|
SPORTFISHING MAGAZINE
By Doug Kelly
Capt. Neal Isaacs
After 30 years of global fishing, I finally found myself at one of the meccas of marlin fishing Kona. Capt. Neal Isaacs, president of the Kona Sportfishing Promotional Group and vice president of the Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club, noted my nervousness and quickly set my mind at ease. "Anxious", the name of the charter boat I fished the first day, fit my mood precisely.
"Most anglers come to Kona with great expectations," Isaacs said. "They've heard or read stories about catches of granders here and hope for the same. It does happen on the occasional one day trip, but you've given yourself four days of fishing, so just relax. I promise that you won't leave disappointed, even if a monster blue isn't encountered."
 My boat mates wasted little time substantiating his words. Kay Kolt, a flight attendant who's fished all over the world, jumped into the fighting chair only minutes after we left the marina and set up the spread. Isaacs spotted birds circling above a school of baitfish, and a huge skipjack tuna nailed one of the lures pulled through the fracas. It later weighed in at 32 pounds, a trophy for the species.
Meanwhile, Chris Choy, whose dad owns the famous Sam Choy's restaurant chain in Hawaii, worked a bent rod for the better part of 30 minutes before the hook pulled on an estimated 500 pound blue.
"I troll lures or drift baits such as live skipjacks at about a 50/50 ratio," Isaacs said. "But I think it's more exciting when a marlin moving 50 mph hits a lure going 8 knots.
"Ideal marlin conditions arise on the dark of the moon and high tide with good current movement," he advised. "A 1 to 2 foot chop is also nice to splash the lures and provide less time for marlin to react. Currents parallel the island's coastline, moving north to south and at times vice versa, which keeps Kona in an eddy that baitfish find comfortable."
Isaacs usually fishes ledges distributed along the 100, 500 and 1,000 fathom curves that lie just offshore. "There's more current around ledges, and marlin tend to hold around them," I
|
Where to Find 'em
by Captain Neal Isaacs
Whether it is the Kona Coast or the Gulf of Mexico, fishing structure is one good way to find action. With the accuracy of GPS technology and a good fathometer, trolling the 100, 500 or 1,000 fathom ledges, as well as structure, usually pays off.
Fishing structure in the Pacific Ocean is no different than fishing structure in a freshwater lake, only on a much larger scale.
|
|
saacs said. Fish also come into the points off Kona to feed, such as out from "the trail", a vertical mark that leads from the road above the shoreline to the water (where Capt. Cook was killed by natives and eaten) and "Red Hill," a small volcano onshore. Another favorite hot spot: "Grandma's Kitchen," an underwater volcano two miles offshore, southeast of the Trail.
Rigs consist of 130 pound test running to with about 18 feet of double line and 18 feet of 400 pound mono leader. Capt. Tony Clark, our mate aboard Anxious, sets the two lure hooks 180 degrees from each other rather than 90. Color preferences include ice blue/purple/silver skirts on the outer portion of the lure and orange/white, purple and pink/white for inside skirts.
Isaacs, whose career best is a 1,005 pound blue, cautioned that size doesn't always equate to the difficulty of the battle. "We once caught a 940 pound blue on a purple Softhead, which amazingly was brought to the boat in only 17 minutes," he said. "And yet a 700 pounder caught on another day by the same angler took two and a half hours to land. Go figure."
For the more adventurous, Isaacs noted that excellent fishing can also be found at the Jagger Seamount about 56 nautical miles west of Kona, as well as another seamount 150 miles to the west that attracts primarily commercial fishermen. However, as Kolt remarked, "Fishing right along the coast is usually so good here, you don't really need to go that far. Kona's the only place I know where you can fish half a day and possibly catch a grander!"
Kolt put a nice ending to the day with the release of a striped marlin that crushed a lure while we trolled in 500 fathoms directly out from the Trail. Another striped marlin struck but got off the hook while we trolled just outside the channel to the marina.
|
|
