Innholdsfortegnelse for November 1998 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ It’s tako time! The octopus are starting to come into the shallows. Though most are small, 1-to 2-pounders, there are some that are much larger. (Minimum legal size to catch is 1 lb.) Finding tako is a skill, and for the beginner it can be a frustrating experience because they haven’t acquired what is known as the “tako eye.” This article is geared for the beginner who wants to find tako for bait or to eat. This is a basic, how-to article and relates mostly to shallow-water diving (15 feet or less). Tako, or “squid” as the locals call it, shouldn’t be confused with squid, or calamari. We are talking about octopus. These are masters of disguise in the ocean. They can blend into the background so well that…

Department of Land & Natural Resources and Division of Aquatic Resources Catch and Release at Lake Wilson ■ Wahiawa Reservoir bass and tucunare fishing is catch and release only. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) established an amendment to Administrative Rule Chapter 13-62 to establish a new catch-and-release program for bass and tucunare in Wahiawa Reservoir, which went into effect on July 1, 1998. This amendment resulted from concerns by fishermen and the Wahiawa community that there has been a noticeable decline in the tucunare and bass populations in Lake Wilson. The intent of establishing a catch-and-release program for these fish is to increase the chances for remaining populations to reproduce and increase their numbers. The amendment is as follows: Chapter 13-62-8 Catch-and-Release Program • There is established…

■ Hilo is a calm and serene place. It’s a great place to go to school, settle down or retire and live a peaceful life. But, sometimes it’s too peaceful. If I had just one complaint about living in Hilo, it would be the lackluster nights. Everything in Hilo seems to shut down at about 8 p.m. except for the new WalMart and Borders stores. So, what better activity is there to do than go night fishing? Fishing at night opens a new arena of possibilities for some exciting action in a relatively sleepy town. My first advice would be to go to the river’s edge or beach ponds to scoop up some live ‘opae (shrimp), or “shidasa.” This frisky bait can triple your chances for strikes. Sometimes, just the…

NiTuanu Reservoir #4 Update ■ As I write this article, the water level at the dam is below the 25-foot mark and there may be a continuous loss of water that is very difficult to correlate with the rainfall. This possibly could be subscribed to leakage. However, because there is so much less water in the reservoir, the water loss is probably more noticeable than usual. Now for the good news. Contrary to popular belief, there has been quite a bit of progress as far as proposed repair of the dam is concerned. We have learned that the contract proposals have been submitted and that repair and evaluation of the dam site will begin this month. The first thing that they will accomplish will be clearing the spillway of vegetation.…

1998 Legislators’ Report Card ■ This report is my own personal opinion based on two years of close personal observation and does not necessarily reflect the views of HFN or any organization of which I am an officer or director. The grade is based on the attendance of and statements made by the individuals rated, as well as their votes cast on important ocean industry, boating and fishing issues. Some of this grade is also based on their knowledge of the issues and how they can affect you, the ocean resource user. Seventeen out of 25 senators are directly involved on committees that have jurisdiction over bills that affect you. If you want information on any legislator not mentioned, call me at (808) 531-0582. Any rating lower than a C…

‘Dolphin Safe’ Tuna Spawns Environmental Travesty ■ It is easy for most people to love those small marine mammals known commonly and collectively as dolphins and/or porpoises. They are charismatic, seem to wear a perpetual smile, seem to play endlessly and seem to be as smart as (some say smarter than) man. How could you not love an animal like Flipper? However, overzealous protection of these animals in the Pacific has apparently led to the needless slaughter of millions upon millions of pounds of marlin, wahoo, sharks and other species of fish and the sustained harvest of immature, unspawned tuna to meet the world’s seemingly insatiable demand for canned tuna. The result of our rush to save the dolphins could well create far more devastating environmental impacts. Can this be…

■ Many people in the fishing community know the good news-marine resources bring in money to Hawai’i. In Hawai’i, residents and tourists spend $800,000,000 annually in this industry. Now the bad news. The state of Hawai’i ranks 48th in the nation in dollars spent to manage marine resources through the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR). In 1998, our lawmakers funded DAR at only $3.3 million. That is only less than one-half of 1 percent of the total amount of money generated by the use of our marine resources. The general excise tax alone at 4 percent of the revenues from fisheries and reef-and tourist-related marine industry equals $32 million a year. With the money received from our marine resources nearing the billion dollar mark,…

■ There is an article written by William Aila Jr. in the September 1998 issue of HFN that covers the results of WESPAC’s Kona meeting. According to the article, it seems the “feds” are planning on removing the onaga, ehu and hapu’upu’u in the main Hawaiian islands (MHI) from the national listing of overfished stock. What about the stupid rules and regulations adopted by the state government in regard to the mentioned species? When the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) conducted public hearings regarding proposed rules and regulations concerning the MHI bottom fish resources in 1997, I, like many other fishermen, testified against the proposal. In my testimony, I accused the DLNR of lying to the fishing public by presenting bogus information derived from WESPAC data. Although…

■ For a while now we’ve heard of a new generation of divers in their teens and early 20s, who have taken up the sport of blue-water hunting. They seem to be proliferating everywhere, especially on the island of Maui. They’ve organized themselves into groups (or clubs) and go by names such as “The Chislers,” the “Ninjas” and the “Jackhammers.” As comical as they may sound, make no mistake, they mean business! I’ve heard many a fish story, but this one really hit my funny bone. It took me back in time to when I was much younger, to the days when I used to hitchhike to the beach with three-prong in hand along with my mask (or “goggles,” as we used to call them), fins and a mesh bag…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of November we’ll send you an HFN Holoholo Style 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, Enclosed is a picture of my youngest son, Lyle K. Hori. At age 6, he really loves his fishing and respects the ocean and environment very much. He caught this barracuda at Pearl Harbor and it gave him a really good fight. He wanted to share his catch with you and all the other young fishermen. It is his biggest to date and we hope there will be more. Mahalo and good fishing! W.K. Hori Honolulu, O‘ahu Howzit Chuck, Here is…

■ When local photographer Doug Peebles asked if I wanted to go to Western Samoa for a week, my ears perked up. When he mentioned that Gary Budlong of Go Bananas Kayaks in Honolulu was bringing three kayaks for us to play with, my eyebrows lifted. When he said that they wanted to do some fishing, my jaw dropped, my arms went up in the air, and 1 said, “Yes!” Doug, Gary and his wife, Peggy, my golfing buddy Brian Brinkopf and I departed Monday evening on Hawaiian Airlines for the five-hour flight to the island of Tutuila, American Samoa. The next morning we caught a 30-minute flight to Upolu, the main island and capital of Western Samoa. Upolu We were picked up at the airport by Joe, the owner…

■ ‘O‘io, or bonefish, as our mainland cousins call them, are sleek, fast, strong fish that when caught on light tackle can give you a run you won’t soon forget. I recently rediscovered how much fun it can be to go to the beach and cast a line out for these small-game line-rippers. I was a member of the Hi-land Casting Club, which is based in Wahiawa. I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the club and wish I had more time so I could have stayed on, but things change. If you ever get a chance to join a club, you should. The friendships are wonderful, and you will learn so much more than if you just fish on your own. After leaving the club, I didn’t really fish from…

with Mike Sakamoto ■ Here’s a preview of what host Mike Sakamoto has in store for you. November 4 to 9- Diving With Jay and Mike on the BAGGER Mike Kawamoto and Jay Antoque join Mike on board the 31-foot BAGGER, skippered by Damon Waitley. Mike and Jay break out their three-prong spears, go scuba diving off of Kaiwi Point and spear some nice-sized fish. Mike Kawamoto of Hilo zeroes in on a kahala and nails it cleanly. This is a super show for divers. November 11 to 16- Light Tackle on the YOKOMARIJ The papio and akule are biting in Hilo Bay, so Mike heads out with Ken Takahashi and Ross Murakami to do some ultralight tackle fishing. Mike and the guys use live ‘oama. Once the sun goes…

Hi Knud Here’s the photo of Dave Chow’s big catfish caught at Ho’omaluhia on Sunday, October 4. It was so big we couldn’t get in our long scoop net. Dave had to get a towel and grab it on land. Its head was bigger than Dave’s legs. But, Dave tossed the big sucker in before you arrived to weigh it. I’d say it weighed maybe 15 to 18 lbs or more. I’m sure Dave will be on “Let’s Go Fishing,” as the cameraman was there. He was as excited as we were! The second photo is of the soft-shell turtle I caught. Everyone was so kind to help me try to get the hook off. It was the first soft-shell turtle I ever saw. It’s always nice to chat with…

Dear Chuck, Gov. Ben Cayetano has once again displayed his contempt for Hawaii’s $790 million-per-year ocean recreation industry in his recent appointments to both the Hawaii Maritime Authority Commission and the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Both of these recently appointed groups will be making decisions critical to the health of an industry that had been growing at a rate of 16 percent per year prior to Gov. Cayetano’s taking office, yet he appointed no one who can be expected to broadly represent the state’s ocean recreation industry to either group. No one. Surveys have indicated that 80 percent of the visitors to Maui participate in some form of ocean recreation. It is clear from figures like that, that ocean recreation is a substantial component of our overall tourism industry, yet Gov.…

■ The prolific sport fishery at Midway Atoll has added broadbill swordfish to its list of accessible game fish this season. In the process, Midway Sport Fishing ended the worldwide search for this elusive game fish by two visiting anglers. Californian Dick Laub had fished many places in the course of his 76 years, but the one fish that always had eluded him was the broadbill. He and two buddies, who were also fellow World War 11 veterans, decided to visit Midway, site of the battle that dramatically turned the tide of the war in the Pacific, to see if rumors of the presence of those great fish in Midway’s waters were true. One of his buddies passed away before their trip could be realized, but Dick and Ken Lewis…

■ It was during Sonny Tanabe’s Freedive Spearfishing Tournament that I met Clyde Kasahara. My first observation was that he kept to himself. Then there was an errand to run, and he volunteered to keep me company. It was supposed to be a short trip… two hours later we showed up “small kine drunk.” Alan Yoshikawa, whose truck we’d borrowed, had given up on us and gone home. The following day, Clyde won the largest fish division with a hefty uhu. We continued our celebration, and I went home thinking I had made a friend. That was the last time I saw Clyde. It was September I when Clyde packed his gear and headed to “his grounds” outside of La Perouse Bay. He loved the serenity of diving alone, often…

■ With every ending is a beginning. With every beginning is an ending. With the beginning of our trip to the Revillagigedo Islands was the ending of months of anticipation, endless conversations about the trip with friends, co-workers or anyone we could speak to about our adventure, why we dive without scuba tanks and hunt game larger than us. It was the end of workouts in the gym and pool, checking our gear and preparing for 10 days away from our jobs. With the end of the preparation for our trip was the beginning of an adventure that would unfold over seven days. As seekers of adventure, spear fishing for giant tuna and wahoo, viewing giant manta rays, whales, marlin, sharks, dolphins and the myriad sea life these islands hold,…

■ The Hilo Trailers held their Labor Day Tournament on September 5 and 6, 1998, and 19 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. until 3:30 p.m. At 5:30 a.m., the boats left the harbor and the fishermen headed for their fishing spots. That day, one marlin, six ‘ahi, nine ono and 14 mahimahi reached the scales. The marlin weighed in at 203 lbs, the largest ‘ahi was 95½ lbs, the largest ono was 35½ lbs, and the largest mahimahi weighed 17 lbs. On the second day, the fishing wasn’t as good. Only five ‘ahi, five ono and two mahimahi were brought in. There was one nice-sized ‘ahi weighing…

■ The foamy, murky water was a playground for a myriad of big predatory fish that roamed the area. The water was a combination of fine silty black sand mixed with rough foamy water that covered a dark black sand bottom. This area, under the right conditions, became an enormous hunting ground for big predatory fish like giant trevally. Here, they could swim under the cover of blankets of white water in search of easy, unsuspecting prey. Bait fish like manini, uouoa, api, moi and jumping jack were all on the ulua’s hit list. In short, anything caught swimming around here was a goner. Mark Mitsuyasu, Wes, Diane and Weslyn Masumura all made the trek through ‘a ‘a lava fields to fish these prime grounds with hopes of catching some…

■ The old way of whipping for menpachi and ‘aweoweo was to simply cast as far as possible and retrieve the leader system. When using this method, several key points are critical. First, the length of the leader from the lead to the fly or lure should be as long as possible. My leader is usually 12 to 14 feet of 4-to 6-lb test fluorocarbon monofilament. Second, the retrieve should be smooth and steady. In the beginning of the evening, the angler will have to experiment with the speed of the retrieve due to the speed and direction of the current. Every night will be different, and you’ll have to adjust your retrieve accordingly. Third, and to me most important, is the fly size or hook size. My preference is…

What, Governor Allies With Hunters? ■ Steve Hurt of Big Island Bird Hunters reported that things have been flip-flopping on the hunter political front and that Gov. Ben Cayetano is the one flopping the flip. In an October 8, 1998, letter to Mike Wilson, DLNR head, Ben Cayetano stated he wanted the sheep eradication stopped and would go back to court to prove it. Gov. Cayetano also demanded that all non-Natural Area Reserve System (NARS) worthy lands are to be removed from NARS. The Pu’uwa’awa’a Ranch and The Nature Conservancy management agreement was to be put on hold. Finally, the governor stopped the statewide forestry mapping classification system for forest reserves, game management and natural area reserves. In an October 13, 1998, letter to Mike Wilson, Gov. Cayetano belly flopped…

■ Roberta Bishop knows how to say no. Now that her children are grown and gone, she only cooks when she has to-for potluck dinners, family gatherings, holidays and occasionally for a starving husband. When she does reach for those pots and pans, and whatever ingredients she can scare up, she rises to the occasion and turns out simple, tasty meals. Who better to recruit as a recipe tester when I was working on “Fresh Catch of the Day”? It wasn’t going to be easy. I knew I had to pick the right time to ask for her help. She is a school administrator, which.means that summer or spring break would be the best time to approach her. But then, she’s also an excellent tennis player, so I had to…

■ The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s (WESPAC) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet from November 11 to 13, 1998, at the council office at 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96813. The full council will meet at the Hawaii Prince Hotel, Mauna Kea Ballroom, in Honolulu, Hawai’i, from December 1 to 3, 1998. Major issues to be discussed by the SSC and WESPAC will include sea bird and turtle interactions with the Hawai’i longline fleet, shark finning, data collection from ail fisheries, blue marlin management, federal management options for the main Hawaiian islands bottom fish, bank-specific harvest guidelines for Northwest Hawaiian Islands lobster and development of a new coral reef ecosystem fishery management plan. Other issues will include enforcement, vessel monitoring systems, native and indigenous rights,…

■ Aloha no! Welcome to our water world. Hope your fishing was as “cool” as ours was. Winter is almost here, and the weather conditions have been extreme-either really rough or really calm. Kona winds, south swells and high surf brought Lana’i ground swells, dangerous shore breaks and greenish, cloudy shoreline waters. These conditions have been affecting mostly the southeast and southwest sides of the island. On the east side, conditions have been calm and nice. A couple of days were fishable, both inshore and offshore. Those diehard, hard-core fishermen brave enough to venture out saw big waves and surf. Entering and exiting the harbor had to be timed well. Some days, bottom fishing and trolling were curtailed due to high surf and murky waters. Respect for the ocean had…

Hi Chuck, We’re back again. My father-in-law Burt and I started off early morning Thursday heading out to the North Shore to find a good spot. We got there and the shore was deserted. Just me and Burt and the ocean to ourselves. Fishing through the day was a blast. While catching our bait, we ended up hooking kala and nenue and they pretty much took us to the cleaners. But, Chuck, the day was just beginning. As time went by, we got our poles set and went through our bait bucket picking the right bait for ulua. Our poles were out and the final wait had just begun. We were talking and listening to the radio reports about President Clinton’s scandal. I’m glad just to be a simple fisherman.…