Some Kailua-Kona sportfishing charters start smooth.
Others test you before you even clear the harbor.
This one? It threw everything at us — and then turned into one of the best blue marlin fishing days our Kona charter boat has ever seen.
Blue marlin fishing in Kona, Hawaii was the goal — a true bucket-list fish — and everyone stepped aboard ready for battle.
They had no idea how many they were about to hook.
The Opelu Struggle: Live Bait Fishing in Kona
Before chasing marlin, we needed bait — live opelu, the crown jewel of Hawaiian offshore fishing.
And that morning, earning them was a war.
Schools were scattered and skittish, sliding across the bait grounds like ghosts on the sounder. To make it worse, sharks were everywhere. Every time we set up, a shark demolished our rigs.
Hooks bitten off.
Leaders shredded.
Time slipping away.
Three full hours passed.
Dozens of re-ties.
Sharks eating tackle like candy.
Finally — mercifully — we boxed eight live opelu.
Not many.
But enough.
Straight to the Ledge: Prime Kona Blue Marlin Grounds
Already behind schedule, we ran straight for the ledge — one of Kona’s most productive blue marlin fishing areas. We slid the first live bait out on light tackle and started walking both baits down the structure.
It didn’t take long.
Boom.
The long bait got crushed.
The rod loaded, the drag screamed, and just like that — blue marlin on in Kailua-Kona.
Eight minutes later, we released our first fish of the day. Quick. Clean. The perfect warm-up.
When the Kona Ledge Turned On
We reset and steamed back up the ledge, fighting a ripping downhill current. Then the tide shifted.
And everything changed.
For the next two hours, it was pure chaos — the good kind.
The kind that defines world-class sportfishing in Kona, Hawaii.
Blue marlin after blue marlin.
Singles.
A double.
Rod tips snapping down.
Anglers scrambling.
The cockpit electric.
We backed down so hard and so long that waves broke over the transom, soaking the deck and everyone on it. Nobody cared.
The fish wouldn’t stop coming.
By the time the ocean finally took a breath, we had gone 7 for 8 on blue marlin — the best release day in our boat’s history.
Even better?
Every single person in the family released a marlin.
On light tackle.
On a day that tried to beat us before it even began.
A Kona Fishing Charter Day Etched in Memory
As we pointed the bow back toward Kailua-Kona Harbor, the teenagers were still buzzing, the parents were glowing, and the entire crew was riding the high of one of those rare offshore days — the kind Hawaii sportfishing charters are built on.
Seven blue marlin released.
A new boat record.
And a family that came to Kona hoping for one bucket-list fish — and left with seven.
A day none of us will ever forget.
