Local Fishing Knowledge

Great day of flyfishing in Maui. When I travel I tend to find a spot where I can sneak a day on water flyfishing. When searching Internet for options in Maui JonJon is the guy and based on mixed reviews on Unilocal I was quite frankly nervous but I booked anyway and glad I did. I have fished Montana, Florida Keys, and Everglades with fly guides in last three years. Each place has its own customs and style and Maui is no different. If you are expecting a traditional fly guided trip this is not for you. If you are open to a new experience and some ridiculous bone fishing then sign on.
We waded several reefs some sight casting and some blind casting. Equipment Jon Jon provided is very good quality; he also helps with technique as you will likely be throwing in a stiff wind so if you cannot double haul you may be in trouble. Jon Jon fishes too and if he hooks up he hands you rod and these fish are tanks so I had no issue not hooking all my fish myself; again different place, different protocol.
All in all great time new experience

There are times in your life where you must stop and appreciate experiences and people you meet. Living life we search for those (Ah Ha) moments where it makes life worth living.
Spent 3 days kayak fishing with CPT Jon Jon in the beautiful waters off Maui. I had previously done a 1 day trip 3 years ago but lucked out but my friend whom came on the trip caught a Mahi Mahi (of course I was jealous). So I have been dying to hit the beautiful waters for years with CPT Jon Jon for another shot and booked 3 days this time to ensure I was going to catch something…
Lucky for me and far exceeding my expectations I caught fish all 3 days. Day 1 GT and Surgeon, Day two 19lbs Ono and Day 3 we killed it with one 45lbs Ahi Tuna, 3 Mahi Mahi ranging from 17lbs-​23lbs. Brotha Jon Jon is an awesome CPT that knows these waters very well and extremely down to earth. We had a blast and I have not laughed and smiled like that in many years…
I am already looking into heading back from Northern California to do some more fishing. His wife Amanda is awesome as well. She guides and explains everything in detail so you know your being taken care of…
If you are thinking about doing this trip you absolutely must…
Thank you Local Fishing Knowledge for a life experience I will always cherish!

I am giving one star because his Amanda was very pleasant to deal with on the phone.
I had the absolute worst experience a person can have fishing with Capt. Jon Jon. Showing up an hour late for our first of a two day guided trip did not portend well for the rest of the day. Jon Jon blamed me for the mix up of times. I guess he believes the customer is always wrong. Jon Jon is obsessed with fishing but not guiding. If you want a guide to help you with the tackle, flies, tying knots, reading the water, spotting the fish, don’t hire hire Jon Jon. He is too busy 100 – 200 yards away from you trying to catch his personal best bonefish or GT (giant trevally) to care about your needs. If I had not already prepaid for two days of fishing, I would have left after the first hour.
Jon Jon did not provide me with a fly rod set up for a right hand retrieve since I am left handed. He said he no longer had one. Fortunately I brought my own saltwater rod and reel. He spent a couple of minutes demonstrating the double haul casting technique and then walked away left me to my own devices. When I asked him for help he just mumbled something and kept preparing his rod and kayak for the trip. Before we launched, he asked me if I had brought my own flies, which I replied no. He begrudgingly gave me one shrimp pattern which I used for the whole day. We never changed patterns. We ended the day an hour short. I paid for an extra hour of fishing but I was not going to catch any fish by blind casting to the reefs all day so I did not complain. I told Jon Jon I wanted to fish in deeper water the next day not fly fish the flats and he agreed.
The next morning arrive and Jon Jon is early and we drive to the kayak launch site and he proceeds to take the next hour rigging up the poles and kayaks for our trip. This was done on my time of course. I was under the impression when I booked the trip that we be in a two-​person kayak with Jon Jon guiding. He decided that we were going to fish in separate yaks. What a surprise. He did provide a portable VHF radio, but the pfd was old and smelly. Well, Jon Jon took off like a bat out of hell and once again I was left to fend for my self. The Hobie kayak has adjustable peddles and I asked Jon Jon to adjust them for my height which he didn’t. Peddling a kayak when your knees are almost hitting your face and your thighs are cramping does not lend itself to quality fishing. When I caught up to Jon Jon, I told him my peddles needed adjusting, he started yelling at me, «I already showed you how to do this». I said you you showed me but you did not teach me just like you showed me the double haul but you did not teach me. He took off fishing and I tried to mimic what he was doing but the line on the reel was old kept coming off tangled so I had to keep retying the jig. Jon Jon Says his tackle is very good but if you don’t change your line routinely, you will be subject to breaks and tangles. After a few hours of unsuccessful jigging, I followed to the flats where had anchored the yak. When I approached him, he started yelling at me“you just went through a school of fish” and put up his hands in exasperation.
I was fed up by then and told him I wanted to go back to the launch site but he ignored me. If I knew where it was I would have left but I was at his mercy and we were not going to until he caught his bonefish. He finally hooked one and then lost it so we started to leave. Jon Jon discovered while getting into his kayak that he had lost a $ 500 rod and reel. He got so pissed. He spent the next hour trying to find it, while I followed at a distance. We got back to the launch area 2 ½ hours past when I wanted to get home. He drove to my car, I paid him a $ 100 tip and left.
All in all I enjoyed the Hobie kayak, it was peddling it around and watching the turtles. I did improve my double haul casting, no thanks to Capt. Jon Jon. Next time I will fly over to Molokai and fish with Capt. Clay at Hallelujah Hou Fishing. A true professional by everything I’ve read and heard.

I wanted to take my wife and her 40 yr. old nephew for an exciting guided fishing experience. So, when I was quoted $ 350/​person ($ 1,050) for 5 hours (my wife can’t handle more than that). I questioned the price but agreed because I thought this would be special. I’ve hired guides in Montana, CA, OR, AL, Mexico and Costa Rica and never paid more than $ 475. Jon Jon said that he would get back to me the day before the trip to tell me when and where, based on the conditions that would give us the best chance for great fishing. OK. He chose Kihei, his home town (might be a coincidence) at 6:15AM. This was the outgoing tide but he’s the local expert and must know.
Jon Jon showed up with one kayak and all his gear. I thought he had told me that we would be moving around from place to place in kayaks to find the best fishing and that might have justified the exorbitant price. But perhaps I misunderstood. Instead he was just going to ferry us, one by one, to a reef just off shore. While he was getting the kayak ready, he had Laura and Shane fishing w/​spinning gear, where we were launching and had me casting a 10wt. fly rod on the park lawn to make sure my fly casting skills were adequate. He then had me flyfishing with one of my poppers while he ferried Shane, then Laura to the reef. Hell, he had me rigged up with a sinking line to fish a popper; that doesn’t work.
After 2 hrs. of fishing the reef with Jon Jon catching the only fish (a tiny jack), I asked him to go help Laura and fish next to her so he could give her the rod if he hooks up again. Half an hour later, he hooks up with a decent fish and he calls her over to play it. But he’s 50 yards away from her and by the time she wades within 15 yds. the fish gets off. I think Jon Jon likes fishing better than guiding but knows how to make big money kind of doing both.
Now I’ve been flycasting an 8wt. for about 3 hours, frustrated because I’m not catching fish and the rig that Jon Jon gave me, was not so great, especially the frayed flyline which makes it difficult, at best, to shoot the line. So, Jon Jon starts fishing, far from anyone so even if he hooks up, he’s not going to be able to pass the rod to anyone. I go over to Laura and she’s going to give it another try. However, she trips on the reef, falls and gets a nasty scrape on her leg. This is why Jon Jon gets 2 stars. He calls his wife and has her drive to the launch area to treat Laura’s wound. Laura says that Amanda was very nice and helpful; much appreciated.
It’s time to go, but Jon Jon wants to keep us out there till we catch fish. See the tide is now starting to come in and the fishing is suppose to get good. WHAT? Why the hell did you have us out here this morning. Laura’s back on shore with a nasty scrape, I’m not going to stay out here and fish. Another guy shows up in a Hobie Cat. Turns out he’s Jon Jon’s fishing buddy. Did Jon Jon arrange to fish the best part of the tide with his buddy and in the process screw his clients who paid $ 1050. Sure looks like it. Oh yeah, while trolling back to shore in the kayak, we hook up with a 2 pound jack. Jon Jon gives me the rod to play it and acts excited for me. Give me a break.
Conclusion, Jon Jon is a pleasant guy and seems knowledgeable, but seems like his fishing is more important that his clients’. His selfishness and greed compelled me to write this review. Hope he learns something from it.

As an avid fisherman and a frequent Maui visitor, I jumped at the chance to go out pelagic fishing in a kayak. My unbelievable 6 hr. adventure included «up close» encounters with pods of breaching humpback whales, spending did with a genuine good soul — Capt. Jon Jon — and drinking in the beauty and splendor of the Maui ocean! The ultimate gift was hooking into a 15lb Uku, a Hawaiian Grey Snapper that gave me a heck of a fight in the kayak before I landed him… just a beautiful day with Capt Jon Jon of Local Fishing Knowledge in Kihei Hawaii.
Capt Jon Jon and his lovely wife Amanda run a stellar service business with attention to the finest detail serving the desires of their clients. From my initial contact with them via an internet link to the cleaning and filleting of my catch at Capt Jon Jon’s house I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And I got the special treat of meeting most of their beautiful family…
I highly recommend Capt Jon Jon and Local Fishing Knowledge to any fisher person who wants to have a unique fishing adventure you will not soon forget…

I signed up fora kayak fishing adventure wanting as much to learn about the sport as to catch fish… but I definitely expected to catch fish! Captain Jon Jon is a cool guy andhewent away from his normal procedure with our fishing expedition at my request. Whether this impacted the outcome I dont know, possibly but probably not. And here is the reason why. We launched at around 630am and the first line went in the water around 930am, that bait was quickly eaten and the next line went in around 11am. Why? Well, apparently you have to catch bait as part of the paid fishing trip, and for us this just happened to take essentially the whole trip. I get it, the live bait is what the fish love to eat, but when paying $$ to fish, I kinda expect to do some
say I was underwhelmed would be a major understatement, but would I do it again… probably. by the way, aside to what you are told, take your own food and beverage. I failed to eat breakfast and was told not to bring food… big mistake, by noon I was famished and dehydrated. Having read other reviews seems I drew a tough day… I wrote this review to be helpful, I hope it is for future customers as well for captn jon jon and amanda.

My son and I just went fishing with Capt. Jonjon on Sunday.
We fish often on Maui, have our own kayak and fishing equipment, and sometimes free dive for lobsters. Last summer we caught a couple large Uku’s and had fish fry with our neighbors. This summer we decided to increase our odds, learn something and hire Jonjon.
He’s a supper nice is a nice guy, and knows a lot about catching fish on Maui. He has great equipment and taught us much. We had a ton of fun and caught a 15lb Mahi Mahi.
But if you want to keep the fish you catch this isn’t the guide for you. He keeps the fish and give you only enough for one nights meal. We were supper disappointed after learning about this policy when we went to pick up our fish.
No where on the website, contract or verbally do they tell you they keep the fish. If you’re a tourist staying in a hotel this probably works, but we have a house here and like to share our catch with our friends and neighbors.
Other that little misunderstanding we had a great time and highly recommend Local Fishing Knowledge.

I had the absolute pleasure of fishing with Jon Jon the owner of Local Fishing Knowledge in Kihei, Maui. I found him online and booked a trip to catch some of the local shallow water fish with artificial lures, from a kayak no less. I am an avid fisherman and this was right up my alley. I knew after speaking with Jon Jon on the phone before our trip that he was very knowledgeable about fishing, he was passionate about fishing, and he gave me a ton of options that all sounded like a blast.
He picked me up around 4:45 in the morning in front of the Hale Hui Kai where I was staying. We headed straight for the water and launched as the sun was rising. We had an amazing day catching several fish, losing a few BIG Ulua’s, spotting several turtles, and just cruizing around in is super cool, super fast Hobie kayak (the kayak is driven by a foot pedal drive system with fins that hang below the hull).
If you are coming to Maui for vacation or if you live here I HIGHLY recommend that you take a trip with Jon Jon or one of his guides from Local Fishing Knowledge. I visit Maui at least once per year and now know this will be one of my regular activities when I return.
Next time though I think we’ll go after the Ono’s and Mahi… from a kayak no less!!!