Two Days Fishing Twice The Fun

Allison Bowen, Mike Lawrence, Maurice Veissi and Monica Hernandez fished with us on the L&H back to back days and a good time was had by all. Due to trips already in the schedule our fishermen we forced to leave late one day and return early another, but they did not let that affect their fun or the fishing. On our first day the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the run out. Everyone did great catching bait and in no time we had plenty. After leaving the bait spot I found something I have never seen this time of year. It was two nice cobias on the surface in only twenty feet of water over the white sand. I stopped the boat, Greg and James presented two baits and Allison and Monica went to work on the fish with spinning rods. Cobia are one of my favorite fish and although we see this type of thing in the winter and spring, to find something like this in the heat of summer was very exciting. The girls did great and with two cobias laying side by side in the fishbox we were off to find something else. With great conditions we decided to try for golden tilefish. When our rigs hit the bottom the tilefish were there waiting. That afternoon we found golden tiles to over ten pounds and even had a few doubles. All of the fish were nice size and that made for some great eating. After a few small dolphin we stopped on the edge of the reef for a few minutes. Our team quickly hooked four big bonitos and landed three. After a few more bonitos and a nice kingfish we made our way back to the marina.

Day two again provided us with great weather. After catching bait we decided to run south and try to find Mike a sailfish. As soon as we stopped we hooked a sail, but unfortunately he jumped off. After a few bonitas and a couple kings, Mike and Maurice found themselves hooked up to a double header sail. Both fish went opposite directions and after a tough battle, Mike's line got ran over by a small boat and Mo's fish broke off. Bad luck I guess. When we got the baits back out, one of the girls got a nice king all the way to the boat and then, like the others, it got away. I could see the shiny fish just laying down there so I grabbed the gaff and jumped in after the kingfish! I swam down, gaffed the still stunned king and returned to the surface with our fish and also some good luck. We reset again and Mike got a big king and things were looking up. Just before we began to pull the baits in, Mike got the sailfish he was looking for. It was a tough fight, but Mike was up for the challenge and did a great job. We took a bunch of photos and headed for the dock all smiles! Thanks alot you guys for two great trips and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Persistence Pays for Grace Family

Ed and Barbara Grace are first time fishermen on the L&H. They were recommended to us by our good friend Capt. Kevin Nakamaru from Kona Hawaii. Kevin led my family and I to 8 blue marlin and 6 yellowfin tuna in a single day last year and is definitely the guy to fish with if you are planning a trip to Hawaii (Northern Lights Sportfishing 808-960-1549). When Mr. and Mrs. Grace were in Hawaii earlier this year, catching marlin, Kevin recommended they try the L&H for sailfish and swordfish. The Grace's booked us for two days, which turned out to be the way to go. The first day started out stormy and would remain that way throughout the day. We tried for sailfish, but could only manage a couple kingfish and bonitas and cudas. As we made our way into the gulfstream our crew encountered several storms some with high seas and strong wind gusts. We made a couple of drops for swords, but with unfavorable conditions we cut it short. We ended up with a few dolphin, but all in all it was a wet, slow day.

Day two was much better weather and with Debbi and Laurel joining us I was sure we would do well. Despite calm seas and clear skies nothing would bite. We tried kitefishing in the morning with no bites, then we went nearly thirty-five miles offshore and all we found were a couple schools of skipjacks. When we arrived back inshore at the swordfish grounds Ed caught a big barracuda and a few small dolphin, but still no swordfish bites. Our time was running out! As I steered the L&H toward the marina I continued to search for the fish we were after for two days. Then all of the sudden, as if it were a gift from above, a sailfish free jumped off the bow! Then he did it again and again. I pushed all of the L&H's 1320 horsepower to the limit toward the sailfish. As soon as the boat slowed down, the team put the baits out and in seconds we were hooked up! What a thrill!!! Our team had tried so hard for this fish and now we finally had him hooked. Ed did a great job with the light spinning outfit as the L&H backed down in hot pursuit. Every-one cheered and screamed as the big, beautiful sail burst out of the water. A few minutes later James got the leader and showed his ever-improving skills as a wireman until we had the fish by the bill and were able to get some photos. I could not have been happier! After covering over one hundred miles in two days we manged to get the fish of the trip for the Grace's, only a few minutes outside the port, at the end of our second day. Thank you so much Ed and Barbara for spending such long hours with us and for all of your generosity toward my crew and I! We look forward to seeing you next May!

Fathers Day Fun

Wendy Armstrong gave her husband Jim and a few of his friends a full day of fishing fun to celebrate fathers day and Jim's birthday and the crew on the L&H didn't let her down. We ran offshore and found several schools of dolphin, but most were undersized and we had to catch and release. After a while we found some skipjacks and that gave everyone something a little bigger to pull on. After catching the skipjacks we resumed the hunt for dolphin and found a few more schools. With most of the fish being on the small side, again, it was mostly catch and release. I decided that we should try for a swordfish since we were not that far from the spot and if we were able to catch a sword it would save the day. As soon as the bait got down we got a bite. The rod bent over double and it seemed like a good fish. This is too good to be true I told myself. One of Jim's friends was up on the bridge with me and I told him that if we were able to land this fish it would be a great fathers day present. The sword fought hard all the way to the surface and when we finally got the leader we could see that he was tailwrapped. Greg pulled the leader and and I ran down from the bridge and sunk the first gaff. We got another gaff in the fish and everyone helped pull until it was in the boat. I was so happy! That fish turned an ok day into a great one. We made another drop and had a bite but the fish came off. When we made it to the dock everyone was very pleased with the fathers day/birthday spent catching fish on the L&H!

Dolphin Wahoo Day

Mike Quesada and his team from Link Construction Group have fished with us for the past few years. Ususally they are a large group and we find a few other boats to accomodate everyone. This year Mike needed five boats, Debbi did a great job organizing and everything went smooth. The weather was beautiful but the baitfishing was as tough as it could possibly be. After trying a few spots with very little success we decided to run offshore with next to no live bait. About ten miles out James and I saw a single bird picking and when we got to the area we found a big green cargo net. Dolphin began to swim up from all different directions and soon we had fish jumping everywhere. For twenty minutes we had it more or less to ourselves then boats began to come from all different directions. With so many boats the fish began to spread out and became tougher to catch. When the dolphin action slowed we changed tactics and caught four nice wahoo. A few hours later we found a large tree branch and caught another nice dolphin and four more wahoo. This was our best catch of wahoo this year and with bunch of nice dolphin to go with them everyone caught plenty of fish. Best of all everyone got to take home plenty of great eating fillets. Thanks again Mike and to everyone at Link Construction and we look forward to seeing you again next year.