Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2001 i Hawaii Fishing News

Record Attendance at Ho‘omaluhia and a Fond Good-Bye (Smile) ■ June was the busiest fishing month ever at Ho‘omaluhia Reservoir with a grand total: of 2,037 participants. About half of these’ were members of. various civic groups, and the rest were regular family fishing anglers. Need I-add that there is a dire need for volunteers or regular staff to man the family fishing weekends? I already covered why in the last issue of HFN. Somehow I feel that my five years of faithful service to the program are enough. When Mayor Harris strapped the program into every weekend, the workload just became a little too much. After spending thousands of weekend hours and buying fish feed out of my own pocket, I found that the current lack of action by…

Train Rides to Ka‘ena Point ■ Over the years, ulua fishermen have made their way to favorite grounds using many forms of transportation. Some places allow one to conveniently drive up and unload gear, some are accessible only by a strenuous and sometimes dangerous hike, while others make four-wheel-drive offroad vehicles a necessity. Throughout the islands today, it is common to see anglers in heavily modified, air-conditioned SUVs cruising down the road on their way to remote, rugged stretches of lava, coral or sand dune coastlines. Many years ago, it was even possible to take a train. Benjamin Franklin Dillingham, who owned the Oahu Railway and Lines Co. (OR&L Co.), had over 100 miles of track laid from downtown Honolulu, around Ka‘ena Point and out to Kahuku. Beginning in 1885,…

Molokai Bowhunters State Tournament ■ The Molokai Bowhunters Archery Club is inviting all bowhunters to their Second Annual Molokai Bowhunters State Tournament. The tournament will be held at the Kala’e Highway #470 archery range in central Moloka‘i. The 25-station marked target range was de-. signed by club members in 1999. They held their first tournament in September 2000. This year’s tournament will be held on Labor Day Weekend, September 1, 2001. The tournament will draw top archers from across the state. Past competitors have praised the course for its real hunting feel. Shot angles and station designs are innovative and challenging. This one-day tournament will have 3-D targets. The 25 targets will range from axis deer to pheasant. There will also be three arrow-marked targets. National Field Archery Association (NFAA)…

■ This summer both the water and fishing at Midway are heating up. Early spring found the ulua (GT, a.k.a. giant trevally) fishing a bit on the slow side, and sightings of the reef’s masters were few and far between. The big exception was made right off the bat by Paul “Bigboy” Dozier, the new captain of the 38’ Bertram ENTERPRISE. Kona legend Lincoln Ahlo could not return this year to skipper and is missed by all, but Bigboy started the season off right with a group of Japanese magazine writers tagging three, four and five GTs a day. The anglers left several broken rods but took home aching arms and big smiles. Paul’s biggest fish was around 5 Ibs short of “Kong” status, (100 Ib). GT fishing on the…

■ The ‘ahi arrived right on schedule. Quite a few have been coming up, and for about a week the ika-shibi fishery was doing very well. WK-buoy was holding a lot of bait, and it was great fishing until the buoy broke loose sometime during the evening of July 1. The 154th Air Control Squadron held their annual fishing tournament from June 20 through the 22nd. This annual tournament is open to Air Guard members only, Thirteen teams in all participated in this fun and exciting tournament. As this is strictly an ‘ahi tournament, only the tuna were considered for the win. First-place honors went to the tear aboard the WENDY H. Crew members Titus Batis, Sterilyn Shimabukuro, Roland Tang, Dereck Tang and Ron Norbery boated a 175-lb yellowfin tuna…

■ It’s hammerhead pupping season again, and near-shore anglers will soon be landing the occasional hammerhead shark pups alongside their papio. The scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, is often seen around the Hawaiian islands and is the most common of the eight different species of hammerhead sharks. It occurs worldwide in warm. tropical waters and is familiar to people because of its large “hammer” head and because the shark pups are born in near-shore nursery areas. Usually, the nursery areas are cloudy estuarine waters, such as Pearl Harbor, Hawai'‘i-kai Marina, Kane‘ohe Bay, Kahana Bay, Hanalei Bay and Hilo Bay: During the summer months, these areas are crowded with hammerhead pups, and it is not uncommon to see an adult hammerhead also cruising the waters. The adult females come inshore to…

■ The Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is proposing rule changes for a number of currently regulated marine fish and a few invertebrates. These changes are being proposed because many of the existing regulations, especially with regard to minimum sizes, are not based on sound biological information. Furthermore, there has been some confusion regarding which species are regulated and which are not. Fishing regulations have been created through two processes: legislation and administrative rulemaking. Many of the existing regulations were adopted by legislatures decades ago (as far back as the 1920s) for reasons that are often difficult to determine. Political and market considerations apparently carried at least as much weight as biological concerns, and the result has been regulations that failed to provide the desired level of protection. This problem…

■ It was 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 10. Sixteen boats with volunteer captains and crew people were either at the Hawaii Yacht Club Aloha Dock or were waiting in the turning basin to pick up the anxious Goodwill Industries clients and take them out to catch “the big one.” Jim Ferris and other volunteers began helping to get the 55 clients assigned and aboard the boats so they could get out to the bottomfishing grounds. Uppermost in their minds was to be sure that everyone got safely on and off the boats and that they had all the necessary fishing gear. This was “zero hour” for the 12th Annual HYC Goodwill Fishing Tournament, and Mother Nature was really cooperating with sunshine, light winds and fairly flat seas offshore. Planning…

Hi Chuck, Greetings from the West Coast contingent of the Midway Fishing Team! We are just back from a two-week small ship adventure cruise with the Vagabundos del Mar Fishing Club. The 257’ ship, the AMAZING GRACE, sailed from Trinidad (off the coast of Venezuela), through the West Indies, British Virgin Isles, and on up to the Bahamas. The first fishing boats were in Trinidad. They were panga type outboard-driven skiffs. As you can see in the photograph, they use natural bamboo shoots about 25 feet in length as outriggers. Very effective. Unfortunately, only the large bonita were biting while we were there. The ship traveled at night and put us ashore almost daily on a variety of small uncrowded, or sometimes barren and deserted islands. Our stops included St.…

BARKING SANDS KAUA'I Hazardous Military Operations are occasionally conducted in the areas shown on this chart. Notice concerning these operations is mailed to boaters on our mailing list. For further information or to be placed on our mailing list, cal 471-6301 from O‘ahu or 335-4301 from Kaua'i. If you are planning on entering these areas, please call for the status of scheduled operations, or contact the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Coas Guard Channel 16, Ch 16 or CB22…

■ “Back again,” I told myself as I mailed in my entry form and jackpot fee for the Hilo Casting Club’s 26th Annual Shoreline Fishing Tournament, held from June 19 to 23. This is the most exciting ulua tournament in the state. “There’s sure to be big ulua at the scales during this tournament,” I said to my wife, Anna, as I kissed her goodbye and went to work. My tournament week would be a tough one. Not taking off from work and fishing only half-nights was definitely going to “bus’ me up”! The first two half-nights of fishing produced no strikes as Anna and I rock-hopped from spot to spot in hopes of a big strike, but gained only headaches from the lack of sleep. I woke at 5:30…

Hilo Produces Big Isles’ Third Grander for 2001 ■ The docks lining the. Wailoa River are like third-base box seats at Dodger Stadium. Pau hana crowds start showing up at 4 p.m., and then umbrellas, pupus, fishing poles and Igloos are ceremoniously arranged. All the Hilo fishing action worth watching is going to come sliding past this section of the grandstand on its way home. The crowd is always ready. On June 23 at 7:15 p.m., the OCEAN WARRIOR tried to sneak by the boiled peanut gallery. Fat chance with the 20-footer listing with a monster tied to starboard. The third-base crowd saw a fish big enough to instantly perk a “dolla, dolla” guess-the-total-weight side jackpot: Richard Shiroma of Scale Systems left and returned with a boom truck and a…

Ask the Coast Guard ■ Q: Where can I get a list of what is required for commercial fishing vessels or charter vessels in Hawai'i? Are the requirements the same for both? Does vessel length make a difference? A: Chief Warrant Officer Mike Nierode from Marine Safety Office Honolulu’s Uninspected Vessel Safety Office answers: “The requirements for commercial fishing and commercial passenger vessels are not the same, though there are many similarities. I have lists of the basic requirements for both vessel types, and can explain them over the phone or mail them to anyone on request. These materials can also be picked up at Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Honolulu, or through any qualified commercial fishing vessel safety examiner. “It is possible for a vessel to be considered both…

“Immediately curtail recreational fisheries that are presently taking listed species in violation of the ESA. …” ■ Fishermen of Hawai‘i, there is a plague on our waters. The Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) has filed an intent to sue the state of Hawai‘i and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The longliners want recreational fishermen in Hawai'i to stop violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Enforcing this alleged violation could stop ulua shoreline fishing and near-shore troll fishing in Hawai'i. Stop sport fishing? Sound crazy? Ever see a green sea turtle swim by while ulua fishing? Ever see sea birds dive, interested in your trolling lures? These are only two instances of potential endangered species “takings.” The HLA suit is primarily about green sea turtles, but other animals may be implicated.…

■ Continuing with the summer grilling theme, I found several recipes I thought you might enjoy. Recently we have been taking advantage of nice balmy evenings and getting together with friends and neighbors in the back yard of the Akaka Falls Inn property where we have set up an impromptu outdoor dining room and kitchen. We find that we are grilling more fish than beef, pork or chicken, which is great, because it gives me a chance to test or adapt some recipes I have been finding. Lately I have been taking an interest in hot peppers. Last spring, my son planted several varieties in our back yard, and some have just started producing fruit. Varieties include regular chilies and little hot Hawaiian red chilies, jalapenos, habaneros and fiery little…

Dear Chuck, On Wednesday, April 18, 2001, the fishing tide finally turned in our favor after four straight whitewashes. On that day, Ron Chun, Wally Shigetani and I had an action-packed day that I’m sure we won’t soon forget. Here’s our fishing tale. We reached Victor-buoy at about 6:45 a.m. and our first pass by the buoy produced a 3-lb aku. The second pass produced another aku of about the same size. On the third pass, however, the strike that we got came unbuttoned but the fourth pass made up for the previous pass by netting two more aku. On the fifth pass, an ono came flying through the air and chomped down on the 5-inch lure on the center rod. This ono had our names on it because the…

■ Enjoy summer in Hawai‘i waters. August is the warmest month over land and in the water. No Kona storms or cold fronts are expected. Replacing these two wintertime storms could be storms born over the warm tropical waters-—tropical storms and hurricanes. August is the favored month for these storms. Over the past years, these storms have appeared in Hawai‘i waters so it will be prudent to listen to the National Weather Service marine forecasts before venturing into the water. Weather satellite pictures spot these storms. Trade winds will be the common feature as they persist through the month. Expect about five to 10 days of gusty trade winds that can make the waters too rough. Northwest swell and surf activity is at the minimum, but southerly surf could be…