Family Fishing fun at Ho'omaluhia

10/18/2009

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe, Oahu is one of those incredible gems that you almost don't want to share with anyone else. It is 400acres of carefully landscaped park land. Originally built by the Army Corp of Engineers to provide flood protection, it has become a wonderful park to bring the family. It also has a 30acre lake stocked with various freshwater species such as numerous types of Cichlids, Tilapia, Red Devils and Catfish. It is a catch and release lake, hand poles are provided at the visitor's center and just provides another avenue for quality time with the family.

I had always wanted to check the park out after constantly reading about it in Hawaii Fishing News magazine. So this past Sunday, we loaded up a couple of bamboo poles, some light tackle and after a quick stop at Malama Market for drinks and sandwiches we were on our way to Kaneohe.
This being my first time to the area, as we were driving past a posted guard at the gate, I slowed down to ask if we had to sign in before proceeding. With a big grin the old Filipino man says, "Just a smile and a wave and you are good to go." Hahah.. awesome.
Once there we just followed the signs to the lake and also taking in the beauty of the park. Almost all of the plants and trees were marked with signs stating species and country of origin. The path to the fishing area takes you past the bird watching shore of the lake where a huge flock of ducks and other waterfowl were waddling around. My daughter just loved it and we took a few minutes to feed them a few pieces of bread before continuing the short hike.

A few families were already at the fishing area enjoying the morning atmosphere at the lakeside. The views around the lake completely hid any hint that we were less than a mile or two from Kaneohe's busy center. We found a spot right away and it just took another couple of minutes to set up a cane pole for my 3yr. old daughter.

The next couple of hours were some of the most fun we've had as a family. Kira and Jen caught fish after fish. I wasn't so lucky but just so happy that we were all having fun together. The other families around were having just as much fun. Every time a keiki would pull up a fish of any size it brought on cheers and high fives among everyone. It was one of those times that I had really felt the Aloha among everyone.

After we used up our loaf of white bread, we packed up and hiked it back to the parking lot. All the while passing other families heading towards the lake shore, cane poles in hand, smiles on the faces and Ohana in the hearts.

Sat. 10/10/09 - BACHI'd

Paddled out from Pokai Bay at 0600 towards the structure where I had caught the previous Kagami. Just passing the mouth of the harbor I had let out a 3" Blk/Slvr Crystal Minnow which I had dipped in some UniButter purchased online from Hook1.com and was prepping my Halalu bait when I noticed some Porpoise hanging about. I even took some video with my cellphone and uploaded to Facebook. That's when I noticed the baitfish casually feeding around the kayak. I had no damashi rigs so I didn't even try to make bait.
And then BAM!, my yak gets rocked to the left and all within a few seconds I see my  rod bend back and the hear the braid get ripped from the reel. A big splash behind me makes me turn my head in time to see a spinning launch of a porpoise not ten feet behind me. Also I noticed that the slack in the line had looped on the tip of my rod and another boost from that dolphin would've flipped me over for sure. Another second and I had already unsheathed my knife and cut the line. AU'WE!!
OK.. I've had lures float behind me before within spitting distance of a pod. The have never taken a lure nor have they taken lures from other kayakers that I know of. The only difference was the added goop on the lure. I guess it works but just not in the way I was hoping.
And the Hawaii superstitions prevailed also. I was BACHI'd the rest of the paddle. Even after marking loads of fish at the wreck site, I couldn't catch a break. Lots of strikes, but had da rubba hooks.
After a few hours, I called it a day and paddled in early.  Plus I had to save some energy for the next day at the 4th Annual Fishing and Seafood Festival at Pier38 in Honolulu.

Til' next trip.
Mikey

A big Mahalo! - End of the Makahiki "Daze"

     I would like to take the time to thank Aquahunters.com and it's admins; Rocket, AlphaDog and the Uyeda Brothers for putting together a great tournament for the kayak angler's of Hawaii. Although I was never able to hit the 40 days allowed for the tourney, everyday that I did go out was an absolute blast. Not everyday was a catch day, but every day out was a true learning day. I was able to meet and become great friends to some guys that I probably wouldn't have hooked up with otherwise. We encouraged each other and watched each other's backs on and off of the water. Dave, Stan, Mike and me turned into the 0-dark-30 crew, so named because that was the usual time we would meet up to go fishing.
     Now that that tournament is over, the pressure to get out to compete is gone. But the desire to fish has become greater. Once the weather gets more agreeable, we'll be out there again enjoying the water, the scenery and some great company.  I can't wait for the Makahiki Banquet in December. There should be some really nice awards for the Top 10 of the Makahiki Tournament and some great raffle prizes as well. Best of all, it will be awesome to meet up with the other anglers.

     I'll be continuing this as a fishing journal. I have learned much by keeping this blog. I'll be more detailed with times and places, images and maps, gear, bait, etc. More for myself so I can look back and track what worked where and when.

     For those that actually found this blog and took the time to read my posts.  A big Mahalo to you too.

End of the Makahiki "Daze".
Aloha,
Mikey

Makahiki Day 21 - My last day of the tourney

Sun. 9/27/09
Day 21

Still nursing a head cold I decided to get out as it would be my last day to try since the tournament ends on the 30th and there would be no way for me to get out again before then. The weather report was iffy again but me, Mike, Stan, Doc, Roman and Scupper headed out to Pokai Bay for paddle anyways.
I had some fresh Halalu for bait, fresh line and leaders on the gear and was optimistic on the day's run. Paddled out at dawn and I decided to stay well within sight of the launch area, so I only ventured one to two miles out tops. On the way out just past the channel I got a huge hit that screamed out line from my Avet MXL straight out. I peddled forward to get the line tight and took hold of the rod. I set the hook and it took off again for the horizon, my 150yds. of yellow 50# PowerPro line was disappearing from the spool down into the red 65# braid backing. I was able to crank whatever it was in and gain line to the point where it was about 20ft. from my Hobie Revo and *PLINK*, the line cut.  I reeled it in to find that it was bit off at the 30# fluorocarbon leader just above the lead hook. Oh well, that's why it's called fishing.

Re-rigged and peddled out to about 190ft of water just outside of the bay. I found some structure and marked it on the Humminbird 363 GPS/FF unit. I drifted around some more and the sounder started to "blow up" with fish marks below. I dropped down a bait for a bit but nothing bit. Brought it back up a bit and dropped down a jig on my other rod to see if anything got excited enough to take it. Nothing, so I journeyed another mile up the coast to an area just before Makaha and found a lot of bait busting the surface and being chased by predators. A couple of Iwa birds were in the area, dive bombing and picking up Malolo. I trolled through with a Yo-zuri minnow and a fresh bait but again, nothing took them.
Got bored of that and went back to the structure I found earlier. The sounder blew up again with more marks and so I dropped another fresh bait, hit bottom then cranked it up so it drifted about 10ft. off the structure. I then got out the butterfly jig set up, dropped down and started to speed jig on the other side of the yak. After a few drops I look at my bait rod and found the tip dipping into the water. Hanapa'a!
I pulled up the jig and grabbed the bait rod. As soon as the fish felt me on it sounded straight down heating up my drag pretty good. Because I was using lighter line than I usually did, I was careful not to horse the fish up. When I felt it start to take more line, I let the rod and drag take care of the work. It was a back and forth battle lasting a good 20 minutes. I had called the strike on the VHF just as it took some line and the rodbutt was in my gut so I know I sounded pretty goofy on the radio.
I finally got the fish up to the surface and it flopped to it's side. It was spent and I was breathing pretty hard myself. Once I got it closer, I knew it was an Ulua and of decent size. Not a monster, but enough to give
me a damn good thrill to close out my last tournament day. At the beach it was identified as a Kagami and it weighed in at a respectable 15#.

Hrs logged
0600-1000

Makahiki Days 19 & 20

Makahiki Days 19 & 20
Sat 9/19 and 9/20/09

9/19
Made the call to head out to Rabbit Island launching from Makai Pier, East Oahu. Forecasts were fuzzy, some sites said 10-15mph and a few said 25+. I "went chance 'em" and met up with Rob, Doc and Roman. I woke up late, well I just hit the snooze button too many times and didn't leave the house till 7am... way later than I preferred.
Driving over the hill at Makapuu I could see the guys already paddling out towards Rabbit Isle. I radioed to let them know I'll be meeting up with them in a few. The conditions at the launch were 'OK'. The winds were definitely up and the swell on the outside looked like it was peaking. Met up with "AFYaker", a friend of Doc's, as I was unloading and gearing up. He had just paddled back in with a somber report. His first time out in open ocean and he was introduced to 4 to 6ft swells on the outside. I'm glad he decided to cut it short and come in, it wasn't for the inexperienced. After talking story a bit, I paddled out towards Manana. The inside or lee of the island was OK with about 2-3 foot swells inside and some flat water in the more protected areas. I saw Doc and Roman on the North side of the island and decided to test the waters. I got out as they were making their way back to the inside and I should have followed. I wanted to drop deep so I gave it a shot. The swells were picking up as the tide was changing and it was a struggle to keep pointed towards the waves. It took me 10 minutes to decided to turn tail and get back inside. Even then, I had to find a channel so I wouldn't get blindsided by a wave or pushed too close to the island's rocky face. Found a small channel and punched through. And of course I get a hit, a big one.  Thirty feet from the rocks and with swells still coming up behind me. I turn to face the waves and try to "boos'em", leader got bit through, but at that point I didn't care. Turned and got back to the lee of the island. Amazing how calm and crystal clear the waters were just 50yds from where I was being tossed around.
Anyway, another couple of hours and no hits so called it a day and went home. Bus'up and tired.

Hrs Logged:
0800 - 1100hrs

Sun. 9/20
Forecasts were finally dead on.  Calm and clear and light winds. Headed out to Pokai bay to meet up with Mongoose, Rob and Doc. Woke up late again!  But that was due to being drained from the day before. It was a complete 180 from Makai Pier which gave me much more confidence on how the day was going to be. Got out on the water by 7am and headed South towards Kae' pt. On the way out I saw Mongoose about a half mile away and headed towards him.  I had just put out an Opelu and Crystal Minnow and started the troll.

 Not more than 50yds from the mouth of the bay I got a big hit on the Opelu. My 6ft Barefoot jigging rod bent and the PowerPro was screaming out of the Okuma Cedros reel.  Sweet! Without clearing the other line I grabbed the singing rod and started the fight. A few hot runs got my adrenaline pumping and a few minutes later I boated a nice size Omilu with it's blue colors flashing bright. I saw that it was a good hookset, so I took out the Kage and brained him so as not to get hooked up by the stinger if it decided to go into death throws on deck and in proximity to the crown jewels.

Met up with Mongoose and he had already boated a couple of Omilu himself. I decided to do some drifting and bottom fishing and ended up with a couple of large Hagi that I decided to keep.  All of the others were released to steal bait again.
After a couple hours, I noticed the drift was stronger and the tide was starting to change increasing the speed of the current. The launch was North of our position and the current was a good 2kts heading South. I'm glad I have a Hobie Revo with the Mirage drive, I have paddled against that kind of current before and it isn't fun at all. Even with the peddle power, it was still slow going, but I had more confidence in my legs than if I was battling with my arms and back. I peddled perpendicular to the current and headed more inside to shallower water. I got out of the rip and was able to make good headway at around 3.5 to 4mph. I missed another big strike that took my rod out of it's holder and into the water.  So glad I had it leashed or it would have ended up on the reef. I lost whatever it was due to slack in the line along with my last Opelu. I was about a mile from the mouth of the bay and put on a 3" black/silver crystal minnow. Not five minutes of trolling and it got hit and I pulled up a decent sized 2# Uku. Not a monster but even Uku at that size are great eating so in the cooler it went.

Got back to the beach with Rob and Doc following a bit later. Rob showed off with pride his catch of a 32# Kaku (Great Barracuda).  A lot of beachgoers came up to give their congratulations and take some pictures. It really was an impressive catch.  Doc had an Uku in the boat but while removing the hook it had flipped and went overboard. We all decided that it counted as a Catch and Release.
It was definitely one of my better days fishing this year with my first decent catch after a long dry spell.

Hrs logged:
0700 - 1200hrs

Makahiki Day 18

Sun. 9/13/09
Day 18
Kaneohe Bay

Met up with Stan, Mike and Rob at 6am by the canoe hale' at Heeia Pier. Surf around the islands were 3-5 so K-bay seemed the best route if we wanted to be on the water.
We all launched into some calm bay waters and headed out towards the sand bars out in the middle of the bay. Everyone had their own strategy for the day. Mine was to whip the flats hoping for a Papio or O'io. Once I got the flats I found it was calm enough to stand up and try some sight casting. I was able to see a small school of O'io and tried casting ahead of them with a small grub. All I did was spook the crap out of them. I'm thinking if it were a lightly tossed fly, there would have been a chance. But I don't have the equipment or knowledge to do that anyway.
After a few missed strikes I was able to hook up to a Papio in about 2ft of water at the edge of the reef. It was just under the legal size and was let go to grow up.
The fishing was quiet and no one really caught anything.  All the same, it was a nice day on the K-bay waters.

Hrs logged:
0630 - 1100hrs

Mahalo to Mike for taking some pretty cool pics.

Makahiki Day 17 / Westside paddle

Went out paddling today and one of the crew, Mike R. (WildIrish on the Aquahunters.com forum), picked up one of the biggest and ugliest Hagi (Triggerfish) we've ever seen. Another of the guys that went out (ScupperPro on the Aquahunters.com forum) lucked out with a nice Kaku ('Cuda), and Uku and Papio. As for myself. Wasn't a whitewash, but I didn't bring in anything worth stinking up my cooler.


Hrs Logged:
0600-1300hrs

Makahiki Days 15 & 16

RobHall on his ScupperPro

Roman aka Romz1

Reed(sp?) aka DocHall

This past Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th were days 15 & 16 for me.  I wanted to change things up a bit and found a few guys that were going out somewhere other than the N.Shore.  After a few PM's on the forum and some text messages the time and place was set.  It had been a crazy week at work and damnit I needed to take it out on some fish. 

Saturday

At 7am I met up with DocHall, RobHall and Romz1 from the Aquahunters forum.  I had actually parked at the wrong launch but a quick phone call to Doc squared that away and was soon unloading my gear at the correct launch point.  Romz was already there and basically ready and waiting on everyone else.  

The morning looked promising with a clear glassy shine on the water and light trades from the ENE.  We all headed out into a small shorebreak, nothing too major. Timed the sets and off we went one by one.  

Rob was the first to hook up with a nice size Kawakawa hitting on his trusty Rapala. The morning was quiet after that and I wasn't getting any hits on my Yo-zuri minnow or trolled Ballyhoo. I had stopped to rig up a Rapala and let the 'hoo drift down in about 120' of water. After finishing up tying the Rapala I went to pull up the bait and felt some weight but no tugging.  "Aw Crap." Stuck. I started to boost it a bit and it gave, but still had some dead weight to it. Great, I'm pulling up a piece of coral or an old boot.  Once I had it about 20' under, I saw orange, still thinking it's a piece of coral. Then it spread itself out.  Woohooo! Tako!

I had been in this situation before and lost the last Tako because I didn't have a gaff or kage with me. This time I was ready and had a kage at hand. I brought it up slow to see if it had a good hook up. As soon as I saw that it was hooked in the thick of the hood, I knew it was mine. Reeled it up to the leader and gave it a shot with the Kage. It hit but didn't stick and just seemed to piss it off. It shot to the underside of my Revo and wrapped itself in my mirage fins. After some shifting around I finally got a good shot but it still didn't let go of the underside of the yak. One of the other guys, Doc, saw my fumbling around and came up to lend a hand. He took his gaff and was able to hook it but it then wrapped itself around the gaff and when Doc went to hand it to me the lil' bastard shot under Doc's kayak. Queue the "Benny Hill" theme music. 1 Gaff, 2 bent Kages, 2 grown men and 1 little 6 pound Kraken and 15min later I finally got it up and bit between the eyes to vanquish the monster.

That was the highlight of that day and I was happy to paddle in with something to put into the cooler. 

Romz was the day's big winner with an Uku that bit on a Halalu and an Aha (c&r) and also a few other keepers. Doc had caught a Nunu (see pic) at the tail end of the paddle, also c&r and I'm sure would've have been an Aquahunter's record fish. 

This was a long day, I hadn't realized the time and ended up being on the water longer than I had anticipated.

Hrs logged

0700 - 1530

Sunday Day 16

There were some miscommunication between a bunch of us and half of the crew ended up on the N. Shore at Haleiwa and me and RobHall were at the same launch as Saturday. The day was windier than the previous but we decided to get out there but stay within the bay. We found a spot sheltered by the surrounding topography and did some bottom fishing. I was lucky enough to find some great spots holding Moana Kali and Weke Ula and started bringing them up almost every drop and two to three at a time on the damashi. I had my livewell with me so I kept a few to use as bait. Once I had enough of that area I paddled out to about 100-150' and dropped a small live moano to target some Uku. I lost a few of the baits due to fumbling hands and the ones that I did drop down were chomped with some nice clean bites, yet no hookups.  

Rob had been trolling some Opelu and got bit hard a few times but also didn't hook up. Looks like we both were sporting rubber hooks fishing for the bigger prey.

We both came in around 1pm to some decent shorebreak. We timed it right and were able to come in without a huli or yard sale.  

Good times both days.

 Hrs logged:

0700 - 1300

A few of the lures and rigging I use

Kaku Popper and a couple of Yo-zuri Crystal Minnows

A couple of soft baits and jigs

Wire rigs for trolling and dropping down Opelu.

Makahiki Day 14

Sun 8/23
Solo run
Haleiwa, N.Shore

None of the other guys were able to make it so I made a solo run out of the harbor and towards Waialua. Got there around 0500 and made it on the water shortly after. Put out a 20' diving Rapala and a bubble rig with white curly tail for the surface. Made my way out into light winds and dark overcast skies. Nothing seemed to want to hit the Rapala or curly tail so once I got to the Condos in Waialua I changed the light setup to Damashi and hunted the edges of the trench. Marked a few schools and was able to bring up a couple of 'A'awa (tableboss).

The winds came up early around 0830-0900 so I slowly made my way back to the harbor. Dropped the damashi here and there when I marked some fish but didn't get any new bites. Got back in to the harbor around 1000 and paddled back into the launch area.

A quiet day but was happy I brought in a couple of fish for some points.

***Gotta say that the 'A'awa were great steamed.  Some Celantro and Onions in hot oil poured over it gave it that extra "POW!".  ***

Hrs-0530-1000hrs

Makahiki Day 13

Got out on the water super early and way before any light.  Met up with Dave, who was already there dunking since 0200.  He had also just caught an Awa'Awa whipping a popper when I got there around 0330. As we were gearing up the yaks, Mongoose (Steve) shows up.  I'm glad I had my stern light up, which made for an easier and safer couple hours on the water before dawn. Unfortunately no hits on the lures.  

RobHall radios in as he arrives, it's still dark and I tell him to look for my light and he joins us out there.  

The winds were messy in the morning which is unusual, the remnants of TS Guillermo are still producing disturbances in our wind pattern.  It died off but came back every hour or so and gradually grew to higher 20mph plus gusts by 0930.

I had a few hits but nothing stuck.  Same with Dave.  Rob got an Omilu yakside but lost it due to a snag on his deck. Steve brought in a Kawakawa and an Omilu, both on Crystal Minnows. *Damn, I can't get those to work for me*.

On the paddle in, within the safety of the harbor thank goodness, Steve had met with a big gust of wind that went under his tramp on his A.I. that caused him to huli over.  I had heard a really loud flapping sound and turned in time to see him do slow motion up and over.  I radio'd immediately to check on him and he checked back that he needed help.  I was already on my way as well as Dave. 

He lost a few items but we were able to pick up what was still floating around.  He was able to right himself before me and Dave got there and was able to get to shore under his own power.  

It sucked that he lost some stuff but was an experience for us all.

Hours logged

0400 - 1000hrs

Caught two Hagi, released to bait steal another day.

Makahiki Day 12 / Paddler's Papio Open tournament

The Paddler's Papio Tournament in Haleiwa was a success. Organized by Coastal Kayak Tours and Windward Boats, the tournament brought in around 50 competitors slugging it out for a $1000 top prize and a new Trident 13 for biggest fish.


My day was great. Got out there with the crew early on and fished nearly 7hrs straight. I was able to hook up with 3 Lai'i and 1 Aha. I was hoping the rest of the crew (Dave and Mike) were as lucky. None of us got a Papio this day but enjoyed the time on the water. It wasn't as brutal a day as far as winds but the Sun was kicking our asses. I came away dehydrated even after reminding ourselves on the water to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.


All my fish were caught on my lightest pole with a bubble rig setup using a white curly tail grub, standard shore whipping gear. LOL, go figure.


Hrs logged:
0500 - 1200hrs.


More pics on the Aquahunter's facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6128&id=100000011078132














Paddler's Papio Open - Papio Tournament August 15, 2009

Latest Pics

First two are of "WildIrish". On the water and holding a 5# O'io (Bonefish).

Last of just me on the water.

Day 11

Sunday 8/9/09

Crap day. Caught a Moana and dropped it down as live bait. Got stripped. Nothing else. F'n crap fishing day.  

*Paddled out with good friends, got in safe.  Wind's started to howl around 10am. Tried to stick it out and catch something, anything. Gave up.  

*Mirage drive failure.  Need to head back to Windward boats sometime to get it fixed or replaced under warranty.

Hrs

0500- 1000

Makahiki Days 9 and 10

Sat 8/1 and Sun. 8/2

Haleiwa Harbor

Light winds til 0930 and then gusts to 20mph. Good times.

On Saturday I met up with "Irish" and got on the water before sun up. Did some trolling to the right and left of the channel but no hits. Tried heading towards Waialua but couldn't find the trench without a sounder. I went ahead and went more in-shore and dropped down at buoy 4 in front of Alii's. Finally hooked up and brought up a Nabeta. Scratch that one off the list because it's one of the species i've been trying to catch for a while.

Irish dropped down in the area and brought up an Oio and then later a pretty big A'awa. Auright! Good day on the water. Paddled in at 0930. Washed up quick, ate lunch and headed to work for some extra O.T.

Sunday morning. Ugh!!! I slept right through my 3am alarm and woke up at 6am. I was so beat from the day before. But, I still wanted to go so I loaded up and headed out. Got to Haleiwa at 7 and called out on the radio. Mike was already on the water and I let him know I was about to meet up with him.

He was already at Buoy 4 and said he already got a Nabeta. Right on! I dropped a Damashi but didn't get a nibble or bite or anything really. I decided to hit up towards Police Beach and troll back. Mike called out on the radio. I responded but he wasn't getting my transmission, only the key. F'n radio, i've already replaced it once. Time to invest in another make and model.

While out past the point the winds really started gust, I turned around and rode in some swells while getting pushed around by the wind and waves. Not a good thing. When I finally got into the safety of the harbor, Mike saw me and paddled over. We checked radios again and verified my Tx wasn't working. Crap.

On the way in we noticed an "Auntie" on a paddleboard and she kept slipping off and looking tired. I was doing a last ditch attempt at dropping Damashi along the reef line to get something when she called out for help. With Mike's help, I got my bowline situated and we attached it to her leash. I towed her backwards while she held on with Mike trailing to make sure she didn't fall of and to keep her at ease. He did a great job, talked to her and made sure was alright.

I came in without a catch but was glad we were in the area to help out a fellow watergoer.

Makahiki Score

Day 9 - 1 Nabeta

Day 10 - whitewash

Hours on Revo

Sat - 0500 - 1000

Sund - 0700 - 1000

Kayak Fishing, Hawaii, Oahu, North Shore

Oama

Getting the buzz from the coconut wireless that the Oama are starting to come in.  Oama are juvenile goatfish that are excellent bait.  Many locals love to eat them fried whole but I would rather catch 'em then trade up for something bigger.

They are very effective dunked on a line live onto the reef line or in the whitewash.  And are still great bait if they are salted and frozen properly to be used later.

Hope they are biting early Sunday morning.

Makahiki Day 8

Day 8
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Haleiwa in-shore to Waialua

Launched from Haleiwa 0500. Was hoping get some bites just before light but nada and nada and more nada. Wierd, usually the fish are just chomping whatever comes their way around dawn. Winds again were light till around 1000hrs, then some pretty strong gusts came our way from Kahuku side. Glad I had the amas on the Revo. Brought 5 Opelu for bait and all were stripped or "Hagified" as WildIrish would say. No major strikes, got caught on the reef more than a few times. Lost a brand new Yozuri minnow. Ugh. $$$.

Was still great just to be out on the water with friends.

Day 8
0
0
Hours on Revo
0500 - 1000hrs

Rigging

I'll be posting pictures of my current rigs. Links to articles and books that have helped me out.

Makahiki Day 7

Day 7

July 18, 2009

Haleiwa

In-shore

Met up with Dave at 0430 at the launch spot and we were both on the water by 0500 just before light.  We decided to do an in-shore run due to the forecasted high winds of 15-20mph with higher gusts coming from the NE.  The morning was calm and inviting, no boat traffic except for the early shark encounter tour group heading out from the harbor. Dave was dragging a couple of Yozuri minnows with one of them being his top producer and headed to the point East of the channel and I headed towards the outside channel marker dragging a white/yellow minnow along with a rigged Opelu on the second pole.

It wasn't long before I got a radio message that Dave was on and very shortly had another fish on board. I had just gotten to the channel marker and began to criss cross the area looking for the trench.  Without a sounder I was trying to guage the depth by color and surface wave action. There was a small chop and a minor swell that helped identify the shallower reef heads.  I didn't get any action so I started a drift with the Opelu a few feet off the bottom and brought in the lure to change it out for a different color.  While tying off my knot on the lure the Opelu rig got hit and screamed out about 30-50ft of line in one quick burst.

I stowed the other rod and began to crank in the fish on the Penn 320GT I modified to a non levelwind on my Uglystick Tiger 6.6' Med action rod.  It gave a great fight that reminded me of the hard fighting Kagami and Omilu that I had fought up in Kona.  I was stoked and anxious to see what was peeling out my line. 

I gave a radio call to Dave to let him know I was on to something big and he started to paddle over from the Eastside of the channel. It was a good 15-20 of tug o' war 'till I finall saw color.  I got antsy when I saw the bright white shape about 10ft under the chop.  Once I got it to leader I then realized I had a HUGE stingray on the line.  I estimated it to be over 6ft long head to tail as I had it alongside and with a glance behind me I saw that the tail was passed the rudder. 

Dumbass me didn't bring my gloves which made it that much more difficult to leader the ray close enough for me to cut my rig loose.  Each time I got it close enough it would jerk under cutting my hands and having that tail come very close.  I said fuck it and just got enough of my 80# flourocarbon leader back that It wasn't a total bankrupt.

By then the sun was up and the bite for both of us went dead.  A couple more hours of trolling and drifting along with some rudder problems for myself and the run was called.  We paddled into a gaggle of tourists and locals doing a SUP clinic at the beach.  Talked story with a few people, rehydrated and went home.

I was hoping the ray would count as a catch and release but was told otherwise a day later.

Score for Day 7

1- 0

2- 0

6ft Giant Stingray - C&R

Hours logged on the Revo

0500 - 1000 hrs.  

2009 YakOff - Haleiwa / Day 6

July 11th at Haleiwa, Hawaii was the day of the 2nd Annual YakOff kayak fishing tournament put on by Coastal Kayak Tours and Windward Boats. It was also day 6 of my Makahiki tournament. The morning started with me waking up late and not getting to the launch in time to meet up with my partners.  Bummer.  Stan and Mike decided to do a downwind run from Alligator Rock and were already at their launch.  I rolled in to the canoe club and met up with Boogie, Steve and J.G. and Trina and talked story a bit then unloaded after signing some papers for the tournament. 

This was to be my second day on the Hobie Revo and the first day using the upgraded Turbo ST fins and larger sailing rudder.  I wasn't disappointed by the way.  After launching from the canoe Hale' I made my way out past the harbor entrance and headed North towards Waialua. I wanted to check out a trench in front of Ali'i's and Aweoweos. I crisscrossed the area with a couple of Yozuri minnows but wasn't totally sure that I found the trench. Without a depth finder I had to rely on the color of the water and the surface swells to gauge the depth and it's something I'm not too good at yet.  After doing a few passes and I changed the rig on my light pole and ended up catching a Lai'i on the second pass around the channel marker.   

Another hour after the Lai'i yielded nothing so I made my way slowly across the channel and headed East towards Stan and Mike.  A relatively short "peddle" got me in contact with Steve "Mongoose" in his A.I. He had gotten a nice Kawakawa some moments earlier. I kept trying to get in contact via VHF to Mike or Stan and realized that my Tx was probably not working.  A cell call confirmed that my radio was out again.  I could hear but couldn't transmit. 

A short time later I met up with Mike who was doing some bottom fishing with Damashi.  He reported catching some Moano and Lizardfish but nothing big.  We paddled around for a bit without a hit and headed back towards to the harbor.  Halfway there I got a hit on my light pole. I got a couple of nice screaming runs out of a large papio that made it to the side of my yak before breaking the 15# fluorocarbon leader.  And yeah I cussed pretty hard for that one. 

Back at the canoe Hale', the participants began to filter in and the weigh-in was conducted around 3pm. The keiki were first and it was a blast.  Great to see the young ones put their heart into something and have fun also.  The adult weigh-in followed with "Rocket" bringing the winning 20+ pound Ono to the scales.  

A fun tournament with a great bunch of people. 

Day 6 results

1. Lai'i

2. - 

Hours logged:

7/11/09

0600 to 1400