Innholdsfortegnelse for July 1997 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ 1. Higuchi’s Hoos and Hows. When Kona Hospital X-ray technician Dan Higuchi talks about ono, you pay attention. He seems to be able to see right through the problems of catching them. During this year’s incredible spring run of wahoo, Dan notched a 101.5-lb’ hoo that could be the biggest caught in Hawai‘i waters in over a decade or two. Dan’s ono gear includes an alarm clock and a flashlight; the latter has a special use we’ll get to later. He works a late night schedule that allows him to fish the dawn patrol, and he often heads out in the predawn darkness. The day he caught his 101.5-pounder, he launched his 17-foot Alii Kai skiff at Honaunau at about 4 a.m. Dan’s ono run started and ended at…

■ “Fishing Tales®” airs every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. on KITV-4. Here’s a preview of what host Mike Sakamoto has in store for you. Saturday, July 5-Papio, ‘O’io and Too Much Akule Word had it that the akule and papio were biting in Hilo Bay again, so Mike joined up with his friends to see if the rumors were correct. Yep! Papio and bonefish were feeding, and at night the akule were, too. This is a fun show featuring light tackle and lots of laughs with two great guys. Saturday, July 12-Ni‘ihau Papio: Fast and Furious In this episode, Mike and a couple of papio enthusiasts head across the channel from Kaua‘i to Ni‘ihau to do some whipping for papio with surface plugs like PILIs and Polarises. The fish…

■ “So, what did you do kidtime?” This topic often came up when I spoke of my childhood days and, of course, now when I do my parent-talk with my daughters with the “when I was your age” bit. I was not the most daring member of the family growing up, but I always enjoyed the excitement of going fishing. With minimal knowledge of the “how-tos” of fishing but with ever-present youthful enthusiasm, I was always ready for a new experience. Many of my kidtime adventures centered around fish, fishing, the oceans and the streams. Summer at the Pond Summer during my elementary school years was an exciting time and much anticipated except for having to visit the family dentist. An “O.K. Card” (dental clearance) was one of the requirements…

■ Overall, the First Annual ‘Ahi Fever Fishing Tournament in Wai‘anae was a huge success in the opinion of all Waianae Boat Fishing Club committee members. As of this writing, we have had dozens of calls from fishermen telling us how much they enjoyed themselves and how impressed they were with the tournament. I have not received any complaints at all. There were no official protests lodged. Marine patrol and hired off-duty officers reported no major incidents. They further reported it was very quiet over both nights of the tournament. No incidents were reported on or off the water. The spirit of aloha was evident everywhere. A crew member of the Mn ‘M left her purse on the pier Saturday morning before the boat launched, and it was turned in…

■ Mike Wilson’s contempt for the fishermen of Hawaii has been evident almost since his first days in public office. His coup de grace, however, is his recent success in imposing the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary on Hawai‘i, ignoring the best interests of Hawai‘i’s fishermen and other ocean users. In the end, Gov. Ben Cayetano bowed to the conservationist tendencies of his hand-picked chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Gov. Cayetano let Mike Wilson make the final call on the sanctuary and, as a result, has welcomed new federal oversight over hundreds of square miles of Hawaii state waters. In so doing, both Mike Wilson and the governor ignored many of the concerns of Hawaii’s fishermen, the ocean recreation industry, maritime industries and the…

Howzit Chuck, How’s this for some fishing, Kaua‘i style! At 2:30 p.m. on May 24, my dad, Eddie Panui and his fishing buddies Wade Takemoto and James Largo loaded our “slightly leaking” 14-foot Sears aluminum boat with their Kimura rods, Newell reels and a Spam and rice dinner since it was gonna be an overnighter at their favorite ulua spot. Little did they know they were in for some action on the rocks! And now their tale begins. The threesome carried our “leaking” dingy onto the rocks at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and by 5:30, James had already landed four ulua by himself: a 53-pounder which would be the largest of the night, a double strike on his double slide and a 12-lb ‘omilu. Sheeez! Talk about some action!…

OFFSHORE TOURNAMENTS FIRECRACKER OPEN July 4, 5 & 6, 1997 Tropidilla-Kona (808) 325-7300 P.O. Box 2158, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 4TH OF JULY TOURNAMENT July 4, 5 & 6, 1997 Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club-Kona (808) 325-7362 P.O. Box 3106, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 FIRST RAINBOW JACKPOT FISHING TOURNAMENT July 4 & 5, 1997 Kauai Rainbow Paint and Fishing Supply Jim Nakagawa-Kauai (808) 335-6412 PEARL HARBOR FISHING TOURNAMENT July 5, 1997 NAVIMFAC-Oahu (808) 474-4590 EEB Production Officer, Bldg. 683, Pearl Harbor, HI 96860 INDEPENDENCE DAY TOURNAMENT July 5 & 6, 1997 Hawaii Yacht Club-Oahu (808) 949-4622 1739-0 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96815 SKINS MARLIN DERBY July 10, 11, 12 & 13, 1997 Tropidilla-Kona (808) 325-7300 P.O. Box 2158, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 1997 BAYFEST JACKPOT FISHING TOURNAMENT July 19, 1997 Morale, Welfare…

■ Since my articles on Fiji appeared in HFN a couple of months ago, I’ve had inquiries about what kind of setup worked best. It’s hard to give one answer that will fit everyone’s personal taste, so I’m going to give some general advice on hardware and a couple of options on how to leader your rig. I’m still in search of the ideal setup myself, but to be successful in surface popping the two things that are required are patience and persistence. Even in places like Fiji where fish are abundant, there are comparatively slow times. In Hawai‘i, especially on O‘ahu, patience and persistence are even more important. You’ll find that when you have gone through the ropes and learned the grounds, you’ll get more strikes. The best time…

A Fisherman’s Guide To Hawaii’s Seabirds ■ The following is a list of those sea birds that are most common to the major islands and are of the greatest importance to local fishermen. Most of the proper names are rather cumbersome, giving rise to the practice of using names such as “white bird” or “aku bird,” in place of “white-tailed tropicbird” and “brown noddy.” Such epithets are quaint, but are sometimes confusing. The white-tailed tropicbird (koa‘e kea) is similar to the red-tailed tropicbird, except that it is smaller and it has two very long, white tail streamers. Its feeding pattern is the same as the red-tailed, and often the two are found in the same flock. White-tailed tropicbirds are usually found on the windward side of the islands and are…

■ One problem when bottomfish fishing is relocating the school of fish that you finally found after an hour of searching with your fathometer. Once on the spot, you drop your bait and find that the fish are biting like crazy, but in minutes you’ve drifted off of the spot and the bite dies. Relocating the school or spot in the ocean can be bewildering. Sometimes you can be off by only a couple of feet and find that the fish just aren’t there or aren’t in a biting mood. The first problem in getting back to the spot is the current. It isn’t that easy to determine which way it’s flowing versus the wind direction. This is especially true when the current changes five times during the course of…

The Value of the Recreational Fishery ■ Several recent decisions that have pitted large commercial operators against recreational anglers have been won because the convential tackle fishermen carefully quantified the net worth of their fishery, often surprising the powers that be with the substantial economic value of something that is too often understood by nonparticipants to be little more than fun. Hawai‘i’s more than 200,000 recreational saltwater fishermen suffer both from a low estimation of their net value and the profound contempt in which they are apparently held by DLNR Chairman Mike Wilson, whose responsibility it is to manage the fisheries in our nearshore waters. It isn’t the same everywhere, however; and it is possible that management decisions that only consider the commercial worth of the fishery can be overturned…

■ By now, even those who did not fish in the First Annual ‘Ahi Fever Tournament in Wai‘anae know that they missed out on the biggest jackpot contest ever to be run in Hawai‘i. What they may not know, if they didn’t get out to Wai‘anae on June 15, is that they also missed out on one of the most educational and entertaining events a fisherman arid his family could find-the First Annual Hawaii Fishermen’s Festival. From the 10 a.m. blessing and aloha from Councilman John DeSoto and Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Director Mike Wilson, to the forum discussions that lasted until early evening, that Sunday at Wai‘anae Boat Harbor was not only Father’s Day, but it was Fishermen’s Day, as well. With sponsorship from the DLNR…

■ Gov. Cayetano’s recent decision to include a limited portion of state waters within the boundaries of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary makes sense for Hawai‘i. The governor’s modified version of the federal sanctuary plan proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration (NOAA) will provide Hawai‘i with new resources and support for comprehensive research, education and community-based outreach to better understand and protect the humpback whale, while retaining state control over state waters and marine resources. Each winter, the endangered humpback whale makes its home and breeding ground in Hawaiian waters. While there is speculation that, as a species, the world’s most popular marine mammal is on its way to recovery, there is no scientific consensus that supports this belief. Until we can be assured that…

Dear Chuck, I’ve been fishing and diving almost all of my life in the waters surrounding Maui, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i, Kaho‘olawe and Molokini. When I was away in college and in the Army, I’d reminisce of those days to get past the hard times. I would tell myself, “someday you’ll return to the good things in life.” Consequently, after returning home, I became very active in the community by getting involved with the Maui Trailer Boat Club, the Maalaea Boat and Fishing Club, and the Maui Cooperative Fishing Association. I also served on the state boating task force, and the humpback whale committee to determine if a sanctuary was necessary. Recently, I’ve been asked by members from the fishing and boating community of Maui County to assist them with matters concerning…

■ Persistent trade winds will be the dominant weather feature. July is fair weather month-on land. Over the waters expect gusty trades on six to 14 days of this month. Surf-wise, northwest wave activity is at a minimum with low surf heights of 0 to 5 feet at northern shores. Surf action along southern shores will peak in July and extend into September. Mariners are advised of the possible occurrence of two kinds of potentially hazardous weather: thunderstorms with heavy rain from an upper trough, and tropical cyclone invasions into Hawaii waters. July 1-Sunrise: 5:53 am, Sunset: 7:18 pm • July 15-Sunrise: 5:58 am, Sunset: 7:16 pm • July 31-Sunrise: 6:05 am, Sunset: 7:11 pm © Copyright Hawaii Fishing News 1996 All Rights Reserved.…

Dear Chuck, Far be it from me to ever call my soon-to-be husband a procrastinator again. It’s only March of 1997 and he’s already accomplished his New Year’s Resolution, not to mention make a lifelong dream come true. Yes, after years of commitment and dedication to the sport of fishing, my fiance Noel K. Soong using his brand new Salsek pole and brand new 4/0 Shimano reel filled with only 50-lb test line rigged with his menpachi baited #48 hook at our gang’s secret place off the south side of Hawai‘i that we call “the Bomb,” successfully hooked up with his 100-plus-lb ulua on March 8, 1997 at 4 a.m. This definitely makes up for all the puhi, snapped lines and “big strikes that got away.” Man, the only time…

Boat Information ■ The SEA STRIKE is a 1979 31-foot Bertram. It is powered by 210 Cummins motors with a top speed of 27 knots. Special features include a tuna tower, Pompanett fighting chair, Rupp outriggers, custom rod holders and “rocket launchers” on the back of the bridge. Capt. Leverone’s Comments “The Bertram 31s are special. The hull, the running gear…there is a good bottom under the boat. There is a ‘Bertram advantage’ to the boat. I like the speed; it’s small, light and comfortable. The rocket launcher helps to clear lines easily and quickly, makes it easy to switch out rods, holds specialty rods, and keeps rods handy. This boat catches fish. There is an old ad that the Bertram company used to run that said, ‘Do good captains…

Keeping Costs Down ■ Tournament season is upon us, and many of us are double-checking to make sure everything is up to snuff with our tackle. Nothing is worse than having that tournament winning 800-lb beast tearing up the ocean behind your boat after a savage strike and having the thought creep into your brain that she hit the rig that has the old sun-bleached line on it. Not being 100 percent sure of your tackle takes some of the fun out of the whole deal, plus it will cost you fish because of being apprehensive or less aggressive in the fight. Of course, there’s always “the other side” of every issue. It runs into serious money when you start filling up four or five heavy tackle outfits with quality…

■ An e-mail letter which was published in the June issue of HFN under the heading, “In Support of Trashing Gill Nets,” has evoked a response and a look at the other side of the incident. The sender incorrectly stated that “a blue Radon laying nets within 50 feet of the shoreline” all the while knowing that it was illegal! The captain of the blue Radon called HFN’s office and asked that we run a correction to that statement. Capt. Ale explained that they are one of four O‘ahu commercial netting operations which all work very closely with the state’s Division of Aquatic Resources. They operate not only within the law, but also support rules and regulations to protect and preserve the fishery for future generations. HFN has been invited…

■ Where are they going to put the boats? What about the trailer parking? How are they planning to weigh all the fish? These were some of the questions that naysayers were asking aloud. After all, no one had ever attempted to hold a fishing tournament with 230 boats entered. Some fishermen even dropped out, not believing that it could be done. In addition to the ‘Ahi Fever Fishing Tournament held on Saturday and Sunday, the Hawaii Fishermen’s Festival was held at the Wai‘anae District Park on Sunday. This made it even more interesting. But, the people of Wai‘anae have always had a reputation of being fiercely independent. To tell someone on the Leeward Coast that it cannot be done is like trying to stop water from flowing downhill. They…

Legislative Changes ■ The 1997 Legislature has approved half of the increase in budget that the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) requested. This amounts to a little over $900,000 and includes six additional positions for DAR. We would like to extend a big mahalo to all of you who came out and offered your support for this budget increase during this Legislative session. The support you’ve given us has helped tremendously with this effort and the results are obvious. The increase is not much, but at least we can begin to do more to improve our resources which cannot be effectively managed and sustained with the current understanding of their status and requirements. With this additional knowledge, we can properly apply corrective measures that we know will help.…

■ It summer has arrived, it’s keeping it a secret, The weather always plays such an important part of the fishing scene. If the weather is too bad, no one goes out. If the weather is too nice, there are either too many boats out or the fish won’t bite. As Brad Deffenbaugh of HAWAII FISHING NEWS always says, “The rougher the water, the greater the slaughter.” I believe Brad, sort of. Aku and shibi have been entertaining fishermen at the buoys. The marlin are still around, and the other day, some big ‘ahi came up outside of the X-buoy area. There have been ono aplenty on the ledges and around any rubbish that gets found. Lately, there have been some big rubbish lines out to about the 25-mile area.…

■ Garden Isle fishing could be summed up with one word: fantastic! The good fishing just kept getting better and better, and still continues. Everything was biting, including aku (up to 30 lbs), ‘ahi, mahimahi, striped and blue marlin and a lot of ono. There were even a few stray shortbill spearfish and large kawakawa captured. The ono bite that developed in May just kept getting hotter. North Shore waters produced 40 ono in one week for Capt. Bob Kutkowski of Anini Fishing Charters. The mostly 20- to 30-lb fish were readily taking lures, providing his anglers with consistent medium action in between the occasional large ‘ahi or marlin. Early in the month, the ‘ahi bite started to pick up, first mostly at night. As the month progressed, they started…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of July we’ll send you a HFN 20th Anniversary 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 25040. Honolulu. HI 96825 Hey Howzit Chuck, My uncles and cousins Vidal, Dennis and Thomas went night diving. They went to my uncles’ favorite spot, but only my uncles went in the water. My cousins stayed in the boat freezing their buns off. This was the catch of the day. They had a lot of fun, and they will have many more to come. Mahalo,The ‘OhanaWaipahu, O‘ahu Hi Chuck, Here’s my son, Roy, proudly showing off his first papio. He caught it on January 19, 1997 with…