Ruined or improved my sub-surface lure?

April 16, 2017 By Scott 3 Comments

The superb casting sub-surface lure Masa recommended got punctured by a long tooth kaku a few weeks back. When I fished it the next time, it slowly sank instead of floating. I opened up the puncture, let the water drain out, sprayed some Salt Away to keep the sliding weight mechanism from rusting, and sealed the wound with epoxy glue.

To add to the wounded look I painted it with a white nail polish base and colored it in with a red marker. It floated, just barely, in an empty oama tub. The lure did look like a freshly scraped up bait fish so I started with it when Frank and I hit his whipping test grounds.

The lure cast further than the original lure. Within the first couple of casts a kaku hit it, missed and came back to finish it off. Hmm, maybe the mods made the lure more attractive? I walked the kaku in to tag, and Frank asked me if I wanted 2 fish to tag. His sub-surface lure got hit right after mine did! The fish that hit my wounded sardine taped out at 18.75 inches, the largest kaku I’ve tagged so far. Frank’s was just 1/4 inch shorter. The bigger kaku must be coming in now to feed on bait fish we have yet to locate.

The released kaku took their friends with them so we walked out to the dropoff as the tide rose to its top third. Nothing wanted our lures except for the two roi that thought my lure was dying. I killed the first but the second slipped off the hook before I could net it.

We walked back to the kaku spot and Frank hooked another one casting toward the shore.

This one measured 17 inches, a little smaller than his first but still pretty big to be so close to shore this time of year. In just a few whipping trips, Frank has gone from a neophyte whipper to one who can consistently catch the hard to hook kaku. Time for us go after some harder fighting fish.

And it sure seems that the doctored up lure I was throwing has been improved. Masa is still not letting me puncture and weigh down his lures though.

Consolation predator

April 5, 2017 By Scott 18 Comments

Wanted to check a couple of spots I hadn’t fished since the “season” last year to see how they produce in the “pre-season”. First up was a reefy spot exposed to swell. Got out early enough to catch the light winds and rising tide. A few dark reef fish followed the JDM sub-surface swimmer in, but nothing hit it for a while. Then something hit on the shoreline reefy shelf that took drag but turned and swam in with the waves. It didn’t feel like a papio, and the area was too rough for kaku.

Saw something cylindrical and light green colored with a mustardy orange spot. Moana kali? The fish hit in a few feet of water, not the normal moana kali grounds, but it did hit a swimming lure. Upon closer examination I realized it was a big “mongoose fish” or cigar wrasse.

I’ve caught these before on cut bait but never eating size. Heard from multiple sources that it’s good eating. Considered keeping it but wasn’t sure if my folks would want to try a “hinalea” so I let it go. Because of its shape and size it fought like a good-sized weke. Another mongoose followed the lure but didn’t hit it. That was the only action I got at the first spot so I jumped in the car to check the second spot.

The water level was low at the second spot and still rising. It was late morning and I didn’t see any bait fish and didn’t get a single follow on my lures. I’ve caught fish in a man-made channel at this spot in the past but only in lower light conditions.

Dunno if a foul hooked mongoose fish counts as a non-bolo head. What do you guys think?

Fish dinner for Mom

March 31, 2017 By Scott 3 Comments

My mom started feeling better after not feeling well for a week, and wanted fresh fish. There was a really nice tidal rise starting from a negative tide, and the trades were up so I decided to wade a spot I hadn’t fished since 2015. It was kind of a long shot since it wasn’t the peak oama season but I hoped to be able to walk out a bit to reach some deeper channels.

The trades combined with the NW and S cross swells really bumped up the water. Wading out to thigh-high still sent waves knocking me back. Masa’s recommended lure that did so well on the kaku the last time out cast well but tumbled in the turbulent water. A light brown kaku and some just legal omilus checked it out but didn’t hit it. I put on another JDM swimmer with a tighter wobble and it seemed to track well in the churned up water.

Suddenly I got a strike that took line. I had made my drag looser since the previous kaku tore themselves off the hook, and the fish dove into the rocks and got stuck. I could feel that the fish was still on and was pretty sure it was an omilu, but omilu rarely rock me like that. I really wanted the fish for my mom, and wanted the expensive lure back. Watching Frank dive for his lure a few weeks ago gave me the idea to do the same. Problem was, no one was around to hold my gear. I walked up the beach and placed my rod/reel, hat, sunglasses and sling bag on top a hedge and followed the line into the water. It was neck deep and the line led to a small tunnel in a rock pile. As I eased the fish out I sure hoped to see a blue finned omilu and not a brown eel or an ugly roi.

Out came an omilu connected to my lure by just one hook of the rear treble hook. Even though I had tried to smash the barbs down, there was enough of a barb to keep the hook in its jaw. Good thing the fish was retrieved otherwise it might have been eaten by something larger down there.

That was the only strike I got during that short whipping session but the 12 inch omilu was exactly what my mom wanted. It was bagged, not tagged and looked small on my new fish cleaning table.

Sub-surface kaku action in light wind, slightly murky conditions

March 17, 2017 By Scott 1 Comment

Frank and I returned to the area that yielded a brute of a fish the first time out, and shark and kaku sightings on our second visit. I did a temporary repair of my Calcutta 200TE that allowed me to get into free spool and was back in business, learning the new grounds with Frank.

The tide was on the top 1/3 of the rise and the shallow flat was somewhat murky despite the light winds. That actually helped our cause since the fish wouldn’t be as spooked by our presence. We started in the area we saw kaku the last time, and sure enough we got follows. Frank hooked a kaku that hit his JDM sub-surface lure, but it shook it off when it went airborne. I hooked one not too far from him and tried walking it over but it shook off also. We spent another 30 mins fishing a limu covered reef but didn’t get anymore follows.

There was another area that looked promising so we walked a few hundred yds in the opposite direction and entered the water. A small school of mullet scattered, and we started snagging the hairy type of limu we find in brackish water. A storm drain was dumping fresh water and some not so pleasant smells into the area, which created the brackish water ecosystem. There was even a school of tilapia feeding around the mangrove roots. Sure enough kaku started following our lures. They didn’t seem to mind being seen but didn’t commit. Maybe the moon was still too big?

Eventually we moved away from the shore and tried wading out to the drop off. Halfway out, in hip-deep water, I hooked a fish on a heavier sub-surface lure. It thrashed on the surface and shook the lure. From the size of the fish and fact were weren’t near defined structure, I assumed it was the awa awa we were targeting. Shortly after, Frank said “I think I have a fish…”. He had felt some pressure on his line and then the fish made a few surges.

On closer examination it was a kaku. Odd that they would be in the area between the shore and the drop off. It was Frank’s first on a sub-surface lure and a nice, healthy one. Frank’s whipping prowess improved greatly in just 3 outings. The water’s depth was too deep to tag it without dunking our gear so he released it.

We fished the brackish water area on the way in and the kaku were gone. Maybe the ones we hooked mid-way to the drop off were those kaku leaving the shallows to sleep in deeper water?

I’m now wondering if the fish I hooked on our first outing wasn’t an awa awa but some other predator like a big jack or a shark. I had thought it was an awa awa because I after that hookup I had hooked a fish that thrashed on the surface, but that could have been a transiting kaku. More exploratory trips needed!

Sheet glass conditions on a big moon day

March 15, 2017 By Scott 1 Comment

Erik invited me out on his small aluminum boat again since the conditions were too good to pass up. Sheet glass, no wind for a few hours, and small surf. The water couldn’t be any flatter than this. Only concern was the big moon the night before.

The plan was to fish upwind of the normal wind pattern and work our way back. On the way out Erik saw aha attacking bait and threw his sinking JDM swimmer. An aha went airborne with it and shed the hook. The heavy, calm air transmitted sounds for miles, it seemed. Whales were breaching and expelling air, turtles were startling us with their snorkly exhales and big 10″ to 12″ malolo were being chased around. We even saw a dolphin school playing a few hundred yds off. All that life got us pumped up.

We kept motoring upwind but the deep reefs were just too tempting. Erik hooked up his portable Huminbird PiranhaMax fish finder and we trolled around until we found the edge of the 100 ft drop off. Down went our small jigs but nothing was interested in them. We kept heading upwind while watching the fish finder. Fish were stacked up so we dropped the jigs again. Erik jigged his lure erratically after reaching the bottom, then let it hit bottom again. His lure looked lively on 10lb braid and he felt something heavy. Hage! But at least we found fish.

When the fish finder found clumps of fish we fished harder. I tried my 20 gm jigs, 30 gms jigs and 60 gm jigs until I finally got a hage too. By then Erik had let go a few.

Then we stumbled on a spot where Erik hooked something 1/3 of the way off the bottom. It felt small but had a consistent tail beat. Baby weke ula!

I was able to get one also, then Erik hooked a stronger fish with his erratic jigging motion. It tried its best to stay on its deep, home reef but Erik coaxed it up. Omilu! It taped out at 11 inches, head to fork of tail, and was tagged and set free.

We drifted off that productive spot and Erik had a hunch the deeper drop off would be even better. At 140 ft the finder was marking fish a little suspended off the bottom. I ended a dry spell with the lowly trumpetfish so we moved a bit and Erik hooked two more juvenile weke ula, and I brought up the ubiquitous hage.

Erik quickly dropped his jig back down on this productive spot and something strong ripped line for about 5 seconds but the hook pulled. Arrggh. We’re thinking it must’ve been a big papio or ulua.

He even caught a medium-sized moana on a deep reef with his active jigging action. My slow pitch on 17lb mono wasn’t even attracting the hage anymore.

We had an hr left of fishing time so we tried throwing poppers and swimmers on the shallow reefs but there were no takers this time.

I think the bite was slow in the shallow water because the water was so clear and the moon was so big the night before. The big predators had been chasing bait the night before and the smaller fish were running from the predators. They all must’ve been resting in their hidey holes until the big moon evening activity started again.

But wow, what a beautiful day to be on the water. All the fish caught were released.

Here’s how we did last week on a flatter tide but smaller moon.

Shark. Roi? Broken Reel!!

March 13, 2017 By Scott 8 Comments

Frank and I returned to the beach where the mystery fish swum away with my JDM sub-surface lure. This time Frank was well armed with a new 8.5 ft spinning rod (on sale at Charley’s) and a new Shimano Stradic 4000 XG FK reel Masa, our JDM lure expert, sold at a great price. Thanks Masa! Armed with the same lure we used the previous week, we explored a new spot on the flat. Light colored kaku immediately responded to our lures, and nibbled on them but didn’t get hooked.

Still in mid-thigh deep water, and wading towards the drop off, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A 5 ft plus black tip shark passed by me and was headed straight for Frank. I calmly called out “Shark” and didn’t expect Frank to be too concerned but he froze in his tracks. The shark veered off about 10 feet in front of him and we never saw it again. Frank later explained that despite all his years in the ocean, he had never been standing in the water with a shark zeroing in on him. I guess I would have been unnerved too but I’ve seen black tip sharks in the shallows twice before and both times the sharks weren’t very interested in us. I assumed that sharks and kaku in the same area meant there was bait around for them, and as long as we weren’t the bait, it bode well for us.

The dropoff looked fishy but my Calcutta 200 TE bait caster free spool button got harder and harder to depress, and eventually jammed. An internal lever had gouged a hole in the reel’s aluminum frame and was stuck in gear. After just 20 casts I couldn’t put the reel into free spool and was out of commission. I was bummed but realized this was a great opportunity to watch Frank whip. He was making long casts over the drop off with his new equipment and thought he felt some tugs but his lure ended up getting stuck in a small channel cut, 5 ft down. There was no way his floating lure could have dove deep enough to get stuck there so I suspected a roi hit it on the surface and buried himself in the reef. Because of the value and scarcity of the JDM lure, Frank asked me hold his rod and swam down to free the lure. I didn’t remind him of the shark that seemed so enamored with him. He popped up with lure in hand and there was no fish attached.

He followed the contour of the reef drop off and hooked something that provided water resistance but not a lot of fight. Every so often he could feel a kick. It turned out to be a foul hooked, medium sized roi, suggesting that the fish that got his lure stuck on the bottom was indeed a roi also. We didn’t have a knife to dispatch the reef fish killer so I used my long pliers to squeeze it behind its head. What a beautifully patterned fish with a creepy mouth. Zoom into the photo to see the rows of backward facing teeth used to ensure that swallowed reef fish can’t back their way out.

We didn’t connect with papio or awa awa but we did see so very efficient predators. With all the life out there, we intend to return soon.

Extensive product testing in nearshore waters

March 9, 2017 By Scott 12 Comments

I was fortunate to go out on Erik’s small aluminum boat again and test some lures. The wind was really light and swell was on the smaller size so we started up the coast, behind the breakers. The water was pretty clear and maybe 20 to 30 ft deep in the sandy channels. The reefs looked about 15 ft deep. Erik used a casting jig to work the full water column and I used the JDM sub-surface lure I’ve been using lately on my inshore rod. As good as the spot looked, we didn’t get a single sniff so we drifted in closer to the back of the waves.

Erik switched to the Waxwing Baby to cover ground quicker and I switched rods to a GLoomis 8ft “Backbounce” rod that has a graphite – fiberglass blend to flex more on the cast. I had the new Tranx 400 mounted and loaded with 50lb Sufix 832. First time trying the Tranx 400 and first time using Sufix 832 as braid. The heaviest swimming lure I had was a lip-less with a lead cylinder in its body. It didn’t swim as well as the lighter swimming lures but cast well on the Backbounce rod and Tranx. I was impressed that the Suffix was coming off the reel smoother than the PowerPro I used in the past.

Still no hits so Erik changed to a floating gurgling type of JDM lure that had been very consistent in the past. Omilu came up to investigate but didn’t commit. I was enjoying casting the 1 oz heavy swimmer but really didn’t have confidence in its fish attracting qualities. Then a fish hit it about 10 inches below the surface, halfway to the boat and flipped its tail at us. Hanapa’a! We were getting close to the back of the breaking waves so Erik started up the motor and pulled us away a bit. The fish felt strong on its initial runs back to the safety of the reef but the Tranx drag was smooth and its gears brought the fish boat side after a few mins. Electric blue Omilu!

Erik filmed the fight and landing and netted the fish with his other hand. Not only did he put us on the fish but he captured the action and did post production on the pics and video. Can’t beat that service! The fish taped out at 20.5 inches (FL). Not sure how many pounds that equates to but it was definitely bigger than the 4lb omilu that were my previous best. I tagged and released it and it splashed me in the face in its hurry to get back home.

I broke one of the flimsy treble hooks when I unhooked the fish prior to tagging and releasing. It seems like the JDM lure manufacturers choose light hooks so the lures swim as well as they can. The US domestic lures have stouter hooks but don’t swim as well. So we’ve been changing out the JDM hooks to larger Owner trebles that don’t adversely affect the action.

Back to the action: After seeing the omilu swim off strongly, we looked up and could see a wave building. Erik put us in gear and we scrambled to safety. Whew. It’s definitely dicey fishing that close to the impact zone where the fish hang out. The sinking swimmer’s broken treble didn’t dangle properly so I switched to another untested lure, a larger floating pencil style bait meant for small pelagics. It was lighter than the sinking lure so I backlashed the first cast into the wind. Ugh… the tangle looked bad but once I picked it off the Suffix cast fine. That was my only backlash of the day, much unlike my experience with PowerPro and a bait caster. The pencil lure didn’t have much action on its own and I struggled to make it walk from my seated position on the boat. Then there was a blow up but the fish hit just in front of the tail hook. It left teeth marks but didn’t come back. We think it was a big papio/small ulua.

We moved away from the waves to the safety of the inner bay. Erik put on a JDM walking top water lure he had success with in the past and some omilu too small to take the hook followed it in. Going further inside, I threw the JDM sub-surface lure I started the day with. A small omilu checked it out on the way back to the boat that was first attracted by Erik’s 1/4 oz Yozuri popper. It eventually hit it but was too small to tag. Erik got more papio to come off the channel bottom to investigate his popper but not commit.

We suspect the action was slow because of the mid-day sun and the mostly slack tide. The fish weren’t aggressive enough to commit to hitting surface lures but did occasionally hit my lures that ran up to 1 foot under water. It was good to try such a variety of lures for comparison. Sub-surface swimming action isn’t as critical as I thought if you run the lures over where the fish are hanging out in the impact zone.

I was really pleased with how the Tranx and Sufix performed. Smooth casts and fast, powerful retrieves. 2 products I need to test again!

It’s the ones that get away that keep you coming back

March 4, 2017 By Scott 5 Comments

Frank and I tried a spot I had dunked before but never whipped. The plan was to wade out on the very low tide and fish the drop off and reef shelf as the evening tide came in. We were both armed with the sub-surface lure from Japan that cast so well, floated and swum in an enticing wobble. Two guys using a kayak as a floating tackle box were coming in.

The water was clear and there were enough small wavelets to oxygenate the impact zone. We cast into the deep channel and brought the lure back. I hooked a small poopa’a which got us hoping for something better. More casts… nothing. Saw a tight school of oio cruising the impact zone on their way into the shallows to feed. Even more casts… nothing.

The area looked so good but there were no bait fish around to draw the predators onto the shallow reef shelf. The sun got lower, sky got a little darker and it looked like the witching hour was about to start. We reversed and whipped the reef edge walking in the opposite direction. The water level was too high to walk to the edge so we tried to reach the drop off with our casts.

Suddenly my lure got grabbed and the fish went past the drop off and kept pulling straight out. I had a 14 inch 40lb fluoro leader connected to 17lb Trilene XL mono. Line steadily pulled off my reel despite a tough drag setting. I began to wonder if I’d get spooled when the line suddenly went slack. Arrgh, I was standing maybe 20 yds from the reef edge so it wasn’t the dropoff that cut me off. The fight lasted less than 15 seconds. I reeled in and the mono was cut with a slight curl. It cut past the fluoro leader and it wasn’t the knot that became undone. I didn’t feel any rubbing at all but the Trilene XL is so soft I don’t think it can hold up to much abrasion. Because I had seen oio earlier I was thinking it was a very big oio with a taste for fish that took my lure. I didn’t feel the typical papio/ulua headshakes and my previous 4lb papio couldn’t pull against the drag that long.

Frank witnessed the short battle and was pumped up to try to get one on his lure. I rerigged quickly and tied a sloppy uni to uni knot to connect the 40lb fluoro to the Trilene XL. I put on that same type of lure in the gold/yellow “ayu” pattern. I tightened my drag a bit and cast out. On the 3rd cast I hooked up again! This time the fish couldn’t get to the dropoff and flopped around on the surface before the hook pulled. Awa Awa I think, because oio don’t flop around like that. I’ve hooked 5lb plus awa awa in deep water on the kayak that ran deep and straight and never jumped. We see more awa awa in the Winter and Spring than during the other seasons and they’re my favorite inshore fish for the way they fight and how good the flesh is in fishcake and lomi.

Frank’s old school Shimano spinner began to generate wind knots in the braid so it was time to head in. Turns out he was having occasional bail and wind knot issues but didn’t want to complain and slow me down.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a fish on that I felt I might spool me. The risk of losing the fish and the hard to get JDM lure woke me up. I’m eager to try again, with a better line setup and with a true whipping reel for Frank.

Finally got a taggable fish!

February 28, 2017 By Scott 2 Comments

My last few outings have been plagued by rain storms, not enough water on the flats and a backlashed reel (met a guy on the beach that wanted to cast it). In contrast, my friends have been catching omilu and kaku on their JDM (Japanese Domestic Model) sub-surface lures we’ve been testing. I really needed to get out of this slump and catch a decent fish.

A fairly big rain system was headed our way, and though, lately I haven’t done well fishing before the storms arrive, I was desperate. I got to the test grounds an hr before peak high tide and there was only a foot of water to fish in. Worse yet, there was that reddish-brownish hairy limu floating throughout the water column. Every cast brought in limu, on the hooks and even the knot that splices the leader to the main line.

I was carefully guiding my sub-surface lure through the obstacle course of limu and just after it snagged a clump a hungry kaku slammed into it. The kaku was a little guy but was a very welcome sight.

After snagging more limu, I put on one of my favorite top water lures. It got a boil right away, but snagged limu also so I swapped it out with the trusty black/chrome Shimano Waxwing. The hooks on the Waxwing ride up so it normally catches less limu but even that got fouled.

The tide was almost at its peak, a little more than a foot high, and the limu was still crowding my normal fishing spots. I tried a sandy mud spot with less rocks and seaweed just to get a few limu-free casts in. Nothing hit the Waxwing there so I put on a longer sub-surface lure my cousin had brought back from Japan. I knew nothing about this lure and just wanted to see how it cast.

Well, it cast very well due to its tungsten weights that release on the cast and roll back to cause the lure to fly tail-first. The lure hit the water and a kaku instantly jumped out and came down on the lure! I’ve had omilus do that but never kaku. The fish was large enough to tag so I kept it in the water attached to my line and got my tagging gear out.

15.75 inches and healthy. 2 kaku tagged in the summer were caught 3-4 months later and grew 3 inches. We rarely see kaku over 20 inches inshore and it’s believed they head out to the open ocean and follow the opelu schools around. Hopefully this one is recaptured with an interesting story to tell. My next casts with that lure brought in clumps of limu. Turns out it dives to a max of 2 feet deep. The only way I could catch fish with it was the way it happened. Throw it out and hope a fish pounces on it before I move it!

2 kaku in one day was better than I had done in a while on the flats so with pressure off I tried an odd looking lure I recently bought at half price on eBay. It cast very well for its weight but did nothing as I reeled it in. I had to work really hard to make it walk a little. Despite being thrown where bait was getting attacked, nothing showed an interest. My bilingual fishing friend, Masa, translated a Japanese web page and informed me that it was a “wake” bait and was supposed to be retrieved smoothly, creating a V-wake behind it. I guess that type of swimming action imitates a bait fish motoring at the top of the water in distress. I’ll try to remember to try it again where bait fish are being wounded.

While I had been fishing, the guy that tried my bait casting reel the last time came by. He’s become a friend but won’t be casting my reel for awhile. I ended the day walking back to the car with him.

Big moon, low tide, flat conditions…

February 8, 2017 By Scott 3 Comments

To determine if yesterday was a fluke, I fished an area adjacent to yesterday’s hot spot a little after the tide began to rise. The wind and surf were down and the water was cold and clear. I didn’t see much reef fish activity at the break and nothing wanted to eat my JDM sub-surface lure.

Maybe the predators prefer more white wash to ambush their prey? I didn’t wait for the tide and surge to come up because it was already chest-high in some spots. A small metal jig (micro jig) might’ve done well in the depths on the moana I saw but I didn’t have any and made my way back to shore.

I fished a few shoreline spots that had yielded small whites and kaku in the past but didn’t get any takers there too. I think the tide was too low for the predators to be that close to shore. I didn’t see any bait fish either. Maybe the early Spring season hasn’t started after all.

Are the Winter Doldrums over?

February 7, 2017 By Scott 7 Comments

The inshore bite has been so slow for me that besides outings where I bolo-headed throwing lures, I even got bolo-headed the last time I trolled oama.

I had recently been hearing reports of more fish activity and was hoping that the inshore Spring season had started. Today was just 3 days before the full moon, normally an indicator of poor fishing, but I checked a new fishing calendar and it said the outlook was pretty good. Armed with a brand new JDM lipped sub-surface lure, I waded out on the rising tide hoping to reach the break.

I’m still trying to figure out what speed and tempo to fish this lure and was doing some test casts about 50 ft from the break. Something hit pretty hard. There was a lot of resistance and the fish took drag so I was stunned and stoked. Turns out the sticky sharp hooks snagged a 13.5 inch omilu on its side with none of the hooks in the fish’s mouth. The fish had superficial scratches so I tagged it and let it go.

Near the same spot I hooked something that felt like I was dragging a 5 gallon bucket. It another foul hooked omilu, maybe about 8 inches, and when the back hook released I could easy pull it in and set it free. It’s wounds weren’t too bad either but I was beginning to wonder how these fish were getting caught up in the lure’s hooks.

I moved inside to try a pretty reliable spot and sure enough I hooked another omilu that was initially hooked on both hooks. This one just made 10 inches, so I tagged it. It was pretty winded so I had to revive it in the moving water for a while before it kicked free.

I was really happy with the way the new JDM lure attracted fish in the beginning of February, but concerned that the free swinging hook kept cutting up the fish. I had pinched down the barbs so the hooks popped out easily but found their mark again and again. Maybe I need to change to a hook with its point less exposed.

I’m dreaming of a Top Water Christmas

December 20, 2016 By Scott 4 Comments

The top water bite began in the Spring, peaked in the summer and really slowed in the fall. It’s my favorite style of fishing because of the aerial attacks, and minimal gear required. I optimistically checked two spots where I got blanked the last time out.

I was stunned to get a boil on a thin JDM top water lure and when it didn’t attract anymore attention I switched to a gaudy colored walk-the-dog type lure and hooked two very small kaku. Both jumped and eventually threw the hook. Action slowed so I checked the 2nd spot down the road.

I could see a baby mullet with its side scraped off, and saw an off season oama with the same type of wound. Sure enough my black/chrome Waxwing baby got hit and a small kaku went airborne. The perpetrator shook the hook like his brethren and returned to his hiding place to filet another unsuspecting bait fish.

Nothing landed but at least there were some jumps on a cold December Hawaiian day. Maybe I will have a Top Water Christmas after all.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you have a Christmas season filled with God’s Peace and Joy.

-scott

Big papio still around, just harder to find

December 14, 2016 By Scott 6 Comments

The winds were down but picking up, the moon was almost full and one of my oama tubs was experiencing a die-off. I scooped about 10 of the remaining oama and headed out on the kayak. The tide was about 2 hrs from the small peak tide and nothing bothered the oama slow trolled at the papa’s edge. An hr and 45 mins into the trolling circuit the ratchet sounded and I tried to set the hook by taking a few more strokes. When I tightened the line I found it stuck in pile of submerged rocks. Hmm, did the bait get stuck in there or did a pesky roi hunker down after it got hooked? It sure sounded like something was running with the bait before it got stuck.

It had been raining off and on and I had been paddling against a 12 mph onshore wind. I rounded a papa and started paddling in. Again it seemed like something grabbed the bait and wedged itself in the rocks. Well I’ll teach that blasted roi! I set the drag really tight to the point it was hard to pull line and continued paddling with the papa’s edge on my left as I paddled straight towards shore. This time the rod got yanked and something kept trying to pull line. I loosened the drag a bit and the fish ran, then shook its head repeatedly. What an unexpected hit at the nearest papa to shore. I was hoping for an awa awa since we aren’t tagging those, but it turned out to be a hard fighting white papio, bigger than any I had caught at this particular spot. I looked at my watch and it was just past the top of the tide.

I kept the fish in the water near the kayak and readied my tagging kit. I lifted the papio onto the area right in front of where I was seated and measured it. 14 inches, head to fork in tail. That was the easy part. Tagging a fish while seated on a kayak is very different from tagging a fish laying on shore. My perspective was off because it was almost on my lap and I was pressing straight down on the white’s 2nd dorsal fin area with the tagging applicator. I pushed too hard and the tag’s barb went through the other side of the fish! Oops, sorry fish. Papio are tough so I knew it could survive that superficial wound that didn’t draw any blood. I tried again and this time my angle of entry was too shallow and I didn’t penetrate the dorsal fin ray bones. I had to pull the tag’s barb back out and left a larger second hole. Poor guy. No blood this time either though. 3rd time was a charm and I properly inserted the tag just after the start of the 2nd dorsal fin and stopped after penetrating the fin ray bones. I thought the fish would be limp after being poked 3 times but it took off as soon as I placed it in the water, not wanting to be stabbed anymore.

I had a lot more oama and 1 more tag so I made the turn around the papa, counter clockwise, and just started heading away from land when I got a bigger strike. This fish was stronger and kept resisting being pulled in as if it were foul hooked. Turns out it was a larger fish that measured 16 inches (FL) and about 4lbs. Whites are thicker than omilu for their fork length. I had learned from my previous tagging mistakes and tagged the second fish with just one try.

I was out of tags and the next fish could be brought home. Problem was I didn’t get a bite within 10 mins. The wind picked up so I let it blow me back to shore.

Take a look at the way those two fish were hooked. Both hooked in the right corner of the mouth. That means they turned left after hitting the bait. Left would have driven them onto the papa if they hit the oama from behind so they must’ve hit it from the front they way papio are supposed to, and turned left towards deeper water. I gotta take note of how other fish were hooked in relation to the reef now.

Not bad action for mid-December. It did take live oama and 2 hrs of kayak trolling but those 2 whites were larger than any other combined kayak catch this year. I guess they’re still out there if you look hard enough.

Summer is over, Fall’s about done too, what to do?

December 9, 2016 By Scott Leave a Comment

Well, the nearshore summer season started a bit late, with the oama finally showing up in good numbers in early August. By the beginning of October, the larger schools of oama were gone, and a few pockets of fish were seen here and there. The Fall rain provided habitat for large schools of jumpin iao but even they were gone by late November. The papio and kaku are no longer coming in past the reef so the inshore whipping bite has come to a complete stop, at least for me.

Up until this week the Fall winds were unusually strong, preventing me from going out on the kayak. I did get out once, in early November, with a few live oama. I caught a couple 11″ FL omilu that were tagged and released. The funniest thing was hooking a small lizardfish on the free swinging back hook. Somehow it hooked itself through its forehead, not in its mouth, and the oama was still alive and intact.

Since the lizardfish looked so appetizing next to the oama I put both down and paddled past a sandy area. Somehow the baits got stuck and when I pulled them free both were gone. Very suspicious huh?

It was getting late so I put on a 6 inch oama and paddled just off the reef edge on my way in. Something pulled drag and I looked behind just in time to see a big kaku shaking its head. Somehow the kaku managed to insert the free swinging back hook into the stub of the still alive oama yet cut the leader. Very odd things going on with that super sharp Owner back hook.

I am planning to troll live oama while we still have light winds, hoping to intercept some papio and awa awa on a reef further out from shore but still within my paddling range. Sadly, I expect the bite to be much slower than it was a month ago.

So what can we expect within wading range this winter? The fish that feed on crabs and shrimp, oio and weke, are still within range. Dunking or dragging a fresh bait should get their attention. And limu eating fish like nenue and kala will be feeding in the high surge zones. Go get ‘um!

Oama trolling on kayak and SUP

October 10, 2016 By Scott 6 Comments

My friend Frank, a superb waterman, just started SUP fishing. He wanted to R&D some of his fishing attachments so we did a little oama trolling. The wind was initially light but then the rain came through, and strong gusts came with it. The murky water extended fairly far from shore so it took a while to find clean water.

The first strike came on my weighted frozen oama in a deep channel about 20 ft from the papa edge. It was a chunky white papio, about 1.75 lbs.

By the time I bagged it and rebaited I was blown off the spot and couldn’t find my way back. We eventually found cleaner water inside and Frank’s oama, slow trolled over a shallow reef got hit but the akamai fish wrapped himself up in a hole. The wind started gusting over 20 mph and we began to make a run for our launch site.

On the way, Frank’s next oama, under a floater, got pulled down and Frank landed this omilu in the wind storm. I was impressed that he could find an omilu in the murky chop. We didn’t measure it but it was easily legal.

When we got near our launch spot the wind slowed so we decided to fish upwind of the spot so the next wind storm could blow us in. Then the rain started pelting us but the fish still bit.

A 10.5 inch omilu bit close to the papa edge. It hit the back hook and took the oama for a ride. I didn’t have my tags with me so it was released tag-less.

Then the rain starting pelting us and I hooked a slightly better white. The photo wouldn’t have come out so I didn’t bother taking one. It was closer to 2lbs.

The forecasted increase in wind came an hr earlier and blew us off the water.

All but the first fish were caught on live oama from my tubs. I think that’s what made the fish bite on this bad weather day. The last two unused ones were set free in the murk. Hope they remember how to run from predators.

Frank made sashimi, soup and fried fish with the 2 whites and omilu. Just about everything was consumed by his family except for the bones.

Taking a break from Top Water posts

October 8, 2016 By Scott Leave a Comment

For those tiring of all Top Water posts, here’s a bit of oama – papio action for you. I took the longboard out during a rare light wind day a couple of weeks ago. Paddled to the break and whipped with a frozen oama. The bite was very slow, in fact, I only got one bite.

I cast into a deep channel staying a safe distance from the waves and hooked something immediately. Felt like a big papio and it pulled me close to the impact zone. Turned out the omilu was foul hooked near its butt hole and was swimming upside down at times! When I unhooked it, it looked like the Owner bait hook had slipped and rehooked him twice and he was sliced up a bit. Not wanting to risk releasing him only to die I kept the 11.75″ (FL) fish and my parents enjoyed it.

Short morning top water session

October 7, 2016 By Scott Leave a Comment

Had less than an hr to throw top waters this morning so I picked a spot nearby that’s a close walk from the car. I started with a smaller version of the chubby lure we’ve been using. The water was high and cloudy and didn’t look promising. There was a bit of chop on the water but the smaller chubby lure was still able to gurgle and pop nicely. About 20 casts in I hooked something 10 ft from shore. Turned out to be a 10.5 inch white. Photograph – Tag – Release.

That was the smallest papio I’ve tagged and don’t plan to go any smaller since the tag may inhibit its swimming ability.

I switched to a wooden, smaller version of the narrow faced lure. It was given to me to try because it wasn’t swimming right when made to dive. Even after heavier split rings and hooks were added it still tumbled clumsily on the retrieve so I gave up on it.

There was a bit of time left so I put on an unusually thin, top water lure from Japan that was designed to walk in a wide, zig zagging, bobbing pattern with minimal splashing. Masa had contacted my through this blog and recommended it. After watching some videos I was eager to give it a go. It cast very well and was easy to walk. It even dove well if I forced it too. Nothing came up for it though. Maybe it was the bright orange color or maybe the tagged white papio took his friends and left the area? I’ll have to throw that lure on some hungry fish that like flashy food.

Top water action and inaction on East and South side

October 6, 2016 By Scott 1 Comment

On a day when the wind was blowing 10 – 15 mph, Erik fished his top water lures on the East side and I stuck to the South side. Erik pointed his aluminum skiff to the deeper water and I started board fishing at the break.

Nothing was showing for Erik as he trolled the outside so he worked his way back in. He didn’t get any boils on his trusty popper but his fishy sense was going off. He changed to the translucent pencil lure from our previous top water outing to practice retrieving it. Suddenly the lure got sucked down and his light action rod bent over. After a spirited tousle, he landed a foul hooked omilu. It had taken the front hook in the corner of its mouth and the rear hook snagged its chin. No wonder it felt much larger than the 11.5 inches (FL) he measured before tagging and releasing.

He moved to a nearby spot and a pack of omilu rushed his lure. As he brought in another foul hooked fish, 2 others tried to rip the lure away. This one was 12 inches and he tagged and released it back to its buddies. I was impressed when I heard how he was able to fool the omilu which often rush top water lures only to swirl and swim away unhooked. I have yet to catch an omilu on a top water lure.

Erik had another omilu shake off, then missed something very large that threw a lot of water. He finished the day at the edge of the murky water with an 7 to 8lb kaku zig zagging behind his lure and kicking up spray but not slicing into his plastic bait.

Meanwhile, nothing showed interest in my new narrow faced top water lure that replaced the raccoon faced lure lost to a kaku the other day. I board fished a channel break that had been previously productive when I used frozen oama. The wind chopped up the water so I paddled in to fish from shore. Bait was missing from the usual spots and I didn’t get any boils as I walked the shoreline. Then I saw small baitfish erupting out of the water and falling back like heavy rain drops. My first cast near the eruption yielded a very small kaku, maybe 12 inches, too small to tag. Nothing hit my next few casts so I changed to a few other top water lures I wanted to test, and even tried a Waxwing Baby. Nothing. I switched back to the new raccoon faced lure and had two boils as the sun set. Later, when I washed down the lure I realized the last two fish had actually scratched up the lure but missed the hooks.

I think the narrow profile of this lure looked enough like the baitfish to draw strikes, whereas the other lures I tried were fuller bodied.

And I think Erik has mastered the chubby pencil lure and we need to get video of that monster kaku attacking his lure.

Top water action: cold to hot and back

October 1, 2016 By Scott 1 Comment

A friend who rarely gets to fish was off this week so we went wading on the Windward side. The first spot we checked look a little murky near the muddy bank, so we tried a sandier spot that is normally clearer. The bait fish were scarce near shore so we made a big loop that took us out to the reef and back.

He was throwing the Waxwing Baby and I started with the raccoon-faced top water (middle row on the right). I got two weak boils on that top water lure and changed to a splashier JDM lure with a small, cupped face (top row, on the right). It got one boil and that was it for the spot. My friend’s Waxwing didn’t register any hits.

We decided to fish that murky spot we had shunned earlier. The tide was almost at its peak and the water had cleared significantly. We walked out into waist deep water and started searching. My raccoon-faced lure started getting boils and hits and I hooked the first fish of the day, a smallish kaku. As I walked back to shore to tag it, it shook the hook. On subsequent casts, kaku would follow the lure in pairs and sometimes lunge for it if I made it dart sideways. My friend’s blue sardine Waxwing wasn’t getting any attention so I offered the raccoon-faced lure. He declined because he hadn’t top water fished before and didn’t want to lose my lure. After watching more hits and misses he relented.

I gave him a quick lesson on how to dip and chug the lure and told him to watch its swimming action carefully. On his second cast he lost track of the raccoon face but his light rod bent over. The fish pulled drag and as he brought it closer we could see that it was a good sized kaku. Then the line went slack. Arrghh! The line was cut above the swivel he used to join his main line to the leader. Maybe another kaku hit that swivel trying to get in on the feeding frenzy. I tried to hide my disappointment because he was already feeling bad about losing what had become my favorite lure. To cheer him up I gave him a chubby top water lure painted up like an oama (middle row on the left) and told him that I have a lot of those I buy used on eBay.

I put a blue and silver chubby top water lure on, same style and size he was now using, and got some boils. The kaku were following like they were following the raccoon face but weren’t committing. I made it quickly dart to the side and a kaku jumped on it. A few seconds later the leader cut. Our second top water lure lost. The kaku in this spot were more aggressive than previous spots I had fished.

Running out of top water lures, I put the splashy lure (top row, right) I had used earlier in the day. It generated much fewer boils but eventually landed a 17 inch kaku that I was able to tag.

The top water action was so good at this last spot that Erik wanted to fish it at the middle of the tidal rise the next day. Erik started with a wider, chunkier top water lure he had been meaning to test but it kind of rolled side to side as he chugged it back. It also caught a lot of side wind on the cast. Not exactly confidence inspiring. I was using another blue/silver chubby lure, identical to the one I lost the day before. It found the kaku and I had one one that I was bringing in but the fish shook the hooks and I had to dodge the incoming lure missile. Lesson learned, retrieve the fish at an angle in case the lure comes flying back.

I gave Erik a light colored, translucent chubby lure to try, as a comparison to the chunky lure he had put away. He liked the bobbing, walking action but the bite completely shut down for both of us. We whipped the area, and then waded away for about 45 mins. When we returned Erik got a boil on successive casts and then hooked a kaku that jumped and eventually threw the hook. Not as much action as the previous day but still fun to see a fish explode on the surface.

At least for these two days, the Japanese top water lures outfished the Waxwing and chunkier domestic top water. I’ll have to find another raccoon face on eBay!

Top Water teaching moment

September 25, 2016 By Scott Leave a Comment

I was late to the Top Water test grounds. The tide was peaking at noon but the bite had really slowed down when I arrived at 9:55 am. Clay said the fish were a lot more active from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.

I was able to photograph his 15.5″ kaku he caught just as I arrived. It was expertly tagged at a 45 degree angle off the Y and Z axis (side and top).

Eagerly, I threw out my narrow faced top water lure. I didn’t get a single follow.

Clay changed to a different colored top water of the same model he used for the last kaku and landed a 17″ kaku. Then the bite really shut down.

Out of desperation I changed to the fuller bodied top water that was always good for a boil and didn’t get a sniff.

I guess it is true, fish don’t rise to top water lures after the sun is high in the sky. Some believe the fish can see the lures better and don’t hit them. Others believe the sun is too bright for their eyelid-less eyes. This is the first time my top water lures didn’t even generate a follow. Note to self, don’t fish top waters on sunny days after 10am. And don’t be married to one style of lure. I should’ve thrown the sub-surface Waxwing but I’ve become addicted to the surface explosions top water lures generate.

Once again, Clay, the Top Water Master, caught and tagged fish under challenging conditions.

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