Long time friends Russ and Deborah Whitman, from Redondo Beach, CA, have been fishing in Kona for years. After arriving this week, they already have one trip under their belt, and their goal is to simply have Russ catch his first blue marlin since his massive heart surgery last year. Russ is not a beginner; he has fished marlin, tuna and mako for at least 40 years from coast to coast, with most of those years out of his home port of Marina Del Rey, CA. So far this week, we have a 28+ pound mahi mahi to brag about. We went deep offshore early in the day and found a nice bird pile with lots of bait. After working the area for a while with no luck, we decided to head back in closer. Just outside the 500 fathom line the long rigger was hit; although it was not the prize, it was a nice mahi mahi. Russ, after transferring his own rod to the chair, had the fish landed in no time. Did I mention it was caught on the “Lucky Linda Lure”? We are definitely ready to go after the prize marlin now.
The Forecast; Man, oh man, it has been slow. The last couple of weeks have seen some mahi, and some ono; in general, some of everything, but not in any numbers. We expect the striped marlin and mahi will be here in numbers in January, and there is always the end of year and January ahi runs for action. Water temperatures cooled a bit to 77 degrees, but Kona is noted for our unbelievable calm weather and waters; it is “Paradise” any time of the year.
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