Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2004 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ The full moon hung ominously in the sky. The darkness of the horizon was enveloped by a soft ring of light, which illuminated the shadowy figures scurrying about on the point. It was the second night of a two-night fishing trip to Keanae for most and the first night for us. On the previous night, no ulua poles had been cast due to the late afternoon arrival by the advance team. That night small game seemed the priority, and the fish were definitely cooperating. The advance team consisted of Richie, John, Leighton and Danny. Clyde, his wife, Mary, and I arrived at the spot the next afternoon, Saturday, the 25th of September. This was the first time at this spot for most of us, so we continued to check…

■ East O‘ahu blue-water fishing has been great, producing big mahimahi. The weather has been very user-friendly for a change, with plenty of glassy days all the way to “the Banks.” Mahimahi have been reported coming up all over the place, and in good numbers: right out in front on “the Ledge”; out at the Banks where they have been the staple lately; and everywhere else around the east side. Mahimahi also have been caught in all the other Seawatch turfs that I have been checking out. This is great for the anglers and charterboat operators because it puts plenty of fish in the fish boxes. Blue and striped marlin were a little scarce during the month, but due to the time of year, that is pretty typical. One of…

Hilo Trollers Annual Awards ■ The Hilo Trollers year-end awards banquet was held at the AJA Hall on October 17, 2004. The master of ceremonies was Capt. Bob Duerr. About 150 people attended and were treated to lots of door prizes. Thanks to the local merchants and club members for their generous donations. Before dinner, the club shared a moment of silence in memory of the late Garvey Yamamoto. Garvey was a long-time member of the club and was on the Tournament Control whenever there was a tournament. Every year the club has a raffle, and this year they had six prizes. The big winner was Naomi Iwami who won a Shimano 130 reel. Other winners were Dana Okazaki who took home a 195-liter Icebox Big Chill Cooler, Jared Miyaki…

For letters, with photos, received during December 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 Dear Chuck, First, I would like to congratulate you on your excellent publication. I read it every month and find the contents very interesting. I wanted to share a couple photos that I got of some recent fishing trips. I was lucky enough to fish with Kerwin Masunaga on his awesome fishing boat, the HOLLY ANN. While attempting to catch some kahala for breeding program at my workplace, Kerwin had a great bycatch. The ‘opakapaka he is hodling weighed 17½ lbs. It was a beautiful fish and a…

■ Howzit! Thank you for supporting us Maui boyz (Chad Otake, David Gouveia and Roy Moriyasu) of Alpha Company 411th Eng. Cbt. Bn. (H) stationed at Camp Liberty-Baghdad, Iraq. We are just amazed that we can go fishing during our year-long deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom-2. When we first arrived, we were kinda bummed that we left beautiful Hawai’i-you know, the sun, the sand and the surf. Despite our homesickness, Camp Liberty has a lot of outdoor adventures to offer. This place was once a hunting and fishing playground for the former president of Iraq Saddam Hussein. Now a base for the 1st Cavalry Division (Fort Hood, Texas) and 10th Mountain Division (Fort Drum, New York), this area is located in a natural marsh type environment that also has manmade…

■ The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was established to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai’i. While many fishermen were opposed to the sanctuary during its designation process in the mid-’90s, the sanctuary has never attempted to regulate fishing activities and has no plans to do so. In fact, the sanctuary’s staff and management view Hawaii’s fishermen as important partners in humpback conservation. For instance, some of the most valuable reports regarding whale injuries and entanglements come from fishermen. With the beginning of Hawaii’s humpback season (generally December through April) upon us, this article provides a quick overview of the status of humpbacks and outlines facts and recommendations that Hawaii’s fishermen may find useful in continuing their strong tradition of ocean stewardship. The Status of Hawaii’s…

Whales, Porpoises and Dolphins Can’t Sue ■ A federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled that whales, porpoises and dolphins can’t sue the U.S. military and stop them from using high-powered sonar. Hilo-based environmental attorney Lanny Sinkin asked for an injunction banning the long-range sonar. The judge stated that the cetaceans had no “standing” under the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act or the National Environmental Policy Act. Lanny wanted the military to stop the sonar until an environmental impact statement could be drafted. The high-powered sonar has been implicated in a number of worldwide marine mammal deaths including a 2000 Bahamas incident when 17 animals beached themselves after a Navy sonar exercise. In July at Kaua‘i’s Hanalei Bay, 200 melon-headed whales crowded into the bay during…

■ Winter has arrived, and with it has come some really ugly weather and slow fishing action. The open schools of mahimahi came around and then left when we had a period of calm, or Kona weather. Everyone hopes the trade winds will return soon and bring the fish back into the Windward areas. Vince Takeno told me that he and Kenneth Sugawa had a great time on the RUBY SAN II outside the U FAD where they hooked up to a small marlin. The fish was so aggressive that it took two lures and got itself foul-hooked. They both thought it was a huge fish. Vince runs light tackle, so they went easy on the fish and got it up with a lot of patience and a little luck.…

Kohala Gun Club ■ I spent a sunny Sunday in Kohala filming a segment for “Holo Holo Hawaii,” a TV show featuring the Kohala Gun Club. Their gun range is located in Kapa‘au on the Big Island, approximately one hour from Kona or 40 minutes from Waimea at the end of the lighthouse road. Neal Paulsen demonstrated a Cowboy Action Shoot where the participants dress in early western apparel while shooting western-style firearms. Single-action revolvers, lever-action rifles and pump or double-barrel shotguns were the required firearms. Steel plates and cardboard targets were set up at various ranges in several situations presenting a challenging but fun shoot. Fastest times and most targets hit were the objectives of the shoot. Guns blasting! Steel targets clanging! The movement, the sound, the action! Great…

Off to the Sultanate of Oman ■ Not too long after moving from Palau to Saipan, I received a phone call from Charlie Black who had a contract with Oman, next to Saudi Arabia, to help them establish a viable fishing industry. He wanted to know if I would like to go to the Sultanate of Oman to head up the program. As very little was known about Oman until 1970 when His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said pushed his father aside to set up programs that would improve the well-being of his people, I told Charlie, “No thanks. It gets to 130 degrees there, and that is a bit much.” Charlie then asked if I would like to have lunch with him in San Francisco to discuss the matter…

Dear Chuck, I have a great fishing tale for you. Recently, my dad has been going fishing on our boat, the YOLANDA K, during the week instead of on Sundays, our usual fishing days. He started going during the week because he was asked to catch some fish for my grandpa’s surprise fundraiser party. My grandpa got sick with leukemia, and his former baseball players that he coached in Kane’ohe wanted to raise money to cover anything that my grandparents might need in this time of his sickness. Dad launched early on Thursday morning out of Ko‘olina Marina on the Wai‘anae side of the island in hopes of catching the big one. He had lines set up by daybreak and was hoping for the best. After trolling a few hours,…

■ As the holiday season arrives, much of our attention turns to gifts-finding, buying, giving and receiving gifts and hoping the fun outweighs the stress. And yet, we are surrounded by the world’s greatest gift: the ocean. It provides us with the oxygen we breathe, with food, with our identity as an island people and with the joy of simply being near the water to walk, to go swimming, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, surfing, paddling, exploring tide pools, picking lima and fishing. In 1955, Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote a vacation journal of long walks on a beach and the unexpected delight of finding “gifts,” a rounded stone or a delicate shell. These gifts inspired a still popular book, “A Gift From the Sea.” I’ve been thinking that it’s about time we…

Not Your Typical Ono Lure: Part I ■ What’s your favorite ono lure? If your only ono experiences have been here in Hawai’i, you probably pointed to something with a heavy head, a soft plastic tail and a tendency to swim at or near the surface as you troll at high speed. Sure, you can catch plenty of ono on skirted jets, chrome-on-lead jigs and resin heads. Those catches come at a price: typically, one ono costs you two skirts. But they cost you more, too. Many ono prefer deep-swimming lures, so you miss a lot of fish you never even knew were there. Big Island fisherman Paul Larson has a better idea. For the past 15 years Paul has fished the west coast of the Big Island from North…

Reel of the Month ■ This column has drifted away from the subject of collectible reels over the last several months, so I thought it might be interesting to return to the subject and feature a reel that I came across a while back. It doesn’t have any fancy gadgetry or innovative ideas like some of the reels that have been profiled before. In fact, this particular reel is probably as basic as it gets. The reel I’d like to share a little about, in sort of a show-and-tell format, is known today by collectors simply as an ordinary brass reel. Often misidentified today as a child’s reel or toy, it was a true piece of serious fishing tackle for its day in the late 1800s. With wholesale prices for…