Innholdsfortegnelse for May 1983 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ If you haven’t been on the water lately, you have missed some of the best fishing we have had in years. Not only for numbers caught, but also for size. I don’t know what to attribute the large size of the tuc to. It could have been the long period of high water that gave them better growing conditions, or, as one guy suggested, maybe it was all the heptachlor that washed in from the pineapple fields. Regardless of the cause, there were several real lunkers weighed in, plus a lot more released as word spread about the size to beat for the month. As the water dropped, it naturally had a warming trend, and, when it hit that magic temperature, it triggered a spawning urge in the tuc…

■ Some of you may have heard that we had a hurricane here on Kaua‘i. I heard about it too. Somehow, when something really fun or interesting happens, the events before, during and after have a way of becoming imprinted on your mind, like lint on corduroy. I learned a long time ago that this is a process of natural preservation, which is useful for special occasions, such as at a beer bust, when a drunken Samoan is about to rip your arm off and beat you to death with it, and you say, “Eh, brah, remembah dat hurracane? One condominamum been fall on top me, howzabout you?” Then you can listen to his war story, guzzle some more beer, and split while the splitting is good. So I remember…

National Marine Manufacturers Association Boating/Fishing Super Fund Proposed by New House Bill ■ For several years, boaters and industry groups have successfully opposed federal proposals to tax small boats, outboard motors and boat trailers to provide extra federal assistance to state fisheries programs. Called the Dingell-Johnson Fund Expansion legislation, after the name of the fund established in the 1950s, funds subsidize state fisheries via a 10 percent excise tax on certain sportfishing equipment. D-J expansionists argue that people who fish from a boat should pay their fair share for improved fishing opportunity … opponents counter that it’s discriminatory to tax non-fishing boat owners, who are in the majority, to help shoreline anglers. During the “let’s tax, let’s not tax” deliberations of last summer, staff of the House Merchant Marine and…

■ The whale sanctuary evaluation process will continue until the final Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement are drawn up, which should be about January 1984. That was the message conveyed by Dr. Nancy Foster, current Whale Sanctuary Proposal director, and Dallas Miner, former SPD director, during their recent visit to Hawaii from Washington, D.C., March 23-25. While here Foster and Miner met with the Hawaii Fishing Coalition, the Department of Planning and Economic Development, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Maalaea Boat and Fishing Club and Maui Mayor Hannibal Tavares. “We want to let people know that the evaluation process is still going on and where it is at present,” said Foster. “We don’t want any surprises,” she added. Foster was alluding to the “surprise” that came the summer…

■ As a contributing writer for the Hawaii Fishing News, I’m constantly searching for and am intrigued by the tales of good fishing adventures, I’m always listening to fish stories and looking at the many pictures that fishermen pass my way. One story that I heard which stirred my curiosity was about an “ahi watching” adventure. The term ahi watching has a familiar ring to it, similar to that of “whale watching.” However, ahi watching — in this case — was the use of an underwater camera to photograph an ahi being brought to boat after being hooked. After doing some investigating, I learned who had the photos that proved that ahi watching was more than just a “fish tale.” I also learned that the story was slated as a…

■ Tournaments got an early start in Hawai‘i this season, and that is probably a blessing for everyone concerned. The charter boat captains loved it because, instead of having to wait until May (as they usually do), they had tournament anglers on board in March. Tournament directors loved it because it gave notice that Hawai‘i was a fishing tournament capitol months earlier than the word usually gets out across the nation and around the world. And Hawai‘i’s tournament fishing anglers loved it because they got a start two months earlier than usual! The 24-KT Jackpot Tournament started out the tournament year in great style. The 5th largest marlin in Hawaiian tournament history — Capt. Tioni Judd’s 955½-pound Pacific blue — crossed the scales, and that certainly will attract attention to…

■ Wai‘anae fishermen are very relieved that the bad winter swells and waves have finally disappeared from around the entrance to the harbor. With any kind of luck, we will have calm seas here until next winter. Perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers will do something by then to protect our entry into the harbor. The surge within the harbor is still bad, however, and the boats are being jerked back and forth. I was standing on A-pier recently when the yank on a boat pulled a large cleat right out of the concrete into the water! Fortunately there was enough man power available at the time to fend the boat off the pier until an alternate cleat could be used. Much of the damage left by Hurricane Iwa when…

Coffee and Diving ■ A diver queries, “What would be the effect of drinking four to six cups of coffee before diving?” My initial response to this question is that there should be no problem, although actually, there could be some significant effects, depending on how the diver reacts to caffeine. Caffeine, as a constituent of coffee, tea, cola beverages and a multitude of nonprescription drugs, is the most widely used stimulant drug in the world. Caffeinated beverages are regularly consumed by more than 80 percent of American households, and official statistics report that the average American drinks 28 gallons of coffee and 33 gallons of soft drinks each year. Not surprisingly, many divers drink coffee for its warming and other effects, especially when diving in cold waters. Happily, I…

Head, Lower and Middle Schools Hawaii Preparatory Academy ■ Fishermen seem to be evenly divided into those who carry too much tackle and those who don’t bring along enough. Bring too little tackle and you are in danger of not having the proper equipment to do the job when conditions change. Bring along too much tackle and you may need a forklift just to carry your tackle box. Not only is unused tackle a nuisance to lug around, it is also a nuisance to maintain. All that extra gear needs to be cleaned, sharpened, oiled and otherwise looked after and cared for. Usually, it is a lot of extra and unnecessary work. The problem increases for the whipper, that highly mobile fisherman who searches shorelines, rock by rock, for the…

SEND PHOTO AND COPS AND WE WILL SEND SOU “THE BUZZ-BOMB OUR WAS OF SAYING THANKS FOR SHARING SOUR CATCH! …CHUCK P.O. BOX 25413 HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I 96825 Dear Chuck, I caught this mullet at the opening of mullet season using a 6½-foot rod. Talk about a strong, hard fighting fish! I read every issue of your fine publication and enjoy every page of it, especially the Holoholo page. By the way, the fish weighed 3½ pounds. James Oshiro Honolulu, O‘ahu Dear Chuck, The enclosed photo shows a catch from a recent trip to Kahoolawe when we took two 12-foot boats over and one 22-footer for a base boat. We hooked these fish using one of the smaller boats. This photo shows 17 papio, three lai and five small reef fish.…

■ A resolution requesting that the State investigate major fishing tournaments, their infrastructure and the feasibility of a Fishing Tournament Commission has been killed by the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce after a public hearing at the State capitol, April 20. Had the resolution been passed, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) would have been “requested to investigate the numerous fishing tournaments and their promotional infrastructures in Hawaii and recommend legal remedies to the lawmakers to deal with the problem of control” and “to study the fesibility of forming a fishing tournament commission which would make, amend, and repeal rules to conduct the various amateur and professional fishing tournaments scheduled in the State.” (H.R. No 491) Rep. Virginia Isbell of Kona, who introduced the resolution, said…

■ March was a good month for Kewalo boats. The nice-sized blue marlin were still not in evidence, but there was plenty of excitement for our tourist anglers because the mahimahi and small tuna cooperated and provided large catches. We did have a couple of notable big fish that came in midway through the month. Capt. “Toots” Tsutahara’s KONO grabbed a beautiful 673-lb blue marlin, which is the leading fish of the year (so far). In the group of four people fishing aboard the KONO that day was Ted Williams, brother of one of the boat’s owners. It was his wife, Jacqueline, who got the honor of fighting the big blue. Toots was trolling about 6 miles off the Barbers Point area and had just changed lures to one of…

Lahaina Fishing Report The month of March has brought us spring, a few trade winds and some very fishable weather. A boy of twelve years caught his first 38-lb ono thanks to Capt. Dave Russell on the JUDY ANN. Also caught were two bigeye tuna of 10 and 15 lbs, and a mahimahi of 15 lbs. The JUDY ANN, captained by Rick De Mont with crewman Dan, landed a spearfish of 30 lbs and an ono of 38 lbs. HALCYON, with Capt. David Rockett and crew Peter Wong, had a busy month, and here is some of their catch. Angler Carol Burdick of Kihei landed a 26-lb aku and a 90-lb ulua. When Carol chartered the boat again, she brought along Larry Burdick and Chris Bumgarner, and together they caught…