Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Hawaii Fishing News

  Cover Story: Fishing Fever Aloha. My friend Tita Peleiholani and I first started flagline fishing with my brother Kalapana. He’s a great fisherman. He and some other fisherman gave us tips along the way. As with anything, we had to learn from our mistakes. Over time, we got better and better. When Kalapana was busy, just the two of us wahine would go. We have journeyman construction jobs, so we’re often traveling. When we do come home, we usually fish every chance we get. This summer, we decided to take the season off to spend more time with the ‘ohana and get our fishing fever on. Thank God we did take the summer off, because we got bent!   Monster ‘Ahi from Shore! During one of our trips Tita Peleiholani reeled…

On September 28, 2019, O‘ahu will see the return of the Kewalo Harbor Big Fish Chase and its offer of a $65,000 bounty to anyone who can catch a marlin bigger than Choy’s monster. Big-fish hunters, bring your “A” game and you could be the one walking away with $65,000. In 1970, Gail Choy-Kaleiki was fishing with her father, legendary Capt. Cornelius Choy on the COREENE-C when they hooked a 1,805-lb Pacific blue marlin. It is the largest blue marlin ever caught on a rod and reel, but it is not an IGFA world record because she was assisted by other anglers while landing the monster. This year’s tournament is sure to bring out anglers who are looking for big game and an even bigger prize. However, the tournament isn’t…

Whitetip Sharks Finned Alive Two oceanic whitetip sharks with fins freshly cut off were photographed swimming off Kona. The mutilated sharks were observed alive off the coast of West Hawai‘i and were photographed and reported by dive tour operators. Another juvenile whitetip reef shark missing its dorsal fin and gutted was found at Ka‘alu‘alu Bay. Stacia Marcoux with the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) commented in a DLNR press release: “Shark finning is not a new phenomenon, but the recent number of incidents is concerning. This is especially true for the threatened oceanic whitetip.” Stacia received photos provided by Big Island Divers and Aquatic Life Divers of the finless oceanic whitetips. She said, “It’s heartbreaking to see these terrible wounds on these individuals. Sharks deserve our respect. No one wants…

Do Scientists Really Know What They Are Talking About? I have heard many times from fishermen in Hawai‘i that scientists spend so little time on the water that they just don’t know what they are talking about. It is certainly true that many fishermen in Hawai‘i spent a lot more time offshore. In the course of conducting a long-term study of Hawai‘i’s dolphin and whale populations, my team and I have spent an average of two months per year on the water in Hawai‘i. This year marks the 20th year of this study, and the days do add up. As of the end of June 2019, we’ve spent 1,123 days on the water in Hawai‘i, working off all the main islands. When on the water, we try to cover a…

Uhu (parrotfish) are one of the more difficult fish to shoot, but with the right gear, nothing is impossible. I’m more than grateful to have a gun like the JBL Reaper Series Spear Gun and a comfortable, warm wetsuit like the Hammerhead. These pieces of gear have been helping me to provide food for my family and friends. Uhu may be a difficult fish to shoot, but I can guarantee you it’s one of the yummiest fish to eat. Before I bake uhu, I like to put olive oil around the pan to prevent any burnt meat. To season the fish, I use mayonnaise, garlic, a bit of ginger and, of course, Hawaiian salt and pepper. I also like to add a little onion, tomato, lap-xuong (Chinese-style sausage) and my…

On Monday, July 29, at 8 a.m., 41 teams took off from the starting line to fish the 2019 Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT). In all, nine countries were represented including multiple teams from the United States, Australia, Africa, Fiji, Japan, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau and Papua New Guinea. Daily weigh-ins and scoreboard updates were posted on the Kailua Pier every day at 4 p.m., with the exception of Wednesday, Boat Day, when results were posted at 3 p.m. Everyone was welcome to come and see the fishing action. The HIBT was founded 60 years ago when a small group of local anglers including legendary Kona fisherman Henry Chee assembled in Peter Fithian’s Kona Inn office to discuss launching a world-class fishing tournament. Peter was the Kona Inn’s general…

Throughout history, humans have altered their environment, and the results have been good or bad, depending on individual perspective. In many instances, the resulting change is mixed: a desired change resulting in undesirable consequences unforeseen. The introduction of cattle in Hawai‘i, for instance, has provided a food resource enjoyed by many. But it also changed the surrounding landscape in a profound manner, adversely affecting the flora and fauna that once existed. This, too, was the case with sheep. Sheep were first brought to Hawai‘i island by Capt. George Vancouver in 1793, and herds were well established on Mauna Kea by 1822. Hunting and ranching of cattle and sheep were the primary historic activities on the mountain lands. It was realized as early as 1921 that feral sheep (Ovis aries) were…

Send to: P.O. Box 25488, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96825 or e-mail: <hawaiifishingnews@gmail.com> Aloha HFN, Given the perfect overcast conditions, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to throw my favorite green pumpkin jig. This fish gave an unusual bite though, feeling more like dead weight dredging in mud. Unlike the normal hard thump of the rod, this fish was slowly making its way to my hands to get a nice picture. It weighed in at 3.9 lbs. Kaleb McGurn Puhi, Kaua i Aloha HFN, July 22, 2019, was the sixth night following the full moon. After a short dive for some fresh tako, I headed to the southeast side of Maui to fish overnight. I found beautiful conditions, clean water and good currents. The strike came at 10:30 p.m. After a very…

Success in kayak fishing often comes down to having the right gear. When you start out, you’ll probably visit fishing store after fishing store, looking for the right kind of tackle from fishing poles to plastic baits and trolling baits. If you want to catch pelagic fish, then you’ll want to catch ‘opelu to use as bait. Think about it this way: is there a food that you just can’t resist and you just can’t get enough of? To pelagic fish, ‘opelu are that food. Like most beginners, I used to troll lures before I honed my ‘opelu-catching skills, but I just caught a whole lot of fish I didn’t want like barracuda and aha. Now I would rather head in and call it a day than use one of…

NALU KEA is a very cool boat, the last haole sampan of its kind made in Hawai‘i. I get calls and letters from lots of people who remember and yearn for the experience of fishing on the beautiful old sampan hulls. This is the account of one such guy, George Mills, who in the late ’70s traveled here from Washington for another sweet lick at the lollipop. The experience of big-game fishing is both unique and complicated. It is an odd hybrid of individual achievement and teamwork. In Kona, there is always the shadowing presence of the world’s most violent creature, the Pacific blue marlin. The truth is that we are not designed to be on the sea. We are the oddball creatures of nature, hanging out in the forests,…

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning at the end of June. The Kane‘ohe fleet was out in force because the word was out that ‘ahi had been caught in the previous two days. There were random, yet good reports of all areas producing; LL-buoy, outside U-buoy, MM-buoy and T-buoy all had reports of someone with tight lines. We didn’t get our normal early start, but we still enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over the water, something every fisherman holds in reverence on occasion. Crewman Jimmy Schade, retired firefighter buddy Mark McCabe, and friend and UH men’s volleyball star and graduated senior Brett “Rosey” Rosenmeier and I were aboard the KALIHIWAI. This was Brett’s first time deep-sea fishing. We went by U-buoy and picked up a mahimahi. After a couple of passes…

Introduced Tilapia Invade Napali Coast Shoreline Thousands of blackchin tilapia have invaded near-shore waters in the Napali Coast State Wilderness Park on Kaua‘i. Fishermen first reported seeing large schools of mostly juvenile tilapia over a two-week period. A team from the DLNR, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) conducted in-water surveys at the Nu‘alolo Kai section of the park and confirmed the reports. Ka‘ili Shayler, a fish and habitat monitoring coordinator with DAR, said, “We first spotted several dead tilapia up on the rocky coastline at Nu‘alolo Kai. After we conducted water sampling, we snorkeled several spots close to the shoreline and soon discovered literally thousands of fish in schools. While these might originally be viewed as an introduced species to Hawai‘i, they…

There are no hard, fast rules for the preparation of ‘oama and hahalalu. Some cooks scale them, others don’t; some cut the heads off, others don’t; some debone them, others don’t; some gut the fish, and the more adventurous say they don’t. Cooks do agree on one thing: because the fish are so small, the easiest, no fuss way to prepare them is to fry them ‘til crispy-skinned and then serve. Silver-skinned ‘oama and hahalalu are the babies, or fingerlings, of weke and akule respectively. Most are the length of your finger or, at best, a dollar bill. Plentiful in the late summer and early fall, ‘oama provide hours of recreation for bamboo fisherman of all ages who stand knee-deep in water to hook fish. Hahalalu are caught from shore…