Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2000 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ All of us who love the ocean depend on it, thrive on it and even live for it. I thought I would write about one small part of the ecological system, but an intricate part that makes fishing a treasure and a tragedy. Born on the Big Island, I was brought up to respect nature and to cherish what Mother Nature gives us. I was taught not only to conserve resources, but also to help nature replenish itself. My dad taught me to catch only the fish you need to feed your family and leave the rest for others to gather for their families. I come from a family that did all types of fishing. We fished with’ bamboo poles, rods and reels and slide-bait casting equipment, picked ‘opihi…

Evaluating a Collectible Reel ■ Most fishermen would never think of their old tackle as collectibles, but with the increasing popularity of television shows like “The Antiques Roadshow” and other similar cable television programs, the hobby of collecting fishing tackle is growing fast. Each day, someone dusts off an old tackle box and discovers a highly sought after lure or reel. Last month, I explained why some people collect old fishing tackle, especially reels. This month I’ll expand a little on what it is that serious reel collectors look for and what they consider desirable. Defining a collectible reel is based on a matter of personal preference. Many people collect reels out of nostalgia or sentiment while others collect finely made, quality reels. The first category can include anything ever…

■ Oceansportsnet.com, Hinano Tahiti Beer and the Kailua Canoe Club Women’s Distance Program today announced their partnership in presenting the Ku’ula Kai Canoe Fishing Classic to be held off Kailua Bay, O‘ahu, on Saturday, December 2, 2000. The theme of the Ku’ula Kai (“god of fishing”) Canoe Fishing Classic is “Aia a kau ka I‘a wa’a, mana’o ke ola” (One can think of life after the fish is in the canoe). “With the popularity of the high-tech one-man canoes and paddleboards, we felt it important that all of us who love the ocean and who love to paddle, remember the canoe as a life sustaining craft which the early Polynesians used to sustain their families and life itself,” said event organizer John Mounts. “We want to honor that spirit and…

■ The major two-year tag/release period for the Hawaii Tuna Tagging Project (HTTP) has been completed with over 17,000 bigeye and yellowfin tagged throughout the Hawaiian islands. Close to 2,200 fish have been recaptured so far, and the tagging data is being analyzed by scientists working for the Pelagic Fisheries Research Program (PFRP). However, the PFRP will continue to tag and release small shibi that collect on FADs near the again Hawaiian islands to look at the influence of FADs on the movements and aggregation of tuna around our island chain. Recently, my friend Gary Eldridge called me from Kona with news that the little shibi were thick on some of the Big Island FADs and were hitting like crazy. Little yellowfin show up every year on our local FADs…

Freshwater Fishing Licenses Now Available Online ■ You can now purchase a freshwater fishing license through the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) website. DLNR’s Data Processing Office, the DAR, and eHawaiiGov (the state’s Internet portal provider) worked together to provide this online service as an option for those who wish to purchase a freshwater fishing license without having to take time to go directly to a licensing agent. If you decide to purchase a freshwater fishing license online, a convenience fee of $ I will be added to the price of the license. If you prefer not to pay the convenience fee, you may still purchase your license at any fishing supply store that is a license vendor or at any DAR office. If you purchase a license…

Q: How do you choose between 20-lb and 30-lb test backing? A: The 20- and 30-lb test are the two most common sizes of backing. They’re made of braided Dacron, the 20-lb test being thinner than the 30-lb. Your primary concern when selecting the pound test of the backing is the breaking strength of the tippet that the fly will be connected to. If you have 20-lb test backing on your fly reel, the heaviest tippet that I would use is 12-lb test. When using anything heavier, I would switch to the 30-lb test backing. It’s not a good idea to get too close to the breaking strength of the backing with the tippet. Also, the thicker diameter 30-lb test backing will hold up better on the rocks and coral…

Dear Chuck, I was recently invited to be an escort boat for one of the swim teams in the International World Champion Swim Marathon that was held off of Waikiki Reach on 11/5/00. I did the female escort. All I have to say is these people are tough. Besides the hectic and race-car tactics to get to your swimmer for a feed or a drink, everything was smooth. I only hit one boat. Others hit three or four. My concern is the trash. Cups of drinks or vitamins, usually in a banana, are given to the swimmer on a lengthy pole. She will grab it, ingest it while swimming and then try to toss the cup into the boat. Some land, some miss. Later in the race, more miss. These…

Apologies from HFN “for” the business mail center of the Oakland Post Office to all our mainland and Alaska subscribers. ■ By the time you read this in your December issue, you should have finally received your October issue of HAWAII FISHING NEWS. Most of you experienced a similar delay the same time period last year. There’s a saying that lightning never strikes twice in the same spot, but it certainly doesn’t apply to the Oakland U.S. Post Office’s bulk mail department. After six weeks of trying to track what happened to the mainland HFN mail bags (we fly them to Oakland Post Office each month to speed your delivery), they finally surfaced—although no one wants to say why or where! We have been given several possible scenarios, however: 1).…

Hawai‘i kai Dredging Snafu ■ A Hawai‘i-kai oceanfront resident said that dredging the channel under the Kalaniana’ole Highway has not been studied enough, and he wants it stopped. Marshall Rosa said that the dredging will change his beach and will impact the oceanfront. Hugh Fraser, Hawaii Kai Marina Association president, said that the dredging is needed for safety and marina water quality. He claimed that a kayak can drag bottom on some sections of the navigable channel. There are three channels under the bridge, but only one is passable. The other two are filled with silt. Over 800 boats are registered in the marina, and as many as 400 tourists a day use the channel. The land and water under the bridge is owned by the state. The dredging plan…

More Mahimahi in the Box ■ First of all, you have to know where the mahimahi are hanging out or find a bird pile over an open school of mahimahi. Most times, I will drive past with a lure pass, then circle back again. If I get a taker, I’ll clear a corner pole and get it ready for baiting. I use a standard Hawaiian baitline which has 3 feet of 200-lb test and a salmon Siwash 8/0 hook. I like to have. ‘opelu, but saba will work fine. I get several bait rigs ready to run. I get out a chum basket and hang it over the side. After clearing the corner pole and getting bait ready to go out, I crank in the mahimahi on the first pole.…

■ This manini bait recipe is from my late wife Nani. Her real name was Regina Puanani Haaheo Haili, and she was of Hawaiian ancestry. Nani once told me, “The trouble with the Hawaiians is everything is kept in their heads and nothing is written down on paper.” Nani’s Uncle Haili knew much of the old Hawaiian ways of catching fish. It’s a shame that none of his knowledge was written down. The list below contains only a few things that Nani taught me. 1. Manini bait. 2. Aholehole bait-better than crab legs or live shrimp. 3. Hooking morays—with this method, the eels cannot go back into the coral. We tried this method and it works, but we caught more lobsters than eels. 4. Prawns—Nani, June and Dwayne could catch…

Dear Chuck, My name is Andrew Okimoto and I am a teacher at Kalama Intermediate in Makawao on Maui. Our fishing club at our school is 3 years old and has 81 members. I started the club to provide students with nonacademic activities that they do. well in and also to provide opportunities for parents to spend quality time with their children. I wanted to share with you and your readers the results of our latest fishing tournament held on October 21, 2000. The format of the tournament is as such: there are two categories-a pole fishing category (from the shore only) and a diving category (three-prong only). Prizes are awarded for the top three largest fish in each category. Parents are encouraged to participate by providing supervision and assistance…

■ You never ever know what you’re going to catch when you send lures or cut baits down some 30 fathoms. To me, that’s one of the fun parts of bottom fishing. One of my most unusual catches was a 5-lb octopus that couldn’t seem to resist a fly that I was bouncing along the bottom. The octopus didn’t fight, but it sure was heavy. I thought I’d hooked into a burlap bag or a piece of coral and was fighting it up while everyone laughed and laid down bets on what I’d hooked. As it came up, I could see the dark brownish color and knew it was either a rock or a tako. When it was a foot underwater, everyone screamed, “Tako!” and a net was immediately brought…

■ Turkey sandwich, anyone? Hopefully, the leftovers are all gone. It’s now time to turn our attention to catching that Christmas and New Year’s sashimi and poke. Did I say New Year’s? Where did the year go? What will the new year bring? Weatherwise, you can expect high surf and rain. The rain we can use, but not like Hilo and the rest of the Big Island got last month. We’d prefer ours a little at a time. The surf is great for surfers, but it makes navigating the entrance to the harbor a little tricky and, if too big, dangerous. There hasn’t been a vessel that has capsized in the entrance for a couple of years now. I’d like to think that fishermen are being more safety conscious, but…

Aku From Fight to Finish ‘Tis the season to be jigging! The FAD buoys are holding literally tons of fish, and now is the time to take advantage of easy pickings. I recently went out fishing on board the MARGERET M with Mike MacEvitt. Mike has been having a stellar year on his 23-foot Glaspro. He managed second place on day one of the Ahi Fever in Wai‘anae Tournament with a 452-lb blue. The week before he invited me to go out fishing with him, he got a 320-lb blue. Plus he’s boated a dozen or so in between. Mike loves to catch marlin, but I am not so sure they love him anymore! It seems as though Mike has finally gotten rid of some of the rubber hooks he…

■ The holidays are here, and if you are anything like me, you are scrambling for new recipes to serve at your next party or take to the next potluck. This recipe is a “clever take” on the traditional Salade Nicoise, a tuna salad favored by many dieters for its simplicity, wonderful taste and eye appeal. ‘Ahi Nicoise Canapes Use potatoes, that are about 1½ inches in diameter so that the hors d’oeuvres will be uniform in size. Thin green bean tips are used for garnish; toss the rest into a green salad. Yields two dozen canapés, which can be made up to 8 hours ahead and refrigerated. ½ pound ‘ahi steak, cut 1-inch thick ¼ cup soy sauce 1 tablespoon tapenade (Italian black olive paste) ¼ cup olive oil…

Endangered Species Conference ■ On October 24 and 25 at the Aston Keauhou Beach Resort in Kona, a conference on “Living With The Endangered Species Act” was held. The conference, which attracted national experts, hoped to shed light on the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A key focus’topic was the safe-harbor agreement, a negotiated settlement that landowners adopt to live in harmony with endangered species. Depending on the speaker, these agreements were seen as true safe harbors, places to weather the environmental storm or shifting sands and places where businesses are wrecked and public moneys are sent to the bottomless pit of lawsuit conservation. The conference was presented by the Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference (HLPC), a group of 55 Kona-side large landowners, ranchers and hotels. The HLCP has been in business…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of December we’ll send you HFN’s New ’Embroidered Logo’ Fishing Cap, a Holoholo Style Koolzie and an Official HFN Sticker …our way of saying thanks for sharing your catch! …Hana pa‘a, Chuck Send to: P.O. Box 25040, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96825 Aloha Chuck, Just want to share an awesome story from us young boys. On June 12, 2000, my brother Pono, age 17, cousin Kawika, age 10, and myself Clinton, age 19, decided to take my dad’s 24-foot Salt Water boat JUS 4 FUN out bottom fishing. We took our spinning rods and a couple of our trolling rods and reels. The weather and water were nice and so we set out at 6 a.m. toward Makua. Bottom fishing for moana wasn’t going…