Innholdsfortegnelse for April 1998 i Hawaii Fishing News

The Great Flash and Trash Competition ■ It began as a cross between a joke and a dare-just like most adolescent competitions. For guys, adolescence stretches from 6 to 60, so each of the four of us still had a year or two to go before we would be too old to accept the challenge without hesitation. Besides, this was installment 1,000 or more in a series of contests that had gone back too far for any of us to remember the first. Here was the challenge: on our next fishing trip together, we would use only lures of our own making, but each lure had to satisfy three special conditions: 1. Zero cost. The lure had to be made entirely from materials widely available for free (larceny not allowed).…

■ The high cliffline is at least 50 feet over the water in some areas. Large boulders and deep crevices can easily be seen along the long winding shoreline of Ka Lae, otherwise known as South Point, on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The cliffline eventually drops to sea level at the very tip of Ka Lae near the lighthouse. Here, many anglers try their luck at baitcasting, whipping, dunking and slide-baiting for big ulua. The strong and constant trade winds also lure “trashbag enthusiasts” who use the strong winds to take baits into deeper water and hopefully hook ‘ahi, ono, mahimahi and marlin. Yes, indeed, it is big-game fishing from shore, and in some cases anglers bring their own fighting chairs and harnesses to fight the big fish to…

■ Before we say anything about our show, all of us at “Hawaiian Diving Adventures” would like to thank Chuck Johnston and the people at HA WAII FISHING NEWS for giving us the opportunity to tell our story and introduce future episodes of our new TV show. The vision of “Hawaiian Diving Adventures” was created on the Kona Coast in 1996, arguably because we didn’t order enough pupus to soak up the alcohol we consumed on that fateful afternoon. What is not arguable is that the waters surrounding the state of Hawai’i fall into the world-class category when it comes to all forms of aquatic recreation, especially diving. These ingredients combined somehow to create the cocktail that ultimately spawned the idea to produce a weekly show based on all forms…

The Consequences of Environmental Law-Breaking ■ The widely publicized arrest of prominent Honolulu watermen Donald Watanabe and Henry Rosa, for possessing packets of chlorine while on Henry’s boat (see story, HFN March ’98), led us to look into what happens to those who violate Hawai’i environmental law. On the books, the consequences appear to be serious. Both of the men were charged with a misdemeanor under a statute that was written in an attempt to prevent the use of chemical weapons in our ocean environment. The penalties under that statute are for a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail. Seizure of the vessel and all related equipment (dive gear, nets, trailer, etc.) is also a possibility under the relevant law. Honolulu Fire Department (HFD)…

Mullet in the Mud ■ It was an ordinary school day, but it was also April Fools’ Day, 1946. Central Intermediate School was less than a mile from where we lived, and it took a casual 30 to 40 minutes to walk there. Our route took us along the two-laned Vineyard Street that was bordered with tall shady trees and sectioned by many lanes into short blocks. These led to the camps and homes where many children lived. Many small produce stores and shops filled the area, including a potato chip factory from which we could buy packages of “crumbs” for a few cents for our after-school snacks. About a third of the way to school, Vineyard Street crossed the Nu’uanu Stream. From the Vineyard Street Bridge, looking toward the…

Forletters, with photos, received during the month of April we’ll send you an 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 Dear Chuck. Here is a picture of my brother Wilfred Naone (wearing cap) and me with my 17.25-lb kawakawa that I caught off Kona Pier. It was a beautiful day for fishing on Thursday, October 23. I was live-baiting halalu using 20 lb test. I was at the pier before sunrise and caught a few papio and rainbow runners, but I was waiting for the “big one.” My wish came true at 11 a.m. All the fish enthusiasts stopped what they were doing to…

■ Weather-wise, this is a transitional month between our winter and summer. This means that the surface cold front of winter and the upper trough of summer can “meet” over the islands in April. The result is a few days of bad weather with heavy rain and gusty winds. Bad weather doesn’t occur every April over Hawai‘i waters, but it happens often enough, or the potential is there, to warrant being aware of its possibility. Trade wind days continue to increase—about 75 percent of the time we’ll have trades. Expect eight to 15 days of gusty trades. High northwest swell and surf action is tapering down. Expect only about two days of surf 10 to 15 feet high at Sunset Beach, Oahu.…

■ As we go to press, all of the legislation listed on page 22 of the March 1998 HFN has either moved on to pass each house, or died as of the first crossover on Thursday March 12. Our May report will give you an update on this legislation, the Coast Guard Industry Day and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) meetings. Members of BOATS/Hawaii commercial ocean recreation sector joined together to fight for a lowering of the permit transfer fee and extend the period of, or eliminate, the business license auction system, whereby a PWC or a parasail license gets auctioned off after 10 years. The only other legislation still afloat that could be a disaster is HB 3087-Search and Rescue Costs, which would allow the city…

■ Ke‘ehi Lagoon was an ideal location to simulate a wartorn harbor blocked by sunken barges and boats, with all heavy salvage equipment destroyed by the enemy. Throughout the years, various barges, work boats and pure junk had been left in the harbor by entrepreneurs that had gone bust. This large amount of sunken equipment had been an eyesore for the locals and tourists as they got their first look at Hawai’i from the airplane windows as they landed. This junk make a perfect training site for the harbor clearance teams of the various Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU-1) units of the U.S. Navy. Last summer, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) approved and supported the cleanup project, providing the crew with cutting and welding…

■ The Hilo Casting Club (HCC) held its members-only Winter Classic Tournament from February 27 to March 1, 1998. The weigh-in was held at the club’s scale house. This year’s classic was co-chaired by members Troy Haspe and Kahana Itozaki. Pupus and cold drinks were served at the weigh-in. This year’s Classic format was a little different from that of previous years. Cash awards were given in lieu of trophies. Categories were largest fish (first through fifth places), any trevally over 10 lbs, an optional $5 largest fish jackpot and an optional $5 largest ‘omilu jackpot (the fish had to be over 10 lbs to qualify, and the top three fish were awarded cash). Members could only enter one fish in the largest fish category. A total of 23 members…

■ The impact didn’t shock me as I plunged through the surface waters of Christmas Island. For an instant, all I could see were a cloud of bubbles and the palm of my hand, which held my mask on securely. The cadenced sound of hissing filled my ears as the regulator fed me air and the semi-full buoyancy compensator (B.C.) pulled me gently to the surface. Instinctively, I looked toward the bottom some 75 feet below but could only see vague images of coral. The water was amazingly warm and comforting, or a “chilly 84 degrees,” as Kim Andersen, the owner of Dive Kiribati, had described it. For a moment, I paused. I’d plunged into another world in another country, and excitement flushed me. I took another breath and heard…

To Be? Or, Knot To Be? ■ ’Twas a very windy day. The angler swung the rod over his shoulder and let fly forward. About the same time, what looked like a pair of oversized sunglasses, or perhaps a bikini top, drifted by, blown by the wind. Absentmindedly, the angler lost his concentration and looked for the source. Alas, the wind had tricked him; on top of that, he had failed to check the run of the line. Of course the spool overran and the result was an “owl’s nest.” When I recanted this to Brad in the HFN office, he corrected me smilingly and called it a “bird’s nest.” Respectfully, I hold that the most current technical expression is “backlash.” Anyway, I do distinctly recall that the angler himself…

■ Paul Standen gives a good rub! Thanks to Paul’s culinary specialty, I now have a secret weapon to use if I’m pressed to get a meal on the table, or when company is expected, or when I get a craving for seafood. Standen’s Special Rub requires minimal kitchen time, regardless of whether you are making the rub, coating meat for the barbecue, or transforming seafood into a sensational feast! Paul is an assistant restaurant manager at Auberge du Soleil, a restaurant tucked away in California’s famed valley known generically as “wine country.” Needless to say, he knows his way around kitchens and wine cellars! He enjoys time spent in his home kitchen, creating culinary concoctions to share with family and friends. We were among the group who were treated…

Dear Chuck, First of all I would like to commend Rick Gaffney for introducing the sport of fly fishing to Hawai’i. Fly fishing has exploded all over the world but somehow has managed to go largely unnoticed in the Hawaiian islands. I have been fishing all my life and have been fly fishing almost exclusively for the last six years. Of those six years, I have been fly fishing from shore on O‘ahu for the last four or so. I have also tied every fly that I have ever fished with, myself. I have not fly fished offshore, so my comments may not pertain to offshore fishing. I’m fairly confident, though, that if put into a school of aku I could probably hold my own. I have several comments in…

■ A plan to use the waters surrounding Kaho’olawe in a Hawaiian cultural context has been released by the Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC). The plan calls for public use of the waters with maximum safety considerations due to the unexploded ordnance that remains on the island ever since its use as a U.S. military bombing target. The plan’s long-range goal is to restore the ocean environment and manage it to sustain continuous use in the future. Copies of the plan, called “Ola I Ke Kai O Kanaloa: To live in the sea of Kanaloa,” will soon be available in public libraries. Kanaloa is another name for Kaho’olawe, meaning the island is an embodiment of the principal Hawaiian god Kanaloa. Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli M.D., chairperson of the KIRC, described…

■ The first half of 1997 went as planned. During the first half of the year, 17 FADs were replaced and a total of 27 FADs were serviced (light pack change-out), five of the 27 by the Army’s USS CLINGER. The second half didn’t go as planned. Originally, a FAD cruise to replace missing FADs in waters off Maui County and the Big Island was scheduled for September 27 and was to replace MC, LA, UU, QQ and E buoys. The cruise was then postponed to October 3. A couple of days later, it was postponed to October 13. The postponements were due to scheduling conflicts with the other ships that the University of Hawaii owns and prior commitments that the University had. On September 26, the KILA sustained damage…

■ Plans for a fishing expedition began a week in advance when Jeff Sibayton, Joe Rodrigues and Troy Haspe tossed around the idea of fishing the full-moon phase in February. Previous fishing trips showed that the extreme high and low tides presented the possibility for some good ulua action. In the early hours of February 11, Troy had finished packing his four-wheel-drive pickup and was ready to leave. His wife. Linda, and son Travis wished him luck and a safe journey. He glanced at his watch; it was 4:30 a.m. The early morning air was crisp, and the sky was still littered with stars. Although it appeared to be another hot El Nino day ahead, Troy was concerned about the high-surf advisory for all north- and west-facing shores. It was…

Shelter Island Lodge ■ Here’s a preview of what host Mike Sakamoto has in store for you. April 1 to April 5-Buoy Popping on the HANAMANA Two flight attendants from Aloha Airlines join Mike and the crew of the HANAMANA and head out for a day of fishing the FADs outside of Kealakekua. They end up at C-buoy and find the tuna hungry for poppers. On the way back, the girls tangle with a shortbill spearfish and have an even better time. This is a super fun show for the ladies. April 8 to April 12-Boy’s Club, Kaua’i-Style Mike joins a group of kids from the Boy’s Club, Kaua’i branch, and they head out for a day of fishing the reefs of Kaua’i. First, they try ultralight spinning for papio,…

State Sheep Comeback? ■ It’s a report entitled: “Mauna Kea Sheep Management Plan.” It was drafted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and was written in August 1997. The plan calls for managing a sustainable herd of 150 sheep on Mauna Kea. The report has been in the hands of environmentalist group Earth Justice, formerly Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund Inc., for months. When Earth Justice did not respond, the report was released to HAWAII FISHING NEWS. The well-written controversial report was submitted by Hawai’i District Manager John Giffin, who himself is involved in a sheep poaching controversy. In 1979, all Mauna Kea feral sheep were given execution sentences by a U.S. District Court. The same court in 1987 condemned mouflon. Since then, a small herd has…

■ The long-awaited islandwide tuna tagging project for Hawai‘i and the central Pacific is finally underway! Many island fishermen are aware that the Pelagic Fisheries Research Program (PFRP) of the University of Hawaii has been funding some tuna tagging for the past few years, but very few have seen any tagged fish. The reason is that the first tagging project (Hawaii Seamount Tagging Project) was a small-scale project looking at a specific situation: the aggregation and exploitation of tuna around the Cross Seamount and offshore weather buoys. During that project, 4,859 yellowfin and bigeye tuna were tagged and released at the Cross Seamount and weather buoys 1, 2, 3 and 4. At the beginning of March 1998, 5.4 percent of the bigeye and 8.4 percent of the tagged yellowfin had…

■ Aside from the fact that both of them own vessels that float, what do skippers Richard Ali of the sailboat STINGER and Dr. Bob Overlock of the power fishing boat BABE have in common? Both they and the owners/skippers of 18 other powerboats and sailboats donated their yachts and their time for the successful completion of the 15th Annual Junior Fishing Tournament that was jointly sponsored by the Hawaii and Waikiki yacht clubs on Sunday, January 18. The day started early for Vicki DePiano, who was in charge of registration. Her granddaughter, Nicky Savino, woke her at 0130 hours to go to the yacht club. Vicky managed a few more hours sleep before arriving at the Hawaii Yacht Club (HYC) at 0600 hours for the 0700 registration hour. It…

■ There are several options for fly fishermen in island waters: offshore fishing; wading the reef flats at low tide; shorecasting from sandy beaches; fly fishing in bays, harbors and estuaries; and rock hopping along the shoreline. We’ll look at all of these options in the course of this series on fly fishing Hawai’i waters, but this time around, let’s take a close look at rock hopping. For those not familiar with this form of fishing, it is exactly what it sounds like: jumping from rock-to-rock while working the waters along a length of hard-stratum coastline. While some areas in Hawai’i are blessed with sand beaches and there are more than a few miles of wadable, shallow “flats,” our volcanic origin has left us with many miles of boulder-strewn or…

OFFSHORE TOURNAMENTS SPRING WAHINE TOURNAMENT April 4 & 5, 1998 Lahaina Yacht Club-Maui (808) 661-0191 835 Front Street, Lahaina, HI 96761 APRIL FOOLS DAY TOURNAMENT April 4 & 5, 1998 Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club-Kona (808) 325-7362 P.O. Box 3106, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 SENORITA’S TOURNAMENT April 18 & 19, 1998 Hawaii Yacht Club-Oahu (808) 949-4622 1739-C Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96815 MTBC WAHINE FISHING TOURNAMENT April 18 & 19, 1998 Maui Trailer Boat Club-Gary Vinge (808) 244-3304 P.O. Box 672, Wailuku, HI 96793 KONA GOLD ’N BLUE TOURNAMENT May 1,2 & 3, 1998 HIBA-Kona (808) 329-6155 P. O. Box 4800, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745 MTBC OVERNIGHTER FISHING TOURNAMENT May 23 & 24, 1998 Maui Trailer Boat Club-Gary Vinge (808) 244-3304 P.O. Box 672, Wailuku, HI 96793 KONA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT May…