Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2004 i Hawaii Fishing News

The Seven Deadly Fishing Sins ■ Luck. Fishermen always talk about it. A few do something about it. Let’s talk about what you can do about it. Penn Jillett (the talkative one of the Penn and Teller comedy team) said it: “Luck is probability taken personally.” Cleverly put, but not very practical. Here’s a simpler version of Penn’s maxim: When a good thing happens to you, it was just your turn. Alas, some people can’t seem to handle it when it is their turn, and other people seem to get more than their share of turns. Philosopher Blaise Bascal, the father of probability, said it better: Luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation. Preparation-you can do something about that and thereby make the most of what happens when it…

■ While the topwater plugging craze took off in the mid-1980s here in Hawaii, it appears that a select few were experimenting with similar tackle and techniques much earlier. Using big lures to entice ulua in a manner that may have been learned from traditional Hawaiian fishing techniques, skipping a real or artificial bait over the water, evolved into the now internationally popular method of fishing for ulua, or G.T.s (giant trevally). Today, the technique of using large, high-speed spinning gear to cast and retrieve giant surface plugs is the rage with anglers from here and many Pacific Rim nations including Japan and Singapore. In the past, HFN writers Mike Sakamoto and Jim Rizzuto recorded descriptions of early fishing techniques used by old-timers. Additional research indicated that perhaps as early…

After The Storm ■ As a boy I was fortunate to spend an exciting night in a little beach cottage on the North Shore of O‘ahu as one of our fierce Aleutian storms hurled thick sheets of rain and vicious winds against the worn cliffs of the Ko‘olau Mountains. The thin walls of the little house trembled with each blast, and the rusted tin roof over our heads buzzed and rattled in the shrieking wind. By the wavering light of a kerosene lantern, we wrapped ourselves in old Army blankets, cupped mugs of hot chocolate in our little hands and prayed that the thundering waves would not devour the sandy hill protecting us from the raging sea. Mr. McClean hooked an old radio up to the car battery as though…

■ Fishing can be about more than just fish. Sometimes you’re not trying to get food on the table. You can bond, learn and experience life in a whole new way out on the water. That is what my sister, Halley, and our father were doing. The time was nearing, the time that we were all thinking about-and dreading. Halley was leaving for college. None of us could imagine what life would be like without her around. We would all have to make adjustments. Summer vacation came around, and this was probably the last time, at least for a while, that Halley would come with us to Hawaii. Every day that we were there, she would beg our father to take her out reef trolling on his new boat, not…

As mentioned in the conclusion of last month’s article, I told Paul Tzimoulis of Skin Diver magazine that I thought the Cousteau film on diving on the Truk shipwrecks that was showr at Al Gidding’s Man Sea Symposium stunk because it did not reflect the unbelievable and exciting diving the wrecks offered. ■ I went on to say that if Paul could get Ai to come to Truk to make a film that reflected the wonderful diving the wrecks offered, I would provide the boats, gear and wrecks in exchange for a copy of the film. Well, Paul did a lot more than that. Not only did he get A1 to agree to come shoot the film in Truk, he also got Continental to fly everyone and their gear to…

Charter Desk Tag and Release Report 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. Charter Desk Report: Catch and Consume…

■ The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) reminds the public to protect Hawaii’s beaches by keeping them safe and clean. “When everyone helps to ‘malama Hawai‘i by taking care of our beach as and recreation areas responsibly, we can all enjoy safer and more beautiful natural areas,” said Peter Young, DLNR chairperson. Here are some safety tips: • Ground and open fires are prohibited on all state beaches and state recreational areas. • Cooking fires are only allowed in devices specifically designed to contain cooking fires. • Do not discard hot coals near trees, stumps or in undesignated areas. Open fires can cause major fires in adjacent areas, and hot coals on the ground are dangerous to step on, • Nailsand other debris left over from bon fires…

■ In their “Handbook of Hawaiian Fishes,” Gosline and Brock (1960) recognized a single species of nenue in Hawai‘i, Kyphosus cinerascens, but they wrote, “it is possible that really two species are represented.” There were two, but neither was cinerascens. Randall (1981) reported Kyphosus vaigiensis and the true K, cineraseerrs for the first time in the journal Pacific Science. In the little book “Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes,” Randall (1985) described and illustrated Kyphosus bigibbus and K. vaigiensis, but did not include the rare K. cinerascens. In the journal Icbfbyo/ogica/Research, Sakai and Nakabo (2004) showed that three species have been confused under the name Kypbosus bigibbus. They described the other two as new species, Kypbosus hawaiiensis and K. pacificus. They concluded that Kypbosus bigibbus is found only in the Western…

■ I was playing in the Hickam Invitational Golf Tournament this spring. The 12th hole at the Malama course runs parallel the to Reef Runway on the edge of the lagoon. Before I teed off on this par three, I looked at the flats and saw at least two-dozen ‘o‘io (bonefish species Afhula), their big deep forked tails breaking the still water as they searched for crustaceans. I was so distracted I promptly hooked my Titliest into mangroves next to the lagoon. I have been back to Hickam several times since, and on each visit I see more o‘io. On the second hole, another par three, I counted a dozen light green-striped ‘o‘io, two small barracuda, a pufferfish and some mullet. One bonefish cruising in the shadows right next to…

■ All of my life I have lived and played in and around the ocean. I was extremely blessed to be raised in the peaceful and quiet Hawaiian village of Hana on the eastern coastline of Maui. As a child, following chores at home, we headed to the beach every day during the summer. Like everyone then, we rarely had a prepared lunch: instead we satisfied our hunger by gathering off the rocks-”opihi, limu and haukiuki. Sometimes we even spent hours cracking open kamani nuts for variety of menu. Day after summer day, we entertained ourselves diving off the pier and swimming to shoreline rocks, trying to better our speed. It was great sport. I have always loved and respected the ocean. Imagine when, to my delight upon moving to…

E-Mail Buoy Hi Chuck, Well, first of all, HAWAII FISHING NEWS is the best thing that any avid fishermen could have. It’s very informative. I am an avid ulua fisherman. Every now and then, I do enter shorecasting tournaments. Recently, I entered a fishing tournament. I had spent many hours and dollars getting ready for this event. On the day of the event, I got to my so-called “secret spot.” All was well, the water was nice, and there was a high tide of 2.3 feet early in the afternoon. I got my poles set up and started putting it to the lead to get ready to pound for some ulua. At this so-called “secret spot” there were a lot of people fishing along the coast. As it was a…

For letters with photos, received during October 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, Hgrtplulu Hawai‘i 96825 Ola Chuck, On July 1, 2002, Team DWS went to Ketchikan, Alaska to fish for halibut and salmon. It was a fisherman’s dream come true. After that memorable trip, plans were developed for a Baha Mexico yellowtail adventure. The dream continues… Yellowtail, also known as “hamachi,” makes prime sashimi-great for sushi and with beers! The fishing chart for Loreto, Mexico showed that the month of May was an excellent month for catching the yellowtail. Our trip began on May 15th, 2004. Vincent Ortiz III and I left…

■ For Hawaii waters, summer is over and winter is approaching. October may preview the upcoming winter’s weather. There will be a greater variety of weather, but the severity of bad weather has not reached its potential. The following are potentially bad weather events, listed in order of decreasing expected occurrence: (1) northwest swell and surf (2) gusty trade winds (3) weak cold front (4) Kona low (5) north swell and surf (6) hurricane. Other than the northwest swell and surf, the expected frequencies of the other events are low. The frequency of trade winds is going down, but trades will still be the most common winds. The number of gusty trade wind days should be low-about four days. Northwest surf picks up while southerly surf is down at Sunset…

■ When I was a little kid fishing with a cane pole, the best bait was a tiny bit of California shrimp, We used to be abile to buy a single tail for 5 cents ait Goto’s Fishing Supply (now closed) on School Street. That would take care of us for the whole day because we could use a tiny piece of the tail to catch crayfish in Nu‘uanu Stream. Then we would use the crayfish for bait for the rest of the day. If we were fishing down at Pier 15 in Honolulu Harbor, that same piece of shrimp would catch us small aholehole or mamo that we’d turn around and use for live bait. Our target fish were hammerhead sharks, and those sharks were suckers for a live…

Dear Chuck, It was a beautiful day on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend 2004 when we set out for one of our favorite fishing spots on the west end of Moloka‘i. I was eager to throw out my lines! With no strikes that day, I went to sleep frustrated, not expecting to be awakened at about 3:30 a.mt Sunday by my friend P. J. Augustiro. My bell was ringing, and my ratchet was screaming. I was unable to get out of bed in time, so P. J. brought in the first catch of the day. Being all pumped up and unable to fall asleep again, I admired the morning sky. At 6:30 a.m. I decided to recast my Roddy Hunter two-piece pole with a 4/0 extended reel that had…

Trout Fishing Opening Day ■ The Puna Hongwanji Mission YBA club members held their first trout fishing trip to the island of Kaua‘i. The YBA members arrived on Kaua‘i on August 6 and went to Koke‘e Hongwanji Camp, located high in the mountains. This year’s participants were Reverend Earl Ikeda, Glenn Watarida, Hatumi Tanaka, Bernice Tanioka, Carol Tsunizumi, Charles Tamashiro, Earl Mukai, Dale Nagata and me. The Hawaii anglers arrived at camp at 3 p.m. and were greeted by members of the Lihu’e Hongwanji Mission YBA. This was one of three churches hosting us for the weekend. Members were Ted and Alice Inouye, Richard Tokunaga, Setsuo Ushio, Whitey Kurasaki and Paul Yamaguchi. While we were socializing, the Kaua‘i anglers said that we had to go to the Pu‘u Lua Reservoir…

Are Tuna Quotas Coming? ■ Craig Severance, a member of WESPAC, an anthropology professor at the University of Hawaii Hilo and a recreational fisherman, recently wrote in a Hilo Troliers newsletter about Hawai‘i quotas for billfish and ‘ahi. Are catch limits coming to Hawai‘i’s recreational fishermen? Craig explained the quota background: “The Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission was created on June 18, 2004. This commission is a result the MHLC negotiations and the U.N. Treaty on Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Species. It focuses on management of the high seas (outside any nation’s EEZ) but will have the capacity to restrain or even cap the increasing size of foreign purse seine and longline fleets and their effort in the Central and Western Pacific.” Currently, two of the four Pacific…

Happy Halloween! Trick or Treat? ■ October brings the first of winter’s low tides at night, as well as Halloween, spooky stuff and weird disguises. All that comes together during the Waikiki Aquarium’s “Exploring the Reef at Night” classes. While our spring and summer day reef explorations are popular, there seems to be a special appeal to getting out on the reef at night. Maybe it just sounds a bit scarier, and we expect creepy things that go bump in the night. Even before you reach the reef you find animals with scary names like ghost crabs. Most people are familiar with ‘ohiki, the lightcolored crabs that zip across the beach at night and suddenly disappear. They even make “creaky” noises by rubbing a structure like a washboard on the…

What is your position on the commercial sale of speared fish? 309 in Favor 509 Against Comments in Support of Commercial Sale of Speared Fish • As long as it is strictly enforced. • The price becomes affordable for senior citizens and poor people. • Spearfishing has been around a long time. If a person is lucky enough to get plenty, let him sell them (no waste). • Should be limited to catch and size. • Again, when regulated properly. • What’s wrong with spearfishing? Compared to boating or traps? As long as the seller has a commercial license and does not spear fish at night. • This is a very small scale compared to traps or netting. Not commercially productive. • Spearing is only a minimal part of fishing.…

Shore fishing was great last month due to the influx of sardines that schooled up in some of our little bays and inlets. They were followed by papio, ‘omilu and barracuda. Plenty of anglers were happy with the sardines, but many put them on hooks and nailed the predators feeding on them. East O‘ahu fishing has not been as hot as the weather this month. We had few reports of big mahimahi and ono. Fishing on ‘The Banks’ was slow. However, a few striped and blue marlin surprised lucky anglers. There were no tournaments from East O‘ahu, but the Waikiki and Hawaii Yacht Clubs had a combined effort tournament on the 4th and 5th of September called the 2004 Ho‘ole‘a Tournament. It was won by an East O‘ahu team from…

Chuck, I work at Camp Victory here in Baghdad, Iraq along with a whole bunch of other guys from Camp Smith and Pearl Harbor, I got a few hours off recently and went fishing in a lake near one of Saddam’s palaces. I caught one of Saddam’s carp pretty quickly using mess hail corn. I gave the fish to an Iraqi worker who asked for it; he seemed very happy to get the extra food. Aloha and ahui hou Chip Emmons Iraq Dear Chuck, Aloha from Iraq. I just received your care package. When I was informed that I had a package, I thought it would be some goodies from the family. I was happily surprised to see it was a box from you folks. I could not wait to…