Innholdsfortegnelse for October 1999 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ After many months of preparation, the Atlapac Fishing Club Hawai‘i Long Casting Tournament was actually about to happen. Committee meetings had been many, and with the experience of having attended the world championship in Texas last year, where Brett and Brock Fee had participated, we gladly offered our help in making this tournament a reality. To top it all off, Roger Mortimore and Martin Hoe consented to come to Hawai‘i to help with the tournament and make it an international event. Roger and Martin traveled from Jersey Island in the United Kingdom and finally set foot in Hawai‘i after 26 hours of flights from England to Los Angeles and finally Hawai‘i. They arrived on Thursday, September 14. at 7:55 p.m. and were “bushed” but excited about being in Hawai‘i…

■ It was 5:30 a.m., August 21, 1999. I jumped out of bed with anticipation of my day ahead. I loaded my gear, hooked my Seadoo to the rear of my truck and was off to Wai‘anae Boat Harbor. Once at the harbor, I checked out the water. It was clear as far as the eye could see. Check-in and inspection of all jet skis was at 7 a.m., and the tournament started at 7:30 a.m. I mounted my Penn International 30WT reel spooled with 100-lb test SpiderWire and hooked my favorite lures. Not knowing what the outcome of this tournament would be, I was as prepared as anyone to catch a fish. Joining together for the tournament with me were my friends Miles Kimhan, Rick Rickard and Scott Caldwell.…

Palila Courtroom Drama ■ Attorney John Carroll went to Honolulu District Court on August 11 to challenge the palila decisions. Palila 1 and Palila 2 were the landmark court decisions calling for the protection of the palila bird by the complete eradication of sheep on Mauna Kea. John represented the Sportsmen of Hawaii, the original petitioners, and he was joined by the state of Hawai‘i and the Wildlife Conservation Association of Hawaii, who joined the sportsmen’s side as a friend of the court. John’s court petition asked to modify Palila 1 and Palila 2 and allow a limited herd of sheep on the mountain. John and the state want to set up a Palila Team that would include the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), biologists, the U.S. Fish…

■ There is a new freshwater hook on the market with its history in saltwater. Eagle Claw. Gamakatsu and other hook manufacturers have taken the circle hook design used in saltwater and scaled it down into a light wire version to be used for freshwater applications. Saltwater anglers are very familiar with the circle hook. It has been used for years in the pursuit of ulua, tuna, halibut and other species when using natural bait. This design reduces the chances of a fish swallowing a bait and becoming gut-hooked. Bass anglers report the circle hook is so successful at jaw-hooking fish, it has been dubbed “the catch-and-release hook.” Research in Texas showed plastic baits rigged Carolina-style can be nearly as lethal as live bait when using a conventional hook. Fishing…

OFFSHORE TOURNAMENTS KEEHI JACKPOT FISHING TOURNAMENT October 2, 1999 Keehi Boat Ctub-O‘ahu (808) 841-7271 4 Sand Island Access Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 HBGFC JUNIORS TOURNAMENT October 10, 1999 Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club-Kona (808) 325-7362 P.O. Box 3106, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745 FLYING FISHING FREAKS TOURNAMENT October 11, 12 & 13 1999 Kay Kolt-Kona (808) 325-6432 P.O. Box 2958, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745 LAHAINA WAHINE TOURNAMENT October 16 & 17, 1999 Lahaina Yacht Club-Maui (808) 661-0191 835 Front Street, Lahaina, Hawaii 96761 LAHAINA JACKPOT TOURNAMENT October 22, 23 & 24, 1999 Lahaina Yacht Club-Maui (808) 661-0191 835 Front Street, Lahaina, Hawaii 96761 SHORECASTING TOURNAMENTS 25TH ANNUAL HILO CASTING CLUB TOURNAMENT July 25, 26, 27, 28 & 29, 2000 Hilo Casting Club-Hilo (808) 959-0102 To list upcoming tournaments, contact HAWAII FISHING NEWS by…

■ Last year, I reported that O’ahu had experienced the worst ‘oama run that I’ve witnessed in all my years of fishing. One of HFN’s readers on Maui sent in a letter saying that because he didn’t see any large adult weke while diving before ‘oama season, he knew that the run would be poor that year. He also predicted that the 1999 season would be great because the small adult weke would have another year to grow and be able to produce more eggs, resulting in large numbers of ‘oama. Well, I am happy to report that our reader predicted correctly based on his observation of adult weke schools in the area where ‘oama are found. Large schools of ‘oama could be found all over the island of O’ahu…

Aloha Chuck. For the record, I would like to submit this fishing story to HAWAII FISHING NEWS on behalf of Steve Akamine. Steve is an individual who “did it” all by himself while baitcasting on the shores of Lai’e. Kudos to this avid ulua shoreline caster. Steve went to Wai‘anae on Saturday, August 14, 1999, to dive for some tako, anticipating catching some papio as he had a week before. Upon reaching his destination, Steve casually cast his ulua rods-all five of them-hoping to catch something, just enough for the frying pan. Son of a gun, he had no bites. Even the aku belly he brought to use as bait was coming back untouched. He was getting a tad disappointed. Steve decided to check his baits up until the time…

Little Things Can Make Big Differences ■ On a recent bonefish outing, a friend of mine and I were fortunate enough to spot some big fish. We work extremely hard for our beloved ‘o’io and put in many long fishless hours for moments like these. A large solo fish appeared in the sandy channel that we were vigilantly staking out. My partner began false casting and placed the fly in front of the fish, which was approximately 25 feet in front of us. The fish casually turned toward the fly, picked it up and in an instant was off to the races. I watched as the flyline quickly cleared from my friend’s stripping basket. I then saw something that made my heart sink. A tangled loop of flyline shot through…

Sport Fish Restoration Act ■ The year 2000 will be the 50th anniversary for the Sport Fish Restoration Act. The act was introduced in Congress by John Dingell of Michigan and Sen. Edwin Johnson of Colorado and signed by Harry Truman in August 1950. It has been amended several times since then. The Sport Fish Restoration Act, also known as the Dingell-Johnson Program, uses taxes put on fishing tackle, motor fuel and pleasure boat sales to fund $3 out of every $4 spent by the states on approved fishing conservation projects. The law has provided $2.6 billion dollars to state fish and wildlife agencies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) distributes the money to the states. The head of the USF&WS, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, summed up the program:…

■ At an altitude of a little under 6,000 feet, the snow still covered the shady slopes of the mountains, hiding the carpet of shale and spiny “Spaniard grass,” which resemble our yuccas. I plodded slowly upward, plunging my boots into the 15-inch deep snow. As I stumbled for the third time in 200 yards, I also plunged my hand into the snow, and onto a Spaniard, which bit back. Taking advantage of my semi-prone position, I grabbed a handful of snow and wiped it over my face to cool down. The temperature was around freezing, but I was definitely not chilly, as a result of the 30- to 40-degree inclines I was slowly making my way up. By this point, I had decided the Maori name Aotearoa really meant…

Fishermen and Turtles ■ Sea turtles, especially green turtles (honu, or Chelonia mydas), live and feed in shallow coastal waters of all the Hawaiian islands. Greater numbers of turtles occur at certain areas and at some times of the year due to the availability of selected favorite algal food sources (limu, or seaweed). Although the green turtle is mainly a vegetarian, there is nevertheless an attraction to seafood such as squid, shrimp and other items used to bait hooks for shoreline fishing. Fishing lines may be cast in areas where turtles like to feed, thereby resulting in random accidental hooking and entanglement. Also, the turtles may be attracted to baited hooks, take the bait and become hooked and entangled. Events like this are not new to Hawaii. Such reports appeared…

■ Fishery interaction with nontargeted species,’ shark fishing and a new management plan are among the issues to be addressed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) when it meets October 18 to 21 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. The council manages fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surrounding Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the remote U.S. Pacific islands. In general, the EEZ comprises waters from 3 to 200 miles from shore. The public is invited to attend the meeting and to provide input during public comment and public hearing periods. Alleviating Albatross Fatalities Measures to reduce the unintended catch of albatrosses by the Hawai‘i longline fleet will be presented to the council for final action. In 1998, the fleet killed between 1,500…

■ Imagine two liquor salesmen fishing their new boat for the first time and catching a 451½-lb marlin off Wai‘anae then a 158½-lb ‘ahi, an ono and a mahimahi off Kane’ohe. Leland Nakakura and Derek Yamakami represent Southern Wine and Spirits when not fishing on the JERI LYN, and they seem to be having some really good catches. They took turns on the Penn 80 International reel and used their favorite whiskey bottle for a lure (Naw, not really. We never got to see the lure.) The ‘ahi season continued with the Schade Brothers on the EKOLU J enjoying some great catches. Jeff Schade told us they were straight out in the 210s when he and Jim spotted a huge aku school, the kind that made the choppy waters calm…

■ I lay in bed, running images through my mind, painting a mental picture of what I might encounter the following day. What would I do if I saw the stealthy image of an ono? Or the curiosity of an always greattasting uku? Maybe, just maybe, a tuna or a marlin might show up! As I always do the night before a dive, 1 ran the images through my mind over and over, dipping beneath the surface, equalizing the pressure in my ears, keeping calm and patient until I saw the white in the fish’s eyes-then, wham! One of these days, that scenario I painted in my mind was going to happen! I closed my eyes to try to sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be the day. Tuesday morning, August…

Banner Attendance at Ho‘omaluhia ■ In the last issue of HFN, I wrote about the solid attendance of catch-and-release anglers at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. The weekend of September 3 and 4 saw an even more dramatic increase in anglers. The actual count went to 430 anglers attending. That makes well over 1,000 anglers, young and old, who have enjoyed the splendid scenery and quality family time for the past three open weekends. Many thanks to the services of the Parks and Recreation Department of the city and county of Honolulu and to the dedicated volunteers who assist in making the program such a success. Demographically, a quick visual check of the averages of attendance at Ho’omaluhia revealed that somewhere between 65 and 70 percent (± minus 5 percent) are children…

■ In researching data for this article, I plodded through the state auditor’s latest (March 1998) “Audit of the Management of Small Boat Harbors and Boat Ramps.” I reconfirmed that the deteriorating harbor infrastructure problem (see “Derelict Piers” in August HFN) has been a major deficiency at our state harbors since the first audit in 1993, and probably much before that. I thought that a few excerpts from that audit would add more emphasis to the seriousness of this problem and demonstrate how it has grown into a bureaucratic malignancy! Chapter 2 of the March 1998 audit is entitled, “The Board of Land and Natural Resources Has Not Adequately Addressed the Deficiencies in Hawaii’s Boating Program.” It starts out: “In 1993, we identified significant deficiencies in the Department of Land…

For letters, with photos, recevied during the month of October 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 Dear Chuck; Have you ever dreamed about working a FAD without having to dodge other boats, or having other boats run over your lines, or listening to the CB as one boater is cursing another for cutting off his lure or asking for space because he’s hooked up? Well, on Monday July 5, 1999, Ron Chun, Steve Okumoto and I experienced such a dream while working the X-buoy outside of Kahuku. The day before, I had heard from a friend that his…

■ For Hawai‘i waters, summer is over and winter is approaching. October may preview the upcoming winter’s weather. There will be a greater variety of weather, but the severity of bad weather has not reached its potential. The following are potentially bad weather events, listed in order of decreasing expected occurrence: (1) northwest swell and surf (2) gusty trade winds (3) weak cold front (4) Kona low (5) north swell and surf (6) hurricane. Other than the northwest swell and surf, the expected frequencies of the other events are low. The frequency of trade winds is going down, but trades will still be the most common winds. The number of gusty trade wind days should be low-about four days. Northwest surf picks up while southerly surf is down at Sunset…