Kayak Fishing Kona

It's been way too long since the last time I've gone fishing! April will be a very busy month with work, but I think I can get at least one day on the water. I'm going to try and plan a trip to Kona, maybe Keauhou or Honaunau? Keauhou is a great place to launch the kayak. It has a small boat ramp in a protected bay so even if the surf is up the launch should be safe. Honaunau is another great spot because the Ono (Wahoo) lane is only a couple hundred yards from shore. Although I've caught some of my biggest fish at Keauhou, I always get lucky at Honaunau. It's a good 3 mile paddle from Honaunau to Ho'okena. Lots of bait around the drop offs and many signs of life. I've ran into some big sharks at Honaunau but they usually mind their own business. A couple years ago I had a HUGE shark charge at my kayak a couple times. The length of the shark from dorsal fin to tail was about as long as my kayak, 13.5 feet! He passed under me close enough to turn my kayak a little, then followed me for about a quarter mile. He eventually went away but still shook me up a bit! That same day I paddled out to Ho'okena. My sonar indicated drop offs from 300-400 feet, 400-500 feet, then the abyss! There were lots of fish stacked up on the bottom so I know this will be a good place to drop some deep jigs. I'm guessing that the Kahala (Amberjack) live there and schools of Ahi (Yellowfin Tuna) and Aku (SkipJack Tuna)breeze through and harass the schools of Opelu.
Hopefully over the next year my son will be strong enough to paddle off shore with me. I can take him in Hilo Bay and do some inshore fishing, but when the wind kicks up I usually end up towing him in. It's only a matter of time before he's stronger than me and one day I may find him towing me in! He loves fishing as much as me and is totally excited when I take him out paddling. He has caught some nice sized Papio (Jacks) and even brought in an excellent eating Uku (Gray Snapper)once! The younger son is not as interested in fishing but still likes to go out once in a while. If he doesn't catch anything in the first 30 or 40 minutes, he's done for the day. He likes "catching", not "fishing"!

Aloha!

So, this is my first post on my fist blog! I'll figure how to customize my page later but this will do for now. Maybe this is a good way to update family and friends on my life here in Hilo, Hawaii.

Hilo is a small and slow town, at least compared to the area in Southern California where I grew up. For the most part, the people here are warm and friendly, and welcome strangers like me into their lives. This island is a great place to raise kids, but there is not much here for them when they grow up. Over the next few years, my kids will have to choose a path that will most likely take them off of this island. It's probably for the best so they can get out and experience different cultures, but hopefully they will come back one day to raise their families.

I guess this is good enough for a start. In future blogs, I'll probably be writing about some of the fun stuff I do around here, like kayaking and fishing, and also about some of the not-so-fun stuff like work!

Aloha!


Hilo, Hawaii