Kona Marlin Fishing with Sea Strike on Hawaii Island's Kona Coast

Marlin Fishing in Kona with Sea Strike

The island of Hawaii is one of the world's best marlin and big-game fishing destinations. The Big Island's Kona Coast is uniquely situated on the sheltered, leeward side of the island. This coast is protected from heavy seas and Pacific trade winds by mountains nearly 14,000 feet tall. (Click here for a map.) 

Nowhere else in the world is such successful big-game fishing found in such calm waters. Sea conditions off the Kona coast are typically calm and sunny, and the island's steep bottom puts big-game fishing just 1/4-mile offshore. Most of Kona's 1,000-pound marlin have been caught only 2 to 5 miles from shore! 

Six species of billfish roam the Kona coast: pacific blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, shortnose spearfish, Pacific sailfish, and broadbill swordfish. 

Fishing styles vary depending on target fish and season. Marlin are caught on trolled lures or on live bait -- typically using aku (skipjack tuna) between 2 and 20 pounds. Boat speed, rigging techniques, depth of bait, and skirt color are some of the variables that we employ.

The Pacific blue marlin is our most prized and abundant game fish. Marlin season runs all year -- summer is best, but striped marlin and spearfish make strong appearances throughout the year, along with black marlin and Pacific sailfish in other seasons.

The photo at left was taken during the Hawaiian International Billfish/ Pro Am Tournament in 1993. The same fish is pictured above as a full-body mount. Mr. Ray Hawkes, the angler who caught this massive fish aboard the Sea Strike, thereby winning the Pro Am that year, is pictured with his lovely wife Barbara. The pacific blue marlin weighed 1,166 pounds, and was caught on 50 pound test. This IGFA world record has yet to be broken, and the mount continues to be displayed in the lobby of the King Kamhehameha Hotel in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

The biggest marlin caught in Kona was 1,656 pounds and 17' long, caught by angler Gary Merriman and legendary captain Bart Miller in 1984. The beast is the 2nd largest marlin ever caught on rod and reel. The biggest marlin ever caught on rod and reel was out of Oahu, Hawaii, weighing in at 1,820 pounds.

There are many marlin fishing stories like this in this small fishing port in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Huge fish roam these waters and provide some of the best sport fishing action in the world. There is a wall at Waterfront Row in Kona that is dedicated to displaying photos of granders (marlin over 1,000 pounds) caught here.

Mark Jordan took his dad out marlin fishing aboard the Sea Strike. They hooked a marlin and Mr. Jordan, Sr. jumped in the chair to do battle. You can get the job done relatively quickly with a marlin weighing less than 200 pounds, but it isn't necessarily a good idea to get the fish to the back of the boat too fast. These fish can be dangerous, and if they come in too hot, they can actually jump into the boat and right through the nearest person.

On this particular day, Captain Dale got some great footage of the marlin behind the boat. Check out the video on the left, or click on the youtube button below the video to bring it up in your browser.