Innholdsfortegnelse for December 1997 i Hawaii Fishing News

Tuna Tagging ■ Recent tuna tagging efforts by a variety of researchers, both here in Hawai‘i (see report by David Itano, HFN November) and in the Atlantic Ocean, promise access to impressive new information that should help us to better conserve some of the most valuable fish in the world’s oceans. In the beginning, tagging efforts generally consisted of occasional “spaghetti tags” being placed in an occasional fish, then sitting around for years, twiddling thumbs, hoping that someone, somewhere would return that tag, and a modicum of information with it. Based on these simple efforts, we began to learn a few things about tuna migration and growth, but not much, particularly compared to what we are learning today. The next step was for researchers to tag tuna with sonic tags,…

■ At many of our recent meetings, the majority of questions concerned the new leadership at the Boating Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), boaters’ tax contributions to the state of Hawai‘i and U.S. Coast Guard Permits. Howard B. Gehring Howard B. Gehring is the new acting administrator for the DLNR, Boating Division. He is very familiar with Hawaii’s waters. In fact, most people are unaware that he met his wife, Jeanie, in Hawai‘i during one of his earlier tours of duty. On May 6, 1993, then a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral, he became commander of the 14th Coast Guard District with offices in the Federal Building in Honolulu. Howard retired from the U.S. Coast Guard at the end of his most recent tour of…

■ October 10, 1997-A Japanese woman drowned while participating in a “discover scuba diving” program organized through the Kualoa Ranch. The victim, who could not swim, died in 7 feet of water about 1,000 feet from shore. This is the second death within one year which has involved introductory dive programs in Hawaii. October 12,1997-A 35-foot recreational boat, the SHON-A-LEI II, grounded off the west end of Kaunalu Bay, Moloka‘i. The vessel sank in 600 feet of water shortly after being towed off the reef. Over 250 gallons of diesel fuel was pumped off the vessel prior to the salvage attempt. October 22, 1997-The Taiwanese longliner F/V YIH LIEN NO. 1 collided with the Samoa government vessel ATA’ATA’ O’ SAMOA, which was moored at the BHP fuel dock in Pago…

■ The members of the Maui Trailer Boat Club (MTBC) and other members of the community owe a debt of thanks to Willi Polendey for the use of his talents and his willingness to do what was needed recently at the Maliko launching ramp. Earlier this year, Commodore Vernon Bal used an excavator to clean the launching area of rocks, sand and silt. At the time, the best he could do was to pile the debris against the bank where it has remained these many months. Chuck Penque, district manager for the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), was asked if the DLNR would provide a loader to move the debris away from the area. He readily agreed, and Willi climbed into the seat and began to haul the…

Merry Christmas! I hope that all of the Thanksgiving turkey is gone. Now, it’s time to turn your attention to catching Christmas sashimi and sharing good times with family and friends. I hope you didn’t forget to purchase that special gift for that special someone. Sometimes at this time of year, it’s good to look back over the course of the past 12 months and give thanks for the special things that have occurred. Willie’s Hot Streak One fisherman who is having a great year is Willie Black. Since repowering the RACHAEL B earlier this year, he has had great success at bringing home fish. That gas-powered 130-hp Volvo engine must be putting out some sweet sounds that fish seem to be attracted to. I remember fishing next to him…

■ The Hilo Trollers Year-End Awards Banquet was held at the AJA Hall on October 25, 1997. The master of ceremonies was Frank Degele, and featured guest was Miss Hawaii Island Filipina Ivy Joy Augustin. About 150 people attended, and lots of door prizes were given out. Thanks to the local merchants and members for their generous donations. Every year, the club has a raffle, and this year the prizes were a Penn International 130ST series reel and two round-trip airline tickets. The reel was won by Van Uemura, and the round-trip tickets were won by Patrick Cabreira and Douglas Herogala. Capt. Ted Young of the OLENA received the Fisher-man of the Year Award. Ted also won numerous other awards including the honors for largest marlin. This year, three trophies…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of December 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 Howzit Chuck! Howz da fishin ‘? As for me, pretty awesome. Here’s a picture of me and a 10-lb yellowspot ulua I caught early one morning while whipping the rugged white water coast of Kapoho on the Big Isle. This bugga devoured my black scrounger and ran like crazy! After a 10-minute fight on 15-lb test, I finally beached this bugga. Wow! Talk about one ono fish! Much Mahalos,Kyle SaplanHilo, Hawai‘i Howzit Chuck, July 19th was my lucky day at the beach…

■ The Keehi Boat Club Wahine Tournament on September 27, the Keehi Boat Club Open Tournament on October 4, and a fun-filled banquet on October 13 brought to a climax months of planning, anticipation and hard work. The Keehi Boat Club (KBC) always looks forward to these annual events, and this year was no exception. However, this year we wanted to be sure to acknowledge the members and many volunteers who put in countless hours of hard work to assure the success of the tournaments. Queen of this year’s open tournament was an exceptional beauty, Michelle Malulani Nagatani. And, this year we added flavor to the wahine tournament with a handsome king, Kalani Kaauamo. The wahine tournament on September 27 attracted 48 boats. The winds were blowing and the seas…

Dear Chuck, I can’t let Robert Healey of the RFA [Recreational Fishing Alliance] slander and put across his narrowminded point of view of the fishing industry (May 1997 HFN, page 20). He talks about the commercial search and destroy industry-what industry is that? More slander tactics. I don’t know of any fisherman who doesn’t go out searching for fish, be it recreational or commercial, but I don’t know of any that is destroying the fish. The commercial catch is caught and sold to feed the population, the people who can’t catch fish but wants to eat it. Every fish is documented! The problem is the recreation industry is not regulated nor do they want to be with fish catch reports, etc. About the powerful commercial industry lobbyists, it’s the recreational…

■ Expectations were quite high as everyone unpacked their fishing gear and slowly set up camp at our favorite South Kona fishing spot. Fishing buddies Ted Teramoto and Hal Higuchi once again made the long journey to South Kona in search of giant strikes and record fish. Warren Higa and his son Lance loved fishing and had waited a whole year for this trip to get started. Kurt Ganiko was another fishing enthusiast who simply wanted his very first ulua after many years of trying without any luck. Wes, Weslyn and Diane Masumura were all from Kaua‘i; they enjoy the fishing on the Big Isle. Diane was after her very first big ulua, and she was willing to hustle throughout the entire trip to nail one before going home. Toku…

■ Thirty years ago, when you ordered “fresh” fish in a Hawai‘i restaurant, it was generally mahimahi, rarely fresh, and usually basted and fried in butter: not much choice; no variety; and not very healthy. Today, Hawai‘i is one of the renown centers of gourmet seafood cooking in the world, thanks to a ready supply of a variety of fresh seafood and an increasing demand for creative cuisine that is part of our visitor industry. Every year, the local calendar is dotted with various food festivals that showcase Hawai‘i’s premier chefs and the variety of preparations of local foodstuffs their creative minds and palates develop. One of the pre-eminent events on that calendar is the Annual Kapalua Wine and Food Symposium, held every June at the Kapalua Resort on Maui.…

Dear Chuck, I thought I would warn Hawaii’s anglers what’s in store for them as the DLNR forces the saltwater recreational license on us. Here’s what happened in Washington state. About 30 years ago, someone decided we couldn’t effectively manage our recreational fishery without knowing how many fishermen and how many fish they catch (sound familiar?). The solution: a saltwater license that includes punching a hole in a card for each salmon caught with the date and place caught! And the good news (listen carefully): it’s free! The proponents guaranteed there would “never” be a charge. Wow, what a great idea! How could we say no? It helps “manage” the fishery and costs nothing! Washington’s fishermen eagerly picked up and filled out their cards. Well, it seems with all this…

■ Weather in Hawai‘i waters will play a more important role in any marine activity during winter. Mariners are advised that the change from good to bad weather can be fast. The severe weather events that can occur, in decreasing order of frequency, are: gusty trade winds, high northwest swell and surf, cold front with Kona winds, and Kona low. The strongest trade winds are the winter-type trades that can occur in December. The number of trade wind days will be low-only about half of the days of the month-but gusty trades can occur on about a fourth to a third of the days in December. High northwest swell and surf will be frequent along the exposed northern shores. Expect about 20 days with surf greater than 6 feet high,…

Fishing the Natatorium ■ The Waikiki Natatorium was one of my favorite destinations while growing up in the late 1940s. This war memorial structure built in 1927 was a 100-meter saltwater swimming pool with a diving platform 10 meters high with four levels and a water slide for the youngsters. It was a great gathering place to go swimming and a challenge for a youngster “graduating” from the sandy beaches where you could stand and feel the bottom. Here, you could not see the bottom. The depth of the pool varied with the tide as the lower portions of the pool’s concrete walls opened to the ocean through grated openings. The shallow ends of the pool were maybe 8 feet, and the center portion, where the jumpers and divers using…

■ Aku will rob you blind. They trick you, then take advantage of your weakness to trot off with every lure in your tackle box. Here’s how. Their teeth may be dull, but their eyes are extremely sharp. That’s what makes your lures so vulnerable. A sharp-eyed tuna will spurn a heavy leader. To catch them on the days when they are especially wary, you might have to troll with lines as light as 10- to 15-lb test, use no leader and run the light line straight to the hook. With no leader to ward off the hard edge of an aku‘s jaw, the feisty little skipjack can steal your lures like plucking grapes off a vine. And you are helping the fish do it even before it grabs your…

‘Wassup’ Chuck, Let me tell you about a fishing trip that happened on July 10, 1997, aboard a 13-foot Boston Whaler called THE SOUZA CRUIZA, captained by Dane Souza. I am Danford Hong, captain of the KIKO PULU. The day began the same as usual: we stopped at Safeway to get our coffee and ice and “shot the breeze” on our way to Wai‘anae Harbor. We launched at about 5:45 a.m. and headed toward the R-buoy. Once in the blue water, we started to set the spread in a staggered formation. Two Penn poles with 9/0 reelsswing out like outriggers, so I set those lures out back and then set the right corner 12/0 just behind the boat. As I threw the lure out for the left corner 12/0, something…

Sheep Sheet ■ It’s been called an incredibly successful Lana‘i sheep season. There were a total of 1,496 permits that harvested 640 sheep with split totals at 507 rams and 133 ewes. It was a year that if you were chosen for “standby” you hunted, and 323 standbys did. The success ratio was a staggering 43 percent. The permitting was unusual this year with a permit good for either ram or ewe and an incentive permit given for an extra ewe if you culled a no-horned, type curl horned or fatal deformed horned ram. Surprisingly, of the 46 incentive permits issued only five ewes were taken. What the game managers saw this year on Lana‘i was a hunter group that was interested in horns. The first weekend saw a 10-to-1,…

■ “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, December 6-Rock Fish Fishing at Whales Resort It’s back to Ketchikan, Alaska, and the lodge called Whales Resort. This time the fishermen use light spinning tackle to try for great-tasting rockfish. Using small jigs and spoons, Mike and Bill Fanamel land a bunch of bottom fish, like kelp greenling and rockfish. It’s good fun, and the fish are great eating. Saturday, December 13-Light Tackle Bottom Fishing on the FINESSE Capt. John Tanaka and Mike head out from Honoko-hau Boat Harbor to try some light-tackle bottom fishing. They find weke-‘ula and other super frying fish and have a great time catching them. You’ll learn how…

Nui Na I‘a Hawai‘i (Part III) ■ Aloha no ho‘i a me Mele Kalikimaka. Mana’olana au e loa ‘a ia ‘oukou na makana nui. Eia ho‘i, mahalo no ia ‘oukou i ke kali nei no ko‘u koloma. Ho‘omaha au i ka mahina pokole. I ka mahina mua, ua ha‘i ‘olelo au ia ‘oukou i ka mo‘olelo o ka papio, ulua, a me ka moana a i ka waiwai o keia mau i‘a no na kanaka Hawai‘i. No ka mea, pinepine kakou e lawai‘a wale no i ka i‘a a poina i ka waiwai a e maopopo ‘ole i ka waiwai. Pela no, e a’o hou kakou e pili ana i kekahi i‘a, ‘oia ho‘i, ka akule. Greetings and a Merry Christmas. I hope you folks receive many gifts. Further, I’d…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of December 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 Aloha Chuck, Here’s a picture of my young friend A/ex Brunette and myself with a nice ‘ahi he and I caught at the G-buoy last July. This Was his very first exposure to ‘“Ahi Fever.” It was a team effort all the way. I fought the fish on a 9/0 Penn reel while he did an excellent job as boat captain. We shared the ‘ahi with our family and friends. It was a great pleasure sharing this fishing experience with Alex. I…