well. That's it for this week. Look for more Mahi to dominate in the next couple of months, and also look for the Stripes to fade a little bit as the Blues increase in numbers. |
Week of 2/14 - 2/20
| The high pressure system moved North mid
week, causing the winds to pick up a little toward the end of the week. This made some of
the previously fertile grounds tougher to get to, nonetheless, Oahu saw some great action,
Kauai reported some heavies getting free, while Kona and Maui were a little bit on the
slower side. Mahimahi clearly seem to be picking up on all islands especially Oahu, and
we've even seen some Ono come in to go along with the Ahi that have been around. Oahu P buoy early in the week produced the Marlin, while Barber's point was the better areas later on. Kauai Though they can't prove it and there's nothing to show for it but an empty reel, the Maka Hou reported a zinger on the 16th when an estimated grander emptied the spool in 30 seconds. No time to back or spin, the crew saw the fish go airborne several times and just wave goodbye. Similarly, Lahela had an estimated 200-300 shake the hooks after about a three minute fight. Both boats reported some other fish for the week such as Aku and Ono, but the two lost fish suggest there are some heavies out on Kauai. Kai Bear Sportfishing had some good luck and some bad luck on the Port Allen side on the Granders. A couple nice Shibi 45-58 pounds on the Grander came home on the 17th, but a couple others shook loose on the 19th. Meanwhile, the Kai Bear produced some steady Mahimahi and Aku through the week. Maui Hinatea had an interesting week down off the lighthouse on Lanai toward K buoy. A 400 pound Blue on Monday, several other solid strikes through the week, plus a 25 pound Spearfish on Sunday suggested the Marlin activity is still around somewhat. Start Me Up also picked a few Striped Marlin in the same areas. Strangely, very few Mahimahi were reported on Maui this week, so perhaps they'll be back soon. Kona Pretty slow on the big island this week as the harbor continues to reel from the 1,200 pounder from a couple weeks prior. Grand Slam had the big week with a 45 pound Spearfish and a 30 lb Mahimahi on the 17th, while Spellbound got some Mahimahi and released a couple of Stripes. Fish Wish had a pump down causing only a day or two of fishing, and Captain Kent managed to catch and release a Kahala (Amberjack) on a small lure. Yes, that is uncommon, that's why I mentioned it. Every skipper has said the action picked up come Monday, and several fish in the 300-600 pound range were being reported. Next week should be a good report for Kona. Midway will be opening shortly, so weekly reports for that great fishery will hopefully be provided soon. I had a chance to visit up there over the weekend, so look for our feature story on Midway Atoll coming to your favorite fishing website at www.sportfishhawaii.com |
Week of 2/7 - 2/13
| Could the weather have been any better in the
past week? I sincerely doubt it! We had Maui boats going to the North shore of Molokai,
Kona boats out to the OTEC buoy, Kauai boats roaming all over the island, and Oahu boats
working it from the channel and Kaneohe side. Lake Pacific has been a treat to fish in the
past week, and we've got some fish to report as well. Kauai The most impressive week came in from Maka Hou II with Captain Tim drilling 6 Ahi (Yellowfin Tuna over 100 pounds) in two days, and also bringing in some great Mahimahi catches to go with them. He even spent a day or two working for bottom fish at the request of some guests, and this versatility allowed him to make a lot of anglers happy. The Grander out of Port Allen found two Striped Marlin on Sunday to go with their Mahimahi and Aku throughout the week, while the Kai Bear also managed to work on some Aku on a few trips as well. The Marlin bite has been slow on the island, however, most of our reports came from the charter fleet that had an abundance of 4 hours trips. Most of these fish were caught quite close to Nawiliwili and Port Allen Harbors. Oahu Though the weather was good, a couple of boats had repairs to do and weren't able to get out. Nonetheless, Wild Bunch also reported a stellar week with six Yellowfins averaging 70 pounds on the 8th, two more in the same range on the 12th, and a load of Mahimahi and smaller Aku and Shibi throughout the week. They'd been working the P to HH bouys out on the 1000 line. Meanwhile, Magic has been consistent in their Mahimahi production, and they also have seen good Aku and Shibi counts. Sea Verse, of course, has been reeling in Mahimahi (Captain Lee can sniff them out with the best of them), and he won the first tournament of the year (on Oahu) with a released Striped Marlin on Sunday. For the most part, the thousand fathom line between P and HH and further out has been the best bet, however, one tournament boat over the weekend found some nice Bigeye (close cousin to the Yellowfin) over at the buoys on the Kaneohe side. Furthermore, we had reports of some private boats having decent success near HH buoy and off the airport. Kona Grand Slam continues their assault on the leader board as Captain Larry released an estimated 85 pound Striper, landed a 47 pound Spear and a 27 pound Mahimahi on the 10th, got another 27 pound greenback on the 11th to console his lost freight train, then went out to the OTEC buoy on the 12th to claim a fantastic 408 pound Marlin. Fish Wish also worked F buoy and the OTEC area during the week and had some nice Stripes and Blues on, ending up with several Mahimahi and some released Spearfish. Medusa managed a few Mahimahi for the week, while Spellbound simply had it all together and had a great week. Captain Mike worked the areas between Keauhou and Keahole Point religiously, and in the span of four days he'd boated a 446 and a 225 pound Blue along with a few Mahimahi, released three Striped Marlin, and pulled hooks on a couple more larger Blues (estimated 250 and 500). Talk about action! By the way, Captain Jack Ross of the Eclipse celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary this week! There's a fish story - the one that didn't get away - to take to heart! Maui Start Me Up and Hinatea had good weeks in the Valey Isle. The South shore of Lanai and K buoy continues to be productive as the SMU group picked up a 140 pound Ahi on the 8th, released one Stripe and kept one on the 9th, released another on the 10th, pulled hooks on a good sized Marlin on the 11th, and added their share of Mahimahi in here and there to keep it interesting. Hinatea had a tit for tat day on the 9th; they lost a nice Marlin early in the day, but ended up with a 300 pound White Tip shark, making things a little dicey for a moment. Captain Mark also reported some Mahimahi throughout the week, and on Monday the 14th (just outside the report range) they got a 400 pound Blue. More on that next week. |
Week of 1/31 - 2/6
| Cold (73 to 75 degrees) but flat water has
prevailed all throughout the Hawaiian island for the week, with beautiful scenery and an
opportunity to fish without spilling any of the liquid refreshments filling the bill. As
for the fish, Maui led the way, but the rest of islands have been a little slow. The
latest SST charts seem to show the water coming up a couple degrees in many areas, so
things should pick up pretty soon. Maui Hinatea led the way on all islands this week with a great 520 pound Blue Marlin on the 3rd and a pretty consistent catch throughout the week. Through the week they managed a Stripe and Spear on the 2nd, a released Blue on the 4th, and some Mahimahi in the mid 20 range tossed in between.Start Me Up picked up a nice 285 pounder off the Golf Course on Lanai on the 4th, one of the few areas where the water temperature has been conducive for fish. Captain Doug Armfield also reported two good strikes off the Lighthouse on Sunday. Maui Jim was in the same area Saturday and missed three good Marlin whacks but ended up with a little Mahimahi dinner. Kauai Generally, the Kauai boats have had the best activity for the week, with the fish being a bit smaller. The Grander out of Port Allen found themselves a nice pile on the third. Six Shibi (yellowfin tuna) ranging 70-75 pounds, 4 Mahimahi, an Ono, and a few Aku were all procured that day with steady catches reported throughout the week. The Maka Hou was also happy to get out of the harbor after the rough weather, and each day they went out they were able to land some Aku, Shibi and some Mahimahi. Lahela probably had the best action even though some of their fish came off. A nice 75 pound Striped Marlin came aboard on the 3rd, and the group also lost three Shibi estimated at about eighty pounds each that day. Oahu With two boats down for maintenance still, the Oahu fleet didn't have the normal force it usually does. Magic probably had the best week with a nice 56 pound Spearfish and 10 Aku on the 3rd plus several other trips with some Aku as well. Sea Verse had an overnighter to Molokai where they dove for lobster and bottom fished with tremendous success, but the rest of the fleet was either in port or just catching a few small tunas here and there. Some boats even reported going through boiling Aku schools and being unable to get the normally competitive pelagics to bite. Warmer waters toward Barbers Point produced a couple of Striped Marlin bites (one landed) on one boat, while another did manage to get a few large Aku to come home. Kona Not much to report this week from the land of the calm lake. Grand Slam picked up from a short slump to tally a 362 on the 2nd, while Medusa and Pamela managed a few Mahimahi here and there. Spellbound went out wide a few times during the week and produced a Striped Marlin on the 5th along with an estimated 300-400 pounder that came off. Captain Mike Rand also managed to bring home some dinner in the form of a 40 pound Mahimahi on the 3rd. SST charts have show Kona's waters to be quite cold recently which probably has had much to do with the bite. Reports for Sunday suggested 5 or 6 fish came in on live bait outside Red Hill, but as soon as that got hot it cooled right off. No point calling a spade anything but a spade at this point, but Hawaii won't stay down for long. See you next week. |