Innholdsfortegnelse for September 1995 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ September, a transitional month between summer and winter, is usually the month with the least bad weather. It would be the month of lowest bad weather activity if tropical cyclones did not appear in Hawai‘i waters. The potential of a tropical cyclone invading our weather is about the only major threat during the month. Trade winds will still prevail, but the gusty trades will be at their minimum for the year; only about four days in the month. Northwesterly swell and surf heights are slowly picking up, but the very high surf is still a month or more away. Southerly surf action is decreasing, but there’s still a chance of higher than normal swell from that direction.…

■ 1. Topping off the Tape. In last month’s issue, we surveyed a number of ways to rig lures with tandem hooks. Several of the rigs made use of tape to keep the joints stiff and prevent the hooks from flipping, flopping and flying. Tape can unravel, as those of you who use it already know. Capt. Dan Gibbons of the Kona boat ADOBIE has a solution. “I use PVC electrical tape on my lure hook rigs and find I can keep it from unwrapping by applying a good coat of clear PVC cement,” Dan said. “It’s the same type of cement used for PVC plumbing pipe. It’s not a glue. It actually laminates the outside layer of PVC tape. Try it.” 2. Lures vs. Bait. When does a lure…

■ Capt. Juan Waroquiers’ advice on fishing the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament’s Pro-Am event is to make sure the team and the charterboat captain and crew are a solid unit. “It has to be a marriage,” said Juan, who owns the Kona charterboat ILLUSIONS. “The captain and crew and the charter have to be integrated into one, a solid team.” That comes from the guy who won the 1995 Pro-Am held from July 24 to July 27, 1995. Juan said he fished with the Pajaro Valley Gamefishing Club on the final days of the 1994 HIBT. “It was one of those things that clicked,” Juan said. “They were impressed with us, and we liked how they fished. They booked us immediately for the Pro-Am.” That decision turned out to be…

■ ‘Ano’ai me ke aloha. No ka mea he le’ale’a no ho’i keia papahana ‘uhane i ’Okakopa a kau wela me ka po’e lawai’a HFN, ua pau au i kau wela me ka mo’olelo ‘Hi moa. Eia ho’i, mahalo a nui na hoaloha a me ka ‘ohana no na mo’olelo. Ka’ena Point, located in the district of Wai’anae, on the west end of O’ahu, is famous as the path to Ka Leina-a-ka-’uhane, “the soul’s leap,” on the Mokule’ia side of the Waialua district. When a person lay on a deathbed, the ‘uhane (soul) would leave the body and wander about. If all obligations were fulfilled, the ‘uhane would then depart earth to meet with minor gods. Thereafter, actual death of the body occurred. On pathways leading to Ka Leina-a-ka-’uhane, strange…

Majority Rules and a Grander ■ We had an excellent July with larger blue marlin and more yellowfin tuna than last year. Nearly 300 blue marlin and almost 100 tuna were brought to the scales during the month. And 28 of those marlin were over 500 lbs. The largest fish of the month and Kona’s first “grander” of the year was caught on the 27th. That 1,144-lb blue marlin was angled by Mike Banks, fishing on the 39-foot Rybovich SEA GENIE II with Capt. Gene Vander Hoek, Co-capt. Rick Azevedo and first mate Carlton Arai. At the scales by 9 a.m., these guys had wasted no time reeling in the monster marlin. Their day began at about 6:20 a.m. when they departed from Honokohau Harbor. Mike lives in Macon, Mississippi,…

■ In marginal sea conditions, the 68-boat fleet of anglers started fishing on Saturday, August 12, 1995. The enthusiastic and hardy group started out from Kane‘ohe Bay to fish in the waters off the Windward Coast of O’ahu in winds of 20 to 25 knots and seas of 8 to 12 feet. The one-day annual fishing derby traditionally has a good to excellent catch record, and this year followed suit. Forty-six of the fleet’s teams reported landing flag fish: marlin; ‘ahi; ono; or mahimahi. The end of the fishing came at 1730 hours. By this time, 102 fish had been reported on boats coming into the scales at Kaneohe Yacht Club. The catch included 18 marlin, 22 ‘ahi, 14 ono and 48 mahimahi. The largest fish was caught by Bill…

■ During the winter months (actually during the whole year), mahimahi cruise the waters of Hawai‘i. To me, mahimahi are fun fish because they’ll take a lure like a PILI popper and fresh chunks of aku bait without much hesitation. I like casting lures to mahimahi because of the incredibly vicious strikes that you can experience when popping lures next to one of the many FADs anchored off Hawai‘i. Besides around FADs, mahimahi can be found free swimming or around any kind of floating object, like a log, wooden pallet or even an empty jug that’s been in the water for a long time. If you’re ever lucky enough to find a floating object in the water, make sure you keep a sharp eye out for the fluorescent blue colors…

■ “Oh no!” thought Honolulu resident Dick Krupa, “it’s deja vu all over again.” It was the final day of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, and Dick’s team, fishing on his boat, the MY MISTRESS, a 38-foot Uniflite, was in the lead. Hookups were being called in on the radio as he and his team, the Moana Kai Fishing Club, watched their lures glide through the water with no fish in sight. Four years earlier, Dick had been in the same position with the Hawaii Kai Yacht Club Team. Dick’s team had been leading in the tournament going into the final day, when in the final hours of the event the Lahaina Yacht Club Team hooked up and captured first place. “I didn’t want to go through that again,” said…

■ It’s always exciting to take a first look at a new land. After a long (nine-hour), but very comfortable flight spent enjoying Air New Zealand’s excellent hospitality, I waited eagerly for the scattered clouds to pass for my first look at New Zealand’s North Island. Approaching Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, my first impression was of a green, relatively flat countryside with a wind-swept bay hosting an incredible number and variety of sailboats. Hmm. Water clarity wasn’t as good as it is in Hawai‘i, but it sure looked like good fishing water! Maybe next time, I thought. After a smooth trip through customs, where the police registered my rifle, then they and the customs agents all shook my hand and wished me good hunting and fishing, I boarded Mount…

Hilo Trollers June Tournament ■ The Hilo Trollers June Tournament, scheduled for June 11, 1995, was postponed due to bad weather and rough seas. It was held a week later on June 18, and 31 teams entered the tournament. A total of five marlin, 11 ‘ahi, 13 ono, nine mahimahi and 111 lbs of nonflag fish reached the scale. The highlight of the tournament was the catch taken aboard the TIFEY-SY. Capt. Wendell Miyazu and crew members Hinano Matsu Jr. and Leslie Tome came in with two marlin, the largest weighing 192 lbs, and two mahimahi, the largest weighing 26½ lbs. Capt. Roger Oba on the TIGER TOO came in with a l60½-lb ‘ahi. This ‘ahi earned Capt. Oba second in the largest fish category. On the LADY K, Capt.…

■ If you visited Mediterranean kitchens, you’d feel very much at home. Fruits and veggies of the region are as familiar as those at your nearest market, perhaps with the exception of fresh, tender vine leaves you’d need to make dolma (stuffed vine leaves). Few, if any, surprises turn up among the nuts, grains, beans or pastas popular there. As for seafood, tender frog legs, cockles, skate and sea urchin share space with squid, octopus, prawns, lobster and fish families you’d recognize: swordfish and tuna (usually sold as steaks); sea bass; mackerel; mullet; and barracuda. Olives flourish throughout the Mediterranean and are considered the most crucial ingredients everywhere. Squid With Turnips (Tunisia) (from “Mediterranean Cooking,” by Claudia Roden) l½ pounds baby squid 1 onion, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil…

■ Looking over the side of the HUNTER, Capt. Chuck Moon saw a large, gaping mouth rising slowly toward him. His left hand held a big, rusty hook that was attached to a length of thick rope, and his right hand reached tentatively for the straining leader. “It’s not ready,” Chuck warned. Those agonizing words have been heard more than once by tired anglers who have fought powerful fish to the point where the angler was nearly exhausted. As usual, Chuck’s remark was met with disbelief and resignation. The fish’s mouth clamped shut in what appeared to be determination, and the long, wide body made three slow, swimlike flexes upward. As the rod tip rose and some of the tension came out of the line, the fish jerked its head…

■ Summer is here, and with it comes ulua tournament season, including the 20th Annual Hilo Casting Club Fishing Tournament (July 4 to 8, 1995). There was something new about this year’s Hilo Casting Club tournament, though. No longer will there be the traditional “most fish” category. That is a very welcome change, and the officers and members of the venerable Hilo Casting Club are to be congratulated for their willingness to consider preservation of one of Hawai‘i’s most important game fish species and to help build respect for conservation. The most fish category was always a heavily contested part of the annual fish-off, but the gruesome spectacle of documenting hundreds of pounds of ulua, killed for no other reason than to add pounds to a total, was never a…

■ We finally had the month that everyone dreamed about. There were lots of fish, and I do mean lots of fish, caught from as close as the U-buoy all the way out to Halawa Valley, Moloka‘i. The weather was excellent for the first few days of July, but there were strong trade winds during the rest of the month, which made for wet rides but predictable conditions so the fishermen knew what to expect. Ken Toguchi, Charlie Tabar and Moki Mokuahi on the SHARENE fought a triple-marlin strike next to the MM-buoy. These were not small marlin, but big fish that attacked their Futa lures just before they’d reached the buoy. It was very fortunate that they had lots of help with the reels; eventually they caught two marlin…