Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2003 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ The ‘aweoweo are running! Reports of ‘aweoweo running on Kaua‘i started around the second week of July. The initial run seemed to have started on the west side of Kaua‘i with reports coming from Port Allen Harbor. Fishermen said, “The water turned red with schools of ‘aweoweo.” Within three weeks it appeared the run had circled the island of Kaua‘i. Similar reports came in from Hanalei, Nawiliwili and Waimea, according to Wade Ishikawa, educational specialist with the Division of Aquatic Resources. Wade also said that Kaua‘i fishermen have seen regular ‘aweoweo runs in the past, but not of this magnitude. The last runs of this size to occur were during the early ‘60s and ‘70s. The Kaua‘i run must be huge because trailers have reported ‘ahi and ono stomachs…

Dear Chuck, Because of the low and variable wind conditions the last week in May through the first week in June, my crew and I took advantage of the favorable weather to fish the windward side of o‘ahu, launching from the He‘eia Kea Boat Harbor. About seven months ago, five new buoys were deployed around Mokumanu Island by the Marine Corp Base Hawaii. The buoys, especially the middle three, have proven to be a boon for holding ono in that area. In three days of fishing during this period, the ono catch on my boat was unprecedented. Never before have I caught that many ono in one year, much less in three days. It all began on Thursday, May 29, when Courtland Pang, Steve Okumoto and I visited these new…

Every Day Is a Workday ■ In this article, we will look at what happened when there was no bait and the aku fishermen couldn’t go fishing. One thing was for sure-it was not a holiday! There were many maintenance jobs that had to be done on the vessels: e.g., dry docking to paint the bottom to keep the barnacles off; engine and generator maintenance; getting more supplies; and making new hooks and patching the bait nets. Patching the bait nets was usually done on shore at the end of a day’s baiting or when there was no bait available. It was slow, delicate work because the mesh size of the nets was so small. It was hard on the eyes and the back, but keeping the costly nets in…

■ If you have been reading HAWAII FISHING NEWS, you know that I have been pretty upset about the ban on rod-and-reel fishing at the Pupukea Marine Conservation District. For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, let me bring you up to speed. Last year, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) closed the area known as Three Tables in Pupukea to all forms of fishing. Previously the public was allowed to fish there, and many did so, primarily for akule. The state then held a series of meetings to discuss the closure of the area, and, in a move that strongly smelled of special interest, the district was closed to fishermen. Common speculation was that the area was closed to benefit the many dive companies that frequent…

For letters, with photos, received during the month of September we’ll send you HFN s New Red, White and Blue Fight For the Right to Fish” Cap…our way of saying thanks for sharing your catch! …Hana pa‘a, Chuck Send to: P.O. Box 25488, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96825 Aloha Chuck, Here is a picture of my cousin Kawika Aganos with two of the seven ono that were caught on a recent trip we took to Kaua‘i to visit family and friends. We were able to take in some fishing off of Ni‘ihau and, boy, was the weather nice. After missing a big ‘ahi in the morning, the day turned out to be productive anyway. I would like to thank my brother T.J. and Capt. Nate for hooking us up on Kaua‘i. Aloha…

Cousteau in Hawai‘i ■ Jean-Michel Cousteau is visiting the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) for six weeks. He and his crew of 19 are filming “Voyage to Kure” for public television to be broadcast in 2004. Jean-Michel, the son of scuba inventor and world explorer Jacques Cousteau, is captaining the 240-ton, 96’ ship the SEARCHER. The vessel will cruise the 1,200-mile island chain and stop at Midway, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, Pearl and Hermes Atoll and finally Kure. They are filming with underwater high-definition cameras. News reports had Jean-Michel shocked at what Hawaiians know: the huge jetsam and flotsam garbage heaps on the NWHI. Nets, ropes, cigarette lighters and other garbage collects in the NWHI because it is in a convergence zone. This is Jean-Michel’s first visit to…

■ Adela is the love of my life. She is my 5-year-old, and she is a Southern Belle and a spitfire all rolled into one. More about her later. I met John “Bomboy” Llanes on June 13, 2002, when I caught a 613-lb blue on a Bomboy “Magilla Gorilla” while fishing aboard Dee Bradford’s HIGH NOON. If you are superstitious, consider this: 613 lbs caught on 6/13! I am, so I knew something was up. I took a picture of my fish with Dee and John and the “Magilla Gorilla.” John gave me his number, and we spoke on numerous occasions thereafter about his fishing Mexico with me and trying his lures in Mexican waters. In March of ‘03, John called and asked me to fish the Kona Classic, World…

■ The first time I fished with an “ono bouncer” I was as shocked as the fish were. We were trolling with 16/0 reels filled with 180-lb test line. My host had screwed the star drag down as tightly as he could with his bare hands and then gave the wheel another turn with a wrench. The spool was only going to move one way, and that way was not going to be toward the fish. Each time an ono hit, the heavy setting immediately yanked the fish to the surface and started it planing on its side. Whenever the helpless ono flapped its tail, it bounced up in the air a couple of inches. My host never slowed the boat lest the fish get its head (an ironic choice…

Ten Years Coming, But Worth the Wait by PHFT 2003 Chairman Wayne Wilcox ■ The 10th annual Pearl Harbor Fishing Tournament will be the one talked about for a long, long time. The wind, tide and planets aligned in the perfect combination on the 28th of June, and the waters off Wai‘anae opened up with a flood of fish we will never forget. The girls of “Pearl Harbor Base” didn’t get a moment’s rest as the radio was in constant use with catch callins and endless chatter. The action started at just after 5 a.m. and continued all the way to “stop fishing.” At midday we saw the writing on the wall and tried to scramble a weigh-in crew together early but could not. It took us four and a…

■ April 10 to 14, 2003, saw the return of the Baja Boys Fishing Club to Loreto, a sleepy little fishing town in Baja California Sur (BCS). While officially it was the Fifth Annual Baja Boys Yellowtail Tournament, for many of us it was our 10th straight year going down there to fish. Located on the eastern side of the peninsula on the Sea of Cortez, Loreto is about 200 miles north of Cabo San Lucas and about 70 miles north of the current capital of BCS, the city of La Paz. A town of 15,000 people, Loreto has one of the richest histories of any town in Mexico. The original capital of BCS, it is also home to one of the earliest missions in North America dating back to…

HAWAII FISHING NEWS, The following letter was sent to many of the key members of our state and federal elected officials. It is our hope that your publication will find enough merit in the ideas to justify printing it for your readership. RE: The worldwide depletion of fish in our oceans. Concept: If you cut down a tree, you plant two more in its place. Subject: Request to draft legislation to require a restocking program to be initiated for the oceans of the world. Those that take fish should help to replenish them. Aloha, We read about a couple bills designed to close areas of Hawai‘i off to all fishing. (MPA Senate Bill 705 and MPA House Bill 1407.) While most studies agree that fishing with nets, on virtually any…

■ The “winner” of our billfish tag (with a lure)-and-release prize turned out to be charterboat skipper James Gale who runs boats of the START ME UP fleet out of Lahaina. In the June 2003 issue of HAWAII FISHING NEWS, we described the catch of 650-lb blue marlin by the Kewalo Basin charterboat MONKEY BIZ with Capt. Vinny Maggio at the helm. What was unusual about this catch was that the fish was trailing a big, beautiful new trolling lure and lots of 100-lb test monofilament. Of course, everyone was curious as to who lost the big marlin and where. After a few false claims, Capt. Gale wins hands down after describing the lure, skirts and line in exact detail. Here is his story. “The day was February 19, 2003,…

Jungle Express 2003 Pig Hunting Tournament ■ The 2003 Jungle Express Pig Hunting Tournament will be held “Only in Kau” on Saturday, September 6, 2003. The weigh-in will be at Honu‘apo Beach Park from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entry fees are $25. A pretournament meeting will be held at Honu‘apo Beach Park on Saturday, August 30, 2003, at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Ray at (808) 929-9672 or (808) 640-3042 Hunter Education Classes Hunter Education Classes are offered free by the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources. Subjects covered include firearms and archery safety, survival and first aid, wildlife identification and conservation, rules and regulations, game care and outdoor responsibility. Attendance for all sessions is required for certification. These classes are open to anyone 10 years of…

■ It’s been a while since I last wrote for HFN! Things are going well with the fish mounting. I just completed work on my second major museum exhibit commission for the NOAA’s Northern Hawaiian Reef Ecosystems Visitors’ Center here in Hilo, but that’s another story to come. I am here to report on a first annual fishing derby held at Wailoa State Park during the summer picnic for my workplace, the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). The day started off a little cloudy, but it soon turned into a very nice sunny Hilo day! All of the participants were eager to wet their lines and catch a fish. When all the fishing was done, top honors went to our secretary, Linda Matsushita, who caught two nice-sized ‘aholehole and…

Sinkers for Beginners ■ Why use a sinker? Basically lead sinkers have one single purpose: to get the bait down to the level where the fish are holding. As a result, there have been numerous inventions and attempts to make sinkers that will more or less meet any situation. Because sinkers, for the most part, are to be in direct contact with the bottom of the fishing venue, there are many factors to take into consideration. The most important is the topography of the bottom: whether it is rocky, silty, gravelly or sandy. However, when you go to the store to buy sinkers, you will not find much of an array apart from the common “drop” sinker, so-called more because of its shape than its ability to drop. Take a…