What would you recommend to anglers fishing in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the first time?

Go out for a bucket list trip. Fishing starts right out of the harbor. The boat also stays close to shore due to the very close deep water so should be especially easy for most people prone to motion sickness.

Hard to say. We got lucky. We had a great crew and time. We went with the expectation of just having a good boat ride with the hope we could land some fish. We got lucky. They did all they could to make it happen. Most of all be wary of the reviews. I wanted to fill my freezer and you get caught up reading negative peoples reviews on all the different charters. Even though there aren't many. Go out with the expectation for a great day on the ocean and if you are lucky like we were you might land some fish. Three out of 5 of us had zero experience but my out of town buddies have family that run commercial fishing boats on the east coast. Not that my friends did this but if you think you should be the captain or know more than the deck hand maybe a charter isn't a good idea. However. Captain Jim will allow you to leave the deck hand and run it yourself to a certain degree. Then you can blame yourself for catching nothing. I tried to get my buddy to be the deck hand and he just laughed. Point is just go to have a good time.

Just get out there! Book ahead of time - they fill up quickly. It is great fishing conditions most days, and any bad weather tends to blow through quickly. I was there 12 days, and could have fished every day with no problems. Bring your own food and drink, but dont get drunk - if you aren't used to the water, you will likely get sick if you are drunk.

Get a captain that will stay awake and that wants to put you on fish. I love to fish, grew up in South Florida fishing all the time, I've been looking forward to coming out here fishing for over a year now, and it was nothing but a waste of time and money. Thank you fishbooker

Blue waters and calm seas in May. Blue marlin are just showing up and many other species are possible.

Know what you want to catch, whether you want to keep any fish and let the captain know ahead of time. We did and were very happy with the level of effort the captain exhibited.

Make sure you are clear on exactly where you are meeting. We made a mistake, but was all on me.

Be patient. It's called fishing, not catching, for a reason. Good luck to everyone who goes out.

Follow instructions by crew and have a great time. They're there to help all the way through the fight, of a fish and to give you an awesome experience.

Don't expect to catch something, expect to have a great time on the water, then if you do catch something......Bonus!!!

Just like fishing anywhere. There’s a reason they call it fishing and.not catching…. Lol. It’s still a great time.

Cant give a great thumbs up since we didn't even see anything or get a bite in 6 hours. But it was nice out.

You are able to have lines in the water right out of the harbor. Beautiful scenery. Great place to fish

Experience is awesome just make sure what time of year you go and remember that it’s called fishing not catching.

Don’t expect to catch anything so if you do it’ll be a great bonus. Fish don’t always cooperate with anglers so go with the flow and enjoy your time out on the ocean.

Depends on the day, for fishing, but you could not ask for a better captain. regardless of fish. Great price for private time. We will request him again.

Beyond....With Captain Jim from Go Get Em !!!! He knows the true secrets of a great captain and delivered

Kailua-Kona is a great place to fish! Waters are usually very calm and the scenery awesome!

Ask if there is live bait on board for other means of fishing in case trolling is dead.