August 8, 2011 Kona Fish Report – Sometimes You’re Just Plain Lucky!

Gardner Grout of Palo Alto, CA joined me on a full day charter.  Again, we headed south since the blue marlin bite was good the day before in that area.  We trolled down the ledge in the morning but didn’t get a bite.  I decided to head into deeper water near the 1000 fathom line and in the distance we saw a few frigate birds working a pod of porpoise.  We made a few passes with the greenstick but I didn’t see any ahi on the sounder.  After 2 hours we decided to go back marlin fishing on the ledge so out went the marlin lures.  On our way back to the ledge we missed either an ahi or a small marlin on the stinger.  None of us saw the bite, but the fish screamed out a few yards of line and came off.  We fished the ledge without a bite and then headed back offshore only to stumble into the same porpoise school.  Sometimes marlin hang around the pod so we made a “courtesy pass” on the pile.  As I neared the outside ege, I marked a fish at 30 fathoms.  I turned around just in time to see and ahi blow up on the stinger.  Gardner got in the chair and fought his first 110lb ahi to the boat in about 20 minutes!