Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2005 i Hawaii Fishing News

Half-Moon Monster ■ I was itching to do some ulua fishing during the month of June. It was prime ulua fishing time, but I was installing a suspension lift on my truck by myself, plus I had already caught a 32-lb ulua in April so the pressure was off as far as being “whitewashed” for the year. My truck still needed an alignment, but my rule is if I find fresh bait I go fishing. On July 14 I first helped some friends handgrout a retaining wall. I then called my cousin Dan and tried to convince him to go fishing. We went over to Oki’s Fish Market and found some fresh tako. After some convincing, my cousin agreed. The only catch was that he had a meeting to go…

■ Fishing comes downtown to 1132 Bishop Street’s annual summer Blockbuster exhibit, titled “The Lure of Fishing.” Hawaii’s fishermen are featured, both as lenders of custom-made and historic fishing gear and as catchers of extraordinary fish by extraordinary individuals who are propelled by their love of fishing. Some of the featured fishermen include Sonny Tanabe, William Aila, Chuck Johnston, Naoki Hayashi and Buzzy Agard. There are opportunities to see photos and fishermen of 100-plus-lb ulua and 1,000-plus-lb marlin, the historic aku fishing industry and Hawaii’s fishing clubs. Impressive Gyotaku by Naoki fish prints line the wood-paneled walls all the way up to the ceiling, and delightful paintings, sculpture and photography by other inspired artists grace the exhibit. Fishing in action, including underwater hookups, is also viewable in the exhibit through…

Dear Chuck: Thank you for your generous donation of monetary sponsorship for our hand-painted coconut trophies for the Hawaii Yacht Club and Goodwill Industries of Hawaii 16th Annual Fishing Tournament. The 2005 tournament was one of the biggest and most successful to date. More than 80 Goodwill participants signed up to compete on 15 boats for hours of fishing and fun. By 9:30, everyone was on board and heading out to sea to compete for the titles of most colorful, longest, smallest, heaviest, most unusual fish, most fish caught, and most total catch weight. Fish revivers were able to put back over 85 percent of the day’s catches. Meanwhile on shore, volunteers were hard at work preparing a huge lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, stirfry, rice, salads, cake, sodas and…

■ Fifteen-year-old Sara Hayward of Nacogdoches, Texas, boated this incredible 184-lb wahoo (ono) while fishing in Cabo San Lucas with her father Tim and Capt. Gerry Martinez aboard the 28’ PEZ ESPADA. Marcos Gonzalez was the deckhand. They were trolling home after catching some yellowfin tuna when they took the strike. The wahoo attacked a “Mean Joe Green” lure rigged on a monofilament leader with an old set of 10/0 tandem hooks. Sara fought the fish using a Shakespeare rod with a Shimano 50 LRS reel. Sara’s huge fish could actually set three records: IGFA all-tackle; junior female; and the women’s 50-lb line class record. …IGFA…

■ Commercial fishers who have been negatively affected by federally imposed fishing restrictions or closure of fishing grounds in or around the Hawaiian archipelago may be eligible for a share of $1.6 million from the Federal Disaster Relief Program (FDRP). The funding may be used for gear replacement, vessel modifications and other costs relating to compliance with federal regulations or the seeking of alternate fisheries. A major objective of the FDRP is to provide economic assistance to fishers and fishing communities affected by federally imposed closures or federally imposed fishing restrictions in the Hawai‘i-based pelagic fisheries, bottomfish fisheries, Northwest Hawaiian Islands lobster fishery and precious coral fisheries managed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. The first step in applying for assistance in fiscal 2006 is to submit a…

Species Status: Federally listed as Endangered. State listed as Endangered. State recognized as Indigenous. IUCN Red List-Endangered Endemic. Species Information ■ Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi), feed on reef fish, octopus, squid and lobsters over many substrates up to depths of 305 meters (1,000 feet). Juveniles feed on a higher proportion of nocturnal fish species. Food seems to be a limiting factor for population growth at this time. Ilio-holo-i-ka-uau are usually solitary except when on preferred beaches when they may be close together and interact. Mating occurs in the spring and early summer. Gestation is approximately one year. Pupping occurs in late winter and spring. Weaning lasts five to six weeks, happening in late spring, and pups and moms stay ashore until weaned. Foster parenting occurs. Most females…

■ Hale iwa trolling has been very good. The charterboat fishermen have been catching a wide variety of fish. Many times, some boats came close to picking up a clean sweep. Large schools of ‘ahi have not shown up on the North Shore, but individual ‘ahi were found here and there. You had to be very lucky to come across them and even luckier to actually hook one and bring it in. If you were even luckier, you might end up with a double or triple strike. Capt. George Woods of the KAYLAH PII decided to try for his second ‘ahi this summer. They had a good start toward J-buoy. The water was getting a little bumpy for George’s 17’ boat, so he decided to go following seas towards II-buoy.…

■ Aloha from the Friendly Isle of Moloka‘i. Finally the big ‘ahi arrived in our waters. Capt. Joe aboard the charterboat ALYCE C caught one over 100 lbs, and Emerson Akiona and Gary Teves reported landing one over 100 lbs, as well. Good going, guys! There were also reports of several large ‘ahi that were hooked and lost. Oh, well. They’ll be bigger next time. Don Williams and his sister Kathy, who comes over from O‘ahu just to go fishing with her brother, were rewarded with a nice pair of sashimi-sized fish after a marathon day of trolling all over the place. Don said it was a long day: they didn’t get in until about 9 p.m. He doesn’t get to go out much because of his work schedule, so…

Hello everyone, Recently, a very large dead turtle floated to our shoreline in Kane‘ohe Bay. After notifying a friend, Colleen Bass, a young man arrived in the afternoon of May 20, 2005. He took pictures and measurements. He was unable to help us remove the decomposing animal, but he did give me a phone number for the city and county department that he felt could help me. I called 247-3553 and spoke to Raymond August. His reply, after asking his supervisor, Gary Ikeda, for advice, was that they would not touch the turtle if it was in the water because they did not have a boat. I replied that the turtle was on shore and that, yes, it was in the water as most things at the shoreline are-half in…

■ We had another successful tournament. A total of 84 adult anglers and 22 kids entered the 7th Annual Pole Benda Invitational Fishing Tournament. Despite the rainy weather, many showed up at the weigh-in at the Waimea Community Center on the Big Island. Anglers and their families were treated to a warm meal prepared by the tournament committee, a welcome change from the three-day peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich diet many had endured. Spectators anxiously watched as anglers in mud-spattered trucks loaded with gear waited to weigh in their catches. Weather was terrible on the entire island, giving everyone equal odds at claiming the big prize. Catches were hung by fish handlers Jason Palacol and Jaiya Decosta on the official scales donated by Glen Shiroma of Scale Systems Hawaii. We began to worry…

■ On the east end of O‘ahu, overlooking Makapu‘u Point, there is a shore break in an out-of-the-way district known to longboard surfers as “Cockroach” Bay. From this standpoint, a preserved view of “Rabbit Island” depicts nature at its best. This fun outing titled the “Alii Holo Kai and Maui Sporting Goods Diving With Dad Tournament” has taken place at this location for the last 10 years, according to Terrence Takahata, coordinator of this event. Terrence said that the purpose of this popular yearly outing is to promote an encouraging attitude between an adult guardian and a child and simply have fun. In this tournament, every keiki is a winner. The weather was good; a lot of sun, and a large tent was a necessity. The winds were mild, and…

■ Five men will be inducted into the International Game Fish Association Fishing Hall of Fame this fall. The class of 2005 includes Stuart “Stu” C. Apte, John L. Morris, George Parker, Donald J. Tyson and Edward vom Hofe. The star-studded enshrinement ceremony and dinner, sponsored by Rolex, will be held Tuesday, October 25, at 6 p.m. at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach, Florida. The public is invited. Each year the honorees are selected for the important contributions they have made to the sport of fishing through angling achievements, literature, the arts, science, education, invention, communication or administration of fishery resources. The inductees and their contributions are as follow: Stuart “Stu” C. Apte-Stu is an all-around angler considered a pioneer in fly fishing for…

■ A recent round of islandwide public hearings was held by State Rep. Ezra Kanoho and members of the Legislature along with the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Aquatics Division on Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) and their plans to create Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Their presentation held a very important message: MPAs will be designed to establish no-fishing areas, with the intent to close fishing off along shoreline areas out to 600 feet, permanently. Last year, Rep. Brian Schatz of Makiki introduced House Bill 131 (cosponsored by Ezra Kanoho, Hermina Morita and Bertha Kawakami from Kaua‘i, and Blake Oshiro from ‘Aiea). This MPA bill was created to do just that-starting with a pilot project to close off fishing areas in Kaua‘i, the bill called for the statewide imposition…

■ I was part of a group of many other fishers attending the DLNR meeting held at Kawananakoa Intermediate School on Thursday, August 3, 2005. The meeting was one of many held as required by legislation to gather public input on Marine Protected Area (MPA) bills that have been introduced over the past few years. We’d heard that comments were made during earlier meetings held on Lana‘i and Moloka‘i to the effect that the fishers don’t care because the turnout was poor. We wanted to correct this misconception by making sure that the fishers’ point of view was heard loud and clear at this meeting. I would like to say thank you to all the fisherpersons that showed up and spoke at the DLNR meeting. It was obvious that there…

August 15, 2005 Ms. Kathy SokugawaDepartment of Planning and Permitting650 South King Street, 7th FloorHonolulu, Hawaii 96813 Dear Ms. Sokugawa, This is a follow up to my conversations with Mr. Robert Stanfield and yourself on August 8, 2005. As you may recall, I requested that you and Mr. Stanfield provide me with copies of the annual certifications Mr. Stanfield issued relating to Ko Olina and its compliance with the City Council Unilateral Agreement for Kb Olina’s permits. As you know a condition of the UA is that Ko Olina must be in compliance with the State Land Use Commission conditions. As indicated to you and Mr. Stanfield, the Commissions Finding of Fact required that a boat ramp with public access be maintained at the Ko Olina Marina, a school be…

■ The Kaka‘ako Kasting Club (KKC) just had an annual banquet. Of note, Jeremy had the largest ulua for the past year weighing in at 66.7 lbs. Enclosed is a group photo of the “Kasters.” A funny thing happened after the banquet. A group of the guys decided to fish that same night, taking leftovers for snacking. They gathered on the “East Secret Spot,” and Jaren caught a live tako. Jaren gave it to new member Keoni, who waded out into knee-deep water and cast it out. On returning to shore, he felt a tug and a fight was immediately on. Keoni landed an ulua, the first for the new club year. No banana dance for him! Later the following month, we had a casual outing on the west side.…

Dear Chuck, July 6, 2005, was our second day of deepwater off Hawaii’s Kona Coast. The weather had been favorable the day before when we’d worked the 70-fathom mark using cut aku for bait. Steve Kwiat and I were on the 33’ LEPIKA skippered by Capt. Russell Nitta. We trolled for fresh aku about 20 minutes out of the harbor. We picked off four 8- to 12-lb skipjack to be used for bait later that day. Capt. Nitta asked us if we were interested in fishing deeper water for the famous table fare “monchong,” featured at the five-star restaurants in Kona and Honolulu. Without hesitation we said yes, having brought the appropriate gear and squid to fish deep stuff normally not attempted during the summer. The first drift area was…

For letters, with photos, received during September we’ll send you HFN’s New Ulua Hook® Embroidered cap logo design…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, It’s trout season. Here’s a picture taken on opening day a few years back. We caught all the fish on. Sorry, it’s a secret. Until next time, mahalo for a great publication. Tight lines,Brad TitusWailua BoyzKapa‘a, Kaua‘i Dear Chuck, I went fishing with my dad on a Saturday afternoon. I put out my bait and caught this ‘omilu. It took about four to five minutes to bring in. This is my first ‘omilu. My ‘omilu weighed 19 lbs. Keola LlanesOceanview, Hawaii Hi Chuck, This is my friend and me with our very…

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■ Early on the morning of July 15, 2004, Vince Chun, Dean and DerekKameoka, Darren Park, Lionel Sugiyama, Calvin Lai and I packed up our gear and made our way to the spot for our once-a-year fishing trip in South Kona. After setting up camp, Vince and I hustled to catch some live bait. There was a school of ‘o‘io in the area. Using fresh shrimp, we were able to catch two good-sized ‘o‘io-both about 2 lbs—that we slid down our ulua poles with much anticipation. Last year at this spot a 75-lb ulua was caught by an angler using live ‘o‘io for bait. At 3:30 p.m. right at the slack tide, like clockwork, there was a strike on my pole, but the fish didn’t hook up. Five minutes later,…

The Turtle Rises Off Mokuho‘oniki ■ As I perched on the bow of a boat, barely skimming the crystal clear blue water out toward the tiny island of Mokuho‘oniki, I thought about the effect of past injustices. The island was once a bomb test site and is now a bird refuge. From the eastern shore of Moloka‘i, it looks like a giant turtle coming up for a breath of air; therefore, the locals call it “Turtle Rock.” But, from the helicopters that come over for tours from Maui, the small island looks like an elephant emerging from the water, so they call it “Elephant Rock.” Mokuho‘oniki is covered in caves and craters created from the many bombs that have smashed its surface. These caves create perfect homes for wondering frigate…

Billfish on a Fly, Part II ■ A handful of Kona captains specialize in fly-rod fishing for billfish. Gene Vander Hoek, skipper of the SEA GENIE II, said Kona is the perfect place because the blues, stripes and spearfish are the perfect size. Along the calm, lee coast of the Big Island, fly fishermen can toss their feathered offerings to spearfish up to 60 lbs, striped marlin averaging 50 to 80 lbs and blues “as big as you might want.” In fact, the fly-rod billfish fisherman is not looking for giant blues because they are simply too big to handle. To add a blue marlin to your list of fly catches, you are probably going to be interested in hooking one in the 50- to 150-lb range. Hawai‘i waters will…

Hawai‘i Fish Overfished ■ Hawai‘i fishermen have been notified by the Secretary of Commerce that the deep-water bottomfish onaga, ehu, ‘opakapaka and hapu‘upu‘u are overfished. Upon receiving notice, WESPAC took the required action at its meeting on June 5, 2005, and set that date as a “control date” for Hawai‘i deep-water snappers in federal waters. Dr. Craig Severance of UHH and a WESPAC member said that a control date usually foretells a limited entry for a fishery. Limited entry means a select few fishermen under severe limits will be able to bottom fish in federal waters around Hawaii. “Fishermen without catch records prior to a control date are not guaranteed access to the fishery,” Dr. Severance said. Most bottomfish grounds are within state jurisdiction (except Penguin Banks), but Dr. Severance…

■ It seems as though the shorecaster is unfairly taking the blame again for something wrong with our ocean resources. I’ve inadvertently discovered that slide-bait ulua fishing is listed as a threat to the Hawaiian monk seal in the state’s Draft Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy <http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/cwcs/what_is.htm>. If you are unfamiliar with this issue, the state is doing this report so that it can get money through the federal/state wildlife grants to aid its conservation efforts. The report must identify animals and plants in greatest need of protection, their distribution and threats to them, and include plans for conservation action to manage them. It must also incorporate public input. I recall hearing the public ads for meetings and requests for comments over the last few months, but I didn’t realize the…

■ Greetings HFN readers from the Waialua Boat Club. I hope the summer has brought you good fishing. The ‘ahi action has slowed down for the WBC members, but the marlin have been biting pretty well. Club member Steve Lee on his boat, the KATHY ANNE, caught ‘ahi on each of his last two trips. The amazing thing is that he fished by himself. I give him credit; I know how hard it can be to bring in an ‘ahi with two people, let alone one person. Good going, Steve! On his last trip Steve was back in Hale‘iwa Harbor by 8:30 a.m. Then he joined Craig Yanagihara on his boat, the PUKA HEAD, the very next day and they caught a marlin and an ono. Scott Masunaga and his…

■ Thirteen teams participated in the Hilo Trailers August Tournament held on August 7. The weather report on tournament day called for moderate trade winds and some showers. At 5:30 a.m. 13 participating boaters headed in all directions, hoping to catch the big one. The boaters reported some hookups, but it was a long and bumpy day. By the end of the day, a total of 10 teams brought to the scales four marlin, six ‘ahi, six ono, three mahimahi and 226½ lbs of other fish. The highlight of the tournament took place aboard the OLENA when Capt. Ted Young and angler John Parsons landed a 288½-lb marlin and two mahimahi, the largest weighing 12 lbs. The marlin won first place in the Largest Fish and the Largest Marlin categories,…

Nu‘uanu Opening Day ■ The opening of the second session of the year was good. There were a lot of catfish available, and a lot were caught. The sizes of the catfish caught were not the biggest on record, and about half of the catches were returned to the water. But, a lot of families had fun catching and releasing. There were some spectacular catches at “The Point” where a family scored one 15-pounder, three 10-pounders and a few more in the 5- to 6-lb range. I enjoyed watching newcomers to the sport like the Avant family, originally from Colorado. In short, the fishery functioned at its best. The program seems to be a resounding success. What were the best baits? Earthworms were on the forefront, and then the usual…