Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2001 i Hawaii Fishing News

Send order with payment of $19 ($15 plus $4 for shipping and handling) to: HAWAII FISHING NEWS P.O. Box25488 Honolulu, Hawaii 96825 An Unequaled Course in Blue Water Catching! Get on board with some of Hawaii’s top meat hunters as they explain how they rig for the ocean’s top predators. Billfish • Ahi • Aku • Mahimahi • Ono Learn how they read and follow the birds to put more fish in the box. Then, once you’ve caught your fish, we’ll show you the best way to preserve and cut each type of fish… plus HFN’s single-most popular way to prepare and serve it. Chapters Include How to pick the right lure How to fish the FADs successfully Top sport fish of the world’s tropical seas and how they’re related.…

All of us at the Division of Aquatic’ Resources (DAR) are deeply saddened by the passing of Henry Okamoto, who passed away on October 29, 2001. Henry, fondly known as “Opu” by his fellow colleagues, was someone who touched the lives of just ‘about everyone in the fishing community from fisherman to scientist. As a child, he was given the name “Opu” by his childhood friends because he used to love catching small fish called ‘o‘opu that are found in the mountain streams. Being an avid fisherman himself, as well as an aquatic biologist with the division, Opu was one of those few individuals who could relate science to fishing and vice versa, blending and balancing the two that would become the basis of his many contributions to the fishing…

■ This is the third installment in a series on Hawai‘i’s marine ecosystem and habitat. This article will cover the ulua resource. Because this resource includes a number of species, I will divide this subject into two parts and present part one in this issue. Part One Although ulua are often considered a resource that inhabits shallow water, the term ulua is a generic term applicable to about 12 species of fish commonly called crevalle. Not all species of ulua inhabit inshore waters. Many are common to deep water and share the same habitat as bottom fish. However, the most prized ulua is primarily found in shallow water. Very little scientific work has been done to describe this very important group of fish. Without biological understanding of these resources, there…

The Hilo Casting Club’s fiscal year ran from October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2001. An awards dinner was held on the evening of October 16, 2001, to recognize HCC’s top anglers of the season. This year’s dinner, like every HCC annual awards dinner, was chaired and organized by its outgoing vice president. This year’s honors went to Naomi Okinaga. HCC’s fiscal year was a great one that was highlighted by Jeromy “Chico” Harada’s and Scott Yamamoto’s 100-plus-lb ulua captures. Jeromy’s 111-pounder was the club’s largest of the year, and Scott’s second-place 108½-pounder was equally impressive. It was also his third entry into HFN’s 100-plus club. There were a few changes in this year’s awards. The club added five more places to the largest fish category. In past years, we…

Aquaculture Center for Hilo A former sewage treatment plant in Hilo’s Keaukaha section is nearing completion as an aquaculture research and production center. Leading the project, called the Pacific Coast Resources Center, is Professor Kevin Hopkins of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Agriculture Department. The Pacific Coast Resources Center will partner with UHH’s agriculture, natural sciences department and UH-Manoa’s Sea Grant Program. The facility will cover 1272 acres, extending from Radio Bay near Hilo Harbor. The $7 million project converts two 80-foot sludge digester tanks that will be turned into 400,000-gallon fish tanks. Prof. Hopkins was able to get the county of Hawai'i to donate the Keaukaha sewage plant and secure the adjoining state land after squatters were evicted twice. Before the plant was turned over to UH-Hilo, former…

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has announced the approval of two new Hawaii freshwater line-class records on 4-lb and 12-lb test lines. The butterfly peacock bass were caught in Kilauea. Kauai. Jack N. Gushiken, of Kilauea, caught his 4-lb line-class state-record peacock bass, which weighed 6 lbs 8 oz, on June 18, 2001, breaking his earlier 4-lb test record by more than 2 lbs. Three days earlier, on June 15, Jack landed a 6-lb 9-oz peacock bass oh 20-lb test, filling the vacant record. There are still 12 vacant Hawaii freshwater lineclass records remaining in the 4-, 12- and 20-lb categories. A complete list of all 50 state freshwater line-class records and the species recognized in each state is available free from the IGFA. All state freshwater line-class records…

Pu‘u-Wa‘awa‘a Down to Wiire A DLNR lease battle over l00,000-acre Pu‘u-Wa‘awa‘a, a Big Island hunting landmark, is being duked out between environmentalists and hunters. The fight went to the hairpin trigger with the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) hearing final proposal present tations on November 16 in Kona. Hunters are making a stand. Pu‘u-Wa‘awa‘a is one of the last Big Island areas where mouflon sheep can be publicly hunted. The Wildlife Conservation Association of Hawaii (WCAOH) a 1,000-member Kamuela-based organization, wants to lease from the state of Hawai'i land and 13 buildings located at Pu‘u-Wa‘awa‘a. The WCAOH is partnering in the lease with Pig Hunters of Hawaii, Big Island Bird Hunters and the National Wild Turkey Federation. According to WCAOH president, Lloyd Case, hunters have pledged to undertake…

Aloha Chuck, Your readers should know that if they own a trailer boat-whether they use it or not-the ramp fee increase may be significantly increased from $25 to $120-480 percent more! Why so much? The state of Hawai'i wants to have more money to put into the state’s General Fund. The ramp fee increase for trailer boaters currently proposed by the DLNR is from $25 per year to $120 per year. Boaters will thus be paying 480 percent of what they are now paying even if they launch only once or twice a year. The DLNR/DOBOR claims that they need this fee increase to cover the costs associated with the launching facilities and ramps, but consider the following: • The federal government pays 75 percent of the cost of ramp…

Aloha HFN readers! How do you know which areas have ciguatera and which are safe to fish? I get asked this question all the time. Unfortunately, there is no real answer. In ancient (and not so ancient) times this information was passed down from father to son. To this day, knowing where to fish can be vital in providing ciguatera-free fish for family and friends. Unfortunately, in today’s high-tech world we have many other priorities to keep track of and “where you can safely fish” isn’t always one of them. Even when supplied with this information, it is not always foolproof. The organism that creates ciguatera toxin (Gambierdiscus toxicus, or GT) is a dinoflagellate form of macro-algae. It is a very slippery critter to find naturally or raise in a…

Dear Chuck, Hi. My name is David Magallanes. It was a dark night on October 19 as Justin Llanes, Makea Alves and I headed down to the South Kona district at 1 a.m. The weather was bad at first, but then the sky cleared up and it was time to fish. We set our poles at around 1:30 a.m. The poles sat for half an hour without bait. Finally, we caught two men pachi and one ‘aweoweo and decided to slide them down. At 2 a.m., we hada strike and landed the fish. It was a black-colored ulua weighing in at 41 lbs. After dealing with the fish, we decided to take a break. We got up at the break of dawn and decided to recast our poles and to…

One of the highlights of my life was when I had the opportunity to go with Opu to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. On one of our many dives there, the muscles between my shoulder blades cramped up so I cut my dive short and went back to the boat. Opu was on the boat, and he pulled my tank off so I could climb back in the boat. He asked me what happened, and I told him my shoulders had cramped up. He immediately said, “You know what the problem is? You no more enough salt.” So when we got back to our station ship, he gave me some dried saba that he had made the previous day and said, “Here, eat this. You got to get some more salt…

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, call 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 Coast Guard Channel 16, Channel 6 or CB22.…

Results of Public Meetings Mahalo to all the people who came and participated in the public meetings held during the month of August on all the main Hawaiian islands concerning changes in fishing regulations proposed by the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR). We appreciated all your comments at the meetings and your letters, E-mails and phone calls’ sharing your mana‘o and letting us know how the new rules would affect you. Everyone showed a lot of interest in the discussions that’ took place. Most of you supported the recommendations, but a few changes were requested. As a result of your input, the following changes were made in the recommendations originally presented: 1. Minimum size of papio for home consumption will be 10 inches (fork length), rather than 12 inches, as…

Fly tying is more than just tying material onto a hook. It’s a craft that is only limited by the tier’s imagination and creativity. Similar to the rod builder who can wrap intricate patterns such as your name or images of fish onto a blank, an accomplished fly tier can produce amazing patterns with thread. Tying materials-hair, fur, feathers and a myriad of synthetics-are used to imitate insects, frogs, mice, bait fish and other food sources. There are flies that are so small that you need a magnifying lens to tie them and some that are large enough for marlin. Sometimes flies are tied to match the exact size, profile and color of natural prey. This is called “matching the hatch.” When an insect hatch occurs on the water, the…

Endangered ‘Opihi Picker At a birthday party recently, I ended up talking to a friend about life on the Big Island: widespread and chronic unemployment; the ‘aina; farming; ‘ohi‘a trees; and ‘opihi. My friend had picked the ‘opihi for the party, and he told me how difficult it is to find ‘opihi these days because of inappropriate harvesting. He described the two-hour drive and one-hour walk to a remote location where he is still able to pick ‘opihi in a sustainable manner. He also told me that, on more than one occasion, he noticed illegal undersized ‘opihi for sale at a popular Big Island supermarket. My friend used to sell ‘opihi, but he became concerned that there would not be enough for his son to gather in the future. He…

Well, this is the last month of the year. All in all, fishing was pretty good for the North Shore in 2001. Seems as though we had more rough water this year than last year, but that did not stop the trollers from venturing out. The inshore fishermen saw a lot of papio come up. We also saw some weird things like cuttlefish coming into shore and the harbor. Papio Tournament Another papio tournament was held by Lenny Galapia and friends. Guess who took first place. None other than the famous husband-and-wife Hale'iwa fishing team from the KEPUNA ALOHA, Ricky and Nancy Lam. This was their second straight year of winning. Actually, Lenny Galapia was tied for first place with the Lams, but they decided to split the first-and second-place…

Weather in Hawai'i waters will play a more important role in any marine activity during winter. Mariners are advised that the change from good to bad weather can be fast. The severe weather events that can occur, in decreasing order of frequency, are: gusty trade winds, high northwest swell and surf, cold front with Kona winds, and Kona low. The strongest trade winds are the winter-type trades that can occur in December. The number of trade wind days will be low-only about half of the days of the month-but gusty trades can occur on about a fourth to a third of the days in December. High northwest swell and surf will be frequent along the exposed northern shores. Expect about 20 days with surf greater than 6 feet high, and…

This event happened when the Hilo Casting Club had its second or third annual fishing tournament in the ’70s. Jimmy Okada had entered this tournament and asked Ernie Yoshioka and me to accompany him. My job was to catch moray eels and live bait. This trip started with lots of mishaps. First, Jim’s Jeep’s front left tire went over the cement: — crossing as we went across the river. The muddy - water caused by heavy rain was almost 2 feet high, and Jim misjudged the slight turn. Ernie was driving behind him, and with a rope he pulled Jim back onto the concrete. If it had been the front right tire, Jim would have lost his Jeep and everything in it. Then, when we were 50 yards from our…

We both represented the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council at the recent Third International Billfish Symposium, held from August 19 to 23 in Cairns, We thought HFN readers would be interested in the various presentations and discussions that took place during that week. Many will remember that the first and second billfish symposia took place in Kona in 1972 and 1988, respectively. This generally reflects the “Cinderella” status of billfish, with most research effort on highly migratory pelagic fish devoted to tuna. In part, this is due to the relative ease in which commercial landings can be valued, as opposed to recreational or sport fisheries, which form a major component of billfish catches. More on this below. The meeting was attended by 110 participants representing 25 countries bordering the…

Custom-Made Reels While looking around at garage sales and antique shops for some old reels a few years back, I happened across a large reel that caught my attention. Although it was unusual, the reel didn’t turn out to be a legendary lost treasure. In fact, it appeared to be such a crudely constructed reel that my first thought was, “What a piece of junk!” The inscriptions “Fellows Cutter” and “Fellows Gear Shaper Co.” were molded into the plastic gear cover. Other than that, there were no markings on it to identify the manufacturer-, so I put it back down and thanked the shopkeeper. It wasn’t until much later and after learning more about some reel history that I became really curious about it. It turned out very likely that…

Ho‘omaluhia Revisited The public fishing program is still thriving. Although the attendance record has fallen a bit, Ho'omaluhia is very much a favorite among parents with small children. The Elodea (‘Elio Dere?) is still a major problem that is apparently growing in size. Nevertheless, there is light at'the end of the tunnel. We were delighted to discover that beauty has displaced age. Laura Burling and two more students are now onboard to help the family anglers. Another neat improvement is that some fishing poles are now being brought down to the dam for use by the public. Also, the new aides rake the banks to remove as much of the Elodea as possible. How’s that for service? It was a pleasure to watch young Olivia Nick, 7 years old, catch…

“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. December 3 to 7-Offshore on the HOLLY ANN’ and Shore Fishing at Baby MacKenzie Here’s a two-part show that brings you some deep-sea tuna fishing on the HOLLY ANN with Kerwin Matsunaga and family. Then, Mike heads to Kawaihae to go shorefishing with Eddie Carvalho and his friends. They go after small game with light tackle at night. You’ll see some great, big-game strikes that turn out to be from sharks and from something else. December 10 lo 14-Free-Diving In Majuro, Marshall lsles Mike heads to the outer reefs of Majuro on-board the…

Wind, wind and more wind with rain squalls made conditions miserable and wet for the fishermen and boaters of Kane'ohe. The mahimahi did their best to keep the winter fishing fun, and a few shibi were thrown in for good measure. The holidays will be here soon, and there will be a demand for fresh fish. The parking lot has been empty for many weeks mostly because of the bad weather, but also because of the low price of fish. Fuel prices have been slowly going down, but, in a state of war, that may change quickly along with the economy. Kane’ohe seems to be doing its best to carry on while remaining watchful of the situation. Don Freitas on the KIMI ANN went looking for U FAD but had…

Aloha Uncle Chuck, Here's a picture of our dad's latest ulua catch. He caught this fish on a rod wrapped by Joe Kimura that he named "The Fat Lady." After casting his poles with tako legs, he cal/ed Uncle Ken on his phone. Two seconds later, "TFL" took a tremendous strike and heeled over. She straightened for a second and then heeled over again, this time the ratchet on the Penn 535 singing a beautiful song. After an intense 10-minute battle he landed this 17.5-lb ulua. We later tested the fish for ciguatera with shoyu and wasabi and luckily it came out negative. Mahala, Jason and Justin Sasan Laulima Fishing Club Jr. Members Mililani, O'ahu Howzit Chuck, Here's a picture of my first ulua, a nice-sized uhu, an 11-lb 'omilu…