It’s been some time since my last report because I’ve been crewing for The Last Chance in the last three tournaments. The blue marlin bite has been really good the last few days. They’re in spawning mode and swarms of blue marlin both small and big are holding in localized areas. If you are lucky enough to find them during the tide changes you’re gonna get climbed on! The big yellowfin tuna have made the best showing in years. Blind strikes are happening now and they’re holding on the ledges and in the porpoise.
In the Firecracker tournament (July 2-3) we had a slow start, tagging just one marlin and missing another on the first day. On day 2 we waited until 12pm before our first bite and in the next 2 hours tagged another 2 blue marlin which put us tied for third place. Luckily it was enough for us to make a few thousand dollars.
During the World Cup Blue Marlin Tournament (July 4th) we were in the right area but just missed running in front of the big girl that won the tournament. We fished right out front the harbor and tagged a small 150lb blue. About a mile south of our position, the Maui Jim caught the winning blue marlin that went a little over 700lbs.
July 6-7th we entered the Marlin Magic Tournament. We had a great start and were tied for first on day one with 2 blue marlin tagged. Day 2 we fished a little farther south trying to avoid the flotilla of boats fishing off of Honaunau and missed the morning flurry of bites just north of us. We again waited until 12pm before we getting our first bite from a fiesty 200lb-er. As we leadered the fish to the boat a small 90lb blue followed her to the boat. As Ian, the other deckhand, held the fish alongside the boat I franticly tried to catch the small blue that was following. It wasn’t interested and after over 5 minutes of trying we set the blue marlin free and they both disappeared. Our next bite came at 3pm and we tagged our third blue marlin of the tournament and needed another to win. At 3:30, thirty minutes from stop fishing, we had something eat the stinger position only to cut us off on the run. After inspecting the line it appeared to have been an ono that broke us off. Unfortunately for us, we lost by 2 tags in this tournament.
The good news is that the fish are here and I will be fishing for the next 7 days with Darryl from Los Angeles. Darryl fished last year with me for 4 days and is looking for more kona bluewater action! M