Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Hawaii Fishing News

On March 31, the Maui Sporting Goods Jigging Tournament was held, and it was just as exciting as the first event. One hundred fifty anglers entered this year. The divisions included the Boat (and jet-ski) Division with 82 entrants, the Kayak (and canoe) Division with 33 and the Shoreline Division with 35. First, second and third places were awarded in each division. A Wahine Division was added to this year’s event to encourage female anglers to get out on the water. In addition, a special fish category was announced the day before the tournament. This year, the special fish was moano-ukali. This tournament was originally scheduled for February 10 but was postponed twice due to dangerous winds and sea conditions. It raised more than $7,800 for the Hawaii Children’s Cancer…

The TAI PAN V had a bit of the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day when Capt. David Mayers and Co-Capt. Neil Preston landed a 434.4-lb blue marlin. Neil was just setting up the pattern as they headed over the 100-fathom ledge off Kamaiki Point, Lana‘i. He started giving the “fafa” to their anglers as they rounded the corner. As he looked up, he noticed that they were just off Black Manele. They had a solid strike on the short-corner position as a marlin grabbed a Steve Elkins’ Aku Popsicle lure. The marlin started taking line. It ran 150 yards off the port side, and then turned back across the stern, jumping two or three times toward the other side. The marlin then turned and started jumping straight…

Sixty Years of Fishing in Kona’s Famous Waters In 1959, just days after the territory of Hawai‘i became the 50th state, a small group of local anglers assembled in Peter Fithian’s Kona Inn office to discuss launching a world-class sportfishing tournament. Henry Chee, the legendary Kona fisherman and International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame recipient, was a part of this group. The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) launched its first big-game fishing tournament in Kona, and, as they say, the rest is history. During that inaugural tournament, George Wooller set an 80-lb-class world record with a 444-lb Pacific blue marlin catch, and the Ala Moana Sportsman’s Club won with a 611-lb blue marlin captured on 130-lb test line. The following year, women were allowed to fish in the event.…

Spanner crabs (Ranina ranina), locally known as Kona crabs, are one of the favorite invertebrates in the Hawaiian Islands. Fishermen use daisy chains of loop nets with bait deployed from small commercial and noncommercial vessels, and these critters get tangled through their spines once they step on the nets. A small-scale commercial fishery for Kona crabs has operated in Hawai‘i since the 1940s. The fishery reached its peak in 1971 with a reported landing of 69,328 lbs. The catch fluctuated over the years; but after 1998, it decreased precipitously to 1,691 lbs in 2017. The decline in catch was not due to problems with the stock biomass or too much fishing. At its 176th meeting on March 19, 2019, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (the Council) received a…

Two U.S. Coast Guard cutters crews and a long range HC-130 patrol aircraft crew recently completed combined operations with shipriders from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) as part of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Operation Rai Balang 2019 to combat illegal fishing across Oceania. For three weeks, U.S. Coast Guard cutters SEQUOIA (WLB 215) and KISKA (WPB 1336) embarked FSM law enforcement officers as shipriders to patrol the FSM Exclusive Economic Zone and on the high seas, supported by the HC-130 patrol aircraft crew. In addition to the U.S. Coast Guard and FSM combined operations, Operation Rai Balang also involved ships and aircraft deployed by the remaining Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Partners—Australia, New Zealand and France—in support of other Pacific island countries across Oceania. Illegal, unregulated and underreported (IUU) fishing…

Another Amazing Fishing Trip Aloha from the Big Island. One day I started a lot later than usual. I got out on the water at around 10 a.m. I was not expecting to find any bait because it was so late, so I brought a few bags of frozen ‘opelu to troll around and do some bottom drops. I was trying to get some food for family and friends. Plus, I’m always on the search for that moment most fishermen crave: holding the rod tightly as the line peels off the reel, not quite knowing what’s on the other end. I actually ran across a bait pile and was able to catch one to use for live bait. I let the live one out on a Nitta Zip Tie and…

We all decided to go camping and to fish from Waimea Pier on the west side of Kaua‘i. Our mission was to catch an ulua! It was the first time for friend Dennis and my accountant, Alan. We camped and fished all night but had no strikes. Dennis’ Penn reel suddenly went off. “Zzzzzzzzzzzz!” The fish ran to the east. I told him to leave the rod alone until the fish stopped running. It took out about 200 yards of line. Dennis wanted to give the rod to me because I was experienced, but I refused. I coached him on how to fight this fish. I told him to crank down, drop the rod to the fish, stop, and pull up to see if the fish would come in. I…

Launch a boat at a Hawai‘i ramp, or moor a vessel at a harbor, then prepare to be outsourced by the Department of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR). The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) said money woes are forcing it to abandon the “boating” in DOBOR. Once DOBOR abandons ship, Hawai‘i salts know that the first lifeboat launched will be for billionaire corporations and their swabbies. DOBOR’s plans to downsize their interests in boating are not equivalent to a rearrangement of chairs on the TITANIC. They are more like a well-orchestrated effort to sell the chairs before the ship sinks. The public-private partnership rollout includes a proposed rate hike, a real estate firm appraisal, legislation for market rates, a strategic report and a consultant report. A proposed DOBOR…

Let’s take a look at the decline in Hawai‘i island game-bird hunting harvest results from another angle. First, it’s necessary to review an aspect of island hunting history. Hawai‘i’s upland game-bird hunting season has historically occurred in the fall months, beginning in November and concluding in January, as is common in other parts of the nation. Unlike mainland states, however, where hunting is permitted on consecutive days throughout the season, Hawai‘i has traditionally limited hunting to weekends and state holidays. Whereas other jurisdictions provide 90 or so days of bird-hunting opportunity annually, Hawai‘i island residents are currently limited to roughly half that to hunt Mauna Kea, and only a third as much if hunting elsewhere on the island. Why? I’ve never been able to get a satisfactory answer. I’ve concluded…

Mahalo to all of you who have reported your recaptures. Please continue to report your recaptures as the data is still important to us in providing valuable information on growth and movement for these species. Interested in becoming a volunteer tagger or reporting data for the DAR Fish Tagging Project? Call Annette Tagawa at (808) 587-0593, request by E-mail at <fishtagging@hawaii.gov>, or mail the Division of Aquatic Resources at 1151 Punchbowl St., Room Ulua and Papio Tag Recaptures Even though the DAR Ulua Tagging Project ended in June 2012, we will continue to honor all recaptures as they are reported to us. Anglers reported the following 13 recaptures: two kahala (one recaptured on O‘ahu and one recaptured on Hawai‘i island), 10 ‘omilu (seven recaptured on O‘ahu and three recaptured on…

My longtime friend wanted to give turkey hunting a shot, so he accompanied me on a mountain hunt in the final weeks of the season. We left Hilo and arrived at Mauna Kea’s Kilohana Hunter Check Station at 5:30 a.m., just as first light appeared in the eastern sky. The air temperature was a brisk 45 degrees. We headed northeast toward a spur road from which I had heard toms gobble on a previous hunt. Stopping to gear up before proceeding to our planned destination, I broadcast a mouth call just for the heck of it. We were surprised to get a response not much farther up the road we had just left. It was time to change to Plan B. With the truck safely off the road, we set…

Trolley to the Sea The night was filled with anticipation as I sat at the kitchen table, preparing my fishing staff. It included fishing lines, BB shot-sized weights, hooks neatly boxed, all bought from the neighborhood fishing supply store, and of course, my small bamboo pole. Up early in the morning and after a hurried light breakfast, I put together a deviled-ham sandwich for my lunch and removed a package of frozen California shrimp from the icebox. Why it was called California shrimp, I’m not sure. Maybe it was just the fact that it came from the mainland. These shrimp were our universal bait that we all depended upon. We could buy them wrapped in thick butcher paper. Except for the pole, all these things were packed in my denim…