Sorry, after 9 yrs of smooth sailing, the website took a WordPress update that broke it, and that uncovered a bigger problem that had to be resolved by the hosting company Bluehost. It took 4 days of prodding them to work on it, but once they did, all the data and functionality was restored.
It’s good to be back.
Sorry, this is long overdue. Navigation through the Store isn’t as seamless as I would like because the Store pages are really built on a blog platform. In order to fix a couple inconveniences I’d have to pay a yearly fee for specialized widgets, which would cut into the little the Store makes so far.
I started the Store in 2019 to sell products we sorely needed in HI, at a discount so entry to try wouldn’t be too high. Thank you to those who supported the Store and website over the years. I’ve added more products in the last couple of months to complement the the influx of oama and halalu.
So, to access the Store, click on the link in the top nav menu. That would take you to the Store or you could select Shop as you mouse over the Store link.
All the Product Categories will be displayed. Select “Newly Added” in the upper left corner to see the latest products, or select the Product Category you’re interested in.
If you click on an individual product you’ll be able to see its description and our personal experience with that product (usually).
Click “ADD TO CART” to add a product to your shopping cart.
To return to the top Product Category you’re in, click on the breadcrumb trail link. If you want to see all the Product Categories again, click on the Store link at the top nav bar.
I think the rest is self-explanatory. You can pay with PayPal or Venmo and most orders ship out within 24 hrs.
I recruited Holoholo writer Matthew Ikeda, who has been red hot catching oio (bonefish) on the flats with a jighead and grub, to help test the old, used JDM lures I had banished to Second String status. Those lures were described in this post.
Matt suggested we fish at a not-so-secret urban canal in Honolulu in case landmarks were exposed. He was using spinning gear (8″3″ Major Craft rod, Shimano Twin Power 3000 reel) designed to cast 1/2 ounce lures and I dusted off my 7’3″ 13 Fishing travel rod and 13 Fishing Concept Z bait casting reel. I hadn’t whipped since 2019 so I needed a few practice casts to get going.
The wooden Lucky Craft Sammy and wooden Tiemco Red Pepper were duds. They just didn’t float as crisply as their plastic versions we’ve fished before. They’re X’d out in the photo above. The plastic Tiemco Red Pepper and Daiwa TD Salt Pencil seemed to bob up and down ok but the fish weren’t interested in top water lures so we’ll have to try them again later. They are marked with a “?”.
Matt was able to walk-the-dog with the Tackle House M Quiet in a wide, sweeping way, but the fish didn’t want that presentation either. The Maria Chase SW (Salt Water) wobbled erratically and looked good with my steady retrieve and I missed a couple short kaku bites I think. You can see the action of those two lures in the video below.
The lure presentation that stood out was the Duo Tide Minnow Slim SSR (Super Shallow Runner) under Matt’s control. That lure, circa 2015, has a fixed center weight unlike it’s rolling weight successor but still casted well and swam with a really tight roll.
Sure enough it got slammed by a white papio (juvenile GT) you would think was too big to be in the canal. Maybe what they say about those fish being mutants is true – this fish seemed to float in the air when Matt lowered it to be unhooked.
Matt will be writing up his perspective of the day and that guest post will include the capture and release video. Stay tuned for that, and another round of whipping lure testing in easily accessible spots.
Traditionally, oama seasons starts in August, and the peak season starts at the end of August. With it being a warm El Nino year, we’re expecting a good oama season although there haven’t been large, catchable schools yet at the normal places.
If you’re new to oama fishing, or need a refresher, click here to read the comprehensive oama fishing guide.
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Our young, on-the-water intrepid reporter, Matthew Ikeda, offers his prediction for the coming Summer.
Matthew: With a potential “El Nino” year coming, there is a real chance for a great summer of fishing. NOAA analytics suggest that the chance for an El Nino year in 2023 is over 90%. The last time such a great fishing year occurred, it was 2015 and I had just begun fishing, so I was not able to appreciate the conditions. Stories from many fishermen tell the tale, however, of an overabundance of predators in shallow waters and an explosion of baitfish. We can only hope that these conditions recur and bless us with the action for which we have waited so long.
For those of you who do not know who I am, I fish from the shore with lures, mainly for Papio and Oio. I am a catch and release fisherman 99% of the time. I try to go out a lot, so I see things that I can write up in an occasional report on this blog. With that being said, let’s get into the early summer report.
Action has been a little sluggish initially, but there have been many good signs that point towards good fishing in July and August. I have whipped for Papio a few times within the last two weeks, and while I’ve only caught a few in the 10 inch range, it is encouraging that those are willing to bite after a very bad winter of Papio fishing. There have been Oama at certain isolated spots for a little while now, although these Oama have already grown kind of big for bait usage. I assume more small Oama will come in with a second wave in the coming weeks.
One spot I know of currently has a massive mixed school of Halalu and Sardines, which might be the largest pile of baitfish I’ve ever seen. Strangely, I haven’t seen very many predators busting the pile. I also know of one other spot with a sardine pile, although not as big. There has been an early arrival of Iao in some shallow water spots, which is a good sign for the flats. It was the big schools of Iao that brought the great action onto the flats in 2015-2016. Although there haven’t been many predators inshore to feast on this abundance of baitfish, it is probably okay because June is not usually peak season. I believe that the predators will discover the baitfish soon and that we have a great Papio season upon us starting in July.
As for the O’io whipping, it has cooled off dramatically. After an amazing January-March, these past few weeks have been rather challenging, and there have been many trips where I barely escaped whitewash with a small O’io at the end. The O’io have generally been skittish and uncooperative, and the ones that I have seen seem to be aware of my presence before they are within casting range. Maybe there has just been too much activity on the flats recently? With all the dunkers, fly fishermen, and people like I, perhaps we have been pressuring the fish way too much.
El Nino brings hurricanes along with the good fishing, and don’t get too caught up in preparing for fishing that you forget to prepare a storm kit. While not guaranteed, it is likely that there will be storms formed, but hopefully they will simply miss the islands. I hope this summer is great for everyone and that there will be more than enough fish to go around. Please “fish pono” and be considerate of others, the ocean, and our finite resources. Stay safe, have fun, and good luck out there!
The last El Nino phenomena spanned 2014 to 2017 and the inshore oama and papio bite was phenomenal. Predators were hitting lures close to shore and the nearshore kayak and boat fishing was great also. Then the weather pattern shifted to the La Nina cycle and fishing took a dump. 2018 through 2022 was slow all over although there was a good late season oama push. I’ve been feeling like a crazy conspiracist, tying the El Nino to better fishing, so we’ll see if I was even close to being right.
Stay tuned for on the water reports from the contributing writers, and reviews of lures to use nearshore.
And the risk of a hurricane hitting us is no joke. Be prepared before the Late Summer / Fall hurricane season.
Nabeta (razor wrasse) are considered the best tasting fish to fry in Hawaii, and one of the best tasting fish to eat overall. They’re found in sandy patches, near scattered reef, in 80 to 200ft. They aren’t picky eaters but are hard to find unless you’ve saved the spots prior, and didn’t tell anyone.
I’ve gotten a few small to medium sized nabeta when trying for opelu, but never really found a consistent bite. On this day however, they bit like crazy, and I’m guessing a number of conditions came together. Light wind, small waves, major lunar bite period, and overcast rainy conditions.
I had struck out on pelagics outside, with my sole live opelu being pulled off in 270ft as I reeled it in to check on it. I tried to catch another opelu in the deep and failed so I went in to where the shallow opelu had been and instead a 7 inch nabeta ate one of my CHL Minnows on my damashi. It had started to rain steadily and the nabeta bite improved. Something bit off 1 of my 3 hooks and yet 2 large nabeta came up on the next drop.
During this mayhem my reel knob broke off and I took that as a sign that I should slow down on the fish catching. Nabeta are easy to fish out because they are a slow growing bottom fish. I had a rod rigged up with an underwater GoFish cam I hadn’t used before, and I put a piece of bait on the hook hoping the smell would draw the fish within camera range. I couldn’t feel any nibbles because of the weight of the camera, but could feel a hooked fish on the line! I reeled up and found an angry nabeta at the end. I rebaited and dropped down again and could feel a fish run with the bait and then the line went slack. All good as long as the camera was recording.
Dropped the baited rig down again and could feel another fish get hooked. Kinda crazy to have these uncommonly found fish just hook themselves. At this point I had enough nabeta in the kayak and hoped I had some meaningful video to target these tasty critters more effectively.
I was stoked that the video clips clearly showed the nabeta mugging the bait, and when I slowed the video down, I could even see opelu and lai as the camera was pulled up to the surface (not shown in the video below but I’ll try to record other species next time).
Friends who hadn’t had nabeta in decades really enjoyed deep frying them, eating the scales like panko chips. I had been frying nabeta for my dad recently so my sister steamed the biggest one for him. I almost forgot to tell her to take the scales off!
Lemme know what you folks think of the underwater footage.
The last 3 weeks in February were unfishable from a kayak and then I had cataract surgery and had to stay off the water for 4 weeks. Being unable to fish was harder than I anticipated.
I tried to find other things to occupy my time, but even my day dreams revolved around fishing. Digging out weeds became looking down on virgin fishing grounds and pulling up fish after fish. Kind of silly, I know. But it got me thinking of how much fishing enhances my life.
What do you miss when you can’t fish for an extended amount of time?
Merik Chun is now a Sophomore at Kaiser High School. His Boat Jigging tips were so well received that I asked him if he’d explain the sport of “Plugging” to us. Thanks Merik!
Merik: I am a young, avid fisherman and waterman. One of my favorite types of fishing styles, which I will explain to you now, is plugging. I enjoy this type of fishing because it’s fun working the lures in different ways and when you do get a strike it’s one of the most thrilling, exciting experiences in fishing. Especially when you’re targeting larger species, you may not get hit often but when you do, it’s a ton of fun! Here I will introduce you to plugging concepts I have learned over the years and what has worked for me. This is the way I like to do it, others may have a different approach. Take what you want from this if anything, and hopefully it helps you get your first fish plugging!
What is Plugging?
Plugging is the act of throwing a hard body lure out, and reeling it back in, impersonating a wounded baitfish. The main target is usually a predatory fish looking for an easy, struggling meal. The lures people use for plugging may vary in shape, looks, and action. The two main lures people use for plugging are poppers and stickbaits.
Plugging Gear:
Usually, depending on how heavy the plugging setup is, you would want a setup that matches the lures you’re casting.
Reels:
Optimally, a sturdy and rigid reel with a smooth drag system and high gear ratio to pick up slack. This is because in some cases, you will be running heavy drag to prevent fish from running into the reef or over a ledge. A smoother drag helps to control the fish, while rigidity in the reel helps keep balance under load. A higher gear ratios (ex. 5.7:1/6.2:1) are the most common for throwing lures, especially stickbaits, where you need to sweep the lure. This can also help rip a lure over shallow reef structure, or keep tension on a fish running toward you.
Rods: Rods for plugging can vary depending on the setup. A medium heavy action is usually the softest I’d go for most scenarios. Rod length may vary depending on where someone is fishing from and their comfort level.
Usually, a long rod is better if you’re fishing from shore, off the rocks, on the flats, or in the surf (10’-12’) This can help keep the scope of the line higher up over the rocks, as since you’re usually level with the fish. A longer rod may also help get more distance on casts. When plugging from the boat, a shorter rod could be easier with maneuverability and casting as you usually don’t have to cast as far (7’6-9’). There are also plugging rods made specifically for certain lures, with stiffer tips being popper oriented, and softer tips being Stickbait oriented. In between, are all-around rods with stiffness for poppers, while still being soft enough for sweeping sticks.
Main line:
When plugging, braided line is usually the best option since can fit more line on your reel, at a heavier poundage. This helps with casting, and maintaining direct contact to the lure as well as sensitivity, strength and longevity. Typically, good quality Japanese braided line is rated by PE numbers signifying the diameter and breaking strain. For example, for casting 40-80g lures, PE2-3 (30-50#) would work well. While throwing 100-150g lures, PE5-8 could be used (70-90#), and anything up may be heavier. Japanese braided line usually has a smaller diameter with a heavier breaking strain. In some cases, some braids may be limper making them better for casting. I have not noticed a significant difference between the two.
Leader line:
When it comes to leader line, I like to run a shock leader, around 2-3 arm spans (10’-15’) long for throwing lures. In most cases this would leave my FG knot in between my reel and first guide, or first and second guide, which is where I have found there’s the least amount of wind knots. The leader should cater to the size of the setup. For my PE2.5 setup, I run 40#-60# while for my PE5 setup, I run 120#-180#. Just find what works for you, but usually a heavier leader is better if you’re targeting bigger fish in heavy structure. Whatever you can comfortably cast and get distance.
Terminal: When it comes to terminal, I typically like to invest a bit more initially on better quality products, as gear failure such as a bent hook or opened split ring is the last way I’d want to lose a fish. For plugging, I run a swivel, to a split ring, connected to the lure. The hooks are connected via split ring. A good split ring pliers makes life a lot easier if you’re working with split rings a lot.
Lures
Poppers:
Poppers are usually a plug shaped lure with a cupped face at the front. The action of these lures is created by short jerks or long hard jerks with the tip low allowing the lure to displace water and pop, through the cup face. Poppers are made to create a lot of noise and ruckus in the water in hopes of attracting a predatory fish. It impersonates an injured fish or the sound of fish attack a school of fish on the surface. With poppers, I get the most action on short quick jerks, with fish usually hitting on the pause! Faster jerks or Walk The Dog style jerks have also produced. I like to run trebles on both belly and back.
Stickbaits:
Stickbaits are a lot different from poppers. They are almost like a lipless jerkbait that can swim through the water like an escaping or wounded baitfish. Stickbaits come in both floating and sinking variations, with sinking being a lot easier to work. Generally, with any Stickbait, a sweeping motion or straight retrieve has produced the best action. Floating stickbaits can create a splash or bubble trail as they dive down into the water. Generally, you want to leave slack in the sweep so as the nose hits the surface you start on your next sweep. Stickbaits can also be worked on a straight retrieve, fast or slow, jerking motion, Walk The Dog, or ripped across the surface. I usually run belly treble and inline single on the back.
My setups:
The setups I have now are definitely on the pricier side. Many of the ones I have, I have gotten lucky and gotten good deals on them. But remember you don’t need fancy gear to start fishing. I started with an old Penn 550 with an Ugly stick, then switched to a small Daiwa Legalis, to a Penn Pursuit and Daiwa Emcast before making my way up to what I am using now. If you really love this type of fishing, nice gear is mainly for the user’s enjoyment, and you don’t need fancy things to catch fish!
Heavy:
Medium/Light:
Disclaimer: This is just my personal take on what I have learned throughout the years plugging and what has worked for me. Others may have different opinions and methods that work for them, but this is what works for me and what I have learned. Hope you can take something away from this!
If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability, or even if you have any tips or suggestions, I am always happy to learn!
Weather-wise, January 2023 had light wind and not much rain, making conditions fishable but the inshore and nearshore (out to 3 miles or so) bite was the typical winter slog. The inshore guys resorted to targeting oio and the nearshore kayaks and boats did some shallow bottom fishing for uku, nabeta and goatfish.
The nice weather continued into the first week of February but that was followed by 4 weeks of strong wind and rain storms. When the wind and rain let up a bit, the fly fishers and jig head whippers connected with oio and saw big omilu hunting the flats. March is early for the big omilu who are normally seen by the early June time frame, before the oama begin to trickle in by late July.
The offshore kayak bite has just begun to pick up in some areas. Mahi, shibi and kawakawa are showing up for the live opelu, which has still been abundant in the early morning.
The consistent rain has been making the brackish water estauraries habitable for the little critters the inshore food chain fish feed on. We can look forward to a better aholehole, moi, and mullet season than we had last year, which didn’t have much rain in the Winter/Spring. Let’s see if this prediction holds.
Grant Taura has has enjoyed fishing throughout his entire life. He’s tried free diving, shoreline whipping, plugging and bait casting and has never really been passionate about any type of fishing until he found his passion in kayak fishing. It’s the hunting and not waiting; it’s also the consistency and versatility of fishing on a kayak that he has found fulfilling. And finally being able to provide fresh fish for his family and friends completes kayak fishing for him.
Grant: What started as Akule fishing in the early morning on the kayak for bait just in case I couldn’t catch Opelu at sunrise for Pelagics, has turned into targeting Akule intentionally. Growing up, we would go Waimea Bay and whip for halalu in the huge schools, and use telescopic poles to catch Akule in Haleiwa Boat Harbor. Halalu fishing back in the early 80’s, as I remember was an intense, fun and adrenaline-rush all in one experience. Memories: Had my line cut by an older, experienced halalu fisherman because I had not casted straight and had not timed my cast properly. Hooking up to a halalu using Aqua strips that came in a block. Watching the the strikes on bait casting rods using halalu -Kawakawa and big Omilus were landed.
Fast forward to 2018. I learned that Akule was not only a summer time fish but available all year round. My good friend, Davis Nakashima, from the Big Island, would take me fishing for Akule for bait off the cliff in Kona. This is when I also realized that they were all not just in one school in the harbor. Over the past year, I’ve learned that Akule is a good choice of live bait for Pelagics as a back up to opelu. Although I haven’t taken any major strikes or landed anything with the Akule it has become one of my favorite target fish to eat simply for the consumption. Akule has been for many years, my all time favorite fried fish to eat. Fortunately with some help, I’ve learned to catch Opelu as my primary live bait and have been blessed with an abundance of Akule to eat and to share with family and friends who also love fried Akule.
Over the years, listening to people and friends who fish on boats, shoreline and now kayaks, I realize the best time to go out and catch Akule is anytime the wind, swell, waves etc allow you to. Any given night or early morning when the conditions are safe is a good time to Akule fish. As long as you can find them, the possibility of you bringing up an Akule for bait or consumption is pretty high. I’ve heard so many stories of the best times to go. When there is a new moon, 3-4 days before or after the new moon, when the moon sets, etc. Although some of it or all of it is true, I found the best time for me to go is when I’m available and the weather conditions are right. As much as I love the hunt, fight and landing of Pelagics, I also find equal and a lot of times more gratification catching Akule. Not only for the sport but for the nostalgia of it. Let’s not forget how good it tastes. Over the past year, I have found myself once again in the hunt for Akule.
Fishing off a kayak is another way I have come to enjoy targeting Akule. This time around it’s even more gratifying because the result of whether you catch or not is dependent on the preparation that goes into fishing off a kayak. Prior to even getting out on the water, the preparation of your equipment is key. Prior to launching, the rigs that I set up consists of two different types of Damashi, namely flies and grubs. I currently take 3 set ups.. Two set ups I bring consists of two different Kakele (fly) that some really good hammah fisherman were gracious enough to share, and one set up is the basic gold hook, red bead and grub. I have five hooks per rig. I keep them in ziplock bags, ready to be changed out quickly. I like to make things simple, because I don’t like to waste time on the water and the main reason why is I’m 51 and everything is blurry so it’s almost impossible to tie things while the kayak is rocking and bobbing. What makes it even harder is being in the dark with only your headlamp for lighting. The use of electronics is essential for safety, navigation and finding your target species. It’s important to have some sort of navigation light on your kayak so boaters can see you, VHF radio, PFD and whistle would be the minimum safety equipment to have on your kayak. With that being said, it’s a good idea to charge batteries and double checking your equipment function. After a few mishaps I almost always test all my electronics at home and prior to launching.
Once on the water the hunt begins. Starting in the shallower depths around 50ft my eyes are focused on looking for colors on my fish finder screen. I tend to stay away from dropping my Damashi to the very bottom as Akule tend to be in the mid to upper column of water. I have caught on the bottom and I’m always excited to catching one off the bottom because it’s not expected. Sometimes I’ll test the very bottom if I can’t find them, the bite is extremely slow or I think it’s Menpachi, which is another favorite. Never disappointed to land reds as we like to call them. Being aware of any changing conditions surrounding you is also really important. Things we look out for is if the wind is picking up, swell sizes, if the current changes direction , the current strengthens etc., When fishing in the dark you barely can see 5-10 feet in front of you especially if you’re fishing a new moon or if the moon sets.
Recently we encountered whale sightings, well I shouldn’t say sightings because we couldn’t see them. Based on past experience you can kind of tell if they are far or near. I base this upon seeing them during the day and hearing them spout and listening to how loud it is when they do this behavior. On one of those outings we were in about 100ft of water and we heard the whale spout. We had three of us out that night. I was more inland and one of my partners was about 50 yards away. As I looked out to where he was, it was pitch black because it was a new moon. I could only see his head lamp. We heard the spout again and determined that the whale was really close based on my partner and my location. He heard the spout come from inland and I heard it come outside of where I was at. At that point we decided to move. We had to move quite a ways before the spout came more distant. I failed to mention that we could also hear clearly the whale slapping its fin or tail. That was way too close for comfort. The bite had come to a halt at that point. We are not sure, but concluded that the whale had something to do with it. We went more inshore, caught Akule here and there but nothing compared to the bite before the whale or whales showed up. I always remind myself that we are the visitors to the ocean and to always, always respect their home as we would want them to respect ours, to give back, take only what we consume and be grateful for the opportunity to share.
Here is a short video of what akulu fishing at night on a kayak looks like.
Oahu kayak fisherman Devan Inouye has been posting some helpful and entertaining videos on You Tube and Facebook so I asked if he wouldn’t mind summarizing his 2022 outings. It’s very interesting to see how Oahu’s kayak fishing seasons differ from the seasons Shea Uehana experienced on the Big Island. You can check out Shea’s summary of 2022 here.
Devan:
I’ve been around the water most of my life from my youth, whether it was fishing, diving, surfing, paddling, etc. I really had a fondness for diving, but I’ve gravitated towards kayak fishing for safety and longevity reasons. Getting old is inescapable! It’s always nice to learn new things and have new challenges. Started kayaking a little more than 2 years ago.
1st Kayak: Perception Pecador 12, found the propeller style a little cumbersome as I was not good at paying attention to line direction and keeping my lines clear of the prop when I first started.
Current: Hobie Pro Angler 14 on Oahu and Hobie Outback on Big Island. I love the deck space and stability of the Pro Angler, but it does lack in maneuverability. The Outback rides like a gem, but the stock rudder leaves something to be desired as far as steering in more turbulent conditions.
I’ve had many influences in kayak fishing and have been truly fortunate with close friends teaching me their secrets ofcatching bait, particularly opelu. I’ve learned that there really is an art to doing it, and people on YouTube definitely made it look easier than it was when I first started. Some of the main friends I learned from were Elliott Garma and Dustin Jed (Seagull Fishing), but I’ve definitely shared strategies and gear choices with many other truly great fishermen since then. I tend to fish all over Oahu, but mainly we fish the north and west shores. Recently I picked up a kayak on the Big Island and I’ve had a very auspicious start due to the company I keep and their willingness to help me explore those grounds, thanks Shea and Louie!
You may have seen an article of an Ahi I caught in Hawaii Fishing News or caught glimpses of me on YouTube as “Where’s D-AHI?”. My fishing experiences this year were not nearly as consistent as I would have liked due to many family trips both happy and sullen, as well as coaching obligations for my son Dace’s baseball team. So, sadly this cannot be relied upon as a time table journal of fishing, but I hope it at least can identify for any reader some of the things that can be looked forward to on your own fishing adventures!
January
Unfortunately my year started off quite slowly fishing-wise due to many family trips to Vegas, Hilo, and Kauai. The times I did get out were loaded with bait, both akule/halalu (goggle eye scad) and opelu (mackerel scad). The pelagic fishing seemed a little slow with just a few kawakawas (wavyback skipjack tuna) and some kamanus (rainbow runners) coming up for me this month.
February
This month immediately started off with a bang with some yellow fin footballs (shibis – yellowfin tunas under 100lbs) coming up, start to end this month, with the largest one being about 35lbs. The bait was slightly scarcer, but still around.
March & April
A few more family trips were scheduled these months, and this was the start of my fishing experiences on the Big Island. Getting on bait in new fishing grounds proved to be slightly difficult, so I fiddled with a few different down-rigging strategies during this time frame. A bunch of good sized ukus (7) and yellow spot papios (5) were coming up as a result of this, and the opelu that I was lucky enough to get on to seemed to be getting very large at this point in the year.
May
Ahas and baby kawakawas flooded the fish finders at time during this month. I witnessed huge swarms of them and could not keep them off my live baits and my damashis. This was also accompanied by similar screens of bait in the darkness of morning and sunrise. Tons of bait but very few pelagics this month aside from a few rat Mahis. It feels like the bait schools were piling up at this point and the summer bite was hopefully about to start heating up.
June
This month truly marked the start of the summer for me. It was electric and bountiful with every trip out being productive. The fish tally this month resulted in 2 onos, a few kamanus (rainbow runners), a 25lb shibi, multiple large kawakawas, a few more ukus, and a 55lb ulua.
July
This month was hot again, but it felt like kawakawa purgatory with some days out resulting in 3-5 kawakawas coming up in single outings. Bait felt plentiful but skittish, and basically any opelu I had out couldn’t stay alive in the water. Just as I thought I could only catch those silver and blue footballs, the FISH THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF came up! This is the month I caught an AHI (a yellowfin over 100lbs gilled and gutted) that weighed in gng and tailless at 105.2 lbs (estimated total weight of approx. 125-130lbs).
August
The rest of July was cut short on account of a long family trip to Disneyland with my wife and son. I could not wait hit the water when I finally got back in August and found that the bait was still plentiful and the bite was still on fire. Again, every trip seemed fruitful; I only fished 4 times this month, but here’s how it went. Week 1: 3 kawakawas (with another sharked in half). Week 2: 60 lb shibi, kawa, mahi, kahala (cnr – catch and release which I do with just about all Kahalas and uluas unless someone specifically asks for them). Week 3: 52lb shibi and mahi. Week 4: Mahi, uku, and kahala. Week 5: (There were 5 fishable weeks this month!) 54lb shibi. What a banger of a month! One side note, the sharks seemed much more prevalent and even more aggressive this month and I lost quite a number of fish to them.
September
This month I got out each weekend again and it went a little something like this. Week 1: Kawa and small 19lb shibi. Week 2: Came across some aku (which I tend to find unusual on a kayak) and an uku. Week 3: Loaded bag with a hefty kawa, mahi, and loads and LOADS of opelu. Week 4: Was a special treat getting to fish out at Punaluu on the Big Island with Shea (Affordable Wahoo) and Louie Tres Fishing (be sure to check them both out on YouTube!). Many pelagics were visible on the fish finder and Shea brought up a nice ono, but I only managed a 15lb shibi that day.
October
Only got out 3 times this month and they were mostly short trips as we were in the throes of the baseball season. This is the month the I got to first try the Sufix Invisix fluorocarbon leader that you can find on this site! Week 1: 42lb ono, mahi, and a stud uku that lost his tail to a shark (this is that ono that I caught on a circle hook and straight fluorocarbon with no wire, truly a lucky hookup!). Week 2: Dud checking out new grounds for me at Hawaii Kai, only landing a giant kahala. Week 3: Oahu Pelagic Pirates (OPP fishing club, be sure to check them out on Facebook Groups pages!) team event where my buddy Elliott and I took first place with a couple akus and got to witness a few of those elusive and odd red opelus be brought up.
November
Sadly, I only got to get out twice in November. I started experimenting with the GoFish underwater cam this month and I’m sure it had some negative effect on the bite, but perhaps the summer rush was also slowing down here as well. The underwater cam showed me that some aku schools and shibi schools were still lurking around, but most of my production came down lower in the water column with 3 ukus, 2 kahala, and a few ulua. One of the ukus was a PB weighing in at 18.6lbs. We also found a bunch of little baby shibis on the damashi, so perhaps that indicates there was some spawning going on which is exciting!
December
Again, this month was consumed with travel, however the trips off Oahu were productive and luckily I got to fish on the last trip! A Hawaii Kai outing produced 2 ukus (13 & 16lbs) and a kawakawa (11lbs). Two more outings right before Christmas brought in one aku each and some nabeta. The last outing was at Punaluu on the Big Island which was a bit of a dud for me being that I plowed through about a dozen baits and only landed a small 12 lb shibi and a big kahala. Ironically as I was fighting that kahala, Shea asked if there were still marks by me, I told him yes and he hooked into a 50lb shibi during that fight haha.
That’s a wrap of my year. I hope you found the read interesting and could glean some useful information out of this and I look forward to seeing you out on the water!
Big Island kayak fisher Shea Uehana (YouTube: Affordable Wahoo) summarizes his second year of offshore fishing. You can compare this to his previous year here, and to Devan Inouye’s Oahu Offshore Kayak Fishing Summary here.
Shea:
January 2022
Opelu and akule were both scarce through most of the month, but the few that I could catch were quickly eaten by hungry shibi ahi in the 25-35 lb range. I actually got a single shibi each trip out in January.
February 2022
Opelu were easier to find as we ranged out to spots on the southern end of the Big Island. The shibi bite was hot on the east side, while Sailfish readily took live opelu every trip out to the west. I also consistently came across a large school of Great Hammerhead sharks just milling around on the surface in South Kona.
March 2022
Bad weather on the windward side forced us to head west. The shibis were smaller at west spots, but Mahimahi and Kamanu (Rainbow Runner) started showing up. One of the Kamanu I caught this month is still my PB to date, a chunky 21 lbs. Smaller ono started showing up near the end of the month, and on one trip I lost six in a row to sharks!
April 2022
Opelu were suddenly abundant pretty much island-wide. I was finally able to break the ono curse and landed the first of the year early in the month. Large Mahimahi started showing up on the NW side of the island, and a buddy and I doubled up. His bull must have been close to 40 lbs and the cow I landed weighed in at 26 lbs. At the end of the month, I lucked out and landed my biggest ono yet… on a circle hook with flurocarbon leader!
May 2022
The opelu suddenly made themselves scarce, and even the akule were almost impossible to find in the pre-dawn darkness. The only pelagic I got all month was a Kawakawa (Mackerel Tuna). The skunking got bad enough that I made the leap and finally tried my hand at deep dropping for bottom fish in 600-900 feet depths. In a stroke of luck, I actually got my first Hapuupuu (Hawaiian Seabass) the first time trying this new fishing method.
June 2022
I pushed further than I ever had before in search of good deep-dropping grounds. I even purchased a Penn Squall 40 paired with a Shimano Trevala X-heavy to have better line capacity and so I wouldn’t burn out my spinners cranking heavy rigs up from the deep. The deep dropping yielded delicious deep sea species such as Gindai, Opakapaka, and Ehu. On one trip out, I even caught a couple opelu (the first I’d gotten in over a month) and lucked out when two 30-40 lb shibis grabbed them on the way in.
July
Fishing at our usual east side spots was shut down all month due to high winds and choppy seas, so we hit the old stomping grounds on the NW side of the island. Catching live opelu was really hit or miss. Some days we filled the bait tube in minutes and others we struggled to even catch a single one. The pelagic action was also pretty slow, but the few fish that I did catch were some of the best I’ve gotten to date, particularly a chunky ono and a slammer mahimahi. I also made the decision to upgrade my conventional reel to something with better cranking power and chose an Avet MXL 2-speed lever drag (thanks Scott!). The low gear on this reel is just great and made cranking heavy bottom rigs up from 700+ feet so much easier. I was able to get 3 absolutely delicious gindai in one day.
August
Catching bait was a breeze in the first half of the month, and it seemed like smaller (10-15 lb) mahimahi were starting to show up in numbers. However, in the later half of the month, the opelu once again played hard to get and I ended up falling back on deep dropping or vertical jigging to put fish on the yak. Reef fish like Black Trevally and Omilu saved the day some trips. This was really a stark contrast to August 2021, when we seemed to be inundated in opelu schools much of the time.
September
The opelu at my home grounds continued to ghost us, but luckily there were some great breaks in the trade winds and we capitalized by heading to some fertile grounds. The bait were much easier to catch there, and aku, decent shibis, sailfish, and my PB to date ono all came up this month. From what I heard from friends who kept trying the usual grounds, the opelu bite was not great and fishing was tough.
October
I only went a couple times in October, but the mahimahi were pretty active both trips. Inspired by watching Rokkitkit on Youtube, myself and a couple other guys started using Gofish trolling cameras to capture underwater strike footage. I lucked out the first time using it and a decent bull mahi ate my dead opelu on camera and even tried to eat the camera itself!
November
The opelu finally decided to come out in force, and it seemed like we caught way more than we needed every trip out. Nice sized shibis in the 30-50 lb range bit consistently, and we even lost a few that were probably way larger to sharks and pulled hooks. The last fishing session of the month was right after a huge cold front had passed and the shibis and mahimahi were voracious. This month finally felt like the Fall bite we’d been waiting for was turning on…
December
Ended the year strong with shibis ranging from 40 – 55 lbs, Ono 35 – 45 lbs, and some Ehu for New Years dinner! Opelu cooperated on every trip and nice conditions made for a great month.
BJ Hosaka, who has previously shared about night whipping for Menpachi and Āholehole, recently started “dry aging” the fish he catches. Please read what an amazing difference it makes.
Maximizing fish quality is a goal many fishermen have when preparing their catch. As most know, this begins by properly bleeding and icing down a fish when caught. Yet, another important factor that is often overlooked for improving fish quality is aging. Fresh fish is touted as being superior but can be tough and lack the flavor profile of a properly aged fish. Dry aged fish enhances fish quality by drawing out moisture from the flesh, allowing flavors to intensify. Proper aging gives ample opportunity for muscles, sinew, and tough flesh to become soft and delicate; a reason why most premiere sushi chefs and food connoisseurs choose to age their fish before serving it to customers.
Dry aging fish can seem complex and overwhelming. However, it is not as complex as it seems. I would like to share a simple method that I have used successfully. The first step is to thoroughly clean the fish.
Once the fish is thoroughly cleaned, there are two methods that I have used to dry age my fish.
The methods are listed below.
I personally keep my fish whole with the head and tail on to ensure that outside moisture and bacteria cannot penetrate into the flesh of the fish. This helps to ensure that the fish will not spoil.
Nearshore fish that I have aged: Papio (All Types), Barracuda, Lai, Oio, Moi, Toau, Aholehole, Awa Awa, Mullet, Menpachi, and Aweoweo.
For most of the fish listed above, 5-9 days is best when starting out. Although, I have aged fish for up to 2-3 weeks with very good results. Typically, the bigger and more muscular a fish is, the longer it can benefit from dry aging as it gives ample time for the fish to break down its connective tissue. As a general rule, fish that are oily tend to benefit from shorter aging periods while leaner, tougher fish benefit from longer aging periods. I created a list below of what I believe the ideal amount of time for each fish is for nearshore fish in Hawaii.
White Papio, Oio, Awa Awa, Barracuda, Lai: 7-9 Days
Yellow Spot Papio, Omilu, Menpachi Papio, and Barred Papio: 5-7 Days
Menpachi, Toau, Aholehole, and Aweoweo: 5-7 Days
Moi, Mullet: 5-7 days
When preparing your dry aged fish, simply prepare the fish as you normally would for both raw and cooked dishes. Because dry aging fish reduces moisture and creates a drier exterior, cooking dry aged fish allows for better crusts when searing and a crispier skin when frying. One is able to generate more flavors through the Maillard reaction and decreases the likelihood of a fish steaming. It embodies the same cooking concept of patting something dry but takes it to an exponential degree. With raw dishes, the complexity of flavors and umami become
present, allowing one to taste the unique flavor of each fish.
As noted earlier, it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you. Dry aging can be an option for those looking to increase the quality of the fish they eat. However, it is not mandatory nor is it essential for enjoying your catch!
More and more people are entering the water to dunk, wade, dive, net and boat/ski/kayak their way to a catch. It’s a good time to remind new fishers and old timers ways to fish with Aloha. A good rule is to treat others the way you’d want to be treated. The following has been contributed by our team of Holoholo writers. If you have something you’d wish to add, please comment or send us a private message with the Contact form.
On Land
On a Watercraft
Oama Fishing
Wade Fishing
Baitcasting / Dunking
Diving
General
The oama made it into the regular spots by the first week of August and continue to trickle in, but the schools are medium sized at most. People have reported schools disappearing suddenly and illegal throw netting is being blamed. Papio are hitting the live and fresh dead oama pretty hard now. This may be the peak of the oama bite and papio predation. Updates will follow in the coming weeks.
Update:
Here’s how the past years have gone, correlated with El Nino or La Nina effects. Looks like El Nino years are really good for fishing in HI and we may be due for another El Nino in a yr or two since they cycle around about every 7 yrs.
With more fish being caught now, and a lot being released, our On-The-Water fly fishing reporter Jason has some essential tips.
Jason: With catch and release fishing increasing in popularity, it’s important for newer anglers to be aware of the importance of proper fish handling. I’ve put together a list of tips to ensure the fish you release survives to be caught again:
1) Try to avoid sticking your fingers under the fish’s gill plate. This can damage the delicate gills, causing the fish to bleed. A bleeding fish will often end up a dead fish.
2) Try not to hold the fish out of water for more than 15 seconds at a time. One study showed that a fish held out of water for more than 15 seconds is up to 600% more likely to not survive.
3) Keep ’em wet! Handle the fish with wet hands, if possible, and try not remove too much of its protective slime.
4) Revive the fish by facing it into the current or pushing it in a circle. Pushing the fish back and forth, contrary to what you may see on TV, is actually not good for the fish as its gills only work in one direction.
5) If possible, fish barbless! A barbless hook does less damage to the mouth of a fish, and is safer for you, too! I personally pinch or file down all my barbs before I even begin tying a fly. When people ask why I fish barbless, I joke that it’s as much for me as it is for the fish! I’ve been fishing barbless flies exclusively since 2017, and I can count on one hand how many bones have spit a barbless fly running at me.
6) Try to release the fish in an area free of predators. This is obviously not always possible, but we try our best. For instance, if I land a fish in an area where I earlier saw a shark, I will to wade to an area further down the flat to release it. Ensuring the fish is fully revived before the release will also help, as a tired, slow-moving fish is easy pickings for a shark or large barracuda.
7) This last one is going to be controversial since it’s pretty widely practiced by both fly fisherman and conventional fishers alike, and in many cases is done to obtain a weight of the fish. Try to avoid “lipping” the fish and suspending it vertically. If you do, try not to hold it in this position for too long as it can damage the fish’s jaws and put strain on its spine and organs. Anyway, if rule 2 above is followed you should be ok.
Some of the above may seem excessive, or even downright silly. As a beginning fly angler and catch and release practitioner, I committed many of these myself. But remember, if it’s worth releasing a fish, it’s worth doing so in a way which maximizes its chances of survival. Otherwise, you are better off harvesting it (if it’s legal, of course) and making some delicious lomi oio or fried papio! Thanks for reading, and happy fishing (and releasing)!
Small metal jigs have gotten popular with the shore whippers, kayak and boat fishers due to their versatility. No other type of lure can be casted so far and fished the entire water column.
The jigs made of lead and steel, shaped to imitate a fleeing, dying fish, definitely produce and are usually reasonably priced.
But there are times when you want the densest/heaviest jig in the smallest size available, to cast as far as you can, from shore, or sink as fast as you can while drifting on a kayak or boat. That’s when you need a jig made out of tungsten, which is almost twice as dense as lead. That means a lead jig of the same weight as a tungsten jig would be almost twice the size.
We first tested tungsten jigs in the 80g and 100g size and offered a few in the Store to see how they’d sell. Click this link to see what they looked like.
Since they sold so well (there’s a few 100g jigs left), we ordered smaller 40g and 60g tungsten jigs for the shore jiggers and kayakers targeting fish that want a smaller bait. A few guys have been testing them for almost a year now but I hadn’t gotten much feedback so I was concerned that they were duds.
Instead I found out the kayakers were getting wreaked by fish too big for their small hooks (the jigs are 2.5″ and 2.75″ long), and the shore jiggers were quietly catching fish on the micro jigs. I haven’t jigged much in the last year and only have a picture of a small uku, but luckily Grant shot this video of a beautiful yellowspot papio he landed on a 60g tungsten jig. Thanks Grant!
Non-tungsten jigs definitely catch fish but when the preds are focused on tiny baits like oama and nehu, it’s good to have the micro jigs handy. The jigs have proven to glow for a long time and be scratch resistant so we’ll put them on sale in the Store soon. Just wanted to ensure we were providing a great product at a fair price. Stay tuned!
Update 2/5/24. Dropped the 60g tungsten jig over some good marks. Check out what happened!
January through March 2022 had lighter wind than normal. Good for boat and kayak fishing, and keeping mango flowers on the tree. But the wind has been blowing fairly constant April – May – June, into July. Usually passing storm systems break up the trade winds but we’ve have very few of those during this period.
In the last 3.5 months, I’ve only kayak fished twice and basically bolo headed. Not good when I want to test my new St Croix Mojo boat rod and smaller tungsten jigs. The guys shore jigging at reef drop offs have been finding white papio close in, and the guys targeting oio with jig heads/grubs have been doing well also. The nehu and iao are in but meaningful schools of oama have not arrived yet.
August is 2 weeks away and is usually the best month inshore and offshore. Let’s hope some harmless storms peter out north of our islands, and give us a break from the wind.