Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2004 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ 2003 turned out to be an up year for the Keehi Boat Club (KBC) It was one of the most productive years in recent history. KBC members caught more than 20,000 lbs of fish, more than double the 9,000 lbs caught in 2002 and the 7,000 lbs caught in 2001. Chris and John Gormley on the ICE-BREAKER outdid all other boats by bringing in more than 6,000 lbs of fish. It’s pretty amazing that the father-and-son team was so successful because they have been fishing in Hawaii for only two years! Not only were many fish caught but big fish were caught. The largest was a 711-lb blue marlin caught by new member Corey Aleviado on the HAWAIIAN HAWK. Corey’s fish turned out to be the largest club marlin…

■ It didn’t take long for me to realize I had a giant trevally (GT) on my line. Experience has taught me when you get a fish that takes line and doesn’t seem to slow down for a while, a GT has been hooked. Barracuda usually stop pulling line in a short span, and the area I was fishing had only one other candidate for screaming reels that don’t seem to stop: dogtooth tuna. But the Kiribati sun was already too high and hot at 8 a.m. for them. It took some pumping and reeling and waiting for the fish to complete a few strong runs before I could see the chunky shape of a trevally come up under the boat, A few hours of trolling had paid off. I…

■ My good friend Dave Nagata gave me a call to ask me if I wanted to do some freshwater fishing for “tucs,” otherwise known as tucunare or peacock bass. The papio weren’t biting as they had been during the summer and although the ‘o‘io and shoreline akule and halalu bite was OK, we opted to add a little variety to our sportfishing routine. Dave said that he and his son Vance were going to Wahiawa Reservoir in the late afternoon to catch tucs with live bait, mostly tilapia and mosquito fish. I told him I was game and that I’d bring along my two kids to give them their first experience with the hard-fighting tucunare, which were first introduced to Hawai‘i freshwater reservoirs in 1957. The first thing I…

■ Rain and more rain fell on the Windward Coast. We got soaked! It’s a good thing fish like rain. The pier got a much-needed wash, and the water kept the streams flowing. Clinton Ho, Garrett Tamura and Erwin Sakima are good friends who went out fishing on Clinton’s KARLI H during a break in the weather. They were at the U FAD hooking a big mahimahi, some shibi and aku when they had a really solid hookup. A nice-sized marlin had taken their bait, and they were really excited about getting a big fish. Twenty-five minutes went by very quickly as they brought the fish to gaff. The 334-lb fish was their fourth marlin for the boat and their biggest fish to date. Union man and self-taught fisherman Ron…

Why Are We Studying Hammerhead Sharks? ■ Hammerhead shark pups are important to the ecology of near-shore areas around the islands* Adult hammerheads live offshore in blue water, and this is where the female sharks endure their pregnancy. The baby sharks grow inside the mother for 10 months and are born live. The large numbers of pups born around the islands every year actually represent a transfer of energy from the offshore environment to the coastal environment. Furthermore, the sharks that survive the first year become top-level predators in their near-shore nursery and so are very important to the bay ecosystems. For these two reasons, researchers at the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology have been conducting studies on the scalloped hammerhead sharks. What Have We…

MANINI ■ Greetings to you, the fishermen of Hawai‘i. How are you folks? Winter is now here. So don’t forget, even though it gets really cold, lucky we live in paradise. Thus, this short story is about the manini (convict tang or surgeonfish). Very interesting stuff, especially to shore fishermen. Manini, or convict tang, are familiar sights in the islands. Although not often thought of a stable fare, manini are delicious to eat raw or broiled. In the olden days, both chiefs and commoners sought the fish, even though manini were bony and tough-skinned, If eaten raw, manini were usually salted first. Salting flattened the dorsal fin that becomes stiff and upright (i moe kakala) soon after the fish is taken from the water, making the fish hazardous to swallow.…

■ The end of the year brought a nice mix of Hawai i’s most famous game fish, Martin, tuna, mahimahi and ono were around in fairly equal proportions. About 35 percent of the billfish boated were striped marlin weighing up to 87.5 lbs. More than 50 percent were blue marlin weighing up to 522 lbs. Almost all of the remaining were shortbill spearfish. The 68.5-lb sailfish landed on the BILLFISHER II was the largest sailfish caught during 2003, More than 40 percent of the billfish hooked were tagged and released. More than half of these were striped marlin. Capt. John Jordan on the KONA SPIRIT reported the release of a blue estimated at 500 lbs. The yellowfin tuna came in slowly but steadily. The largest one, weighing 162 lbs, was…

■ It’s still winter but February’s weather is normally less severe than January’s. Good weather will prevail during the majority of the days in the month, but bad weather periods can cause problems: gusty trade winds, upper trough and Kona low with thunderstorms and heavy rain. The fast and sometimes unexpected appearance of these strong winds in local waters should be considered by those planning activities in the water. Wintertime high northwest swell and surf action is gradually winding down. At Sunset Beach, O‘ahu, expect about four days of surf higher than 10 feet but less than 20 feet and surf heights between 6 and 10 feet on about 12 days. Trade winds are expected on over half of the days in the month with gusty trades on about four…

■ The Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) Phase I Administrative Rule changes were signed into law on December 19, 2002 (see Current Line Vol. 7: No. l, April 2003 issue). New rules deal mainly with the minimum size, implementing the use of fork length as a standard for measurement (which is less variable) and increasing the minimum size for most regulated species to the size at which 50 percent are reproductively mature (known as the L50). Please consult the DAR website (via Hawaii.gov) or Hawaii Fishing Regulations booklet for current rules. Phase II Rules include some additional minimum size rules for species not previously regulated and bag limits for several popular species or groups. In preparation for Phase II, we would appreciate your comments on Phase I rules and any…

7. What is your position on gill/lay (monofilament entanglement) nets? • If removed right away. The natives used to place nets, chase fish in then remove the net. Not if nets are left in water for hours. • With restrictions. • However they should restrict the amount of nets used. • With limited nets per family and only if the DLNR can supply more help in enforcement. • The gill/lay netters should have license like bottom fishermen. They should have to inform fish and game wardens where and when they are going to gill/lay net and be enforced-if no permit or notification, they are illegal and should be cited. • For species not normally taken by hook/line and/or spear and not available for sale if taken by spear. • With…

■ Is ciguatoxin lethal? Typically, ciguatoxin poisoning is not lethal, although there do exist several cases where the poisoning proved fatal. Is there a cure for ciguatoxin poisoning? As of today, no cure is available. Mannitol, when administered within 72 hours, does alleviate some of the symptoms, but no cure exists. Is there a blood test for ciguatoxin poisoning? Numerous research groups are currently working on developing a human blood test for ciguatoxin detection. Because the amount of ciguatoxin within the bloodstream is so small, detection has proven elusive. Ciguatoxin poisoning is currently diagnosed symptomatically. How long do the symptoms from ciguatoxin poisoning last? Because the poison can negatively affect the nervous system, symptoms generally last between several days and several weeks. There are cases wherein these symptoms can last…

■ The blue marlin run continued. During the month, 17 were weighed and another two were tagged and released. There were also five striped marlin weighed and four tagged and released. Four spearfish made it to the scales, bringing the monthly total to 32 billfish. Couple Tag-Teams Blue The HINATEA landed a 540-lb blue marlin for Diane and Alex McWilliams. This was Lahaina’s largest marlin weighed since the end of July. Capt. Doug Barna and Capt. Thomas Miller were trolling toward the LA-buoy when Alex saw something swimming behind the “long-gone bird teaser. Doug and Thomas checked the pattern but saw nothing. As Doug continued toward the buoy, the long rigger line suddenly came out of the clip. Thomas free-spooled the reel and dropped the lure backward in the wake.…