Fishing Report February 27, 2012 Lahaina Harbor, Maui, HI

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Aloha from Lahaina Harbor, Maui, Hawaii. Between the large number of people escaping winter and the good fishing, Lahaina Harbor has been a very busy place this February. The beginning of the month yielded a good tuna bite at the buoys. There were also some marlin out there feeding on the tunas. Trolling produced a number of billfish as well as numerous mahis. Overall, the fishing around Maui has been quite productive lately. If there are any questions about the fishing, feel free to contact Deli in Start Me Up’s Lahaina Harbor booth at 808-667-7879 or startmeupfish@gmail.com. The following photographs show some of Start Me Up’s anglers and their catch from the beginning part of February.


Marshall NcNeil, Peter Bemben, Jim Burrell, Gale Nardi, and Brian Rogers had an awesome day on the water, catching every variety of offshore game fish found in Hawaii. The anglers caught billfish, tunas, mahis, and onos. The total catch was two shortbill spearfish (tagged and released), two onos, and a pile of mahis and shibis.

Mark Hale and his sons gave fishing a try while vacationing on Maui and caught a bull mahi. They certainly can’t catch fish like that back home in Utah.

Howard Romig and Steve Merkler trolled in search of the fish and found a mahi apiece.

Yet another mahi made the fatal mistake of trying to eat a lure rigged with two hooks.

A striped marlin was also snagged by a double hook rig. Luckily, the fish remained in good condition and swam away healthy after being tagged and released.

Ryan and Katie Mitchell went all out, fishing with both live bait and artificial lures. The effort paid off as Ryan and Katie racked up a stringer of mahis.

Big game fishing can be very relaxing until a fish bites. Jennifer Ogren was kicking back and then, without warning, she jumped into a tug-of-war exercise against a 200 lb blue marlin. The workout lasted 40 minutes and Jennifer emerged victorious.

Randy Fujan, Chris Bowder, and Mike Johnson waited the fish out and came away with a shortbill spearfish, two mahis, and a kaku. The anglers didn’t have any bites on the way out, but they did get plenty of strikes while coming in from behind Lanai. Another boat fishing the backside of Lanai observed a similar pattern, snagging a couple of nice blue marlin on the way back to Lahaina Harbor. Unfortunately, those big ones got away.

This striped marlin made a strong initial run before settling down. After the fish burned some energy, Mike Baden got to work and brought his striped marlin to the boat. Mike came across his fish on the 100 fathom ledge at Black Manele. The spot is named based on its primary landmark: a dark cliff next to Manele Bay, Lanai.

The Fergusen group had a good time catching these tunas, although they would have loved to have hooked one of the big marlin that was probably in the area feeding on the tunas.

Anglers can get a full night’s sleep and catch fish on the same day. Kari and Chad Harbaugh went fishing in the afternoon and caught a couple of mahis.

Marty Rutherford and Rob Filgate trolled behind Lanai, where big marlin have been periodically popping up behind the boats. Marty and Rob had steady action on the troll as a number of mahis attacked the lures.

Tony Aldredge and his friends broke out the small lures to catch some tunas for sashimi as well as bait. They later hooked a striped marlin that was badly injured during the fight. Therefore, the decision was made to take the striped marlin and enjoy the fillets along with the tuna.

Chelsie Victor, Colton Johannsen, and Steve Lubbert found a current line holding some debris. Soon enough, the fish started biting and the anglers came away with a solid catch.

Jerry Welch, Dan Plett, and Dave Goodmanson didn’t have much time to fish and elected to try their luck on short trip. Luckily, they found the fish right away and put a few in the bag.

These anglers followed a bird pile that was working just inside the 100 fathom ledge. The birds found the fish and then the fishermen got busy not long afterwards, catching a mahi and a nice aku.

Terry and Colleen Vanalstine weathered some blustery conditions and brought in a few fish thanks to their hardiness.

Jeff Langel and Terry Gray had an exciting and tiring day on the water. They fished hard around a FAD and, when the dust settled, Jeff and Terry had a pile of fish.

This happy group of anglers went five for five on mahis. Experienced and novice anglers alike had no problem landing every single fish that they hooked. Having a perfect hookup to fish landed ratio is not a common occurrence.

The trolling spread is set up as soon as there is light in the sky because putting the lures out early can pay off. For example, this mahi bit just after sunrise.

Sometimes the bite is really on and the fish are eating everything (live bait, dead bait, trolled lures, jigged lures, etc.). These anglers found themselves in such a situation and came away with quite a few fish.

A number of boats had already worked the FADs behind Lanai when these anglers showed up. There were still some fish around, however, so a few mahis and tunas ended up in the fish bag.

The Lanai lighthouse produced a few mahis for the Wolf family. Jack and Lauren, ages 11 and 7 respectively, were thrilled with their catch and excited about fishing in general.

Dick Converse caught a mahi. The fish wasn’t a big one, but Dick enjoyed the experience. Besides, the mahi provided an excellent dinner that evening.

Tim Wilson, Kim Milner, Martin Mohler, and their fellow anglers took advantage of an early morning tuna bite at a FAD. The anglers stayed around the buoy after sunrise in hopes of catching some mahis, but the fish stopped cooperating. Buoy fishing can sometimes be restricted to a very limited window of opportunity, making speed of the essence.

This mahi was caught in the blind, meaning that the fish bit without warning in an area that had no obvious indicators of fish.

Deli, the booth guy, doesn’t fish too often. However, he does go out when Rich Guidaboni is in town. Rich and Deli had a great day in 2008, catching a 551 lb blue marlin and tagging and releasing two more that were estimated at 700 and 250 lbs. Rich and Deli tried to repeat the feat, but came up short. At least they caught a mahi, which attacked a lure despite being completely stuffed with squid.

Thanks for taking a look at this Start Me Up fishing report. Remember to direct any questions toward Deli at 808-667-7879 or startmeupfish@gmail.com. With the number of fish that have been coming in, another report should be posted very soon. Until then, tight lines.

Aloha,
Jonny

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