Innholdsfortegnelse for January 1993 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ I slowly let the black scrounger sink to the bottom and then closed the bail on my BG13 reel. After winding up the slack, I started a slow, pulsating retrieve that I was sure would attract a hungry moana. As I flicked the HMG graphite rod up and down, the rod suddenly became heavy, signifying a solid strike. I held the rod high and felt a small moana fighting on the other end of my line. As I began to pump the fish in, I felt a sudden jerk on the line and then an enormous weight. “Something is attacking my moana!” I said out loud. As I peered through the white water, I could just see the distinct colors of an attacking ‘omilu. The fish looked to be…

■ The water was about 25 feet deep, and several delicate beams of light cut a narrow path through the small opening in the back of the submerged grotto. Appearing like a miniature cathedral, the cavern was about 10 feet in length and approximately 15 feet in width. The rock shelter was ink-dark and cryptic. Only by straining one’s eyes could the pale blue light of the back of the cave be seen. A shadow moved in the cave, a dark apparition against the dimly lit wall. Its enormous tail dug deep, and the phantasm moved the short width of the cave and then banked, sliding into the narrow beams of daylight. Suddenly in the blue light, the creature’s grotesque features were momentarily illuminated. For a brief instant, one of…

■ As the owner of a new boat, 1 am constantly dismayed by the chore of scrubbing off the grungy, oily black gunk that forms near the waterline of the REEL CAT’s glistening white gel-coat. The grunge is definitely oil-based. While some of that oil comes from the bilges and exhaust ports of the roughly 250 boats that call Honokohau home, there is little doubt that some of it also comes from fuel spills in the harbor. Having observed many different fueling “accidents” over the years, from fast flowing fuel nozzles that were carelessly removed from or knocked out of fuel fill pipes to overfilled fuel tanks that gushed gas or diesel out fuel vents and over the tops of fuel inlets, I am aware of the fact that petroleum…

■ Rope is a Wailuku, Maui boy with a Tahitian mother. His grandfather was Henry Herman Von Hamm Von Popoplski who owned the island of Rouk in the Solomon Islands. Rope fished on the island of Oahu for a short time before coming to Kona in 1948. The charter fishing fleet was small in those days with Tacks Waldron, Fred Palekane, George, the Durable, Parker, Henry Chee on the ELLEN, Charlie Finlayson and Walter Eklund oh his AIKANE. Rope joined these pioneers in building what is now one of the finest charter fleets in the world. Rope fished on the BETTY K, in 1951, Rope had as a crew member a boy named Pablo, a good fisherman, but a deaf mute. They had a good catch of mahimahi (this must…

Dear Mr. Endreson, We thank you for an opportunity to reply to Dr. Deriso’s letter def ending production models. Clearly, we disagree with Dr. Deriso’s assessment of production models. For example, a rigorous mathematical treatment of production models applied to yellowfin tuna resources by Allen and Punsley (1983) in the Bulletin of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission concluded (volume 18, 321, lines 39 to 41): “When only years and capacity were fitted 7.5 percent of the variation in catch rate was explained by the model whereas in the selected model 12.7 percent was explained.” Allen and Punsley’s very thorough treatment investigated annual estimates of abundance using: fishing mode, speed, capacity, use of aerial assistance, net dimensions and sea-surface temperature. Dr. Deriso does not quote any published papers to support…

■ With President-elect Bill Clinton certain to give top priority to deficit reduction and expansion of some social programs, the sportfishing community will be highly challenged to maintain the momentum it has gained over the last four years. All public-and privatesector personnel having interest in sport fisheries must remain diligent in their efforts to educate the new administration about the critical need for enhanced funding to meet multi-purpose natu ral-resource management objectives on federa lands. In their campaign book “Putting People First, President-elect Clinton and Senator Al Gore out line an environmental plan that would greatly affect recreational opportunities and fisheries and-wildlife conservation on federal lands. Con sistent with the President-elect’s campaign moti of reform, this plan proposes to: • “Preserve places of natural beauty and eco logical importance-such as…

■ The Hui O Hanapa‘a arrived early one Thursday morning to fish the southern shores of Moloka‘i in the club’s First Annual Moloka‘i Fishing Tourney, We spent Thursday and Friday whipping the pristine reef flats and bays from Kaluako‘i to Halawa, using ultralight tackle to catch small ‘omilu, moans and kaku. Our goal was to cover as much area as possible, and we fished at least four miles of reel during the daylight hours. We spent our first night dunking ‘oama off Kaunakakai Pier. I hooked up to a large shark that tested my 8-foot Penn Slammer rod and 850SS reel with four powerful, straight-ahead runs. The fight lasted about 20 minutes before the shark finally, chewed through my 50-lb test Mason hard leader and swam free. After nearly two…

Keehi Boat Club ■ During the month Keehi Boat Club members captured six marlin and caught a total of 975 lbs of fish while trolling. Capt. Mike Aksionczyk continued to catch fish when the others couldn’t. He boated a 142-lb marlin on the 1st. Mike and’Lisa Ann are the proud parents of a baby boy born in November. On the 15th, Capt. Bill Mossman of the HO’ONANEA fought a couple of good-sized marlin weighing 179 and 173 lbs. Capt. Bill caught his marlin about 4 miles off Pearl Harbor. Who says you have to go 20 miles out to catch fish? Al Silva, captain of the LINDA L, caught two winners for the monthly tournament. Complete results of that tournament follow: Keehi Boat Club November Tournament Results The Keehi Boat…

Marina Seafood Catch Report Due to the limited space available and the large number of fish caught, catch reports are limited to tuna over 100 lbs and billfish of any size, any species. (S) = Striped marlin, (B) = Black martin and (I) = Tag and release, weight estimated. Kona Watlin Center Report…

1. Tackle Trial. Despite all of your good intentions, it’s pretty hard not to abuse a file. Sure, you could keep it wrapped in oily rags, never expose it to sea air and never drag it across a salt-encrusted surface. But, if so, why have one? My poor hook-sharpening file has been pressed into service to clean corroded battery terminals, scrape the rust off the contacts of my downrigger wiring and put an edge on my bait knife. And those are only the jobs I know about! (My fishing partners got very quiet when I asked them what they used to hammer down nails sticking up from the dock or bang ‘opihi loose from rocks.) Slicking up the business end of a hook now and then seems almost beside the…

Aloha Chuck, I hope your paper may recall my friend Deal Crooker. He wrote a story about me. I think it was around November of 1978. I did have it, but somehow it got lost moving to Seattle in 1980. I was a charter fisherman in Kona for about 35 years. Now at 78 years young I still have a boat that takes out people sight-seeing and looking at sea life in the Puget Sound out of Anacortes. If you find that paper, let me know and I will send you what it costs. Aloha and God Bless,One Homesick HawaiianRope Nelson P.S. I sure miss fishing for marlin. Editor’s Note: The late Capt. Deal Crooker authored a “Blue Water” column for HAWAII FISHING NEWS beginning in our first year of…

■ Slow fishing and bad weather plagued Windward Coast fishermen during the month, and three serious fishing-related incidents reminded everyone to be careful out on the ocean. Low cloud cover made visibility very poor and put some boaters without GPS technology or adequate compass knowledge in serious situations. Strong southerly winds tended to blow everything, including boats, away from the island and made the return trip to Kane‘ohe a bumpy and wet ride. One of the incidents involved a small boat, which was out past the MM-buoy when it experienced engine failure late in the afternoon. The boaters could not give anyone an accurate location because of the low cloud cover. The southerly winds were pushing them farther out to sea. Joe Daniels on the PILI ALOHA notified me of…

Dear Chuck, During the Labor Day weekend my wife and I went out for a relaxing day on the water at Kane‘ohe Bay. Yes, we did enjoy ourselves frolicking at the sand bar. One of the biggest complaints that my wife had was the manner in which many boats were operated. Having taken the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s safe boating course, we are aware of the consequences of unsafe boating. We did see the State Marine Patrol cruising around. The thing that irritated my wife the most was the amount of powerful boats speeding past smaller boats without regard of damages and/or injuries that can be caused to others by their wakes. I have noticed this happening at the FADs where many boats drift/fish and outside Waikiki while at anchor. Those…

■ Another Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) meeting has come and gone, leaving in its wake more controversy as to whether or not the orchestrating that goes on behind the scenes is detrimental to the entire council process. Although there will always be debate and various viewpoints expressed during these council meetings, we at the Hawaii Fishermen’s Foundation find it difficult to believe that many of the same items continue to reappear like a bad cough. These items have no more business on the council’s agenda than issues concerning the survival of “Big Foot,” but they seem to find their way into the council process due to the manipulation and orchestration by some council members and the council’s staff. The council continues to address issues that will certainly…

Wet and Windy Winter Weather Hampers Fishing ■ The crew of the AERIAL had a surprise strike as they headed back to the barn after a morning halfday charter. Capt. R. O. and crewman Steve Cravens were off the dump at Olowalu in 60 fathoms of water when a marlin grabbed a black-backed Lee Aoki Lure on the longrigger and went crazy. The marlin never broke the rubber band off the outrigger as it jumped down the wake toward them. R. O. tried to maneuver away from the fish, but it kept jumping across the lure pattern after them. It snagged one lure on the shortrigger as it passed by, and wrapped its bill in the line. Then it jumped back toward the longrigger and wrapped itself in that line.…