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