Innholdsfortegnelse for November 1995 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ As autumn shoreline fishing for ulua and papio tapers off at most of the hot spots around the islands, many anglers strip lines from their 4/0 reels, give the reels and poles a good soapy wash, and overhaul the reels for next season. But hanging up fishing totally until spring is not something most anglers can do. Instead, their focus changes, and their game is usually down-sized. Although many still cast long rods and use conventional reels, the rod tips are smaller, as are the reels, often in the 3/0 size. Some anglers opt to drop the conventional tackle and use lighter, less cumbersome, spinning tackle. As the cooler weather and waters keep a lot of the big fish away, smaller fish invade the shorelines. Some of my favorite…

Dear HFN, I am writing in regard to the closing of Ka‘ena point. I was deeply affected by the article in the Star Bulletin (September 27, 1995). At first I was sad, but as I thought about it, I became angry. Here we go again: another fishing spot taken away from us. What is left? As a parent of four children, I Know the values fishing can teach young children. It has given my children a deep appreciation of our valuable resources. They learned the importance of our ‘aina. They realize the need to take care of it and nurture whatever grows on it, and to keep it clean of trash. They also learned to protect the sea, for it gives us food. With this, they know to protect the…

Fellow Fishermen: In case you didn’t know, the feds are attempting to expand the sanctuary to include the waters around East Honolulu and the area from Hale’iwa to La’ie. In fact, the only coastal areas in the state not in the sanctuary are Pearl Harbor, Kaneohe MCAS, Barking Sands, Kaua’i, and Kaho’olawe. In attending the meeting, which was a sales pitch for the draft proposal of the whale sanctuary, I was the only fisherman present. There were about three dozen, mostly haole, “Sierra Club types” and those with a vested interest in seeing the sanctuary happen. The setting was informal, not intended in taking testimony, which was more to my benefit as it created a debatelike atmosphere rather than reciting a speech from a podium and shutting up. First I…

■ The inhabitants of isolated islands rely heavily, and in traditional times almost exclusively, on the sea for animal protein. The reliance on tuna and pelagic resources was particularly strong on islands lacking a rich lagoon or offshore reef system. To these people, tuna fishing was not only a great sport and bonding cultural activity; it provided stockpiles of protein that were sun-dried and stored against lean times. Most of the time, surface tuna schools could be found at predictable locations near their islands or caught by drop-lining in tuna holes or koas. However, long periods of scarcity did occur when even the koas failed to provide. The appearance of a drifting log on the horizon signalled a special event to atoll dwellers. For many small island communities, drift logs…

■ There are many major fishing tournaments throughout the state of Hawai‘i in the course of a year, and each one hold its own attraction. Kay Kolt’s Flying Freaks Fishing Tournament, held in Kailua-Kona on September 19 and 20, 1995, was really unique in that the anglers were all flight attendants, pilots or individuals connected directly with the airline business. This meant that flight working schedules, as well as ground working schedules, had to be rearranged allowing these anglers to be in Kona, Hawai‘i, on the tournament dates. This doesn’t sound too unique until you realize just where they all came from: places like Australia, Taiwan, Canada and even Honduras. It shows just how serious these anglers were. It was a close call for some who were landing at the…

■ The long drive down the rugged jeep trail finally had ended, and our four-by-fours were parked and unloaded. The water was a bit rough, but everything else seemed quite perfect. Warren Higa and his son, Lance, were very eager to start fishing because it was their very first experience fishing the clear waters of South Kona. Kurt Ganiko was anxious to slide-bait the blue water and was hoping to catch his very first big ulua. Hal Higuchi and Ted Teramoto quickly set up their fishing gear and began to wet some line. Everyone was anxious! The first day was a bummer: two of my ulua poles registered solid strikes; but each time the hook failed to hang on. I could only watch as my pole jumped erratically as my…

■ Recently, I noticed in large print on the cover of one of the well-known and internationally distributed fishing magazines, “Where to go for big fish-list of hot spots worldwide.” Being an offshore fanatic, naturally I had to read further. As hard as it is to believe, guess what location wasn’t even mentioned? I read about Costa Rica. “Mmm, nice sailfish over 100 lbs.” I read about Mexico. “Mmm, nice striper, and someone also caught a (as in one) big blue marlin.” I also read about a couple of other spots that do, in fact, sometimes have some good fishing. What I didn’t see was even a mention about Hawai‘i. In recent months, two of the three most popular nationally distributed saltwater fishing magazines have had a similar list of…

Hilo Trollers Labor Day Tournament ■ The Hilo Trollers held their Labor Day Tournament on September 2 and 3, and 37 teams participated. The sea was beautiful, and the weather report called for light showers for this two-day event. On the first day, fishing hours were from 5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. As the starting time neared, the boaters were in the water and were anxious to set out their lures. At 5:30 a.m., the boats left the harbor and the fishermen headed for their fishing spots. That day, six marlin, 17 ‘ahi, 18 ono and 16 mahimahi reached the scales. The largest marlin weighed in at 163 lbs; the largest ‘ahi was 143 lbs; the largest ono was 41½ lbs; and the largest mahimahi was 24 lbs. On the…

■ It started out as a night of fishing not unlike any other at a Wai’anae, O’ahu, fishing spot called the Moi Hole. Fishermen arrived a couple of hours before sunset and cast their poles. It was a few days after the new moon, prime time for fishing the west end of O’ahu, and a smallish moon would set during the evening, before midnight. Miles Kaneshiro and friends Kevin Kiyuna, Brian Hino and Mike Watanabe set up camp and busily prepared for a long night of fishing. Miles’ summer break was nearing its end, and school would be starting soon. It was his last chance to be out fishing on a weeknight, and he was determined to make this fishing trip pay off. Miles immediately began his routine by casting…

■Hope all of you had a great fishin’ summer! This year’s strong “run” of ‘oama and hahalalu made for great fishing whether you caught them to eat (great deep-fried) or to use as live bait (for papio or ulua). Either way, you had something good in store for you. I made my rounds of O’ahu’s favorite fishing spots this summer and can tell you that the summer of ‘95 will go down as one of the best! What made this year different from last? I really don’t know. I remember last year’s ‘oama and hahalalu run that wasn’t. There were many of us walking around scratching our heads wondering why. This summer was better-much better. ‘Oama fishing was hot. At last check, large schools were at all of the favorite…

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 bilifish of any size, any species. (S) = Striped marlin and (B) = Black marlin. Tag and Release Report Marina Seafoods Report…

Mahimahi and Ono Action ■ The fishing was really steady all around Kaua’i during the month. A good mixed bag of ono, mahimahi, aku and ‘ahi came up for just about everyone I talked to on all sides of the island. The weather cooperated, too; most days were relatively calm and flat. By most accounts, the fish seemed to be hitting on the blind, but some lucky anglers found scattered piles of birds or some flotsam that produced for them. Many fishermen had to venture out as many as 20 miles in order to find their “piles of gold.” In late August, Bob Kutkowski of Anini Fishing Charters took a charter out 10 miles and caught 30 mahimahi and four ono. Bob and crewman Jim House were searching hard for…

■ Winter-type severe weather in Hawai‘i waters begins this month. Some of the worst weather in the islands has occurred in November. It is likely that there will be some bad weather days during the month. Mariners are cautioned that the change from good weatherto bad weather can be fast. The following are the possible bad weather conditions that can occur: high northwest swell and surf, gusty trade winds, heavy rains, strong southwest Kona winds, squalls, thunderstorms and waterspouts. Southerly surf is down while high swell and surf activity from the northwest direction greatly increase. More than half of the days of the month will have higher than 5-foot surf at Sunset Beach, O’ahu. There’s a chance of a very high surf, greater than 20 feet high. The frequency of…

Dear Chuck, After reading the last issue of the HAWAII FISHING NEWS, I felt compelled to respond to a letter which was written by Mr. Erik Eike, the attorney representing Mrs. Peggy Barron-Nelson of the Hawaii Yacht Club. After a lengthy trial on August 22, 1995 at the Small Claims Court, the judge did rule in favor of the defendants. The sole reason for his decision was the fact that the rules, which we as participants agreed upon entering the tournament, state that the tournament chair, who also happened to be the rear commodore of power, had the final decision in the event of a dispute and that decision was final no matter how wrong and ridiculous it is. Just prior to stating his decision, the judge did make an…

■ Hi, gang! Spear Chucker here. (Sound like somebody you know?) Bad news has been spreading through Hawai‘i’s vast fishing communities like wildfire. Lately it seemed not a day went by without more bad news being reported in island newspapers. Headlines included, “Kiss the FADs Goodbye,” “Nu’uanu Reservoir Closed to Catfishers,” “Kaua’i’s Rainbow Trout Fishing Is No More,” and “Popular Ka’ena Point Fishing Area Closed to Vehicle Access,” just to name a few. “What da reason?” everyone asked. More importantly, they wanted to know, “What can we do?” The coconut wireless kicked in. Shorecasters from O’ahu’s major clubs met en masse at city park gatherings and for late-night sessions in local fishing shops. Unity brought new ideas, election of officers, formation of committees, distribution and signing of petitions and meetings…

Dear Chuck, This is my boy Andrew’s first ulua at the age of 15. It all started on August 24,1995, as I was at the kitchen table. I asked my boy Anthony to check the tide calendar. He told me, “Dark night, Daddy,” so I said, “Right on. We go camp.” It just so happened that I was looking at all my poles hanging on my rack when I told myself, “This one pole never catch fish yet.” I brought it out. We spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning gearing up. We left the house about 4:30 p.m. Like every fisherman I know here on Lana’i, we have our own favorite spot. When we arrived at the beach, no one was at my favorite spot, so I took it and…

■ The federal government has stepped into Hawai‘i’s waters with its Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which implies that the people of Hawai‘i are incapable of appropriately managing our marine resources. “Big Brother knows better,” is in effect what they are saying. In fact, Hawai‘i has an excellent marine resources management document, ready to implement, which establishes a resource conservation and management regime created by Hawai‘i’s ocean users and the relevant government agencies to meet our real needs. It is called the Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan (HORMP). The sanctuary comes as a real slap in the face, especially to the ocean recreation industry of Hawai‘i that has worked so hard to develop conservation measures and regulatory schemes that protect the resources upon which those industries depend. Most…

■ Where are all the anglers? With summer officially over and fewer visitors coming to Kona, the amount of boats being chartered has dramatically decreased. Good-sized fish are still out there, but they are being landed in smaller numbers. There were a lot of holoholo fishing trips during the month, and private boats filled the catch reports. The first ever Flag Fish Jackpot Tournament, sponsored by Charter Services Hawaii, took place on Saturday, September 30, with the weigh-in at The Fish Dock in Honokohau Harbor. A total of 37 charterboats and private boats participated with a $ 100 entry fee. Prize monies were split equally and awarded to the teams capturing the largest fish in each flag category; a gift certificate was awarded by Pacific Rim Fishing Supplies to the…

Hale-o-Lono Ano’ai me ke aloha! He mo’olelo keia e pili ana i wahi pana ‘o Hale-o-Lono i ka moku ‘o Moloka’i nui a Hina. ■ ‘Greetings! This month I relate the story of Hale-o-Lono, a noted legendary locale on the island of Moloka’i. In September, I was fortunate to embark on a fishing trip to the island of Moloka’i with friends Jason, Miles and Mark (who made the trip most enjoyable and educational). The highlights of the trip included a visit to historic Hale-o-Lono Harbor on the southwest end of Moloka’i. Currently owned by the Molokai Ranch Limited, the harbor plays host to many open-ocean paddling events. Our firsttime visit was made pleasurable by helpful and informative ranch employees from the Outfitters Center. A great mahalo goes out to them.…