Innholdsfortegnelse for March 1994 i Hawaii Fishing News

Spring is approaching according to the calendar, but in Hawai‘i waters winter-type weather can still appear in March. But there will be more good weather days than bad weather days. There is always the possibility of the occurrence of any of the following severe weather events: cold front with strong Kona winds, upper trough with heavy rain, gusty trade winds and high northwest wave and surf. Trade winds should be present on more than half the days in March with the possibility of about eight to 14 days of gusty trades. Northwest swell activity should be noticeably less. There may be about five days of high surf greater than 10 feet along the north shores. There’s still a chance of surf greater than 25 feet high at Sunset Beach, O’ahu.…

Judge Throws Out Anchoring Restriction ■ Boat owners frustrated by arbitrary anchoring ordinances should take heart, and make note of a recent court decision from south Florida in which an appeals court judge overturned a criminal trespass conviction of a boater who refused to comply with a local anchoring restriction. At issue was the refusal of Bill Harrington of Miami to move his chartered sailboat, which had been lawfully anchored during the day in Largo Sound, a part of the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, to a state-owned mooring field for the night. Park officials had established a policy prohibiting nighttime anchoring. Boaters wishing to stay the night were required to move to a mooring field and pay an $11 mooring fee. Acting Circuit Judge William DeFuria overturned Bill’s…

■ 1. Ultra Right for Records. Ron Freitas of Kona has challenged the existing IGFA 4-lb class record for bigeye tuna with a 16-lb fish caught on a long-range trip aboard the LIQUID GOLD. To catch ultralight records like this one., anglers have had to revamp the way they fish. Let’s look at how Ron and the crew aboard the LIQUID GOLD did it. Ron, Bob Holder, Capt. Lincoln Ahlo and boat owner Bob Sterling were aboard the LIQUID GOLD as it headed far offshore to the Cross Seamount on a four-day trip specifically to hunt records. Cross is roughly 150 miles southwest of Kailua, so a venture like this requires a very seaworthy boat. The LIQUID GOLD is a “major size sportfishing boat,” said Ron. The 60-foot Hatteras is…

■ It started out like any other summer weekend fishing trip. Stan Maeda, owner of the Hilo Lunch Shop (home of the tastiest okazu to be found on the Big Island) and his soon to be son-in-law, Reynold Lee (if you’re a golf enthusiast, you may recognize Reynold as one of Hawai‘i’s premier amateur golfers), arrived at their fishing spot on the afternoon of July 30, 1993. During past fishing trips, the afternoon bite had always been best, so they quickly began to scramble around to get their gear together. Before long, Reynold had an ulua pole out with a fresh ‘opelu dangling freely from his floater rig. The tide had just peaked, and the rushing current had begun to subside. It was what big-game shoreline fishermen have come to…

■ Every so often, the fishing tackle industry undergoes major changes. In the past couple of generations, the manufacture of fishing rods made of wood came to almost a complete stop with the introduction of fiberglass rods after World War II; except for a few makers of fly rods. As a sales rep, working for Phil Clock, then-owner of Sevenstrand Tackle Corporation, I sold the very first graphite rod and have watched graphite erode a good bit of the fiberglass market ever since. In fishing lines, major changes occurred after World War II, when linen lines were displaced by twisted and then braided nylon and finally Dacron, The changes came about with the introduction of monofilament for sportfishing in the early 1950s. Reels had to be reinvented for this new…

Dear Chuck, Here are a few photos of our sixth Clover Bay Floating Lodge fishing trip last July. The timing was great for king salmon, but in between the silver and pink salmon runs. We had three days of rain (good) and four days of hot sunshine (bad for salmon). While we did not catch our usual numbers of salmon, we had more large fish than ever before. (Last time we averaged, per angler, 117 lbs of fillets of smaller silver, pink and king salmon and uncounted rockfish, cod, and halibut. This year our catch was about the same weightwise, but we landed larger fish.) We caught more than 35 kings weighing between 20 to 40 lbs, and some over 40 lbs, too. The halibut were also biting well, In…

Hi Chuck, Please don’t use my name in this article. Mahalo. This letter is in response to a recent article concerning the Moloka’i residents whining about how the outside fishermen are taking away their fish. They don’t want neighboring fishermen to “fish” their island. How about when they come to the northeastern shore of Lana‘i and rape the shoreline, taking fish, lobsters and everything under the sun? They contradict themselves! My favorite fishing grounds there are invaded by Moloka‘i fishermen. They come in hordes on large powerboats-big Radons filled with 200-quart coolers-and dive for lobsters, spear fish, handline uku, akule, etc. Auwel How about the miles and miles of kaka lines (gangline floatlines) set commercially by Moloka‘i and Maui fishermen by the Shipwreck Beach area? Lana‘i fishermen have no choice…

■ Among Lahaina Harbor’s 14 charterboats, the 37-foot Merritt FINEST KIND was the top sportfisher during 1993. After dropping to fourth place in 1992, the boat was back on top for the fifth time in six years. The FINEST KIND landed 151 billfish during the year. Sixty-nine were blue marlin (the most among the fleet) weighing a total of 12,486 lbs; 57 were striped marlin (the most among the fleet) weighing a total of 4,058 lbs; and 25 were spearfish (the most among the fleet) weighing a total of 877 lbs. The boat’s total catch weight was 17,421 lbs. The FINEST KIND tagged and released another eight billfish. One hundred fifty-nine billfish were hooked during 347 charters, yielding a 2.1 day-per-billfish average. The FINEST KIND’S top blue marlin weighed 465…

■ The marlin bite continued into the new year, and striped marlin became the dominant fish. During January, the Lahaina charter fleet weighed in 17 blue marlin, 46 striped marlin and seven spearfish. An additional 26 striped marlin were tagged and released, bringing the monthly total to 96 billfish. The weather kept the boats away from the outside buoys for a few days throughout the month. Fortunately, the south side of Lana’i between the lighthouse and Kamaiki Point was holding fish. This area produced half of the month’s billfish. Lahaina’s largest marlin so far this year was brought in by the ISLANDER II. Capt. Steve Lambert and crewman Kevin McLaughlin captured a 380-lb blue for angler Tom Toms. Steve was trolling 2 miles south of the Lana‘i Lighthouse when a…

■ He’s one of Hawaii‘s’ most recognizable personalities. His red shirt and eyeglasses are the trademarks of this humble yet hard-working individual. You can see him every Saturday at 5 p.m. on KHON-TV showcasing some of the best fishermen these islands have to offer. He is none other than Hawaii‘s’ favorite angler, Mike Sakamoto of “Fishing Tales®.” Several years ago, I met Mike in Kawaihae on the Big Isle while doing a shoot on ulua fishing with Tigar Espere. I got to know the other side of this celebrity, and I realized how far this man will go to achieve excellence and to maintain his status as one of Hawaii‘s’ most interesting and likable TV hosts. It all started eight years ago when Mike’s wife of 22 years, Kathleen, came…

■ A mantis shrimp slowly crawled into its volcanolike house as I curiously watched a puff of mud smoke out from the small entrance. The mantis seemed to be cleaning house as it shoveled out small rocks and shells from inside. Because this little creature was already holed up, I knew that catching it would be a chore. The mantis would go deeper into its den until it was out of harm’s way. My chances of capturing a mantis shrimp would be much greater if I could find one that was away from its house and in the open. Luck was on my side. A good-sized mantis froze as it saw me coming. It was too late. I had already blocked the entrance to its house and easily scared the…

■ Someday, I’d like to meet Adela Batin, who has been described as a frontier woman of the ’90s. She lives in a log home in a birch forest outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, and runs several businesses that capitalize on her skills in writing, photography, advertising and graphic design. She successfully blends work with play: catching world-record king salmon, scuba diving in Alaska (in December!) and backpacking throughout the state with camera in hand to capture photos that appear in newspapers and magazines all over the United States. Adela’s latest endeavor is “Best Recipes of Alaska’s Fishing Lodges” which should be on the bookshelves of all Hawai‘i fishing enthusiasts whether you’re among the growing number who have visited and fished Alaska or one who has just dreamed of doing so.…

■ Aloha, everyone. At the December 1993 meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC), I was elected chairman. I thought it appropriate to take this opportunity, my inaugural article, to give a brief summary of WESPAC’s actions regarding the longline fishing issue and upcoming issues and topics. Longline Issues The current moratorium on further entrants into the longline fishery will expire in April of this year. The council has been working toward replacement regulations, which are intended to be in effect at the time that the current moratorium expires. These replacement regulations are known as “Amendment 7.” At its September 1993 meeting, the council voted to include in Amendment 7 provisions to limit the number of longline permits to the number of vessels that landed longline-caught fish…

■ The apparent demise of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is apparently not as imminent as many Hawai‘i fishermen and ocean users (including this writer) had previously supposed. In fact, the relentless progress of this politically motivated travesty of democratic principals seems to have taken on renewed vigor. In March, hearings will be held in communities across the state wherein the federal sanctuary team will present its “Discussion Paper” and suggest regulatory options for the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in Hawai‘i’s waters. Despite strong protestations by fishermen from all over Hawai‘i, negative feedback even from within the state government and increasing concerns by Hawai‘i’s ocean recreation industry, the feds continue to try to create “solutions” to a problem that doesn’t exist. No one, not even those…

■ Dedicated individuals have worked to keep the Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club (HBGFC) going since 1909. The HBGFC is the second oldest offshore sportfishing club in America. This year, the club is poised to complete something every self-respecting fishing organization needs, a permanent clubhouse. Once again, the hard work and dedication of a few HBGFC members has brought this long-time dream close to reality. With a permanent clubhouse taking shape as a result of the perseverance of long-time club stalwart Otis “Red” Butler, it is time for the greater Hawai‘i sportfishing community to lend a hand. The clubhouse project requires materials, labor, landscaping, fixtures, decor and, most of all, money to blossom into reality. Now is the time to come to the aid of your club. The building fund…

■ It started as an average fishing trip for Maui Casting Club member Augie Hosino and son, Augie Hosino III, on January 15, 1994. But little did they know what lay in store for them on that fateful day. As usual, Augie and son packed up their gear and headed to a favorite fishing spot located on the North Shore of Maui. This spot was a favorite of Augie’s because gaining access to it merely required driving over the finely manicured grass lawn of his boss, Ray, who lives as beachfront as one can. Upon their arrival in the early evening, Augie and son began to set up their poles. Augie, casting with the accuracy of Robin Hood, placed their leads in channels where he knew large ulua would come…