No Surface Action for Pelagic... Bottom Fish Galore!

The wind was blowing off shore with a cool breeze the day before Thanksgiving. I had the opportunity to fish with Warren Reeves who has had a marvelous run on catching pelagic these last two months on the Big Island. Warren was kind enough to introduce me to Ho'okena Beach Park as I seek new launch sites to explorer.

Ho'okena is located south of Kona between the 101 and 102 mile markers down a paved road that leads down a little over 2 miles. The beach park is made up of fine sand and is one of the cleanest launch sites I have came across. There is camping available, facilities and plenty of shade trees that you can bring your family out while you enjoy a day of kayak fishing.

Launching was from the right side of the beach next to the rocks. There was a 2 to 3 foot swell and we had to time the waves coming into shore as we launched and moved to the north. Trolling for over 3 miles, there was no action on the surface but yet the fish finder was going off constantly with fish on the bottom. I keep my fish alarm setting on large fish only and after 2 hours, we decided to get some type of action from the bottom if we could not get it on top.

Bottom fishing in Hawaii is fun, but you always take the chance of getting your hooks caught on the coral or fish that take your bait and move into caves or hide in rocks. The end result could lead to loosing tackle and line that adds dearly to the pocketbook $$$. But on the positive side, you have the chance to land a monster fish that will make your arms so tired when you haul it up. You also could bring up a fish species that you may have never caught before. And today was day for bringing up 2 Kahalas (Amberjack) in which I never caught before.

The battles were strong at the beginning, but once you get the fish off the bottom, they succumb to the water pressure closer to the surface and become little puppies to manage.