Kathy’s Kitchen Owner visits Kona Hawaii. Kathy (Illinois State Fair Winner for over 30 years) along with her Husband, Darrell spent the day fishing with us, what a treat to finally meet her. For Years we have been purchasing wonderful products from Kathy’s Kitchen, a family owned business from Virginia, Illinois. Most notably for us, we use her Vidalia Onion Relish. Some of you probably saw my recipe in an article I write for Coastal Angler Magazine. Back to fishing… once we left the harbor we returned to an area where we had several bites the day before. Once we got there we found a porpoise school we headed for it. After just a few passes we are hooked up. Adam’s new favorite lure that had been getting the bites all week is bit. Light tackle, porpoise school, screaming reel and five other lines to clear, you get the picture. Kathy gets to the chair, Adam transfers the rod to her and after just a few moments the line goes slack! Ouch! Now we realize that not only is the fish off, so is Adam’s lure! Another painful loss. (Last week Lucky Linda was lost.) Luckily, we have photos of the lure and now the search is on to find another one just like it or one similar. I always tell our guests, “The best lures made are on the bottom of the ocean”. Adam is now going through all the lures on the boat looking for a temporary replacement. Do they have support groups for situations like this? We finished our day with several more strikes with nothing sticking. Still very exciting.
Recipe for Vidalia Onion Coated Fish: (Spearfish and Ono our favorites, works wonderfully on skewered shrimp too.) Basically, we soak a cedar plank for hours and then prepare the relish along with real mayonaise and coat the fish. I place very thin sliced lemons or limes under the fish and arrange them on the cedar plank. Dust the fish with a little smoked paprika and place on the grill on medium and cook for about 20 minutes. You should try it!
Contact Kathy at 217-452-3035 for everything from Beet Pickles to Jalapeno Jelly
Trucker’s Chucker aka Shortbill Spearfish. Trucker and his buddies, fellow horticulturists from Northern California just wanted to do some fishing in Kona Hawaii. The group boarded Fire Hatt and we headed for the “Grounds”. What started out to be a three quarter day quickly turned into a full day as the bites started coming. Final count two Shortbill Spearfish and four bites. Not a bad day on the water. Credit being given to a small lure from Adam’s collection by an unknown maker…. we could not keep the fish off of it! I’m thinking it could be the follow-up for the lost Lucky Linda Lure. We are now on the hunt to try to find more of the hot little number before we loose it! Having had such good luck, the group will be returning later this week for another chance at what they hope will be a Blue Marlin. Once back to the dock, Crewman Adam Ludwig cleaned and packaged the fish for the group to take home with them. If you have never tasted our local Spearfish, you are missing out. Commonly seen on local menus as Hebe, the flaky white meat is almost sweet to the taste. Prepared on a cedar plank, grilled or pan seared you should try it while you are here.
Lucky Lady Hooked Up and Lucky Linda Lure is Lost! This is true. Katherine and Mark from Lincolnshire, IL boarded Fire Hatt for a day of snorkeling at Captain Cook Bay and an afternoon of fishing. After trolling to Captain Cook and enjoying some snorkeling, which by the way had two Humpback Whales just yards from shore. What a sight to see. The two whales leisurely hung in the bay for hours. Several kayakers and many boats got to hover a safe distance and watch them. Truly a remarkable sight. Spinner Dolphin joined up later as we were leaving the cove. Now with lines back in the water and lunches being eaten, we are headed out to the deep. Not many boats out today and not many reports of fish except a few Mahi Mahi, it didn’t look too promising. We were headed back to the harbor and had just started to put things away and start to bring in the lines when Linda saw a fish coming in straight for the “Lucky Linda” on the short rigger. One strike, then another and the fish was on. A nice Pacific Blue Marlin! Kathy was the designated angler and was in the chair in seconds after the hook up. The Marlin came up jumping and running, we could clearly see it was a nice fish. After about 15 minutes the line goes slack, the fish is off. Ouch! And the Lure is gone too. Not to fear though, Bomboy (Bomboy Lures) made the lure for me and will have another one (or five) to me as soon as possible. Kathy hooked up to a marlin a few years ago in the Bahamas and it came off after about an hour of fighting it. Looks like third times a charm for this Lucky Lady Angler.
International Youth Angler Scores in Kona HI while on a fishing trip with his Father. From the Country of Kazakhstan, the Father and Son duo spent two half days fishing in Kona aboard Fire Hatt. Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country and the largest landlocked country in the world. It is equivalent to the size of Western Europe. This being said, they began their first day under a beautiful tropical sun with silky smooth water. The conditions were perfect! Immediately after leaving the harbor headed towards Kaiwi Point we were hooked up. Two lines go down, two anglers headed for the screaming Shimano Reels and one busy crewman sorting out the mahem. In the end both fish are landed. A 17 lb Ono and a 24 lb Ono! If you are wondering who got the big one, it was the proud son! That was all the action for the first day. With the anxious thought of what could have been, the two wanted a chance at a Marlin. On Day two, we headed offshore. With one bite early on the stinger, a quick zip and an estimated 200+ lb Blue Marlin was off. This was the highlight of the day until the half day charter was winding down, we finally got another bite on the stinger line! The fish came in, ran off a few seconds of line and was off! A nice Striped Marlin had escaped this time. We look forward to having this team back in the future to take care of unfinished business. Landing a Marlin!
A 15 lb Ono for 7 Yr old Tommy. Have you have ever witnessed the face of a child on a fishing rod fighting a fish of any size and anticipating what he is about to land? It is absolutely the most innocent display of sheer ecxitement you can imagine. Tommy is that story. On a half day family fishing trip with his Parents and Grandpa, we left the harbor and saw the Spinner Dolphin playing around the green buoy at the harbor entrance. We headed south. Having had no activity for hours, we were headed back to the harbor. Not a good feeling when you have a child that wants to catch a fish. After all, he was “Fishing”. This was an extremly patient young man that spent most of the time on the bridge looking for birds, splashes and any sigh that might bring a strike. As the day was winding down, First Mate Adam Ludwig switched out the stinger lure to a Bomboy Bullett and with about 30 seconds left before he was to start bringing in the lines, the stinger is bit! A Hail Mary Bite! 7 year old Tommy landed the 15 lb Ono and has a great story to tell. ( And a meal to share.) Happy New Year Tommy.
Mahi Mahi Surprise for New York Brothers. As 14 year old brothers Max and Dillon were boarding the Fire Hatt along with their parents David and Dawn for an afternoon family fishing trip, we were told that Dillon was the lucky one. Sure enough! Just moments after the chair talk, we were talking and laughing when the short rigger went off. As luck would have it, the “Lucky Linda Lure” was the choice for the Mahi. Dillon is in the chair and the fight is on! The Mahi Mahi fought hard and Dillon fought harder. A short 10 minutes later he has his nice 20+ pound Mahi Mahi to the boat. Crewman Adam Ludwig leadered and gaffed the prize and the fight was finished. Now the family is trying to determine where to take the beauty to have it prepared for dinner. There are several restaurants that will prepare your catch. Have your crew make sure the fish is properly chilled and keep it cold until you get it to the chef. It is always good to call ahead and let the restaurant know you are coming.
Look at these faces….that tells it all!
A big Blue Marlin for Christmas. Riley Wight from Heppner, OR brightened his Christmas Holidays this week with a beautiful 524 pounder. It had been a slow couple of days with only one official marlin strike to report until this day. We left the harbor and headed north to the “grounds”. Just moments after Crewman Adam Ludwig finished the chair talk with Riley, the stinger line was screaming. We instantly knew it was a big fish. With lines cleared and cameras manned, Riley is in for the ride of his life. The fish ran, jumped and charged, finally becoming tail wrapped. After determining the fish was dying, we planed the fish up and unfortunately could not revive it. We boated the marlin and came to the scales to weigh and unload before we headed out for more adventure. Later in the afternoon we were just outside “F Buoy” and the same lure was bit again. Line was screaming off and then nothing! May have been a Big Tuna!
Charter Desk New Year’s Day Tournament – January 1st
The Charter Desk is hosting their annual New Year’s Day Tournament!! Sign up at the Charter Desk! http://www.charterdesk.com/tournaments.html
Rock and Reel Tournament - June 16th & 17th
The Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club invites you to come join the fun and excitement of our 10th Annual Rock ‘n Reel Hawaiian Open! Two evenings of excellent food. http://www.hbgfc.org
Kona Kick Off - June 23rd & 24th
The Kona Kick Off is the first event in the 26th Annual Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series. A “Four Flags” tournament, the largest marlin earns 40% of the base purse, and the largest ahi, ono and mahi each earn 20% of the base purse. There are optional daily entries as well. http://www.konatournaments.com
Firecracker Open - June 30th & July 1st
Kona’s signature “Big Game” Tournament that scores ahi and marlin points for the base purse. Optional categories for the largest marlin and ahi of each day and of the two day tournament. http://www.konatournaments.com
28th Annual World Cup Tournament - July 4th
The “World Cup” is truly the only worldwide tournament of its kind. Each July 4, teams fish for 8 hours in their time zone to see who can catch the largest blue marlin over 500 pounds. Winner takes all. There is no second place. The World Cup supports game fishing though its support of the IGFA and The Billfish Foundation. http://www.bluemarlinworldcup.com/
Series Championship - July 13th, 14th, & 15th
The top ten scoring anglers and teams from the preceding year, gather to compete and crown the Champion of the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series. http://www.konatournaments.com
53rd Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament - August 13th – 17th
Five days of tournament fishing August 13-17. Anglers and teams are invited to apply early as full tournament participation is anticipated. Log onto http://www.hibtfishing.com/ for details.
26th Annual Big Island Marlin Tournament - August 18th , 19th & 20th
The event that started it all off in 1986, this event celebrates its 26th year in 2012. The BIMT was the very first high stakes, big game tournament in Hawaii to pay a cash purse for tag and release. The base entry pays the top three largest marlin. Optionals pay most points and largest marlin per day. http://www.konatournaments.com
September Challenge - September 23rd, 24th & 25th.
The Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series began from the deck up in 1986. The September Challenge has been designed with input from the top skippers of 2010. The team raised the minimum weight to 400 lbs and increased the First Place Prize to 70% of the base purse. http://www.konatournaments.com
22nd Annual tag and Release Tournament (TART) - August 27th – 31st
Feel free to contact me about availability and information about these events. You can visit these sites for registration forms and additional information
This Christmas Season we are forever grateful for all of the wonderful people we met on the water. We always want our guests to come on board as customers and leave as friends. As we reflect back on the year, we see faces of young children marveling at the fish they just caught, the satisfied look of the guy that just wanted to catch anything, the surprised look on the face of a lovely lady that just landed a marlin larger than her fishing husband ever caught, and the sheer thrill at the sound of a reel going off and the mood on the boat going from just give us a shot to oh my gosh, look at it jump! We hope you took fond memories home with you and we thank each and every one of you for chartering with us and hope to see you again in the future.
This year we chose our Christmas Card from Marjorie Smith, chartworksart.com She lives in Key Largo, FL Check out her work.
Merry Christmas from Fire Hatt Sportfishing, Chuck and Linda Wilson
Long time friends Russ and Deborah Whitman from Redondo Beach, CA have been fishing in Kona Hawaii for years. Arriving this week, they already have one trip under their belt. The Goal, simply catch Russ 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. Most of those years from 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 and lots of bait. After working the area for a while with no luck, we decided to head back in closer. Just outside the 500 fa line the long rigger was bit. Although it was not the prize, it was a nice Mahi Mahi. Russ, 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 ready to go after the prize Marlin now.
Kathy’s Kitchen Owner visits Kona Hawaii. Kathy (Illinois State Fair Winner for over 30 years) along with her Husband, Darrell spent the day fishing with us, what a treat to finally meet her. For Years we have been purchasing wonderful products from Kathy’s Kitchen, a family owned business from Virginia, Illinois. Most notably for us, we use her Vidalia Onion Relish. Some of you probably saw my recipe in an article I write for Coastal Angler Magazine. Back to fishing… once we left the harbor we returned to an area where we had several bites the day before. Once we got there we found a porpoise school we headed for it. After just a few passes we are hooked up. Adam’s new favorite lure that had been getting the bites all week is bit. Light tackle, porpoise school, screaming reel and five other lines to clear, you get the picture. Kathy gets to the chair, Adam transfers the rod to her and after just a few moments the line goes slack! Ouch! Now we realize that not only is the fish off, so is Adam’s lure! Another painful loss. (Last week Lucky Linda was lost.) Luckily, we have photos of the lure and now the search is on to find another one just like it or one similar. I always tell our guests, “The best lures made are on the bottom of the ocean”. Adam is now going through all the lures on the boat looking for a temporary replacement. Do they have support groups for situations like this? We finished our day with several more strikes with nothing sticking. Still very exciting. 
