Innholdsfortegnelse for September 1983 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ There has been some confusion as to whether or not it is legal for fishermen to catch Marquesan sardines. According to the Division of Aquatic Resources, it is legal for anyone to take Marquesan sardines by conventional methods and it is also legal for commercial fishermen with a bait license to take the sardines using small mesh nets. But what you are catching and considering to be a Marquesan sardine (Sardinella marguesensis) is probably not a Marquesan sardine at all. A discovery made by marine biologist Dr. Wayne Baldwin suggests that most of the so-called Marquesan sardines being caught in Hawai‘i are actually gold-spotted herrings (Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus). The only easily discernible difference between the two is the presence of two gold spots on the herring, one behind each gill…

Who controls submerged lands and lagoon waters of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge? Will dispute over ownership of Tern Island complicate management plans? There exists a dispute between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Hawai‘i as to jurisdiction over Tern Island, which is the largest of the various islands constituting the atolls of French Frigate Shoals and an island which the state is interested in for commercial fishing purposes. The basis of the dispute is closely linked to the island’s interesting but controversial history. As with most of the other islands and atolls of the Leeward Islands, Tern Island became a part of the Hawaiian Islands Reservation in 1909, in accordance with Executive Order 1019, issued by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. This designation was changed to…

■ The good news is the state of Hawaii does have a loan program for fishermen interested in buying fishing boats. The bad news is that there is not much money in the small boat loan fund just now. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t apply if you are qualified. Let’s take a look at the program. Since early 1976 the state has had a program to financially assist fishermen interested in purchasing fishing vessels as well as those needing money to construct, renovate, maintain or repair them. The reason for the institution of the program is simple—the state saw a need to assist in the upgrading of the commercial fishing fleet in Hawai‘i as a means of assisting the economy. Said simply, it makes good sense to assist…

■ July has been another month filled with Allison tuna action with all the mosquito fleet out on the high seas. And the seas have been high once the boats go past the wind line. Without exception, every day of July has seen small craft advisories posted. If it were not for the massive Wai‘anae mountain range, which keeps Wai‘anae waters in the lee, the fishing would have been a bit uncomfortable. As it was, ahi and billfish have been coming up everywhere, even just outside the Wai‘anae Boat Harbor. Although most of the fishermen have been using plastic lures or chromed jet heads, a few have gone the way of live bait. Warren Shinsato and Sam Tawata on the TABAI have been trying their luck and slow trolling small,…

■ Aloha hom the Pineapple Island. Lone) tune you never hear from us guys! Well, we are still here and the Lanai fleet has been doing some serious damage to the local fish population. A familiar sight most mornings in Manele harbor are locals like Kazu Masada returning in his SKIPJACK and off-loading fish-laden igloos into his truck for the ride up to Lana‘i City fish markets. Jason “Wave Rider” Fujie aboard his HOLO NALU has enjoyed this summer so far with stacks of aku, kawa-kawa and an occasional ono. The LYNN II, with Taka Fuchigami at the helm and 16-year-old son Daniel crewing, had heavy aku scores along with plenty of ono, the largest weighing in at 52 lbs. The GA YLE M, running mostly out of Kaumalapau harbor…

■ Fishing success can depend on something as simple as how you rig your bait. For example, let’s suppose you want to fish a live bait from a floater for papio or kaku. Where do you put the hook? There is one single best spot. It’s right behind the mid-point of the bait’s back—not too far forward or too far back and not too far up or too far down. Why this spot? It the hook is too far forward, the bait can’t get its head down. Being able to get its head down, it will struggle continually to pull against the float, making a lively and enticing attractor. A live bait that doesn’t struggle will catch far fewer fish. It just isn’t exciting enough. It the hook is too…

■ The week previous boasted hot yellowfin tuna action off the Big Island’s leeward edge, which encouraged 44 teams to sign up for this year’s Kona Ahi Tournament. Fire-fishing had cooled considerably by July 9, however, and only 12 of the brutes reported for the two-day competition. A tournament director who has faithfully fished most contests in Hawaii during the ’83 season, was finally rewarded for his perseverance. Chuck Machado of Luau Jackpot repute accepted a check of $3,500 for his 173-lb ahi angled from CATHY ANN. The strike came Sunday at 12:41 p.m. when the fish crashed live bait in Lima sector. Only 20 minutes were required for Team #30 to boat the prize winner. Sharing the first place honors were Jim Perry, John Akiona and L. Mueller. Identically…

■ The Captains’ Memorial Party, honoring Capt. Deal Crooker and the BETTY CII, was held pau fishing time on Friday, August 5, at Spinney’s Landing, Honokohau Harbor, Kona, Hawai‘i. …And they came from miles around—Honolulu, Sydney, Brisbane, South Africa, Kona (you name it)—to pay tribute to Deal and enjoy the camaraderie, the good food and the good drink. The party was hosted by Capt. Charlie Spinney and family and sponsored by the Honokohau captains and crews: Jerome Judd, Tioni Judd, Butch Kelly, Marlin Parker, Rick Rose, David Beaudet, Craig Robb, Mike Fairfield, Norm and Betsey Dubbs, Kenny Hughes, Tommy Rietow, Wally Kobayashi, Rusty Unger, Takeo Izawa, Randy Spalding, Tom Rogers, Billy Ross, Johnny Honl, Jeffrey Cho, Al Cho Jr., Crash Spinney, Arthur Spinney, Rob McGucken, Joe Goold, Bill Jeramiah, Jim…

HFN editor Sylvia Rodgers analyzes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with indepth reports on government interests, fishery resources, area history, future development and some unanswered questions. ■ The commercial fishing industry in Hawai‘i is yet to be fully developed. Only 0.8 percent of Hawaii’s Gross State Product is earned through the industry while 60 to 70 percent of the fish consumed here is imported. Currently most of the fishing in Hawaii occurs 20 miles off the main islands (the Big Island to Ni‘ihau). This is an area where, according to the Hawaii Fisheries Development Plan, “resident resources and migratory stocks are quite limited” and where “it appears that the productivity of a number of the non-migratory inshore stocks has been considerably reduced by fishing pressure.” As far back as 1969 the…

■ The U.S. National Freediving Spearfishing Tournament sponsored by the Underwater Society of America, was held on July 24 at Islamarada, Florida. There were 10 teams entered in the tournament from Connecticut, California, Hawai‘i and Florida councils. The Hawai‘i Council of Diving Clubs sent two teams again this year. The Hawaii “A” team—consisting of Terry Maas (captain), Bill Ernst and John Ernst—captured second place. The Hawaii “B” team—consisting of Terry Lentz (captain), Dennis Okada and Wendall Kam—took fifth place. The first place winner was the Southeast Florida #3 team consisting of Don Delmonico (captain, 51 years old), his son Dan Delmonico (17 years old) and Art Pinder (61 years old). Our team commented that the winners were fabulous divers in those waters and that the two older divers looked like…

Sometimes You Lose ■ Try as he might, the fisherman doesn’t always claim victory in confrontations with Kona marlin. Especially when engaging a large fish, every detail of the fight must work in the angler’s favor if the prize is to be won. One tough rod-pumper traveling with Ron “the Guide” Young’s entourage in July was painfully re-taught the lesson sportsmen contend with in pursuit of their dreams. Eric Dody saw his hopes of a possible grander disappear off the end of a flying gaff, twice. The Texan, a repeat tournament competitor, hooked up with a mammoth marlin on a non-competition day, waging the fight of his life against an estimated 1,000+ fish. Captain Bunny Kahanamoku had been on-a-roll, catching fish for the Lone Star Staters each day of the…

■ Ahi fever continued hot and heavy on the Windward Coast during the month of July. Ocean conditions were not ideal yet our intrepid anglers did their darnedest to get out and hook some of that red meat. Besides, everyone wanted a chance to tune up for the Kane‘ohe Yacht Club Invitational Tournament held on the 23rd, but more about that later. While July 1 usually means good weather and nice water, white caps in Kane‘ohe Bay didn’t deter several boats from heading out into the frothy horizon. Capt. Ricky Miyahira on his KALA KOA II with his young crew (all teenagers) took some time off to collect three mahi, four otaru, one ono and a big ahi of 140 lbs. Ricky likes his teenaged crew; he says he never…

Official Tournament Rules INFRACTIONS OF TOURNAMENT RULES COULD RESULT IN THE OFFENDING TEAM BEING DISQUALIFIED FROM THE TOURNAMENT. ELIGIBILITY 1. Team entrants with past tournament experience must be in good standing with the past tournaments. False misrepresentation and fraudulent actions which are concluded to be an attempt to improperly secure a share of winnings, in this tournament or in past tournaments, is sufficient cause to bar an angler—or anglers—from participation in this event, without rebate of entry fee, and shall be considered grounds sufficient to bar said angler(s) from future Chuck Machado Luau Jackpot tournaments. Such fraudulent action on the part of one team member may be considered as a joint team effort, thereby resulting in disqualification of the entire team. 2.(a) Teams may change crew members/team members up to…

■ Surrounded on three sides by vast expanses of pahoehoe lava, Keahole Point looks and feels barren to the soul. The heat wrinkles the low hung atmosphere as it rises off of the lava fieldblack, crusty and shimmering with a lacquered gloss. At the shore, the black crust merges, in a traumatic transition, with the soft emerald green of the sea. Spots of ochre and entangling veins of light blue dot the shoreline as it drops swiftly to a deep penetrating royal blue. This is the terrain ulua anglers look for. Deep, sudden drop-offs are efficient killing and feeding grounds of the white ulua. Not really liking the brightness of the full day, the ulua run with the currents along such drop-offs, periodically feeding on what is injured or foolish…

■ In the seven years since the introduction of the Kona Hawaiian Billfish Tournament (KHBT) as a qualifier for U.S. mainland teams interested in participation in the annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT), the event has grown into a tournament with stature, a personality and intense competition. Whether the teams are participating with the goal of entering the HIBT or just to a warm up in a tournament atmosphere and participate in some well-structured fishing competition, the fishing is as inspired as it is in the grand-daddy event the following week. This year the Feather and Fin Sport Club of Utah—that’s right, Utah, the state with the Great Salt Lake—won the prestigious invitation to fish the HIBT by amassing 1,521 billfish points in four days of fishing. Every member of…

■ The First Annual Marshall Islands Fishing Tournament, held on June 11 and 12, was a great success, with nearly 5,000 pounds of fish landed by 21 boats in two days of heavy fishing action. Wally Milne won first place in the billfish category. Milne fishes with the Marshall’s Billfish Club and is a member of the team that won first place in last year’s Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament in Kailua-Kona. While there were nine billfish hookups during the two-day tournament, Milne was the only angler who managed to bring a marlin to the scales. It weighed in at 287½ pounds. Anton de Brum landed a 66-lb sailfish to take second place in the billfish category. Misao Capelle won first place in the category of total pounds of fish caught…

One of the great delights in game fishing is traveling to exotic fishing areas either across the state or around the world. Nothing can be more frustrating than arriving in a strange place and finding you don’t have what you need to catch fish competitively, and, for that reason alone, it is wise to “Be Prepared!” ■ The globe-girdling, traveling tournament fisherman can never be too sure what will be available to him or her upon arrival at a tournament destination. Special tackle needs and last minute shopping may be hampered by tournament activities, weekends or sell outs of popular items prior to a major fishing event. That being the case, it behooves an angler traveling to compete in a fishing competition, whether it be interisland or across the globe,…

RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM Know signals for diver in distress (waving, whistles, shouting, etc.) Be able to spot early warning signs of panic, fatigue, cold, overweight, etc. Prevention by early recognition is always best. EVALUATE THE SITUATION What are the water conditions? Are you able to help, or should you seek assistance? Is the victim tired, panicked, unconscious? Skin or Scuba? Surface or underwater? Are there others who can help? Is rescue equipment available? Etc. SEND SOMEONE TO CALL Know the location of phones. Know emergency phone numbers. Get someone to call for professional help as soon as possible if it appears that the accident may be serious. COMMUNICATE! Calm and reassure the victim. Coordinate helpers. Keep calling for help. Try to discover the cause of the problem from victim, witnesses,…

■ Two Hale‘iwa boats brought home good catches of mahi and ono recently, after having found a 30-foot log floating some 15 miles off of Kahuku Point. The GRACE K happened to be in the area with the HIGH NOON not far behind, and two or three other-boats were within radio distance. The GRACE K managed to put 15 ono, five mahi and a bunch of shibi into the fish box. On the HIGH NOON, Richard Galius and brothers Milio and Giddy came up against an unusual experience. While busy baiting mahimahi and throwing them, one after another, into the boat, an 8-foot whitetip took a bait and tried to make a run for it. Not wanting to waste time with it, especially since the water was turquoise with mahimahi,…