Innholdsfortegnelse for April 1985 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ The last couple of months haven’t been very productive as far as ulua action goes. This may be due to the time of year (ulua season doesn’t really start for another month or so). It could also be due to the weather (all but the hardiest of shore casters have opted to stay home rather than to fight the elements). Whatever the case may be, we should be seeing better results as summer approaches. Hilo Casting Club Scoreboard In addition to the Big Island Fishing Tournament, the Hilo Casting Club schedules two other tournaments during the year. The Kick-off Tournament and the Spring Classic are member-only events. This year’s Spring Classic was held on March 22 through 24, and chairman for the event was Mike Ignacio, …Jason…

■ One of the greatest thrills of a fisherman’s life here in Hawaii is fighting and landing an Allison (yellowfin) tuna. One Wai‘anae fisherman, well-known for his tuna prowess, recently took tuna fishing one step further and traveled to Prince Edward, Island, Canada, to hunt for the legendary supergiant of the tuna family, the bluefin… Ed Watkins and his wife, Shay, of the IANUI out of Poka‘i Bay, spent the past year driving across Canada and the United States. The high spot of their trip was a visit to Prince Edward Island, which is the smallest Atlantic province in Canada. P.E.I., as it is commonly called, lies off the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is just a day’s drive from Boston, Massachusetts, and there are jet connections…

■ Artificial reefs have proven to be a real bonanza to recreational fishermen. These fish population enhancers are particularly effective in areas with broad, flat offshore shelves, like those off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Artificial reefs are built of a wide variety of materials including auto wrecks, construction wastes, old tires, materials from demolished buildings and old merchant and military vessels. Of these substances, used automobiles have proved to be the least effective. They rust away too quickly to be a base for the coral and coralline algae deposits that form into a permanent reef structure. Much like floating objects, material deposited on the ocean floor attracts fish almost immediately. The shelter provided by the nooks and crannies in artifical reefs attract small fish, and…

Author and columnist Commissioner for Hawaiian International Billfish Association Head of Lower and Middle Schools, Hawaii Preparatory Academy This month, more fishing tips from Hawaii’s best fishermen. Comments and questions for this column should be addressed to: Box 635 in Kamuela, Hawaii 96743. 1. Shorefisherman James Davis has a unique, way of “casting” for ulua. He gets on his surfboard and carries his baited line out to sea to the exact spot he wants to fish. Not only does this style acid some exercise (and adventure!) to fishing, but it also eliminates a number of problems. You hit the spot you want, of course. You don’t have to worry about ripping the bait off with the toss. You get all the distance you could hope for. And, because you can…

■ They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour and each one headed’or the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway Dawn was breaking,’ and boats laden with anticipant fishermen began to dot the horizon. The wind was intensifying as the MAGGIE JOE cut through agitated breakers to make her way to Penguin Bank. Capt. John “Ferillo” DeRego had chosen this area for the day’s fishing. It was a little farther than most boats were going that day, but a trip to the Banks was often worth the traveling time. Ferillo’s investment paid off when a mahimahi and an ‘ahi were withdrawn from the fishing grounds. The MAGGIE JOE crew then spotted a pile…

SEND A PHOTO AND LETTER ABOUT YOUR CATCH, AND WE WILL MAIL SOU A FREE GIFT…. O’JR WAS OF EASING THANKS FOR SHARING SOUR CATCH! …CHUCK SEND TO-P. O. BOX 25413, HONOLULU, HAWAII 96825 Howzit Chuck, To start the new year right, my brother Joey and I went on my boat the RAINBOW RUNNER. We did some diving and throw net fishing. We picked half a cooler of ‘opihi, speared a 9-lb uhu and some kole and caught 45 moi in the throw net. Happy New Year and Good Fishing,Armelio CabatinganPukalani, Maui Dear Chuck, This is probably the smallest papio I caught so far, but I wanted to show my first kagami. I was whipping with 4-lb test Izlon line at the Hawaii Kai bridge. The fish put up a…

■ The rigged moano flew through the air in an ungraceful arch and hit the foamy white surface with a unceremonial splat. The watery rings caused by the impact quickly dissipated in the shoreline chop and the moano slowly sank below the surface. I manually engaged my Penn #850 SS spinning reel and took up the slack. The moano began a slow and pulsating “injured fish” type of retrieve. Working the rod at an easy pace, I kept the rigged moano out in the white water as long as I possibly could. I knew from past experience that the outlying edge where white and blue water met was where a great percentage of strikes occurred: There huge ulua would often appear and savagely tear at the surface to attack a…

■ The man who caught THE fish is coming back. The man is Mike Ober, former Southern California football player turned Big Island cowboy-angler. In last year’s 26th Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, Ober boated the largest marlin ever caught in this prestigious contest—but it didn’t count. Ober’s marlin weighed 987 lbs—71 lbs heavier than the tournament record and more than 400 lbs heftier than the next heaviest billfish caught in 1984. But alas, the maximum line test allowed in the HIBT is 80 lbs. Ober’s line did not meet the standard and THE fish was disqualified. Connoisseurs of temper tantrums like those staged by tennis player John McEnroe and Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight might have been amazed by the way Ober took the referee’s decision. He never said…

■ From the very first day of 1985, there have been many 300-, 400-, 500- and even 600-plus-lb marlin caught along the Kona Coast. On the first day of the year, a 557-lb Pacific blue marlin was brought to the pier by Capt. Brian Bentencourt on the charter boat REBEL. That fish held the top spot until the charter boat SHACKLES came to the scales to weigh in a 618-lb marlin on February 20. The captain of the SHACKLES is Dave Humphries. Then on February 28, the BILLFISHER II, another top Kona charter boat, brought a 650-lb Pacific blue marlin to the pier scales. Capt. Gary Testa skippered the BILLFISHER II on that great day. During every month of every year, Kona has great marlin catches. Last year on March…

The Western Pacific Fishery Council is considering a fishery management plan for bottom fish that may lead to new federal regulations for the 200-mile fishing zone around the Northwestern (Leeward) Hawaiian Islands and at seamounts northwest of Kure Atoll. This plan would also include an “alert” system for heavily-fished bottom fish species caught in the 200-mile zone off the main Hawaiian Islands (also American Samoa and Guam). This “alert” could lead to new regulations in the future, but the plan would rely heavily on fishermen for (assistance in designing any new regulations for the 200mile zone. These proposals would not apply to state waters, where most of the bottom fishing is done in the main Hawaiian Islands. The proposals would not affect reef fish, schooling fish (akule, ‘opelu, weke) and…

■ As February wore on, the size of marlin and yellowfin tuna caught off the Wai‘anae Coast increased. The early month’s 35-lb spearfish catches were upgraded to 400-lb Pacific blue marlin catches, and the 8-to 12-lb shibi blossomed into ‘ahi that weighed well over 100 lbs. These terrific marlin and ‘ahi catches may be attributed to the masses of filefish that were sighted off the Wai‘anae and Hale‘iwa Coasts at the end of January and the beginning of February. During July of last year, filefish were bountiful in the same waters, and many great marlin and ‘ahi catches were reported. Wai‘anae fishermen are looking forward to more large-fish catches during March, for the filefish were still spotted off of Ka‘ena Point at the end of February. Massive Pacific Blue Taken…

■ February was a wet and wild month in Lahaina. The mahi were back in town, and everyone was catching them. The AERIAL landed some good-sized mahi, the largest of which weighed 40 lbs. Capt. Ken Takashima, Capt. Dave Russell and regular crew member Rich Newcomb had a half a dozen catches of mahimahi in the 20- to 32-lb range, and the crew also saw some barracuda action during the month. The AERIAL II with Capt. Craig Forrest and new crew member Stan Sanglier brought in some ono that weighed 20 to 25 lbs and some mahimahi that weighed 15 to 20 lbs. The BROADBILL scooped up a few mahi that weighed 25 to 30 lbs and a beautiful, 60-lb ono. This 601b ono topped by 2 lbs Lahaina’s record…

Author and columnist Commissioner for Hawaiian International Billfish Association Head of Lower and Middle Schools, Hawaii Preparatory Academy ■ An article in the January issue of SALT WATER SPORTSMAN on making popping plugs for whipping sent us searching back issues of HAWAII FISHING NEWS to see how long it’s been since we’ve done a piece on the same topic. It’s been five or six years, so here’s an update—our own way of making wooden whipping plugs with some modifications picked up over the past half a decade. Let’s proceed from the simple to the serious. It is absolutely true that you can cut off a 6-inch length of wooden dowel, twist a screw eye into each end, place a third eye in the middle, attach treble hooks and, that fast,…

Historically it took a number of years for submersible pressure gauges (SPGs) to become accepted as a standard item of equipment. Now they are mandatory. Since they arc used on every scuba dive and do involve high pressure air, knowledge regarding them is required. Do you know what you need to know concerning this instrument? Let’s find out with some questions, the answers to which are listed below. Note: Select the most correct answer for each question. 1. Select the correct statement regarding SPGs: □ A. An SPG is a device to warn you when you are low on air. □ B. An SPG is a rugged instrument that can tolerate shock well. □ C. The pressure reading on a modern SPG is accurate to within 25 psi. □ D.…

(This article is taken from a report entitled “The El Nino Relationship to O‘ahu Rainfall,” Circular 112, which was prepared by Pacific Weather, Inc. for the Division of Water and Land Development, Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawai‘i.) ■ El Nino has been blamed for unusual weather in Hawai‘i and other parts of the world, especially during the last two years. “El Nino,” which means “the Child” (referring to the Christ child), was a name given to the warm ocean current that periodically develops off Peru and Ecuador, usually around the Christmas season. The name is now used to identify the major long-lasting oceanic surface warming episodes that extend westward from the South American coast along the equator. The oceanic-atmosphere processes leading up to and occurring during…

■ A combination of high winds, heavy rains and the fact that large bass are off limits kept most people off the lake during February. I’ll be the first to admit that no one missed anything. Like the idiot I am, I still made my rounds; and I’m still waiting for my first bass strike. From all the people I talked to, it seems I have plenty of company in that category. So far I haven’t even heard of any “record” bass being released, which usually happens every year when the season is closed. Just how bad has the fishing been? Well, the HFFA semipros held their monthly tournament. Both bass and tuc were eligible, but not a single fish was weighed. David Almeida and I went to a smallmouth…

■ Anglers from around the world who visit Hawaii are often surprised by the almost total lack of game fish tagging done by our fishermen. In their home waters, rules of the game are different, and so are the ethics of the fishery and the utilization of the fish captured. Without understanding that our fish are primarily utilized as food and without delving into the economics of Hawaii’s billfish catch, visitors often chastise us for our lack of billfish tagging programs. In many other places in the world, anglers, skippers and crews do not have the option of selling their catch. On the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, for instance, game boats are often a full day’s run or more from the nearest port. And, even if the boats were…

■ Aloha from the Pineapple Island. Groundhog Day didn’t bring in many fish for Lana‘i guys; but, by the time Valentine’s Day rolled” around, the yellowfin tuna and those tasty golden mahimahi started showing their faces and the sashimi was abundant. Kazu “Skipjack” Masada brought in the first bunch of bigeye, about 85 lbs worth, along with an aku and a 171b mahimahi. Masao Iwamoto mixed it up trolling, diving and bottom fishing with his fishing partners. Max Kincaid, David Ahuna and Greg Suetos. The group had one big mahi wahine on the line, but jaws got the fillet. The only part the shark left the boys was the head. Jason Fujie was fishing aboard the HOLO NALU when he landed a 17-lb mahimahi and some tuna. Jerry Pagay caught…

FREE GIFT A COLLECTION OF FlSHY-TOONS BS ALLAN TSUKAMOTO FOR LETTERS RECEIVED SITING THE MONTH OF APRlL! Dear Chuck. Here is a picture of the two ‘o‘io I caught at ‘Ewa Beach. The smaller one weighed in at 3 lbs, while the larger one weighed in at 10 lbs. Both were caught tn the morning on a 4/0 Senator. Special thanks go to my fishing partner Blaine Kusumoto. Hopefully we will catch our ulua soon. We really enjoy reading your paper, so keep up the good work. Sincerely,Lance IkedaPearl City, O‘ahu Howzit Chuck, Enclosed is a picture of a 124b blue uhu I caught on one of many night dives. I saw him cruising by and got him with my Hawaiian Sling. Many thanks to the Dias brothers. Mahalo,George Jr.Haiku,…