Kona Hawaii Fishing with Captain Jeff Rogers

Skunked after fishing for 6 hours. From his website «With so many kinds of fish and fishing styles available, there’s little excuse for not catching fish.» Minus two stars. Very negative vibe. Minus two more stars. Sorry, Jeff, spend more time talking TO your current customers and less time talking ABOUT your previous «know-​it-​all» customers. After the initial orientation on the gear, that consisted mostly of mocking inept people, my wife and two teenage sons were almost afraid to use it. I think they were a little relieved not to hook up. He got a little overly defensive when I asked about the $ 100 catch fish guarantee. (It’s only for full day trips) Plus one star for getting close to some dolphins. I tipped because he tried, but after a $ 700 skunking, I went back to shore behind my condo and used my $ 15 rod/​reel combo from Walmart to quickly get the skunk smell off me.

Agree with the other reviews — we had a great time with Captain Jeff. Even though we only caught one fish (it wasn’t for lack of trying — he worked hard!), it was enough to make a great dinner with leftovers. Captain Jeff filleted it perfectly and gave us tips on how best to cook it. Well worth the money and time spent!

My wife and I went out fishing (or catching) with Captain Jeff on the Aloha Kai on the last Friday in September. The boat was great and Captain Jeff was friendly, making sure we knew everything to do when we had a fish on the line. Most of the morning was spent cruising — he informed us the prior days had been much more successful. — so at first it was a little disappointing to not have found any fish yet. However, after several hours (and some great classic rock on the radio) we started hooking fish. My wife and I caught 6 yellowfin tuna plus a skipjack. Captain Jeff then suggested we use the smallest tuna and skipjack as bait for a shark! We lost the first tuna but the second one hooked a 45+ lb monster shark! What a rush reeling him in! See my picture. We highly recommend Captain Jeff and had a great time aboard his ship.

Folks, I have fished all over the world and Capt’n Jeff is a very knowledgeable fisherman and a willing teacher. Of course, if you think you know it all, you may not want to fish with Jeff, you could charter with anyone. Capt’n Jeff is a thoughtful and professional captain who can put you on the fish. He loves to work different approaches to fishing and maximize his customer’s chances for catching fish. That may be trolling, live baiting, jigging, or chunkin’ for something. Capt’n Jeff is a friendly guy, full of stories, open to meeting new people, and is willing to work his a_​_​off to help you have a great time. He is, as every charter captain is, proud of his work but Capt’n Jeff’s approach stands apart as he is willing to engage, teach, and share his experience. I for one will be back, the question is only when.

I had a wonderful time fishing with Captain Jeff. All his equipment was in top notch shape, and his boat is very clean, and he knows where the fish are at. While others I talked to over the week had trouble getting even bait fish to bite, with Captain Jeff I caught a Blue Marlin, a shark, an amberjack, and atleast a half dozen bait fish. I wouldn’t even think about fishing with anybody else next time we go to Kona. Captain Jeff is definitely the best in Kona.

I went on a shared charter with my 18 year old son and Capt. Jeff Rogers. We decided to go with him because his website advertises that he not only goes fishing, but he goes «catching» and that we would be the crew on the boat and therefore more involved in the fishing process. My son has a lot of experience fishing primarily in Alaska and has been
on several different charters.
The first problem was that Capt. Jeff failed to advertise that he’s an evangelical Christian and will spend the day listening to Christian radio while playing solitaire on his phone. After the first few hours of Christian radio talk shows, he then engaged me in a several hour long «preaching» session about why it would behoove me to become a Christian. I preferred the «discussion» to the hours prior to him talking when I felt like a hostage on the open sea being assaulted by the offensive radio talk shows. At least I could talk back.
He was gruff at best, not only didn’t provide any food, but didn’t even provide water. Despite his claims to be such an accomplished fisherman, he provided little guidance on the day long trip and not surprisingly, we caught nothing. The guy we were sharing the charter with, (who spent most of the trip vomiting after not eating and drinking the dozen or so beers he had brought along), did catch a fish, and I guess that’s why we didn’t get our advertised $ 100 rebate. The trip cost over $ 400 dollars and not only was it not enjoyable, but I felt I had endured a day in hell… all the while being counseled as to how I could easily avoid that fate by becoming a Christian!