Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2007 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ During the war, the military cordoned off most of the wharfs and piers around Honolulu and some of the beaches around O‘ahu with barbed wire fences. And when the war ended, all of those wire fences were removed and the public was allowed to fish from those piers and beaches. As an 11-year-old kid, I first realized the fences were gone when I rode my bicycle around Honolulu Harbor and found I could ride along some of the piers and stop to look down into the water for signs of fish swimming around the pilings. It was a new experience for me, and somewhat of a thrill, being a born fishing fool. I recall one memorable incident after the war on a day when I rode my bike down…

■ How’s this to tickle the imagination: guard dolphins? The other day while I was browsing through the newspaper in search of the comics page, an article caught my eye. It presented the pros and cons of having trained dolphins and sea lions guard the U.S. Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor near Seattle. The base is an extremely vulnerable target because it houses many submarines, ships and laboratories. 1 found it odd that the U.S. government would trust sea mammals with the protection of a prominent Naval base, and my curiosity led me to look it up in more detail online. I found out that the Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is training sea lions and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins to mark and retrieve objects for the Navy in the ocean. Among these…

■ The Pencil Popper was almost to the boat when the water exploded under it. The 40-lb G.T. (giant trevally, or ulua, as we call them here in Hawai‘i) was so close to the boat it splashed water on Steve and me. This was the seventh cast Steve had made this morning. He missed fish on his second and third casts, but as the 50-lb test line melted from the spinning reel, we knew this was a solid hookup. Capt. Steve Petras, a charterboat skipper from Kona, was hooked into his very first G.T. He had traveled to Christmas Island for just this kind of action: big G.T. and ‘ahi (yellowfin tuna) on spin casting gear. If the first five minutes of fishing was any indication of what we could…

Waialua Boat Club’s 55th Annual Awards Banquet ■ Aloha to the fishermen of Hawai‘i from the Waialua Boat Club (WBC). We recently held our 55th annual banquet at Waimalu Chop Suey, and, man, did we have fun, as you can see by the photos. The awards for our annual tournament were bestowed by tournament cochairmen Les Okimoto and John Kurahara, and the recipients are listed below. We give special trophies every year that are real works of art. This year the recipient of the Fisherman of the Year Trophy was Steve Lee for all of his outstanding catches. The Sportsman of the Year Trophy was awarded to Ed Watamura for being president for the third year running. The Memorial Day Trophy and the Largest Ono Trophy were awarded to Steve…

■ Spring has sprung! We have had many reports of mahimahi large and small being caught up and down the Windward Coast. Small aku and shibi showed up in many fishboxes along with an occasional marlin. All in all, it’s looking good for an El Nino season. Let’s hope fishing continues to improve. Jimmy Schade pulled in with a new boat. On his second trip he and his crew caught a 252-lb marlin. Jimmy had his brother Jeff, nephew Josh and Bo Bertleman out 30 miles on a decent day that was both rough and nice. They were in the 180s, and they also had two small mahimahi to fill out the catch. If you remember, Josh and Bo captured an 877-lb marlin the previous month, so these guys are…

■ Sorry, fishermen, that I haven’t written for the last couple of months. Trolling out of Hale‘iwa has been pretty good. Good-sized shibi have been coming up at the buoys. The shoreline fishing was pretty good. A lot of ‘o‘io weighing 4 to 15 lbs were caught. If you have a chance, you should try your luck with these very hard-fighting fish. More than likely, you will get one or two good-sized ‘o‘io. They make really good fishcake. We are all praying for better fishing this summer Please pay attention to the new rules and regulations that have been put into effect. Waialua Elementary Keiki Fishing Club With the winter break being three weeks long, I thought the keiki would go fishing. I guess I was wrong. They must have…

■ Spear fishing: Hawaii’s past or Hawaii’s future? Often referred to as an ancient art, spear fishing has always been a way of life for the Hawaiian people. With state-of-the-art equipment and modern improvements to spear guns, spear fishing is fast becoming a fishing alternative for many families. Practicing our Hawaiian right to take fish with a spear means we respect the ‘aina and the reef. Early Hawaiian chiefs were able to eat many fish unavailable to kama‘aina, savoring certain species reserved for royal families. Although we have progressed beyond those kapu, some of the early laws pertaining to conservation have proven to prolong species for future generations. Almost every species of fish were kapu for a season, allowing rejuvenation and preservation. To fish without regulation by state or agency…

Teeth on the Fly ■ Fishermen are a funny lot. Perhaps vacationing at an exotic destination like Taveuni, Fiji, pushes their envelope even further by presenting them with stranger opportunities. Most fishing stories tell of a fish rocketing, barrelrolling and greyhounding and then being boated or released. That is all fine and good and according to the specified expectations of fishing. But, every once in a while a story gets interesting when a fisherman has a sudden epiphany that seems like a grand and logical idea at the time. Such was the case with Jed Mixter from Wyoming. Jed had quite a bit of experience fly fishing on saltwater flats, but in Taveuni he had his first blue-water flyfishing adventure. Day one was the perfect opportunity for Jed to introduce…

■ Are you taking proper care of your fishing reels? Do you even know how? This month, we’ll look at 15 things you can do to make sure you get the maximum life from your high-priced gear. To gather the best information possible, I consulted with six different reel manufacturers. These are the guys who get the reels back after you misuse them (and then blame them for the problems you created!). After pulling together the advice of the folks who make them, I wanted to get some additional local perspective from someone familiar with how Hawai‘i anglers use and abuse their gear. So I consulted with Honolulu tackle pro Joe Kimura, who has been making rods and repairing reels for more than two decades. Local boy Joe (McKinley, 1977)…

State Boating Fees To Fund Repairs to Small Boat Harbors, Boating Facilities ■ The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announced new fee increases for recreational boaters that took effect on March 1, 2007. The fees will be used to make long-overdue repairs to small-boat harbors and boating facilities statewide. The new fee structure applies to recreational mooring rates at state boating facilities, offshore mooring rates, mooring without permission, and annual user fees for state boating ramps. The last fee increase for the state’s small-boat harbors and boating facilities took place in March 1995. Ramp use permit fees will increase from $25 to $40 for anyone renewing their annual permits after May 1, 2007. Boaters who have already paid their annual ramp permit fees for the coming year will…

■ I recently had the depressing experience of witnessing the worst of Hawai‘i politics firsthand. I gave testimony opposing H.B. 1578 and H.B. 1848. These two badly written bills, if enacted, would not only kill the much-needed and long-awaited ban on lay gill netting, but, more frighteningly, would also cripple the DLNR so much that this department would no longer be able to manage ocean resources at all! Because it is transparently obvious to me and all the great folks who gave testimony against these two bills that these bills were concocted by the gill-netters and their spokespeople, it really shows you how little concern these guys have for our reef and inshore fisheries. They would have us without protection for endangered seals and turtles and the badly depleted and…

New Gill Nets Rules ■ The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) reported that during the agency’s nine public hearings on the rules, 86 percent of 1,239 oral and written testimonies favored the regulations. “DLNR has taken these steps to protect Hawaii’s near-shore marine resources by instituting requirements for more responsible and appropriate fishing practices,” said Land Board Director Peter Young. “We approach marine resource protection from a wide variety of perspectives, but without a change in the management of near-shore reef fisheries, there is no reason to expect the marine resource decline to stop. We will continue to fight to reduce sedimentation, invasive species and other impacts to near-shore waters.” New Gill Net Regulations • Total ban on the use of lay gill nets on Maui. • Area…

Aloha Chuck, Here’s a shout out to Capt. Clay Ching of the HALLELUJAH HOU out of Moloka‘i. My wife and I headed out to work the dropoff yesterday morning and immediately got into a nice-sized blue marlin. After an hour we had it on board, without sufficient ice, we decided to head in. I raised Capt. Clay on the radio and asked him how we could cut it up and share it with the island. He was ending a charter, and within 30 minutes he met me at the dock, transferred the fish into his large fishbox, took it to his house and taught us how to perfectly cut up 130 lbs of marlin. We barely had time to drive the five minutes to his house, and Clay’s “coconut wireless”…

For letters, with photos, received during April we’ll send you HFN’s 30th Anniversary embroidered cap, KAPU STICK-Fish Regulations Sticker…our way of saying thanks for sharing your catch!…Hana pa‘a, Chuck Send to: P.O. Box 25488, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96825 or e-mail: <fishnews@hawaii.rr.com> Hi Chuck, Here’s a 43.4-lb ulua caught on April 7th at 8 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The bite came six nights before the full moon on a live akule. The fish peeled 100 yards of line straight out. It finally stopped, went right and started to come in. We all thought it was a shark. Finally got the fish in front and it surfaced. Darren, ready with the gaff, shouted “Ulua!” and gaffed it in an instant. I was stoked! Much mahalos to Darren for gaffing the fish, Ronnie L.…

Partnering Up For Three-Prong Action ■ Once again, the Alii Holo Kai (AHK) dive club got together for their annual three-prong tournament. On Sunday, February 25, 22 members participated in this event. The meet was held at Kaiona Beach Park in Waimanalo on the island of O‘ahu. This was a swim-from-shore meet, and you had to dive with a partner. Dive time was four hours, and you could travel anywhere by foot as long as you returned by 12:30 p.m. with your partner. Other rules stated that your three prongs had to be 8 feet or less without any barbs and the rubber sling had to be attached to a spear. Each diver could only spear 10 small fish, and the minimum size was 5½ inches for aholehole, ‘aweoweo, kole,…

Hi Chuck, I just found these pictures of a group I took to Christmas Island 20 years ago. The crew stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel. The Korean Wreck was actually a ship on the reef, and the fishing was so good even with 16-lb test line and a Penn 550SS one could use PILI lures to land some 28- to 33-lb ulua…and be back to the hotel in time for lunch. I’m glad to report that the fishing has made a complete recovery since our “rape and pillage” days. “If it’s hooked, it’s cooked.” I posted some pictures at <http://www.hawaiibassfishing.com>. Click on the Christmas Island link. Aloha,Stan Wright…

Laura Bush Says ‘Papahanaumokuakea’ ■ On March 2, 2007, Laura Bush flew to visit Midway Atoll. She then traveled to Washington Place, the prison home of Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, Queen Lili‘uokalani. There Laura Bush proclaimed “Papahanaumokuakea” the new name of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Monument. Attending the naming ceremony were Uncle Buzzy Agard, Aunt Pua, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Deputy Secretary of Commerce David Sampson, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Jim Connaughton, Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Peter Young and Lt. Gov. Aiona. But was the creation of the world’s largest kapu no-fishing-forever preserve a result of an out-of-state environmental E-mail blitz and an erroneous video created by Jean-Michel Cousteau? Who is Jim Connaughton? At the naming ceremony,…

■ Weather forecasts come in all shapes, sizes and resolutions. The National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Honolulu provides forecasts and warnings for wind, seas and other weather parameters: 1) for the coastal waters out to 40 nautical miles from the main Hawaiian islands; 2) for offshore areas out to 240 nautical miles; and 3) for high seas areas from 140W to 160E longitude, equator north to 30N and also from 120W to 160E, equator south to 25S. Forecasts and weather information are provided in graphics, text and voice formats over news wire services, NOAA Weather (All Hazard) Radio, marine radio FAX, U.S. Coast Guard voice broadcasts, and online at <http://www.weather.gov/hawaii> under the “Marine” link. The following information can help you locate the best possible forecast for your…

Fellow Fishermen: March 1, 2007 Thank you again for your attention and support of this critical legislation. I truly believe that if all fishermen pull together, this bill will make it through both houses of our Legislature and force the DLNR to do its job properly and professionally. The “ball” is in our court, as the House Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaii Affairs Committee and House Finance Committee stood by the fishermen and passed the bill through their committees. The next step is the House Floor, where all House members will vote on whether to pass this bill over to the Senate or not. Mahalo again,Roy Morioka Hey Gang, March 2, 2007 I need your help. You have received this E-mail either because you are a fisherperson or you…

Aloha Chuck, My name is Jon Lee. My family and close friends call me Jay. My boat is the KEALO-HALANI, a 22’ Hawaiian Hawk named after the love of my life, my wife. I normally fish on the windward side of O‘ahu out of He‘eia-kea in Kane‘ohe. I had been planning a fishing trip with my coworker David Mower (a.k.a. Buck) to shadow him on his boat, the BARBARA M, a Force 30 on a shakedown run after a very lengthy refurbishing. However, the weather just would not cooperate, or our schedules did not match. On February 5, 2007, it all finally worked out and the trip was on. I left my house in Kane‘ohe at 4 a.m. to pick up my regular crew of Ron Wolf and Jason Lopez…

■ Aloha from the Friendly Isle. The good news is that the CC FAD is on station, albeit a few weeks late because of some mechanical problems with the vessel used for the deployment. I hope it will be an awesome producing FAD for the Moloka‘i fishermen that will make frequent visits to it. I know I’ll be heading that way every chance that I get. I received a diving report from none other than Pernell Mondoy. He and dive partner Pono Asano had a great dive session. They spotted an ulua in a small cave. After swimming back to the boat to get his spear gun, Pernell went back to the spot and surprised the fish with what he called a “Hail Mary” shot, and the battle was on.…