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Fishing in Kona

JeffC

JeffC

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2011
Messages
348
Reaction score
253
Location
Long Island
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Mauna Loa Village, Sweetwater at Kauai, Club La Costa
We are going to Kona next week and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for charter or party boats. I'm going with my son and he only weighs 100 lbs. so I'm not looking for serious deep sea fishing. Thanks.

Jeff C
 
Look up Sea Wife charters. I tried them and Bite Me charters. I didn't much care for the way that bite me ran their business and did not have a good time on their half day charter. The people at Sea Wife got the concept of treating their customers with a good level of customer service. We all caught fish on the Sea Wife charter and all had a good experience with them. I fished with them last forth of July. Follow them on facebook. They post often with pictures. We cooked the ahi tuna we caught for three nights straight in the timeshare. Have fun and post pictures for us of your catch! :D

Whatever you do.....do not take any bananas on board. Not even banana bread.
 
YES! We went deep sea fishing while there last July. I did tons of research on TripAdvisor on the different boats and read lots of reviews and called and spoke with a bunch. We ended up going with FireHatt with our kids (and our 16 year old son is only about 130 pounds and it was 2 weeks before he went in for his 3rd open heart surgery and cardiac pacemaker placement, so he's no burly fishman). LOVED them. Very family oriented. Great with kids. They totally gear your trip towards what you want and work SO hard to get the kids "a fish". Both my boys caught ono within the first hour (Chuck & Linda of FireHatt know RIGHT where to go to get the kids a fish) and they were SO excited. You can see the photos at the bottom of them with their fish. Nice fish!
Here's the funny thing, FireHatt was actually $25-125 cheaper than all the other charters and we were able to get an extra discount by sending my poor 78 year old dad to do a timeshare presentation at the Marriott (we were staying in the Marriot condos out in Waikoloa). They are working to build up their business which is newer, so both the pricing things won't last for long....they're just too good!
Here is their website. You really might want to call them NOW and set something up. There is a good chance they will be booking rapidly.
http://www.firehattsportfishing.com/

This is also my review on TripAdvisor. If I sound really enthusiastic....I was! Took us all awhile to stop drooling as we talked about it. Read the other reviews too, and you'll see a LOT of reviews written by families.


“Just book them - the best for a family!”

Reviewed July 18, 2011


We had the great fortune of going out with Chuck and Linda for a half day charter on the Fire Hatt this July. We were a family group of 5, that included 2 teenaged boys (16 and 13) and also my 78 year old father. We are not very experienced at deep sea fishing. It was PERFECT!
Chuck and Linda: Chuck and Linda are the perfect hosts and such a pleasure to chat with. As owners (not merely someone captaining a boat for a corporation) they know that their business depends 100% on the best customer service, and they deliver! You realize how important this is when you get out on the boat because fishing is 95% waiting for the bite! So most of your time is spent chatting with Chuck and Linda and enjoying the boat and the water. They are the best of hosts, and our conversation ranged far and wide from fishing to local politics, recommendations for restaurants and activities, etc etc. Truly, it was like spending the afternoon hanging out on a boat in the sun with your best friends. Chuck is a very laid-back guy. He showed our 16 year old son how to drive the boat and our son drove it out on the ocean for well over 2 hours. For a teenaged boy, that was heaven on earth! Linda is a real sweetheart and really knows her stuff when it comes to fishing. She was constantly switching out lures to give us the best chances for fishing success (there's a real science to it). And she was a darling and chatted with my 78 year old father for a long time and charmed him half to death. :)
The Boat: Gorgeous! It is large, which means you have lots of room to move around AND it handles any swells or rough water better. There is a very nice bathroom on board, as well as a refrigerator. There is an indoor area to get out of the sun on the main deck, and also up on the bridge. Both areas are BIG and the seats are PLUSH and everything is super well maintained. My 78 year old father found it to be very, very comfortable even though his balance is starting to go. Their fishing equipment is top-notch and they are constantly working to get you a fish with 5 lines trolling at once and switching lures out for the best chances.
The fishing: Boy, if you're ever going to deep sea fish, Kona is the place to do it! And this is the boat. Chuck and Linda will fish the way you want. If you say "We just want to go for marlin" (or whatever) then they will go all out for that. As a family, they put out 5 lines and let the kids take the first 2 strikes. They trolled up and down "ono alley" right outside the harbor, fully understanding that for teenagers they just want to get A FISH! And they did. They both worked very hard, constantly changing things up, until both boys got fantastic ono. Linda prepped each boy in advance on what to do when he got a hit, so they were ready. When they got their hits, she worked them through reeling their catch in (and these were big fish!) and really let them handle the reel (which many boats don't really let you do) while quietly helping them out as they needed it (but never bruising their manhood, ha ha!). The boys felt so accomplished and loved Linda! Fantastic! Such a highlight for the teens! Then we switched to deeper water and pulled up a mahi-mahi for my husband, then went out trolling for a marlin just for the heck of it (it was my turn and I figured to throw in for lesser odds for a BIG fish). Didn't get a marlin, but it wasn't for a lack of trying on Chuck and Linda's part. Chuck even kept us out longer than we were scheduled at no extra charge (this might be an advantage of having the afternoon booking) trying to catch one more fish. Linda kept the lines in the water until we were pulling into the harbor, trying to get one more. They love to fish and know what they're doing and it SHOWS! If you ARE going for marlin, be assured that they have won MANY fishing tournaments, so you have a great chance with them! They completely understand how a fun family trip works, and make sure you have a good time. As parents themselves, they work their tails off to get the kids a fish. Linda gets photos of everyone and emails them to you after your trip, as well as putting them up on their website. They cleaned our ono afterwards and cut them into steaks and wrapped them up for us to take. Realize that getting to keep some of the fish is NOT the norm on charters! And the amount they gave us was beyond generous. We had 3 big meals for our hungry group of 5 (using the recipes that they explained to me, delicious!) and my father still had a good bit left over to take to some friends over in Hilo.
I would seriously consider booking them for the 6 hour fish + snorkel to Captain Cooks as that would be a good deal and a delightful trip!
PRICE: Would you believe they were the best price we saw? Seriously! They ranged between $25-$125 better than the other charters. Add in to this that they provide top notch customer service and work their butts off to get you fish, plus they have probably THE premium boat in the harbor.......SUCH a deal! Usually when it comes time to tip I do it grudgingly, but I have to say this is the ONE time I felt someone truly deserved the tip (and more) and gave it gladly.
So in conclusion.......call them first! If you can get on their boat, decision made! If you have a couple of options for days, chat with Chuck and Linda and see which day would be best (they'll help you pick a day if several are open, as the fishing can be different depending on the moon, tides, etc)


http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ters-Kailua_Kona_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html
 
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Thank You both for the referrals. I've contacted Fire Hatt and Sea Wife. I'll post about our trip when we get back.


Jeff C
 
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