|
Hawaii, the most remote set of islands in the world, offers some of
the most prolific sport fishing opportunities on the planet, and, the
best concentration of charter fishing boats is in the Honokohau Harbor,
just outside of Kailua-Kona.
The early Hawaiians created a culture based on fishing, complete with
fishing gods, shrines and special ceremonies oriented toward catching
fish.
Asian commercial fisherman in Hawaii, with uniquely designed boats,
followed in the wake of the Hawaiians to fish the bountiful waters at
the turn of the century. In the 1940s some local residents with boats
began to take out military service personnel|| stationed in Hawaii,
starting a new industry of charter boat fishing.
In 1958, the new assistant manager of the Kona Inn, Peter Fithian, looked
at the fishing in Kona with an entrepreneur’s eye. In all his
experiences, the New Englander had never known anything quite like the
big game fish in the calm waters off the coastal village of Kailua-Kona.
He was willing to gamble that sportsmen around the globe would travel to Kona to do battle with the king of sport fish, the Pacific blue marlin, which can grow to 15-plus feet in length and can weight more than 1,000 pounds.
Fithian got Kona’s charter skippers to agree to put on
a fishing contest and the result was the Hawaiian International Billfish
Tournament (HIBT), now one of the oldest, most renowned fishing competitions
in the world. The 43rd Annual HIBT will kick off on Sunday, August 4
with a gala parade down Alii Drive at 2 pm, followed by an opening ceremony
at the Hulihee Palace at 3 pm.
Visitors are welcome to watch the fleet depart at 8 am from the Kailua
Bay on August 5-6 and 8-9 and to greet the boats when they return with
their catch at the weigh-ins beginning at 4 pm on the Kailua Pier.
“I’ve fished a lot of places,” said Bill Hoey, a California
developer who spends his free time in Kona fishing and hose team has
won the prestigious HIBT. "But there is no place for fishing blue
marlin like Kona. First of all, the weather in Kona is the best in the
world year round. The water is calm, and year in and year out, this
is the best place for blue marlin.”
|
|
Hoey, who has fished nearly the entire Pacific and a good deal of the
Atlantic, says no thrill compares to hooking up and fighting a Pacific
blue marlin.
First there is the thrill of the hunt,” he said. “You
have to look for the fish, you don’t just drive the boat to a
spot, drop your line in the water and wait. It takes some skill to know
where the fish are.
Hooking the fish is the next challenge. Says Hoey: “When the fish
takes the hook, the thrill of hearing the line scream out, seeing the
fish leaping out of the water and feeling your adrenaline rush —
there isn’t a sport like it.
Although Kona is known for its trophy marlin, the deep blue waters just
off shore also yield other species: spearfish, swordfish, various tuna,
mahimahi (dorado), rainbow runners, ono (wahoo), barracuda, trevallies,
bonefish, and various bottom fish like snappers and groupers. Visiting
anglers do not need a fishing license.
Charter fishing boats range widely both in size, from small 24-foot
open skiffs to luxurious 50-foot-plus yachts, and in price, from less
than $100 per person to “share” a boat with other anglers
for a half-day to $900 a day to book an entire luxury sportfishing yacht
on an exclusive basis. Prices vary according to the boat, the crowd,
and the captain.
Also, many boat captains tag and release marlin, or keep the fish for
themselves (sorry, that’s Hawaii style). If you want to eat your
mahimahi for dinner or have your marlin mounted, tell the captain before
you go.
|
