Innholdsfortegnelse for August 1995 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ Enjoy summer in Hawai‘i waters. August is the warmest month over land and in the water. No Kona storms or cold fronts are expected. Replacing these two wintertime storms could be storms born over the warm tropical waters—tropical storms and hurricanes. August is the favored month for these storms. Over the past years, these storms have appeared in Hawai‘i waters so it will be prudent to listen to the National Weather Service marine forecasts before venturing into the water. Weather satellite pictures spot these storms. Trade winds will be the common feature as they persist through the month. Expect about five to 10 days of gusty trade winds that can make the waters too rough. Northwest swell and surf activity is at the minimum, but southerly surf could be…

■ It seems that every time I film a “Fishing Tales®” episode, I’m taught something new, and that’s exciting. Hawai‘i fishermen always amaze me with their new and innovative ways and fishing techniques. On one trip, I joined Randy Vituosek and his 10-year-old son, Mike. We set out on their 24-foot Slickcraft and dragged ‘opelu on a flatline and downrigger set for 60 feet off of Black Point near Kawaihae. Once we were set up and slow-trolling, we started to “talk story.” We just kicked back and hoped for some much-needed luck. I noticed a bright orange floater/bumper, about 18 inches in diameter, sitting on the floor behind the driver’s seat. To this was connected about 20 feet of 300-lb test monofilament leader and a #46 Maruto full-turn ulua hook.…

■ That’s what we won by: a pound and a half. It was two days before the Wee Guy’s Tournament held in Kailua-Kona on June 24 and 25, 1995, and I was scrambling to get some lures together because the moon and tides were perfect for the weekend. Some big ‘ahi and big marlin had come up during the week, and the weather was typical of summer conditions in Kona. My two close friends, Tom Andersen and Paul Anstine, had loaned me the best set of lures they had. They had wished my partner Roy Saplan and me luck because it was our first Wee Guy’s Tournament. Roy, of Captain Cook, had just bought a 19-foot Chris Craft that looked more like a ski boat from a James Bond movie…

■ It was a hot time in old Hale’iwa Town during tournament time. The crowds were crowding, the spectators were spectating, the boats were boating and the fishermen were fishing their tails off. Over 20,000 lbs of fish were weighed in during the three days of trolling-not a bad showing, for a small town like Hale’iwa. ‘Ahi accounted for the lion’s share of weight for the contest, and there were ono a-plenty, including a 65½-pounder. The lack of mahimahi was evident by the numbers of blanks in that category, so the ones that were landed fetched a good price. My good friend and mooring neighbor Mark Glaser on the MOKULEA took first place (for his third time) in the North Shore Hana Pa’a, a record that will be hard to…

Charter Services 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 and (B) = Biack marlin. Tag and Release Report…

The Largest Blue in Two Years ■ Three out of the top four marlin of the year to date for the Lahaina charter fleet were landed during the month. Two of the fish came in on the same day. In all, 20 blue marlin were landed along with 10 striped marlin and six spearfish. Another nine billfish were tagged and released. The area between Kaumalapau Harbor on the southwest side of Lana’i and Manele Harbor on the south end of Lana’i produced half of the billfish. The largest marlin to be brought to the harbor scales in over two years was captured from aboard the ISLANDER II. Capt. Steve Lambert and Co-capt. Tim “Timo” Mageau weighed in the 618-lb blue for anglers Richard and Shelagh Howell. Steve was working an…

■ I still remember the very first ‘omilu that I caught. It happened at the Diamond Head end of the Ala Wai Canal just before the library. Tracy Kim and Ricky Ward were toting nice spinning outfits, and I had my old, reliable 10cent bamboo cane pole that was strung with 8-lb test monofilament. I had a cork floater positioned above some sort of Eagle Claw hook that I had managed to borrow from Tracy. We scoop netted along the banks for live medaka, our primary bait. Tracy and Rick were after barracuda, but I was after my first papio. It was a sight to behold when I saw my floater zip under the water’s surface. I instantly felt the hard tug of a strong fish. I had no reel…

■ Aloha no ‘oukou e ka lawai’a Hawai‘i. Laki no ho’i kakou e noho nei i Hawai‘i. ‘Ea? I ka wa kahiko, ua ha’i ‘olelo na kupuna i na mo’olelo e pili ana i ka wa kahiko a me na wahi pana. I ia manawa, ua ‘ike na kupuna i ka wa ma mua a me ka wa ma hope. Ua a’o i ka hana a me na mea i ka wa kahiko. I ka mana’olana, ho’ona’auao ‘ia e na keiki a me na mo’opuna. Aloha fishermen of Hawai‘i. Lucky we live in Hawai‘i. Yeah? In the days of old, our ancestors retold stories about the old people and famous places. Often in the retelling (of tales), our ancestors knew of past times and the days ahead (future). Teaching the…

For the best advice on how to rig lures for offshore trolling, we went to the lure makers themselves. Jim shares ideas from Pacific lure makers with Atlantic and Pacific granders to their credit. The Super Plunger created by Honolulu lure maker Joe Yee has become a legend among giant-killers. “It is the only lure ever to catch three granders within a 12-month period,” Joe said, citing the 1,195-lb winner of the July 4, 1993, World Cup, the 1,166-lb winner of the 1993 Hawaiian Invitational Pro-Am a month later and the 1,109-lb blue caught from aboard Kona’s STARS AND STRIKES the following June. Joe sells his lures unrigged; when pressed for rigging advice, he said, “Go ask Jerome.” We sought out Kona skipper Jerome Judd, who caught one of the…

■ The whale sanctuary is coming soon to waters near you! The federally mandated Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, originally designated just for the waters around Maui County, is currently in the process of being expanded to include most of the waters around the state of Hawai‘i, despite the expressed opposition to that expansion of many island residents, businesses and organizations. The following concerns are shared by many of those who oppose this massive expansion of the original sanctuary: 1. the whale sanctuary is a superfluous waste of our tax dollars, because humpback whales are already well-protected; 2. the sanctuary represents an unacceptable and unwarranted intrusion of federal authority into Hawai‘i’s waters, impeding ocean resource management at the local level; and 3. the humpback whale sanctuary will divert…

■ Years back, when I was just a little kid, the 4-foot long wooden box before me on the floor of the parlor held some incredible magic. My dad, Paul Sakamoto, had just returned from Midway after working there for almost a year, and he had returned ladened with gifts. I flipped the small brass latch and slowly opened the box. To my amazement, in it was a delicate split-cane bamboo fly rod. It was a three-piece rod with two tips, a couple of small boxes of dry flies, nymphs, wet flies and a cream-colored roll of level flyline. I’d used spinning tackle and baitcasting tackle before, but this was totally foreign to me. The reel seat was situated on the butt, which made no sense whatsoever, but that’s the…

■ By targeting the largest marlin during fishing tournaments, are we actually contributing to the survival of less desirable fish, or even to the demise of the fishery? The old theory about the survival of the fittest doesn’t always apply, particularly when the human factor is entered into the equation. In the case of marlin fishing, we may actually be targeting the most fit, those fish that are the most capable of beating all the others to our baits or lures. “Fishing can have deleterious effects on fish populations, as it operates by removing the most desirable individuals from the breeding population,” reported Dr. James Bohnsack of the National Marine Fisheries Service. “High levels of fishing can alter the population’s genetics by selecting individuals that mature earlier and have a…

AUDIE TOO weighed in this 769-lb blue marlin in the last hour. ■ The Ninth Annual Ho’ole’a Fishing Tournament is now history. Mahalo to both the Hawaii Yacht Club and the Waikiki Yacht Club for their involvement. Thanks, also, to the major sponsors: Kimura of Hawaii Custom Rods: Sealand; Smirnoff; and West Marine. Ho’ole’a Tournament Results Art Burt on his AUDIE TOO spent the last couple of hours of the tournament with Chris Crenshaw fighting a big fish. They reached the scales at 1810 hours and weighed in a 769-lb marlin. Congratulation to all, and aloha. … Al…

■ It’s been a pretty dismal summer so far for Windward Coast fishermen-all of O’ahu’s ‘ahi are being caught off the Wai’anae Coast. There have been some small aku and stray ‘ahi and marlin around, but little else has been caught in the big-game category. The season may come late for us here, because our late spring produced lots of big marlin and some large mahimahi. Even the aku boat fishermen are struggling now to make ends meet with the small fish they are catching and the poor prices those fish bring at the market. Fred Kaya on his 20-foot HANA PA ‘A HAWAII headed to the area inside of the MM-buoy. He was testing some lures to see if they’d catch’ahi. The lures worked very well; Fred landed a…

■ “My dream,” said 9-year-old Brian Sicard, “is to move to Kona and be first mate on the STARS & STRIKES with Capt. Dan Harrigan.” I would like to extend a warm maha Io to Capt. Harrigan for making Kona a pleasant place to visit and especially sport fish! Little Brian and his 13-year-old brother, Colin, had a very memorable day when they caught two of the most sought-after fish in Hawai‘i. On their latest trip to Kona all the way from Cambridge, Ohio, and on their second trip aboard the 33-foot Bayliner STARS & STRIKES, these two boys and their dad, Wayne, set out for a fishing adventure with Capt. Harrigan and first mate Aaron Estecion. Young Brian boated a 109½-lb yellowfin tuna on 80-lb test line after only…

First Marlin on The HOKULANI TOO ■ It was raining on May 27 as the HOKULANI TOO set out on one of its exciting and memorable journeys. At 4:30 a.m., Capt. Scot Minemoto and crew member Arnold Uehara got the Force 25 into the water and began to load their fishbox with ice. At 5:30 a.m., the two left Hilo Bay and headed straight down to Cape Kumukahi. When they reached Sand Hill, they set out their lines. In a few minutes, they had their first knockdown, but no hookup. After resetting the lines, the two, hoping to catch an ono, traveled all the way down to Opihi-kao. It was pouring rain, but Scot told Arnold that he had to catch a marlin for my daughter’s wedding. Because it was…

■ The first two weeks of the month produced a large south swell, and this combined with strong trade winds made it hard for a lot of weekend warriors to get out and have fun. The commercial and charterboat fishermen reported good catches of ono, mahimahi and shibi-ko; but, all in all, everyone seemed to be holding their breath and waiting for the big marlin and ‘ahi to start running. Early to mid-month, skipper Steve Sueoka, Reggie Rivera and Paka Isoda reported some great marlin action from Steve’s 18-foot Force. On three different occasions, Steve caught marlin: one weighing 200 lbs; a doublestrike catch of 160 lbs and 130 lbs; and a 380-lb blue marlin. The 160-lb fish hit a 9/0 reel packed with 80-lb test line. Steve said that…