Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2009 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ Spear fishing in blue water requires slightly different equipment than reef diving and different techniques for finding the fish, spearing them and, last but definitely not least, landing them. Sometimes the fish you're trying to spear have spears of their own! Hawai'i had been under a rainy, stormy, gray blanket of clouds for about a week, and that was unusual for the Big Island. Still, my friends Bill Morris and Darlene Azure were up for the wet challenge of going out on the boat and braving the harsh conditions. We pulled up to the first buoy, which is a 10-minute run from Bill's house. After a few drifts, we were back on the boat and contemplating our next move. We all noticed a disturbance way off on the horizon.…

■ The following article from the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) Branch seeks to explain critical decisions that shaped the look, feel and functionality of the newly completed Pohoiki Boat Ramp located in Pahoa, on the island of Hawai'i. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) reopened the Pohoiki Boat Ramp on Friday, March 6, 2009. The new boat ramp and loading dock replace the badly deteriorated boat ramp and loading dock, which were constructed in 1961 and 1979, respectively. The boat ramp was closed for 30 days, beginning on February 4, 2009, to allow the contractor, Kaikor Construction Company Inc., to complete the contract work, which included the demolition of the existing structures and construction of a new concrete boat ramp, loading dock with tendering,…

■ Capt. Dennis Cintas has had a lot of success jigging in very deep water off the Kona Coast. Not only are the 60- to 80-fathom depths a surprise, but so are the tackle and the types of fish he catches. I joined "Capt. D" and his crew Capt. Joe Schumaker aboard the KRISTA to learn about his gear and methods. Our charter for the day, Don and Katie Davenport of Westport, Washington, were no strangers to deep-jigging for sporty bottom fish. Don grew up crewing for his dad, Capt. Don Davenport, on the Westport fishing boat FN RANGER. He's had a lifetime of dropping heavy metal into the jaws of halibut, lingcod, rockfish and other bottom feeders. So it was no surprise when Don hooked his first fish with…

HFN Part 5 in a series about inshore fish of Hawaii. The 12-part series is a project of the Hawaii Fisheries Local Action Strategy. If you have any questions or would like more information, pleasecontact <fisherieslas@gmail.com>. IN MOST OF THE PACIFIC, ROI IS GOOD EATING. In fact, in many places, it's too good. Grouper is a slow growing fish and takes longer to reach a reproductive stage. As a result, it is often threatened by over fishing because it does not spawn enough to keep up with demand. Not so in Hawaii. The invasive fish was introduced in the '50s to boost declining localfish stocks, but today roi is one of the most despised fish on Hawaii reefs. In fact, people don't typically eat it here. And while roi, commonly…

■ Mike Chung arranged a last-minute gathering on Monday, February 3, 2009. This tako tournament was held in honor of Clyde Sasaki to celebrate his retirement from the Honolulu Fire Department. Clyde, a former captain of the Koko Head Fire Station, had coordinated the Kaneohe Bay Tako Tournament for many years when he was living in the area. At about 9 a.m., seven boats assembled at the sandbar for a short blessing before the start of the meet. The wind was nice, blowing northeast, the air temperature was in the 60s and the water was cold. But the weather didn't deter the firemen from participating. Either they were off-duty or had just gotten off their watches. Mike said that 32 divers signed up. The get-together (mainly firefighters) was small compared…

Fishing and Hawaiiana at Hualalai Four Season's Resort by Josefa Rocha-Tufaga, Marina Sosner, Joon Woo Lee and Ryuta Yoda ■ At Hualalai Four Season's Resort on the Big Island, there is an old Hawaiian fishpond that has been carefully restored by Uncle David Chai and his crew. In this pond there are about 80 ulua ranging in size from 10 to 40 lbs. Because there were too many ulua in the pond, the ulua population needed to be reduced to maintain a healthy balance and allow for these ulua to reach maturity in the wild. Our job the first day was to help Uncle David Chai by catching 10 to 12 of these fish to tag and release into the ocean about 20 feet away. Uncle David taught us about…

March started with a bang and dwindled toward the middle. Despite that drop-off, the month ended fairly decently. Kent Mongreig of the FISH WISH topped the Big Fish List with a 27.5-lb aku and was confident that it would be there for a while. To everyone's surprise, just days later Vince Damazo caught a 29. 5-pounder while fishing on his skiff, the NELLIE B. This tuna worked Vince on 130-class tackle for nearly 15 minutes. Remember, size isn't everything. March 24 to 31 was a good week for fishing. Besides the aku caught on the 26th, much larger tuna were biting. There were five 'ahi over 100 lbscaught on that day alone-and two of them were "gorilla" 'ahi (200-plus-pounders). Both the NORTHERN LIGHTS and the SILKY caught 207-pounders; however, Capt.…

■ From the beginning of time, our ancestors have thrived on the sea's bounty, eternally exchanging extreme respect (and occasional human loss) for a portion of its life-sustaining gifts. Flash-forward to the 21st century, and here we are, still nurturing the delicate relationship that is so important to our existence. Although technology now allows us to fish almost any body of water via motorized vessels, we look in a different direction. Driven by our natural, innate urge to find a "better way," we return to our roots. Our motivation is the same-to procure the divine medium between respect for the ocean and bountiful returns that keep us happy, healthy and full. Modern-day kayak anglers evolved from assorted environments: shore anglers inhibited by land limitations; private boaters looking for more convenience;…

Ke'ehi Harbor Facelift ■ The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will begin work this week to replace two piers at Ke'ehi Small Boat Harbor on O'ahu. Demolition of the existing deteriorated pile foundations and wood framing of the 100 and 200 Piers has begun and will be followed by construction of new, engineered aluminum-framed dock systems in their place. Pier 100 was condemned and had no longer been in use. While in service, it was approximately 200 feet long by 5 feet wide and accommodated 20 vessels. Pier 200 was almost completely deteriorated. When the 200 Pier was in service, it was approximately 200 feet long by 5 feet wide and also accommodated 20 vessels. The improvements at the Ke'ehi Small Boat Harbor are part of a multi-year…

■ Bad weather, good fishing; good weather, better fishing. It's that time of the year again. The bite is on off Pohnpei! The fish around Pohnpei do not seem to get as big as the fish caught in Hawai'i, or maybe we just have a smaller fleet of boats and lighter gear compared to the Hawai'i fleet. On an average day, there might be two or three boats going out for big game and few dozen other boats going out mostly for aku on their handlines. But when the bite is on, it's on, and what a season it has been! The trade winds in Pohnpei are not as strong as in Hawai'i. We have around four months of 15 mph and stronger winds, four months of 15 mph and…

Ni'ihau Fish Kill ■ "Classified military operations coincided with fish kill," reported Joan Conrow in The Hawaii Independent. She wrote that the Ni'ihau fish kill that "Splash!" wrote about last month likely involved the DARPA, a government secret weapons testing agency. Here's a look at Joan's story. The DARPA is Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency <http://www.darpa.mil/>. What do they do? According to their mission statement, "DARPA has been the place for people with ideas too crazy, too far out and too risky for most research organizations. DARPA is an organization willing to take a risk on an idea long before it is proven." Chris Swenson is a coastal program administrator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). His crews were poisoning rats on Lehua. They had to leave the…

■ On Saturday, April 4, my 6-year-old son D'artagnan held his First Annual Keiki Fishing Tournament. It all started a few weeks earlier when D'artagnan asked, "Dad, can you help me make a fishing tournament so me and some of my friends can do some thing fun on spring break?" I said, "That sounds like a great idea," and agreed to help. I made some calls and was very happy to hear that Tokunagas, TKS, JJ's Country Market, L. Huerta, J. Hara Store, Feel My Bean Coffee Shop, Hog Hunting Poi Dogs and HAWAII FISHING NEWS would be proud sponsors of this first annual event. Flyers needed to be made and so did more phone calls. With only three weeks to the event, I was very busy. I was worried…

■ Our tournament, which was held on April 3 and 4, 2009, was a great success. We partnered with the Maui Police Department, John Mumford, the county of Maui, the Four Seasons Resorts and the CDFL. Thank you to our generous sponsors: Four Season's Resorts; Maui Sporting Goods; West Maui Sports and Fishing Supply; New Maui Fishing Supply; S. Tokunaga Store; HAWAII FISHING NEWS; Hanapa'a Hawaii; Naoki; NOAA; PIFG; Pacific Ocean Producers; and the DLNR. Thank you, Ben and Cindy Wong and "Let's Go Fishing" for coming to our tournament. We enjoyed your company and help, as well. We look forward to joining you on KHON 2 one Sunday in the future. I wish to thank many people for their part in putting this tournament together. They all worked hard…

■ The bird-hunting season ended only two weeks prior, and I was already getting the itch to be out in the field again. Weather improvements had sparked good bird production, and the opportunity to run guided hunts for Parker Ranch had kept the dogs and me occupied the previous four months. But with that now history, withdrawal doldrums loomed. When son Matt informed me that he and his partners from the fire station were going pig hunting in Ka'u, I jumped at the opportunity to tag along. Recollections of a similar hunt a year or so ago were but a vague and distant memory. That trip turned out to be an 11-hour ordeal over muddy trails and through the thick waiwi (guava) of the Ola'a Forest Reserve. Even though it…

■ Aloha, HAWAII FISHING NEWS' 'ohana! It's "Boogie-O" from Coastal Kayak Tours. Chuck, you were so right when you told me a few years back that I was going to be busy. Being a sponsored kayak angler and attending all the kayak fishing tournaments, kayak demos and industry trade shows has been a blast, but lots of work, too. I have also been busy with kayak guiding and keeping up with my kayak tour business. Last year I had the privilege of writing for Kayak Fishing Magazine, <http://www.kayakfishingmagazine.net/>, and I continue to be a featured columnist. With so much going on, I have had little time to submit stories to HAWAII FISHING NEWS. I would like to share with everyone a fun day of fishing from last year and update…

Dear Chuck, Last month I went fishing with a buddy of mine on the east side of O'ahu. I was going after papio on light tackle, but we ended up hooking up and landing a 30-lb ono. I was only using 10-lb test, and it took an hour and a half for me to get the fish to the boat. My leader was only 10-lb test, too. I've attached some photos but have more if you are interested in hearing the whole story and publishing it in your paper, or maybe in the "Holoholo" section if you want me to just write a paragraph. Let me know if you are interested. Thank you. Sam Wagenvoord Honolulu, O'ahu ■ A friend of mine owns a 24' Sea Ray in Hawai'i-kai and…

DLNR Special to HAWAII FISHING NEWS ■ The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has launched a new administrative process for dealing with minor natural resource damage cases. This new system, called the Civil Resources Violation System, or "CRVS" (pronounced ser-vice), will be used to enforce existing natural and cultural resource laws and will quickly and fairly process minor violations. One such violation occurs when a commercial marine fisherman does not submit his or her monthly catch report on time as required. This article will answer some common questions about how the CRVS will affect fishers with commercial marine licenses (CML). Q: Why is the new CRVS necessary? A: The CRVS is a long overdue tool for handling minor natural and cultural resource violation cases. Historically, the DLNR has…

■ I met Renee at a whale-watching excursion during one of my outings for the Army Outdoor Recreation program. I was a substitute leader because the person who regularly led the excursion was not able to work that day. I led my group to Hale'iwa Beach Park, and we trekked a few hundred yards to the whalewatching area. Because it was already the end of March, we did not see too many whales. To be honest, we only saw a few huge splashes in the distance. I asked the whale-watchers if they'd seen whales from a boat and a few said that they had. That made me wonder! I thought Renee was in oceanography or some related field. She informed me that she worked for the state of Hawai'i as…

■ Fish conservation was the first lesson learned by students this year before they cast their poles and hopes into our big blue ocean. At Hawai'i Preparatory Academy's middleschool, every student selects a weeklong adventure that takes them to places all around the Big Island and our state. This special week is called Theme Week. I offered students a chance to learn or refine their fishing skills by shore or boat and learn the ancient Japanese art form of gyotaku from master artist Naoki Hayashi. Twelve enthusiastic seventh and eighth grade girls and boys from Kalapana, China, South Korea, Japan, Waikoloa and Waimea signed up for the challenge. On our first day of fishing, Uncle David Chai and his crew at Hualalai Resort taught our students about fish conservation and…

Ho' omaluhia Weed Problem Over? ■ Somehow or other, the entire pond seems to be miraculously free of the Elodea that once covered the surface from one bank to the other. I could hardly believe my eyes! I had to resort to using my trusty sonar fish finder to confirm that the weed is now on the bottom of the pond and rotting. But, why and how? I formed all kinds of opinions and tried to correlate my findings with known facts. The pond has been severely flooded several times. More than once the water became absolutely chocolate brown and very not feasible for proper fishing. That could have been a reason, but how come flooding had not caused the weed to die in the past? The idea that maybe…

■ Mokupapapa Discovery Center staff recently opened and blessed the center's newest feature, a newly designed wet laboratory. The "wet lab" allows students and groups to experience hands-on, inquiry-based lessons on marine research and conservation. The new laboratory space contains several aquariums with live specimens, microscopes connected to large monitors and an Internet connection for video conferencing to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. "The wet lab is an exciting expansion to Mokupapapa and will increase opportunities forlearning about the monument through interactive programs," said Linda Schubert, Mokupapapa Discovery Center manager. "In addition, the lab opens up the possibility of usexpanding partnerships with other educational facilities and continuing education programs." The wet lab offers at least three aquariums to be used as touch tanks and space to be used in a classroom…