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| Aloha! Just wanted to keep you all updated on what's been happening over here in paradise! | ||
| We are working to catch up on the year and hope to have some updates for you soon. Untill then here are some highlights: | ||
| Man what a show! On May 1st, the Ho'okela started out on a six hour relaxing fishing trip, that turned into a battle with a monster. We were working our way toward the "last canefield" area of Olowalu, pulling lures on a mirror-flat day. We had already boated a 26 lb. mahi-mahi and were working some deep water pinnacles, when we saw what appeared to be a big pilot whale porpoising behind the short rigger lure. A few seconds was all it took to realize that the big black shape was not a mammal, but a big blue marlin! In the crystal clear blue water, we watched in an adrenalized frenzy as the fish move from the short rigger to the long rigger and back again. Chickeneck was on the deck reeling the lures in and out trying to excite the fish into biting. I stood on the bridge keeping an eye on the fish while telling chickeneck which lure to move around. The fish finally decided to eat the short rigger purple softhead lure, and an hour and forty-five minutes later we all got to admire the Lee family's beautiful fish on the deck. |
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| Gotta watch what you hope for! The middle of May also produced a nice blue marlin for Jared Alexander. We were working the northside of Molokai and hadn't had a bite all morning, when our fortunes changed in the blink of an eye. On the bite, the long rigger reel started peeling line at a slow and steady pace. I initially thought that we had snagged a cargo net, but when I slowed the boat down, the spool started to dump line at a faster pace. We were running out of line fast, so I turned the boat around and began to chase after the fish. The swells were 4-5 feet, white-capping from a steady 20 knot wind. The fish jumped only once during the battle and after an hour the marlin sounded straight down and stopped with about 500 yards of line out. I had chickeneck take over the helm and went down to the deck to see exactly what was happening. Big marlin will often dive deep and then die from a lack of oxygen, literally exhausting themselves to death. I grabbed hold of the line and could feel the marlin jerking on the line. Trying to get the fish up out of the depths was proving futile using just the rod and reel. Line began to peel off the reel at a slow steady pace, and when I grabbed the line again all I could feel was dead weight, as though we were hooked to a giant bag of cement. It was now time to handline the fish up or we would end up losing it. Inch by inch, I handlined with as much pressure as I dared for the next two hours. Too much pressure on my part, and the 100 lb. Test main line would break. Too little and the fish would sink. 120 agonizing minutes later with me handlining and Jared reeling in the line, the marlin surfaced twenty five yards behind the boat. As suspected the marlin had died down deep and after we boated it, we noticed the hook had pulled six inches through the roof of the mouth. Congratulations Jared on your 506 lb., Three hour blue marlin! |
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| Keep your Eye out! On April 6th Wayne McFarland and his friends joined us on an 8 hr. charter and ended up catching more fish than they could have ever hoped for. We were trolling out to our spot when three out of five rods went off, each with a nice mahi-mahi. A triple mahi bite in the open ocean usually doesn't happen unless there is something in the water there to attract them. Sure enough, after we boated the last of the three mahi, we found the pot of gold. An 8x8 piece of black tarp submerged 3 feet under the water that was loaded with mahi-mahi and ono. Twenty-eight assorted mahi, ono, and three extremely tired fishermen later, they instructed me to turn the boat toward home. The bite was so hot that we may have ended up with twice that many fish if they wanted to continue fishing. That's why we always mention on our charters to let us know if you notice something floating in the water. Please! |
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| Noteworthy Nibbles 29 lb. Stripe marlin, 29 lb. Bull mahi, 20 lb. Cow mahi, tag-and-release 80lb. Bluemarlin. Nice troll bite outside the Manele bay hotel. |
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Larry and Char White 151 lb. blue marlin, 38 lb. Spearfish, 21 lb mahi. Nice fish Larry and Char, you two are some of the luckiest fishermen I know. |
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| Floyd and Suzy Crawford. 6 Mahimahi. A little rough but for 6 fish ranging from 16 to 40 pounds, well worth it. | ||
Tom and Vicky Bellmore. 4 mahi all around 20 lbs., 41 lb ono, 28 lb ulua (Giant trevally) 15lb Kahala(Amberjack). Nice live bait bite on downrigger at Kahoolawe. |
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John Ratzenberger and son. Tag and release spearfish and a 21 lb. mahi. A couple of nice fish for a couple of down to earth people. |
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Wahine tournament girls. 17 Mahi from 15 to 35 lbs. The girls did an awesome job at the "missile"M |
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May 1 Lee family on a 6 hr trip hooked a beautiful 492 lb. Blue Marlin and battled it for an hour and 45 minutes. |
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Jared Alexander did an excellent job on a 506 lb. Blue Marlin hooked behind Molokai. The battle lasted 3 hours before we finally landed the fish. Great job Jared! |
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65 lb ono for the Mees' Big fish for a nice couple. Live bait on the downrigger produces the biggest ono I've ever caught in these waters in my whole life. |
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5 ono from 20-30 lbs. 2 mahi. Share boat where everyone on the boat did battle. |
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155 lb blue marlin Fought like a big tuna. |
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20 mahi off floater on the backside of Lanai. Man its fun when we find these things. |
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6 Mahi including a nice 57 lb bull for Chad Smith. Nice addition to your wall Chad! |
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| Again, we at Ho'okela Sportfishing would like to Thank all of you for fishing with us and hope to see you all again soon. | ||
| Aloha, Capt. Kim, Chickeneck, and Kenny |
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| Ho'okela Sportfishing Lahaina Harbor Slip # 35 Lahaina, Maui 808.661.1641 Toll Free: 1.866.FSH.MAUI |
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