Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Hawaii Fishing News

For over a couple of decades, there has been a significant deterioration in the overall health of the marine ecosystem of Maunalua Bay. Kupuna, fishers, and other Bay users with decades of empirical knowledge have expressed concern over this decline. Their concerns are supported by scientific studies noting that Maunalua Bay’s fish biomass is among the lowest in the State. A Hui led by fishers, and with a variety of stakeholders also involved (fishing organizations, conservation organizations, etc.), has met for over four years, and continues working collaboratively to find a path towards sustainable fishing in the bay. The current efforts and proposal includes: - Establishment of a Fisheries Management Area (FMA) within the Bay. - Establishment of an Advisory Panel, that is comprised of stakeholders responsible for evaluating the…

Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 brought us prolonged La Niña conditions, which means that Pacific Ocean waters around the equator are cooler than average. This has notable impacts on ‘ahi availability in Hawai‘i—fish are more dispersed, and the longline fleet, trollers and handliners alike tend to have a tougher time finding them. This is in contrast to 2019, when everyone seemed to be flush with ‘ahi, with especially large bigeye finding their way onto the Honolulu auction floor. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center said that “La Ninã is likely to continue into the Northern Hemisphere spring (67 percent chance during March to May 2022), and then transition to ENSO-neutral (51 percent chance during April to June 2022).” This means conditions…

I’ve hunted game birds for a very long timeOver hundreds of hills that I’ve had to climbWith my gun dogs ahead and me following behindA lot of game birds were in fields there to find. But something bad’s happened to all of that nowThat’s caused many hunters a deep furrowed browOf all of the reasons, I am not quite sureBut hope we can quickly determine a cure. Open space now is decidedly lessThe mountain’s turned into a brushy choked messDogs loosed to hunt game are soon lost to sightIt can only be hoped they will be alright. I now wade through brush that tears at my clothesLithe branches snap back and whack at my noseI call the dogs in and each one returnsI’d hate to be here when a wildfire…

Mahalo to so many of our subscribers for letting us know in the first half of February that they hadn't received the February issue on time—anytime it is late, we do want you to let us know. The good part of this problem was being able to talk with so many of you individually. In late January and over the next couple of weeks, we posted on our social media platforms, and called our counter sales locations too. We have multiple accounts on both Instagram and Facebook, but we didn’t have a way to email all the subscribers individually. Here is the update: Yes, we apologize that the February 'printed' issue was mailed late to subscribers on February 10th. This was not due to a USPS problem. The digital version…

Dale Yoshida is a local fisherman from the island of O‘ahu whose heartfelt passion for fishing led him to start his own business, Water’s Edge Baits, in November 2019. The knowledge gained from fishing throughout his childhood, along with some incredible life experiences, helped Dale see his business of durable soft plastic baits grow to a company that offers 109 different colors and is trusted by many local fishermen. He strives to make exceptional baits and to help people experience all the different layers of joy that fishing has to offer. With goals to provide a top-quality product, to care for his family and friends, and to live a happy life, this is what many of us in Hawai‘i are also striving for. Dale grew up in Mililani, O‘ahu. His…

Legislation Proposed: Prohibiting Drone Use by Fishermen HFN Readers, I am asking for everyone’s help to oppose SB2065 SD1. It outlaws the use of drones for fishing. The way it is worded, it even makes the use of drones illegal by the commercial akule fishermen who use them for spotting the akule schools. It would make it illegal for anyone to use a drone for any kind of fishing, whether recreational, subsistence (like me), commercial, etc. While it seems the main thrust for this is coming from boaters who run afoul of surface lines on floats, the committee report says the problem is that it “can pose a risk to certain protected species”. The bill is now in the Senate, and after that, the bill is sent to the House.…

KONA JANUARY Catch and Consume Report Kona’s charter catch reports are limited to tuna (‘ahi) weighing over 100 lbs and billfish catches of any size, any species: (S)=Striped Marlin, (B)=Black Marlin. Fish / Wt. / Angler / Capt. / Boat Jan 1Marlin / 461 / Beaudry / Epsteins / LAST CHANCEMarlin / 320 / unknown / Diehl / BITE ME III Jan 2Marlin / 261 / Greenlee / Hoover / CORMORANT Jan 3Marlin / 109 / Murphy / Whitcomb / ICHIBAN Jan 4Striped Marlin / 93 / Breyer / Whitcomb / ICHIBANMarlin / 191 / Saylor / Wilson / CAMELOT Jan 6Ahi / 130 / unknown / Rubalcava / MISS MOJO Jan 11Marlin / 260 / Wall / Damasco / BITE ME II Jan 15Marlin / 197 / unknown / Diehl / BITE ME III Jan 16Marlin / 411 / Grocholski / Grocholski / KIYOMI Jan 17Marlin / 327.5 / Rode / Llanes / VIXENBlack Marlin / 234 / Mccord / Wilson / CAMELOTMarlin / 118 / Hofelich / Hofelich / SOLO MALOLO Jan 18Marlin / 115 / Schumann / Whitcomb / ICHIBAN Jan 19Marlin / 240 / unknown / Hopkins / NASTY HABITMarlin / 225 / Georg / Datz / MAKENAMarlin / 207 / Howe / Howe / DJANGO Jan 20Marlin / 407 / Frederick / Hudson / CAMELOTAhi / 110 / Gweke / Gustavson / TOPSHAPE Jan 21Marlin / 443 / Silver / Wilson / CAMELOT Jan 23Ahi / 122 / Knight / Rubalcava / MISS MOJOMarlin / 431 / Johnston / Kanga / HOOKED UPMarlin / 178.5 / Jacobs / Jacobs / KALAW KAI Jan 24Marlin / 148.5 / Culbertson / Wilson / CAMELOT Jan 26Ahi / 158 / Blasao / Vannata / SWEET SADIE Jan 27Ahi / 113 / Postawko / Kam / MISS MOJO Jan 28Marlin / 147 / Kattwich / Choy / SIESTA Jan 30Marlin / 157 / Hanke / Wilson / CAMELOTMarlin / 148 / Hanke/ Wilson / CAMELOTAhi / 110 / Knight / Rubalcava / MISS MOJO KONA JANUARY Tag and Release Report Fish / Wt. / Angler / Capt. / Boat Jan 1Marlin / 130 / Beaudry / Epstein / LAST CHANCEMarlin / 160 / Beaudry / Epstein / LAST CHANCE Jan 2Marlin / 150 / Thompson / Parker / MARLIN MAGIC II Jan 9Marlin / 60 / Osborne / Fogarty / XTREME DREAMMarlin / 200 / Hakala / Fogarty / XTREME DREAMMarlin / 80 / Raab / Wilson / FIRE HATT Jan 11Marlin / 125 / Maxwell / Gustavson / TOPSHAPEMarlin / 550 / Cunningham / Gustavson / TOPSHAPE Jan 12Spearfish / 35 / Whop / Hall / KILA KILA Jan 13Marlin / 150 / Gossman / Gustavson / TOPSHAPE Jan 17Marlin / 100 / Bradley / Gustavson / TOPSHAPEMarlin / 140 / Jackson / Hall / KILA KILA Jan 18Marlin / 350 / Navarro / Wilson / FIRE HATTMarlin / 120 / Skinner / Wilson / FIRE HATT Jan 19Marlin / 280 / Smalls / Bagwell / SILKYMarlin / 275 / Boora / Parker / MARLIN MAGIC IIMarlin / 225 / Kady / Parker / MARLIN MAGIC IIMarlin / 150 / unknown / Contessa / BITE ME I…

The 2021 blue marlin season started off slowly with a 470.2-pounder captured during the first part of January. There was an unexpected run of big blue marlin during March, when four weighing more than 500 lbs each (743.2, 641.5, 611.5 and 530.2 lbs) were brought into Lahaina. A 525-pouder was caught in May, and a 545.6-lb blue came to the scales in June. The big girls took a break until August, when the last two big blues for the year, 705.9 and 579.5 lbs, came in. Top Harbor Marlin The START ME UP DAS IT captured the top marlin of 2021, a 743.2-lb blue caught by Capt. Ross Elkins and deckman Ekolu Garso. Ross was heading back in from the Palaoa Point Lighthouse, off the southwest corner of Lana‘i, on…

Hilo Trollers News No news is good news! Plans for spring club tournaments remain on hold because of the new COVID-19 variant. Should things change enough for the Hilo Trollers to run tournaments safely for all, we will post notices here and on the club’s websites. Captains will be notified. Meanwhile, the trolling season begins in April or May. It’s always a good time to check and prepare your gear, especially your required safety gear. For further information on the Hilo Trollers, contact President John Burns at (808) 854-4057, vice president C. J. Lewis at (808) 430-7043, or me, advisor Craig Severance, at (808) 935-1734, (808) 640-1670, E-mail <severancecc@gmail.com>. You may also get current information by E-mailing <HiloTrollersFC@gmail.com>, visiting the club’s website at <www.tinyurl.com/hilotrollers>, or following @Hilotrollers on Instagram. Parent-Child,…

On February 3, we launched our 17’ whaler, the KAIMANA, from Hilo. We had been trolling for about a year, and the only two pelagic fish we ever had on board were a couple of ono. We always pictured our first ‘ahi on the boat to be a rat or a shibi, and we figured our first mahimahi would be machete-sized. Boy, were we wrong! It was a beautiful day; the winds were down, and there was a small swell on the ocean and “choke” snow on Mauna Kea. We came out of the harbor and were greeted by breaching whales. These big guys were everywhere! Dodging them was like playing a video game. We started with trolling, then tried a couple of buoys and did some bottom fishing. On…

I am a first-generation fisherman, and Jim Rizzuto’s FISHING Hawaiian Style® was the textbook for my FSL (fishing as a second language) class. There were no anglers in my family, and no one ever put a rod in my hand; but somehow, before I made my very first cast, I found a copy of that book at the Kaimuki Library. Though my general position at age 10 was not pro-reading, there was something about that book that grabbed me and had me sitting on the floor of the adult section, riveted for hours. Many years later, after the book had motivated me to actually start fishing, Jim’s section on deep-jigging using soft plastics stuck in my mind and became the subject of an unusual amount of rumination. If this technique…

The 1st Blue Kicks it Off Right The DIE HARD HOWEFISH weighed in Lahaina’s first big billfish of 2022, a 476-lb Pacific blue marlin captured by Jacob Dille. Jacob was fishing with Capt. Billy Burnett and deckman Dave Wright. First thing in the morning, Billy fished at the SO-buoy, off the southwest corner of Kaho‘olawe, without much luck. He decided to head out to deeper waters to a private buoy. They were about halfway between the two buoys, and Billy had just changed out the long-’rigger and longcorner position lures. Suddenly, one of the charter customers mentioned that they saw something. Billy looked back and saw a marlin behind the long-’rigger position. The marlin came in and hit the lure but came off. Billy free-spooled the reel a few times…