Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2004 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ It was a rainy spring night when my good friend Greg and 1 landed at the Hilo Airport on March 16, 2004. We didn’t know if it would be possible to go holoholo at South Point because the day before there had been a flash flood warning issued for the Big Island, But our trip was “meant to be’1 from the beginning. The week before, Greg, a friend who had taken one month’s vacation after a year in Iraq, and 1 had gone fishing at South Point. We’d caught the usual “reds.” The day we were breaking camp we watched a guy fight a 30-lb ono from the cliffs. It came all the way to within 5 feet of the gaff when loose line allowed it to shake the…

■ Often, people take action only after it’s too late. Under the leadership of Peter Young, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is pursuing an initiative that will dramatically improve the quality of our ocean environment a ban on the use of lay nets—before it’s too late. No single action will do more to restore precious near-shore aquatic resources. In January, staff of the Division of Aquatic Resources at the DLNR conducted a series of informational meetings on a statewide ban. The proposed ban would not apply to throw nets, ‘opelu or akule nets, aquarium nets, nor would it apply to lobster traps or fish traps. Exemptions are being considered for those using certain types of fishing techniques, such as “fence and bag” methods, and for limited…

HAWAII FISHING NEWS STATE FRESHWATER RECORDS…

Kona Charter Desk Billfish Tag Release Due to the limited space available and the large number of fish caught, catch reports are limited to tuna over 100 lbs and billfish of any size, any species: (S)=Striped Marlin, (B)=Black Marlin. Catch and Consume…

■ My friend and fishing partner Dale Nakamoto called me to talk about fishing and to plan our next trip. We decided to go to one of my favorite spots on the east side of the Big Island early on the morning of February 15, 2004. Dale mentioned he had just bought a couple of new Talon rods and wanted to try them out. We were anxious to get started. The weather and water conditions were in our favor, the ocean was calm, and the sky was filled with stars. We had our lines in the water by 2 a.m. The bait of choice was tako. We hooked our baits on a standard rig of stainless wire and a 16/0 Mustad tuna circle. We watched our slides hit the water…

■ The First Annual Hawaii Blue Marlin Spring Shootout sponsored by “Lahaina Shell” drew 17 boats from Maui and 29 from Kona for the statewide tournament. The way the format was set up, each harbor would win half of the harbor’s total entry fee for their largest marlin. The other half of the entry fee from each harbor would go into a statewide kitty, with the largest marlin in the state earning the additional statewide purse. Everyone expected that Kona would weigh in the largest marlin and sweep the tournament, but the Maui boats took first, third, fourth and sixth out of seven places. The winning marlin was captured aboard the Lahaina Harbor-based START ME UP TOO. Angler Marlin VanDuisen cranked in a 499.4-lb blue to give the team a…

Rex Courser and Ken Pang were 10 miles out when this 916-lb marl in chomped a Futa lure behind ALOHA FRIDAY. Big Blue of the Month ■ Mahimahi made the fishing great for the Kane‘ohe boats that got out when the weather permitted it. There were dolphin fish all over. On one weekend day they were found 4 to 5 miles out all over in open schools. The rubbish lines were very productive, and the fish were not small. Many fishermen came home with heavy loads of mahimahi and ono. Capt. Don on the KIMI ANN returned from his Vegas trip and marriage for some great fishing action. His guest was Claude Butcher, who Don called “Crash.” They got a great big pile of mahimahi and ono during a short…

■ During the month, mahimahi were the most abundant fish, large blue marlin grew in number and ‘ahi seemed to be hiding. Out of the 112 blue marlin hooked, 30 were released; out of the 22 striped marlin hooked, half were released; and 24 of the 79 spearfish hooked were tagged and released, as well. Most boats came in with at least one mahimahi and sometimes up to 15, as did the charterboats PACIFIC BLUE on the 3rd and IHU NUI on the 28th. The weights of the mahimahi ranged up to 41 lbs. Capt. Chris Kam of the charterboat JACQUE-APITO said that “one major reason we are having so much mahimahi is due to the increased amount of floating debris ending up in our fishing grounds such as logs…

Hale’iwa Trolling and Bottom Fishing ■ Hale‘iwa trailers saw some good action during the month. Lots of small marlin were caught in aku piles. Also, the aku were biting pretty well as long as the marlin weren’t chasing them around. The mahimahi action was really good, too. You could find mahimahi all around from the ledge to far out. Many boaters also ventured over to Kane‘ohe to hunt for mahimahi. Action at the buoys was very slow. The bottom fishing was pretty good at night for the usual akule fishermen, but the daytime bottom fishing was slow. I guess the current has been really strong. I’ve heard many complaints about the whales. There seem to be more whales around this year than in previous years. Just be careful when you…

■ May signals better weather for Hawai‘i waters-there is less chance of severe weather, like strong Kona winds, thunderstorms or heavy rain. There is still a small chance of bad weather in May, but normally it is a well-behaved month. Trade winds will blow about 86 percent of the time, and one should expect about four to 10 days of gusty trades. Northwest swell activity will continue to decrease. Surf at Sunset Beach, O‘ahu, will not rise above five feet on most days, but there is a chance that 10- to 15-foot surf can occur. Higher than normal swell and surf on the southern shores will be increasing through the month as storms in the Southern Hemisphere become stronger.…

Once upon an ulua season Not so very long ago An ulua catch was taken That would set your knees to shakin’ But that night those there would say, “Don’t tell! Don’t tell! For if you do the number of fishermen Here would surely swell.” Yet the tale should be told among these Lines between the fold, For HFN is the historical record For Hawai‘i fishermen young and old. What came up that special, dark night Was first a twin— Rare enough to make your head spin. Later on that same, up came another pair, To the same fisherman yet on the other Sabre. And as the special night came to close, Here is the toll: Four ulua, one fisherman, two poles! Yet participants of the Ulua Tagging Program might…

(Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives) ■ Recent studies show that new technologies developed by fishermen reduce sea turtle mortality rates by up to 92 percent As incidental take of sea turtles is listed as the primary cause of their endangered status, fishermen are working to increase populations and recover the creatures. “I am glad to see that our fishermen are working together to solve an international problem,” said House Resources Com mittee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA). “This is yet another classic example of how American ingenuity is leading the way and striking the balance between economic progress and environmental protection.”… The Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation. Wildlife and Oceans convened a hearing recently on HR. 3378, a bill to assist in the conservation of marine turtles and the…

‘Ano ‘ai me ke aioha! ‘Oia ka mo‘olelo e pili ana i ka ‘ahi. Fondest greetings to all! This story is about the ‘ahi, or tuna fish. ■ Many island fishermen use the term ahi to describe both yellowfin and bigeye tuna. However, there are subtle differences in the common tuna species that are caught in Hawai‘i. I’ll try to tackle this issue forwarded by a consummate HFN reader. Pela no. he mo‘olelo pokole (Thus, here is a short story)! The most common tuna species caught in Hawai‘i’s waters and given Hawaiian names are as follow: ‘Ahi (tuna or fire)-yellowfin tuna. ‘Ahi palaha (flat tuna)-albacore tuna, tombo/tonbo ‘ahi, or longfin tuna. ‘Ahi po‘onui (large head tuna)-bigeye tuna, po‘onui, or shibi. Aku-skipjack tuna. Kawakawa-false albacore, little tunny; sometimes called pohopoho. ‘Ahi…

A Lahaina ‘Choke Marlin’ Story ■ With the striped marlin and spearfish few and far between, the blue marlin continued their run right into spring. The “big girls” are starting to show up more frequently. During the month, 21 blue marlin, seven striped marlin and eight spearfish were weighed. Another three blue marlin were tagged and released. The JUDY ANN II weighed in the harbor’s first 500-plus-lb marlin of the year. Mark Kent cranked in a 505-lb blue while fishing with Capt. Chris Espiritu and crewman Jacob Stephens. Chris was heading toward the Kaho ‘olawe Shoals and was about a half-mile south of the LA-buoy when he saw a marlin jump 6 to 8 feet out of the water at the “long-gone” position, missing the lure. Chris turned the boat…

■ George Barton suddenly jerked awake. He’d dozed off on the tree stand again. How long he’d slept, he could only guess. The forest before him didn’t look any darker, so it probably had been only a few minutes. In the deathly still evergreen forest, nothing moved except for the tops of the rustling trees. A small brown bird skipped from limb to limb, tittered short warbling calls and then flittered off, George fiddled with the nock of the 28-inch ramin-shafted arrow to break up the monotony. For what seemed the millionth time, he stroked the osage orange upper limb of his long bow. A self-bow created in 1999, it had no fiberglass or sinew backing of any sort, was totally handmade and was a rich earthy brown. George had…

■ As the 2003-2004 bird hunting season draws to a close, we reflect on our recent hunting experiences. How many bird hunters can honestly say that their dog performed exactly as they wanted him to? You know what I mean-just like those gun dogs do on the Outdoor Channel on TV-running a quartering pattern ahead of the hunter; finding game and going on point; holding the bird as the hunter approaches; remaining steady to wing and shot as the hunter flushes and brings down the bird; and finally retrieving the downed game to hand. If you are like most of us, you probably would have to admit that your dog didn’t do quite what you hoped he would. Would you like him to? Here’s your chance to learn what a…