Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2001 i Hawaii Fishing News

You would think it would be easy to tell the difference between the cobalt jack, 'omilu (Caranx melampygus), and the giant trevally, white ulua (Caranx ignobilis). After all, one is blue and the other is white, right? Wrong! On June), Kirk Murakami, spinning a lure off the North Shore of O'ahu, hooked and landed an 18.44-lb jack. Kirk was using a Penn 6500 reel, 65-lb test Power Pro line with a fluorocarbon leader, a special lure and an 11-foot rod. He is still not sure whether the fish is a bluefin or a giant trevally. He has asked a few experts, and the responses have been conflicting. Kirk is in charge of the large reef predator tank at the Waikiki Aquarium and is very familiar with Pacific jack. This tank…

Three species of barracuda occur in Hawaii waters, but one is known only from two sight records made by me off the Kona Coast of Hawaii near South Point. I think the species was Sphyraena qenie, known by the common names chevron barracuda and blackfin barracuda, but I need a specimen or a good photograph to be certain. So, this is an appeal to you fishermen or underwater photographers to be on the alert for this fish. The first sighting was of a single adult individual, but I did not have my camera in hand. The second, in the same general area, was of three fish in a group in 70 feet of water. My camera was set on f-16 for close-ups of small fish, so I quickly moved the…

Rocky Franich, a 40-year veteran of the HIBT, said it best, “The fishing this week was the greatest I’ve ever seen in Kona." He had good reason to think so. Rocky led his Pajaro Valley Gamefish Club of California to their second HIBT championship, earning all 1,350 points from tag-and-release action. Second-place honors went to the Hokuli’a Anglers of Hawai'i with 1,284 points, 884 of which came from a Pacific blue marlin weighing 513 lbs. Finishing third was the Malibu Marlin Club, which also earned all of their 1,250 points from tag and release. The 42nd HIBT came to a close after an unprecedented week of fishing action with every team and every boat catching fish. On several teams, every angler caught at least one fish. A total of 72…

The 2001 Pearl Harbor Fishing Tournament (PHFT) was planned “on the run” this year because the tournament committee was very busy with its “day job,” repairing naval ships at Pearl Harbor. Getting time off to fish was a real challenge for the 75 boat crews, but with some help from our shipyard commander we were able to pull off a pretty good tournament. The weather on tournament day was calm, hot and extremely muggy. We cautioned all participants to ensure replenishment of fluids as heat stroke was· a constant concern. In spite of the weather, the· tournament went well, lots of fish were caught and everyone had a good time. We were able to capture a couple of excellent fish stories (which follow) and promised each other that we would…

Does the Pua‘a Have a Right To Live in Hawai‘i’s Forests? The 15th annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, held at the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo, saw 1,200 biologists from 43 countries attending. “Ecological Lessons From Islands” was the conference theme, and a panel discussion was held entitled, “Introduced Game Species: Native Ecosystems vs. Hunter’s Rights.” Five diverse speakers spoke on how the media can shape public opinion. What was clear after the discussion is that there are two distinct viewpoints on conservation in Hawai‘i’s forests. The “enviro” view sees the forest half-empty. The forest is in crisis, and the pig is troublesome, a nuisance and a deadly scourge enjoyed by hunters who wallow in their outdated carnivore desires, not unlike how louts crave cigarettes. To these people…

As the summer came into full force, it seemed the fishing did, too. A Hooters tournament “to die for” capped off a huge month here on the South Shore of O‘ahu, and the billfish bite has been relentless. Sorry if this month’s story comes a little thin. ’m coming to you from out of town and only managed to get reports from-a‘few of our floating friends in the harbor at Kewalo. Vinny Stays Hot Running the BIZ When we asked Capt. Vinny Maggio how he managed to captain the winning trip in the Second Annual Hooters Big Game Fishing Tournament, he smiled and said he was just doing his job. After a full day (Friday) of little action on the MONKEY BIZ, a day where it seemed like marlin were…

■ “Consistent” best described the summer fishing action. It wasn’t spectacular. There has not been an “‘ahi bust” since the Ahi Fever in Waianae fishing tournament in June, but large yellowfin have been caught often enough to keep the trolling poles out and the bottomfishing reels in. the closet. Two of the more consistent fishermen this summer were Capt. Bobby Alipio and his brother David. Together they filled up the fishboxes on the KAWENA A. On one day during the month, they decided to take their father, Sonny, fishing. At around 7 a.m., they were working a bird pile approximately 5 miles outside of the Kahe Power Plant. There were two other boats working the pile along with them. On one pass, Bobby steered the boat to get in front…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of September 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 25488, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96825 Howzit Chuck, Here's a 150-lb 'ahi my dad and his friend Alvin caught the first time he took his boat out this year (Sunday, June 24, 2001). P.S. We like to read HAWAII FISHING NEWS. Thanx, Jessica ChunHonolulu, O'ahu Howzit Chuck, This picture is of me and my 5½-lb nenue. I shot this bugga off the shore of Ka‘ena Point on Memorial Day, 2001. Now I know how good of a fight these fish put up. Not even three minutes…

In the ’50s and early ’60s, I saw many Hawaiian fishermen (lawai'a) walking home on the King’s Trail with big ulua. Rev. Kawahan always had an ulua. He’d say, “This is for my family.” Rev. Kawahan never carried a casting pole or reel, just a bag of cord (aho). He told Howard Kent and me that his ulua pole (makoi) was hidden in a small cave where it was protected from the hot (wela) sun. This was Rev. Kawahan’s method as he explained it: First, he made a food offering to Ku'aha, a fish god sacred to the Hawaiian lawai'a. Then he prayed for good fishing. My late wife Puanani always offered this kind of prayer (pule) and a hula before fishing. The result was a fantastic harvest. Following his…

This year the fishing action has been hot with marlin showing up in big numbers, including a 1,045-lb grander caught right in the middle of the World Billfish Challenge. Unfortunately, the HUNTRESS, captained by Randy Parker, was on a private charter that day, not in the tournament-but a grander is still a grander. Congratulations, Randy and crew! Heavy Tackle Tournament On Monday, July 16, the World Billfish Challenge 2001 Heavy Tackle Tournament began with 19 teams competing for more than $190,000 in prize money and product prizes. The winning team, Team Medusa, also received an invitation to the 2002 IGFA Rolex Championship to be held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. An unbelievable three days of competition saw the lead change almost by the hour. Captains and anglers alike commented that…

Naoki Hayashi, Gyotaku Artist About four years ago, I was on the telephone, desperately trying to find someone who could help me make a print of a fish using the Japanese art form of gyotaku. At the time, I was fortunate enough to have caught a 5-lb kagami papio, or mirror trevally, that had all of its very long top and bottom fin rays intact. I thought it was the perfect opportunity, but my luck ran out in trying to find someone to help me. Not long after that, Al Lagunte wrote an article for HAWAII FISHING NEWS about a fellow named Naoki Hayashi, whose passion for gyotaku and diving was helping him start a successful art business, Catch of the Day. Recently, 1 was inspired by some eye-catching prints…

“Fishing Tales®” airs five nights a week (Wednesday through Sunday) at 7 p.m. on Channel 16 on O‘ahu and on the neighbor-island cable systems. Here’s a preview of what host Mike Sakamoto has in store for you. September 3 to 7-Bottom O ahu Fishing on the TOP GUN The waters outside of Wai'anae are flat and calm, and the bottom fish are biting just before the sun goes down. Mike, Ale Tolentino and Capt. Sonny Rivera hook into some trophy-sized moana and maru-weke on light tackle. Once the sun sets and dinner is done, they jig for menpachi and have a blast. September 10-14 Trolling Kona on the HOLLY ANN Capt. Kerwin Matsunaga goes deep-sea fishing with his kids, Heather and Brent, outside of Kona. The ono are in a…

Time flew, but what did we actually accomplish over the past five years at Ho‘omaluhia? Well, when I first approached management a few years before, they laughed at the idea of having a family catch-and-release program. “Hah,” they guffawed, “that concept would never be adopted by this predominantly fish-eating public.” They were wrong, of course, and it leaves us with pride that thanks to the volunteers the program is a resounding success. Among other things that I tried to get the “officialdom” to consider and act upon is the construction of a hindrance to stop youngsters from crawling through the tunnel in the dam that leads to the outflow tower. It is at the very least a dangerous trip, and it is a nuisance for the families to have a…

Fishing the East Cape: A Grand Experience I remember as a kid watching an “American Sportsman” segment on fishing in some far-off magical fishing destination. Several guys were casting and reeling in a fish that I’d never seen in my entire young life. Its long comblike dorsal fins protruded out of the water as it pursued its unwary prey in a frantic zigzag, slashing pattern. Finally hooked, it put up a great fight and was lifted into the boat amid cheers and laughter… Wow! I was totally impressed and told-myself that I had to catch “one of those” fish one day. Call it brainwashed, but I held onto that thought and finally fulfilled this childhood dream of mine after what seemed like an eternity. Our Baja fishing party consisted of…

"ke kukui ka pili ia o ka uhu." In tradtional times, fishers spread kukui oil on the surface of the water to calm the ripples so one could see clearly to the bottom. Marjorie Ziegler is a resource analyst with Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund’s Mid-Pacific Office. She can be reached at (808) 599-2436 or E-mailed at <mziegler@earthjustice.org>. Proposed Critical Habitat Maintains Status Quo for Imperiled Plants In 1997, the Conservation Council for Hawai'i, the Sierra Club and the Hawaiian Botanical Society successfully sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) for failing to designate critical habitat for hundreds of threatened and endangered. Hawaiian plants. Similar suits were subsequently filed to obtain timely listings and critical habitat ‘designations for 11, endangered plant species from the Maui Nui-island complex (Maui, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i…

Aloha Chuck! I had to share my experience with you and HFN readers (especially those who read Lyle Chong’s articles about starting out on your own boat). I recall reading stories from other guys just starting out and getting chicken skin, as 1 know my-day going come soon! To my Uncle Sada and my Cousin Tomo, mahalo to the both of you. The realization of my lifelong dream happened! Sure, I caught many flag fish with you guys on your boat, but I never caught.one on my own boat. Here’s the story. My braddah, his kids and I went out to hook akule in the morning hours and were fairly successful, putting enough fish in the cooler for kau kau. The water that day was “cherry,” just like one lake.…

Akahele I Ke Ka' aahi! (Look Out for the Firecar!) Aloha no na mea heluhelu a HFN. I ka wa o ka Wi/i Ko, ua 'ole/o 'ia, "Akahe/e i ke ka'aahi!" Ua kau ka po'e ma luna o ke ka'aahi o ka hui o Dillingham ma no ka huaka'i o Honolulu mai Kahuku. A hiki aku i Ka'ena ma ka po, ua 'o 'uhu ka po'e ka'aahi i ka 'emi 'ana o ke kai a 'ike wale 'ia iho ka papa. Ma hope i ka 'o 'ana, ua kua'i i ka 'uhu a kau i loko o ka pu'o'a 'enekini a hakui a 'ono la i ka i'a o ka po'e ka'aahi. No laila, 'o keia mo'olelo/awai'a e pili ana i ka wiliki ka'aahi o O'ahu Railway & Land, 'o…

The history of the modern billfish trolling lure began in 1945 with the renovation of the Kona Inn. Capt. George Parker stopped by the construction site and spotted some discarded scraps of chrome tubing. The shiny pieces had been cut from the ends of pipe during the making of towel rods for the refurbished hotel rooms. “I got into the carpentry shop and saw a bunch of chrome tubing in the waste basket,” Capt. Parker recalled in a recent interview. “I asked the carpenter if I could have the short tittle pieces, and he said, ‘Be my guest. Capt. Parker saw their potential as parts for fishing lures and went home with the makings of a billfishing revolution. “I took the short pieces and cut them into heads,” Capt. Parker…

On Sunday, August 5, 2001, I drove up to the Baldwin Park Pavilion at about 5:45 a.m. The sun hadn’t quite come up over the clouds yet as I walked toward the shoreline to check out the water. Three days before, there had been an east swell that bumped up to 3 to 5 feet, causing a little wrap-around swell on the North Shore for a while. The water was flat, though. God had blessed us yet again. Ryan Yamamura and Ian Fujimori drove up in about five minutes with some wrong information that the check-in was at 6 a.m. Dean Kawamura showed up with the coolers of ice next, and from about 6:15 a.m. divers started trickling in a few at a time. By 7 a.m., all but two…

Through an Internet cooking club, I learn about free cookbook and recipe offers by several companies. One of the offers came from The Catfish Institute in Mississippi. The two little books I received from them are really wonderful and have lots of interesting recipes that got me thinking about when I lived in South Carolina for about 23 years. We held many a fishing party on the banks of the South Edisto River (we lived in Bamberg County, right on the river) where we would fry the fish as soon as they were caught and cleaned. We had a huge frying pan sitting on a portable gas burner and would fill an aluminum canoe with ice and cool all the sodas and beer in it. The fish served with hush…

Suisan Auction Closes Hilo’s 95-year-old, world-famous Suisan Co. Fish auction is history. Earlier in the summer, Suisan was cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a number of fish record-keeping violations. The citations were for not verifying data “provided by fishermen about their catch.” There has been boiling turmoil at the auction all summer. A buyers’ feud over paying for ice on the auction floor fish saw one-half of the buyers boycotting the market. The feud was disastrous for fish prices. Bountiful ono catches commonly sold for 50 cents per lb. The boycott also put pressure on operating margins at Suisan. The open air auction has been a dinosaur waiting for extinction. Sanitary conditions were questionable, and when the FDA questioned Suisan they decided to exit the fish…

Philippines Health Secretary Warns Against Eating Barracuda ■ The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) recently warned the public against eating large carnivorous predator fish, as 38 cases of ciguatera food poisoning due to the ingestion of “torsillo” barracuda were, recently identified in Navotas. “We were informed of this fish poisoning incident by the UP-National Poison Control and Information Service (NPCIS), and we immediately sent a team of epidemiologists to investigate the case,” Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said. The health chief also reported that, fortunately, no death has occurred due to the incident. According to the DOH National Epidemiology Center investigation, ail the victims ate “torsillo” barracuda bought from the same fish vendor in the Barangay San Roque Market in Navotas. The fish appeared and tasted normal when bought and cooked.…

■ September, a transitional month between summer and winter, is usually the month with the least bad weather. It would be the month of lowest bad weather activity if tropical cyclones did not appear in Hawai'i waters. The potential of a tropical cyclone invading our waters is about the only major threat during the month. Trade winds will still prevail, but the gusty ‘trades will be at their minimum for the year; only about four days in the month. Northwesterly swell and surf heights are slowly picking up, but the very high surf is still a month or more away. Southerly surf action is He certs) but there’s still a chance of higher than normal swell from that direction. September 1 - Sunrise: 6:15 am, Sunset: 6:47 pm * September…