Innholdsfortegnelse for September 1996 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ During the Memorial Day Weekend, a few friends and I gathered together at the Kane‘ohe Marine Base to fish for the elusive ulua. I arrived first at about 2 p.m. on Saturday, the 25th. Within a few hours, I was joined by Cliff Betonio, Terry Lee, Kenneth (Kenny) Iki, Darren Eko and Kent Iwami. We set up our gear, made camp, fished for live bait and talked fish tales into the late afternoon. For our live-bait catch, we managed to get a few kupipi, nenue and hinalea. I had cast my first pole from a slightly elevated point along with Cliff and Terry. I then cast a second pole and took a break. Cliff suggested that we go ahead and slide. This was at around 6 p.m. Although it…

■ The timing was right on. I and Mike Caballero were heading out from Manele Bay on the island of Lana‘i and had it in mind to do some light-tackle whipping for the elusive ‘omilu from his boat, named the TINA II. The conditions provided two advantages. It was almost sundown, and the tide was at its maximum high. I’ve always felt that high tide is the best for whipping surface plugs. The fish move into the flooded shoreline areas to feed, and because the water is usually rougher on the high tide than on a low tide, the curtain of concealing white water is thicker in depth and spread farther out from shore. This makes for a longer strike zone from the shoreline rocks to the blue edge of…

■ Sport fishermen, ocean lovers and some conservationists in Hawai‘i have ex-pressed their concern about overfishing the small ‘ahi that frequent island waters. The concern has grown since the installation of FADs throughout state waters made the targeting of schoolsized ‘ahi far easier, both because the buoys are at fixed locations that fishermen can easily get to and because they aggregate the tuna. Anyone watching tons of small ‘ahi being unloaded from the fishboxes of Hawaii’s mosquito fleet could quickly come to the conclusion that if you catch all the babies, there won’t be any more big fish. The apparent long-term decline in the size of the local trolling boat ‘ahi catch and the size of the larger fish being caught in the troll fishery also may lend itself to…

■ Hundreds of spectators watched as East Coast’s Arturo Lazo tried to cut through the waves at Mokulei‘a Beach Park in hopes of reaching his spot before his fellow competitors. It wasn’t even 10 minutes into the meet when a large wave crashed into him. He lost almost everything, including his kayak. For Arturo, hopes of winning a National Championship were over. As the meet progressed, he would not be alone. Diver after diver submitted as 30-plus-mph winds and 3- to 5-foot waves battered the competitors. Conditions for the meet were nothing as expected, but somehow in the midst of the storm a few divers still managed to find their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It was the “thrill of victory” for a few but the…

■ Greetings! This summer has been tremendously hot. Everyone has been playing in the sun, the ocean and everywhere else, because the arrival of winter comes in another month. Further, this month’s story is about a visit to Moloka‘i (the utmost) and the conger eel (better known as tohei to ulua fishermen). This eel is the favorite of the ulua, the best for ulua bait (though it is debatable among ulua aficionados). Thus, this story is preserved until this time. The puhi uha is a variety of eel known as the mustache conger. According to the “Hawaiian Dictionary,” by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, “It has a white ventral side and darker dorsal side and is nearly 1 meter in length.” Nocturnal feeders, puhi uha are especially active…

■ National Hunting and Fishing Day celebrated nationally every fourth Saturday of September with proclamations signed by the president and governors of each state. The day is set aside to recognize the contributions of sportsmen and women for the conservation, management and protection of our natural resources. Nationally hunters and anglers contribute $400,000,000 annually toward wildlife and habitat restoration, and hunter and aquatic education programs. Here in Hawai‘i, there are over 150,000 recreational hunters and anglers who contribute over $3,000,000 annually to the state’s wildlife and aquatic programs, and for education courses through their purchases of licenses and equipment. These activities add significantly to Hawaii’s economy. In 1991, Hawaii’s hunting activities totaled over $17,000,000 in related expenditures in our state’s economy. Cans for Coupons A special format and celebration will…

■ There were lots of aku around during the month but still no ‘ahi in sight off this side of the island. Large schools of aku gave the trollers lots of big catches, but it takes a lot of ice to cool down skipjack tuna and keep them fresh. Keith Auhong and Randy Yee on the JONEL caught 1,400 lbs of aku and used up all the ice they could fit on the boat. More normal for this time of the year was a 600-plus-1b marlin caught by Blake Mizuno and Chad Onodera aboard the AKEMI. They were using a small aku lure and really had to baby the fish so it would not break the 100-Ib test leader on the lure. Finally at the boat, the fish threw the…

■ 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 Hawaii waters. The potential of a tropical cyclone invading our waters 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. September 1-Sunrise: 6:15 am, Sunset: 6:47 pm September 30-Sunrise: 6:22 am, Sunset:…

■ After all my years of pushing around a charterboat, I’m still amazed at some of the things folks do, things that can be very destructive to the boat or the equipment. When someone pulls one of these black-belt blunders, my first thought, which is frequently not of the warmest nature, is generally something like, “What a jerk! Doesn’t he realize…blah, blah, blah…” My second thought is, “No, he doesn’t, and why should he”? Most of my customers haven’t been working on a boat every day for the last umpteen years. If they had been, they would likely know better than to do whatever it was they did; but they probably couldn’t afford to be chartering a boat. By the way, ladies, don’t feel left out. The particular arena to…

“Fishing Tales®” airs every Saturday at 5 p.m. on KHON-TV-2. Here’s a preview of what host Mike Sakamoto has in store for you. Saturday, September 7-Trolling on the NAIALELE In this episode, Mike jumps on board the NAIALELE and goes night fishing for albacore tuna off of Kailua-Kona. The fishermen use live ‘opelu to hook the tombo with handlines and even take a turn with light tackle. There’s lots of action and good information. Saturday, September 14-Waikiki Aquarium and Manuka This week, Mike visits the Waikiki Aquarium to see the sights and learn about raising mahimahi, then he heads for the shores of South Kona to go ulua fishing with some shorecasters and their families. Saturday, September 21-Mahimahi Fishing on the JUDY II The mahimahi are biting off of XX-buoy…

■ Keoni Goo is a true fisherman. He is willing to go to any lengths to catch a fish, especially if it is during the prestigious Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT). That includes fighting a Pacific blue marlin for nearly seven hours, and, in the last hour, painfully hand-feeding the line onto a broken reel. Keoni, from O‘ahu, took the top honors for the largest fish, a 555-lb marlin, in the 38th Annual HIBT in Kona last month, and his team, the Fun Birds of Aloha, just missed first place by a mere handful of points to the Game fishing Club of South Australia. For several years, the Fun Birds of Aloha, the Aloha Airlines’ team, had asked Keoni to fish with them, but he was always too busy at…

Dear Mr. Farm and Members of the Alii Holo Kai and North Shore Spearfishers: On behalf of the Susannah Wesley Community Center, I would like to thank all of you for your generous donation of fish received on July 19, 1996. The two large coolers of fish were distributed to 18 families at Kuhio Park Terrace through our Hui Kokua Program. Your generous and thoughtful donation was greatly appreciated by our families in need, many of whom expressed their amazement and delight at the size and number of fish donated. Please keep this letter to confirm for tax purposes that you did not receive any goods or services in return for your contribution. Again, thank you for your support of our agency and the families we serve. Sincerely, Ronald M.…

■ For many of you, the FADs, or fish aggregation devices, that are deployed around the islands are both familiar and a part of your over-all daily fishing routine. However, for some, these FADs stand for fish aggravation devices because many of these “houses of ill repute” can frustrate the heck out of even the most experienced anglers. It isn’t uncommon for many of you to start your day at a harbor somewhere in the state very early in the morning. The driving force isn’t so much that people want or like to get up at 1 or 2 a.m., but, rather, they want to be the first ones to the buoy. FADs can be a wonderful first stop, especially in certain areas of the island chain and at specific…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of September we’ll send you a HFN Koolzie, HFN Cap and two Official HFN RV or Boat Window Stickers…our way of saying thanks for sharing your catch!…Hana pa‘a, Chuck Send to: P.O. Box 25413, Honolulu, HI 96825 Dear Chuck, Here is a picture of my 3-lb ‘omilu that my dad and I caught at our secret spot on the south side of O‘ahu on 6-lb test line. P.S. I love your Holoholo section the best! section the best. Sincerely,Dane Torit Honolulu, Oahu Aloha Chuck, I just thought I’d share this beautiful 63-lb white ulua caught at Hilo Isle Pier using white eel for bait. It was caught at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11, 1996. This fish seems to be the largest…

Wailua Wake-Up ■ I looked through the bubbles and saw that I had only six ‘oama left. The first two casts went untouched, but I was still hoping for a nice-sized papio to round out our summer trip to the beach house. The previous day’s ‘oama fishing at Hale‘iwa Harbor was really slow, but because my wife, Shirley, and I had worked so hard to catch the bait, I decided to wake up early to give it a try. The morning sun was painting the Wailua horizon with some incredible colors. I marveled at the early morning peacefulness. I thought back to younger days when the Nagatas and the Otsukas used to get together for our beach house camp outs. Uncle Sam and my dad used to do some fishing…

■ The tip of my ulua pole shook nervously. I watched it closely and waited for the rod to suddenly lurch forward. I was getting impatient as the pole continued to bounce around but never really arched forward to indicate the bait was being taken. As frustrating as it seemed, I stood around and watched it for a few seconds longer. Suddenly the line began to go limp. This meant only one thing whatever was biting my live hinalea was swimming in with it. I grabbed my pole, cranked in the slack and waited to feel the sudden tug of a big fish. It never came. The line went limp again, and I waited to see if the fish would pick up the hinalea once more. Nothing. I finally decided…

Note to the reader: WARNING! Kaho‘olawe and its surrounding waters contain quantities of unexploded ordnance, which are hazardous to public health and safety. Unauthorized entry into the waters within 2 miles of Kaho‘olawe is prohibited (H.A.R. 13-260). However, those waters between the 2-mile boundary and the 20-fathom depth contour surrounding the island are open for entry on two weekends per month for the purpose of trolling only. These “open water” dates are published in the U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners. For more information, call the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) on O ahu at 586-0761. To call the KIRC toll-free from islands other than O‘ahu, dial as follows: from Hawai‘i, dial 974-4000; from Maui, dial 984-2400; from Moloka‘i and Lana‘i, dial 1-800-GOV-INHI; from Kaua‘i, dial 274-3141; and in each…

■ Michael Wilson, chairman of the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), has established sustainability of natural resources as the ultimate goal for the DLNR’s operations. The Division of Aquatic Resources has constitutional and statutory authority for the protection and management of all living organisms in all Hawaii’s waters, both freshwater and marine, and has defined a mission statement to meet that responsibility: to achieve sustainable management of aquatic biological resources for present and future generations. That deceptively simple statement incorporates a broad range of activity, including societal considerations. Sustainable management regulates multiple use and harvest of a resource within limits in order to (1) maintain species biomass and diversity at desired levels; (2) ensure continuation of viable reproductive stocks well into the future; (3) secure…

■ Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Wildlife Manager Dave Smith is optimistic about this year’s game bird season on 0’ahu. The hunting area above Wai‘anae has received an abundance of rain which has kept the area lush with vegetation and offered excellent cover for nesting game birds. Gray francolin, especially, have flourished. “We have tons of grays,” said Dave in a recent telephone interview. “We’ve seen some reproduction in the blacks [francolin], too, but not enough to allow hunting for them this fall.” In addition to naturally-produced birds, “We’ll release about 600 California quail and 300 chukars in the public hunting area along with a few pheasants,” said Dave. The state’s released birds will pump up the game population and take a lot of pressure off wild birds…

■ What Hawai‘i foods do you take to mainland relatives when you travel? Guava jelly, Hilo Creams and macadamia nuts are among our usual offerings, but our daughters both beg for fish, so we take whatever fish is caught within two weeks of our trip, carefully cleaned, wrapped and frozen. During our summer trip to New York to greet a new grandson, we were the kitchen crew, which meant cooking dinner during our stay. The fish from Hawai‘i was requested most often. After we ran through the favorite family recipes, 1 looked through Rahna’s vast collection of magazines for inspiration. We substituted mahimahi fillets in every recipe, but the recipes are printed here as they appeared in the magazines. …Shirley Steamed Fish With Spicy Mint Sauce (Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 1995)…