Ciguatera: Is my fish safe to eat?

November 28, 2018 By Scott 20 Comments

Ciguatera poisoning is caused by ciquatoxin, produced by reef plankton. Some fish that directly eat the plankton, kole and palani for example, build up dangerous levels of the toxin, and all reef predators that eat the fish that eat the plankton accumulate the toxin. Human consumers of tainted fish gradually accumulate enough of the toxin to the point it affects them. One fish with very high levels of ciquatera, or a slightly tainted fish that pushes the human consumer over the edge, can bring on a very bad experience.

It is believed that the ciguatoxin levels on the reef fluctuate seasonally, and thus, the species that have a reputation to be “hot” may or may not have dangerously high levels depending on whether a bloom is going on. Since most predator fish, like papio/ulua, kaku, etc, travel anyway, it’s not wise to think fish from one particular area is “safe”.

A few scientific studies have been conducted in the past decades. This one, by the Hawaii State Dept of Health, grouped species in fairly broad categories, indicating how many of the 736 implicated fish were of a broad species. “Jack Fish” caused the highest number of poisonings, and is comprised of papio, ulua and kahala. Surgeonfish (kole, palani, kala) is next, grouper (roi, hapuupuu), and snapper (wahanui, taape, uku, toau) follow. What’s not clear is the percentage of each species group consumed that didn’t cause a reaction.

In another publication, the Hawaii Seafood Council refers to a study conducted between 1999 and 2003, listing the top 10 fish species involved in ciquatera poisoning. Interestingly, uku (#7) is higher up in the list than wahanui (#9), yet you no longer hear of uku being “hot”. However, the web is full of references of how “hot” wahanui is.

In yet another survey, published by the Hawaii Dept of Aquatic Resources, divers speared roi in West Hawaii (Big Island) and Oahu, and autopsied them to determine ciguatera level. All the roi tested positive for ciguatera, with 25% of the West Hawaii ones and 8% of the Oahu ones at levels unsafe to consume.

Traditionally, big papio, ulua, kahala, kaku, wahanui and kole have been likely ciguatera suspects before roi were introduced to Hawaii. Even uku to some degree, but possibly less because uku feed at mid depths when they get bigger. So what does this all mean in regards to how safe your fish is to eat? To minimize risk, don’t consume large individuals of these species, and limit your reef predator consumption in general.

Akule and Halalu fishing etiquette

October 6, 2018 By Scott 1 Comment

If you know anything about whipping for akule and halalu from shore, you know it’s an activity potentially prone to tangles and conflicts. Unless you’re good enough to avoid tangles or you don’t mind conflict, you stay away from this type of close quarter fishing like I do.

But, we are very fortunate to have a 30 year akule and halalu fishing veteran on hand to share some etiquette tips on how to greatly reduce group aggravation and increase your enjoyment. He chases these fish all over Oahu and even travels to Kona when the Oahu bite is slow, and would like to keep anonymous for now.

Mr X:

The main thing is that everyone needs to respect the other fishers. If it’s crowded, look around and watch how people are fishing. Don’t squeeze in and create an uncomfortable or unsafe situation. I’ve waited 3 hours before, just to get a spot to open up. Practicing casting is key, if you can cast straight with an overhead motion then you’ll be able to fish closer to the next guy without creating an unsafe situation. Beginners should ask a lot of questions. Normally you can tell who’s been fishing halalu for a while…. ask questions and you’ll get better faster.

Amount of side to side space – If you can’t cast straight all the time, give yourself more space between the other fishers.
Don’t stand higher up or in back of someone and cast over them, you’ll snag their lines on your retrieve.
It’s safer to use a long leader and keep hook in water during entire cast. If you have a short leader, make sure you have plenty of space from the next fisherman.
Reserving spot – if you aren’t there don’t expect your spot to be held long.
Don’t cross lines on cast, fish in your “lane”. Try to practice before you fish. Casting straight allows more fishermen to fish and reduces tangles.
If you need to cast over another line, be conscious of others. Watch where they are casting. Try to rotate casting so you’re casting outside of others as they retrieve their lines in. Think of it as a rotation, as one person reels in, you can cast over that spot. If two people cast simultaneously at the same spot they will increase the chance of a tangle.
Use enough drag to bring your fish in relatively straight.
Just remember that everyone has the right to fish, be patient with beginners, but also if you start tangling other lines often, stop and think about why. If you need practice, go to a spot away from the crowd and practice casting.

What’s the difference between white papio and omilu?

June 11, 2018 By Scott 4 Comments

When I started fishing as a kid, the rare papio I caught were very small; less than today’s 10 inch fork length minimum. Most were omilu but some were small white papio incidentally caught oama fishing. I didn’t realize the two species were so different, and a lot of newbies may not either.

Look at the pictures above. The omilu (bluefin trevally) on the right have their eyes set further back than the white papio (giant trevally) on the left. That’s because they hunt looking ahead, targeting fast moving creatures on the reef in relatively clear water during the day. They have a narrower profile and dart into reef crevasses to ambush their prey, which consists mainly of small fish, but does include some crabs and shrimp.

The white papio’s eyes are larger than the omilu’s because they hunt in low light and off color water, especially at night. Their eyes are set forward because they often root around for shrimp and crabs on the bottom when they are juveniles, and tako and eels when they are larger and slower moving. The white’s mouth opens larger than an omilu in order to swallow such a big piece of food.

Many believe that white papio tastes milder than omilu because their diet includes crustaceans and other non-fish critters whereas the adult omilu mainly eats fish.

Whites are proportionally thicker than omilu, and grow much larger. The state record for white ulua (GT) is almost 200 lbs whereas the omilu record is 28 lbs.

The fish feel different on the line too. Omilu generally run faster than whites because they are slimmer and quicker, and dart into the reef holes if given a chance. Whites pull steadier and often last longer because they use their thickly muscled bodies to resist being pulled.

How should you target each species?

Omilu: They hunt early in the morning in low light and throughout the day as the tide fills in, but take a siesta when the sun is very bright. When the sun goes down, they settle back into their deep reef safe zones to sleep. They have a weakness for oama but also hit quick moving lures. Generally more discriminating than whites, they also appear to be smarter. Besides dunking around the bait fish piles, whipping near clear, turbulent water can be very productive. Omilu hit aggressively if they feel safe enough to do so.

White Papio: The bigger ones (ulua) prefer to feed in the cover of night so live and dead baits slid down or dunked work well. During the day, white papio hunt in slower moving, off color water like bays, stream mouths and harbor channels. Big ulua hunker down in deeper water caves during the day but can be agitated to bite by the gurgle of a large popper. If big whites are together they can be very competitive feeders, fighting off each other to get to the lure first.

Guest Post: Tie your own halalu flies!

January 23, 2018 By Scott 32 Comments

This post is from my fishing buddy Thad, who not only taught us how to catch halalu this past year, but also catches the bait we use to catch oama, and finds great deals on Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) lures so we can get the best stuff at reasonable prices. Here’s how we did on that inaugural halalu training trip. Frank caught on quickly and I’ve since decided to avoid further halalu frustration. Search for “halalu” in the search box on this site to see how we did on Trip 2 and Trip 3.

Aloha Hawai‘i Nearshore Fishers! A reader of Scott’s blog had asked for tips on how to make the flies that were mentioned in his first halalū article so I was asked if I’d be willing to write a simple “how-to.” Hopefully my first guest blog is coherent enough for readers to understand as I can tend to ramble on with my thoughts.

So this past season, Scott, Frank, Erik and I gave halalū fishing a try – my first time going after these juvenile akule in over 12 years. Me and a buddy of mine used to frequent the usual west side spots every weekend for akule many years ago, jigging simple homemade flies on ultralight gear. I had never used these flies for halalū so when I was preparing for our trip, I got my usual plastic strips and red beads ready but decided to take a few flies with me just in case.

When we arrived at the spot, there were already a few fishermen whipping the school but two individuals in particular were hooking up consistently on what looked like flies very similar to the ones I made for akule. Encouraged by this, I tied a fly to my 3lb test fluorocarbon leader and cast just past the edge of the pile. Immediately, a halalū swallowed my fly and got hooked deep in the throat. I was happy to know the flies I made over 12 years ago still worked!

Since that first trip, I’ve noticed many people using similar flies for halalū with a lot of success. It could be that people were using flies for halalū back then as well and I was just too dense to notice. I also see flies being sold online and in stores now. We had to make our own back then and couldn’t buy them even if we wanted to, but you can’t beat the feeling of catching fish on a lure you made yourself.

I’ll just throw in my little disclaimer here. I don’t consider myself an expert fly maker in any way – not even close. I was never shown how to make these flies so I’m sure there are better, more efficient methods of making these but I think I can at least cover the basic concepts to help get you started.

I should begin with a list of the supplies I use.

A simple fly tying vise
Lumaflex thread cut to 2” to 2 1/4″ lengths
Flash thread (optional)
Beads
AH style gold hooks size 12 or 13
Monofilament line
Scissors

I recently bought a cheap vise online to replace a broken one. I later saw the same vise being sold at a local tackle shop at the same price so if you can, you should buy this locally. This vise easily clamps to the edge of any work table.

The lumaflex thread is basically a spandex thread that comes in a variety of colors so you should buy several to experiment with different color combinations. Lumaflex or similar spandex thread can also be found at many local tackle shops. The beads I use are made of glass but I have used plastic ones too. Same with the lumaflex, I would buy several different colors to try. The important thing with the beads is finding ones that will be able to slide past the barb and sharp curve at the bottom of the hook. The hooks I use are AH style gold in size 12 or 13. Gold seems to be the preferred color for most people so I go with that. The monofilament line I use is 8 or 10lb test. For this example, I’ll be making a fly using a size 12 gold hook, blue and red beads, white wings, aurora blue flash thread, and orange body.

The first step is to slide two beads onto the hook, past the barb and sharp curve. They should be able to slide all the way to the eye of the hook. The hook is then clamped to the vise.

Thread one end of the mono in through the bottom of the second bead, then back through the same bead, creating a loop. Place 4 or 5 pieces of the pre-cut lumaflex thread and optional flash thread in the mono loop and slowly pull both ends of the mono. Most flies I’ve seen use 4 lumaflex threads, creating 8 wings. As a personal preference, I use 5 threads to create 10 wings on my flies.

This is where it gets a little tricky, especially with glass beads because they crack easily. Carefully pull both ends of the mono until the centers of the lumaflex get pulled through the bead and begin showing on the other side. I then remove the mono and slide the second bead up against the first one. Adjust the wings so they fan out nice and even. The tension in the bottom bead should be enough to keep it from sliding back down.

In the past, I left the fly like this as you can see in the picture Scott posted in his first halalū article, but I have now been finishing the flies with additional lumaflex wrapped around the shank of the hook. This helps gives added support to keep the bottom bead from sliding down and gives it a nicer, finished look. When I’m done, I remove the fly from the vise and clip the wings to the desired length.

Hopefully this simple how-to will help get you started on making your own homemade halalū/akule flies. I would love to hear of better, more efficient methods if anyone is willing to share. Mahalo for reading!

Update: Thad details how to fish this fly.

For your halalu fly rig, I would suggest you run the lightest egg lead you can cast which will allow you to reach just beyond the school. The lighter lead will not scare the fish as much as a heavier one. I run 2 or 3lb test fluorocarbon leader. As for the length of the leader, look at how long the other fishermen are running them for that spot. I use a 5ft ultralight rod and normally run my leader about 6-7 feet. There are some spots where I would run leaders as long as 10-12 feet. It depends on the wind, the amount of room you have to cast, and how easily the fish are spooked. Obviously, you shouldn’t run a long leader when it’s windy or crowded. You don’t want to snag your neighbor on a cast.

I cast my lead just past the school if possible. Make sure you keep track of where your neighbor’s lines are before you cast and know the approximate location and distance of their lines. I let your lead sink all the way if the bottom is snag free. Otherwise, let it sink a little but begin your retrieve before it reaches the bottom. There are many retrieval techniques. I like to jig my fly up from the bottom, and through the school. I hold the rod with my right hand near the stripper guide and shake the rod up and down quickly as I slowly crank the reel. Others like a much slower, sweeping movement of the fly. Watch your neighbors and try different techniques to find what works best for you.

Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already. Lots more Guest Posts, How-Tos and Recipes are in the works. Thanks for reading.

When is the best time to fish in Hawaii? – 2018 Update

January 12, 2018 By Scott 2 Comments

When I started this blog in 2014, I was trying to figure out the most productive conditions to fish, and as I gathered info I wrote a post titled “When is the best time to fish?”. It’s been one of the most popular posts because folks are always searching for that topic on the web. The basic info still applies but I’ve experienced the following exceptions to the rules.

Presence of bait fish and easy access for predators to hunt bait trump other factors.

In general, I’m fishing for predator fish that eat bait fish. Bait fish aren’t always around but when I do find them, I always check for hungry predators stalking nearby. Certain inshore bait fish seem to attract predators better than others. Often, the oama school will be left alone but papio and kaku will be attacking the iao (Hawaiian silverside) and nehu (Hawaiian anchovy) schools. Some shallow spots are best to pursue predators when the tide rises high enough to allow them to reach the bait, other deeper flats have more predator action when the tide is lower, limiting the area bait can flee. Each spot is unique. Fish the individual spots enough to learn the patterns.

In deep water, presence of bait and moving water often trump other factors.

Shallow inshore areas need enough water for predators to feel safe hunting, which usually means the rising tide is a great time to fish. Deep offshore areas always have enough water, and the overhead sun has less negative effect than in the the shallows, so what seemed to be the key factors are presence of bait fish and a moving current. Current can be caused by tidal movement, wind and waves.

Consider the Hawaiian Moon Calendar prediction.

Besides tracking tide, wind and size of moon, I started noting the 30 day moon phase of each outing. The ancient Hawaiians noted each day/night of the 30 phases from New Moon to Full Moon and came up with general observations for each of these phases. Some of the observations/predictions are counter intuitive, for example some of the phases leading up to the Full Moon are expected to be good fishing days, whereas I thought they’d be unproductive during the daylight hours because the predators were hunting at night. I’m still accumulating catch data to compare with the Hawaiian Moon Calendar predictions but there does seem to be a correlation between the Calendar’s prediction and my results. Log as much info as you can about each fishing trip in a way where you can determine patterns.

Reader’s Tip: Keep your oamas alive and healthy until you can use them

July 18, 2017 By Scott 2 Comments

Mark on Kauai sent this tip with photos to show how he keeps his oama alive and healthy until he has time to use them for live bait. He puts the oama in a bucket of sea water lined with a black trash bag that has sand on the bottom. He says the black liner keeps the water cool, and the sand calms the oama down. Mark uses a simple air pump to oxygenate the bucket and a water pump and bell siphon to recirculate water between another bucket of seawater, but you could just do intermittent water changes when the water gets too warm or soiled with fish waste. Ammo Lock or Prime, purchased from a pet store, will neutralize the toxic ammonia the fish produce.

Here’s a nice Hanalei white papio caught on one of his frisky live oama.

Thanks for the tip Mark, and I hope you get more papio before the season is over!

Oama fishing basics (2015)

May 22, 2015 By Scott 22 Comments

Oama season traditionally runs from the beginning of July to the end of September. Last year the oama came in early and schools kept coming all the way into November. It’s been theorized by marine biologists that the common weke and red weke broadcast spawned earlier than normal due to last Spring’s warmer than normal sub-surface water temperatures and favorable currents brought the oama into the island chain.

Here’s what you need to know before they arrive.

oama gear

What You Need

Short, straight pole. You could use a bamboo pole but I like the cheap, telescopic fiberglass poles with the eyelet at the tip. 4 to 5 feet is normally long enough. Tie 2 – 4lb test Mono or fluorocarbon line to the eyelet.
Small hooks with the barb pinched down for easy release of oama and net snags. Some fishers start with a number 20 J-shaped hook early in the season when the oama are small. I like to use the larger number 17 hook, or a slightly larger Owner Mosquito hook. Small hooks are harder to tie and harder to unhook.
The larger sized split shot. One larger shot works better than two smaller shot since two shot tend to tangle easier. Pinch the larger shot on about 4 inches above the hook.
Small landing net. Spend a little more on a net with nylon netting. It would snag less than the common red cotton-blend type.
Footwear to walk on pebbly sand and slippery rocks.
Floating live bait bucket. I like the yellow Frabill Flow Troll with the spring-loaded door.
Bait. Opae, frozen shrimp, aku belly and oama flesh. There are a few “secret” baits people use that I won’t reveal. When the oama are biting well, frozen shrimp legs dragged on the bottom work surprisingly well.

Optional:

Hat
Polarized sunglasses
5 gallon bucket and live bait aerator/pump if you’re planning to keep the oama alive

can you see the oama?

Where To Find Oama

There are some fairly well known spots on Oahu to catch Oama. Ala Moana Beach, Wailupe, Heeia Pier, Ka’awa, Punalu’u, Haleiwa, etc. You can drive by and check those spots from the car, looking for oama fishers.
The less visible, less fished spots will have to be checked by foot. Generally oama will congregate in areas sheltered from wave action and at the shore end of a shallow protective reef shelf. The areas will be open with good visibility so the oama can see their predators coming from far away.
Oama also seek protection in mangrove roots but aren’t usually in a feeding mood when they’re hunkered down.

How to Catch Oama

When oama are breezing from spot to spot, they aren’t interested in eating. To get these breezers to start eating, you can palu with a mixture of sand and sardines/bloody fish scraps.
When you see the oama sniffing around on the sandy bottom with their barbels, they’re looking for food. This is the best time to catch them. Drop your bait to the bottom. When the oama swim to it and start nibbling, lift the bait up in a smooth upward toward the approaching oama. If you don’t hook one, drop down and repeat the lifting movement every few seconds as the oama are headed for your bait. Lift early, before the oama has tasted and rejected your bait. This takes practice; watch how the oama pros do it.
When the oama aren’t actively eating but are mildly interested in your bait you can try dragging it sideways on the bottom. This makes the bait look more like the critters they feed on and sometimes gets them to bite.
Oama tend to bite better when the tide is moving. If the oama are really not feeding, wait until evening when they normally binge before looking for a place to sleep.

Handling of Oama

Pinch down the barb of your hook so the oama can be removed quickly. This will cause you to lose quite a few but it’ll be less damaging to the fish.
If possible, tuck your landing net on your body somewhere so you can guide the caught oama into the net rather than holding the net with one hand and the rod with the other. Unhook the oama in the net gently and place it in your floating bait bucket with as little trauma as possible. Once in the bait bucket, the oama will calm down. You can place quite a few in the bait bucket as long as there’s good water flow.
When pau fishing, transfer the oama in the floating bait bucket to your 5 gallon bucket that you filled with cool, clean sea water. A little sand on the bottom of the bucket helps calm the fish down. Turn on your portable aerator and make sure there’s good oxygenation. If that aerator stops, the oama will suffocate in a few minutes.
If you’re not planning to use the oama right away, take an extra bucket or two of water home so you can do a water change. The oama release ammonia which is toxic to them.
Keep the oama container shaded and covered so the oama are less traumatized.

Keeping the Oama Alive at Home

If you plan to use the oama the next day, they can remain in the 5 gallon bucket in a cool, shaded place. Make sure your pump will keep running over night, in fact, it’s worth investing in an electric pump which won’t cost much more than the battery powered ones. You can buy those at a fish supply store.
Change the water daily. Remove any dead or dying fish. To get the most out of your sea water, treat the water with Ammo Lock, which neutralizes the ammonia the fish are releasing. You can buy Ammo Lock in a fish supply store.
If you want to keep your oama longer than a day or two, get a large, black, circular plastic tub from a pet store or garden supply store. The darker background will calm the oama and the circular shape prevents them from running into a corner. Use an electric aerator that puts out a lot of bubbles, and if you really want to keep them happy, add a power head that circulates the water. The electric aerator and power head should be less than $40 together. The plastic tub could run you anywhere from $20 – $100 depending on the size and quality.
To keep the oama from fouling their water too quickly you can add Stress Zyme, which contains live, good bacteria that consumes the gunk produced by the fish. This can be purchased in fish supply stores.
If you want to keep your oama alive a long time you’ll need to add a filter. I use an external canister filter that extracts physical waste and adds water circulation.
It’s not easy raising wild, saltwater fish. After many die-offs I can now keep most oama alive for a few weeks with some living for more than 3 months.

Using the Oama for Bait

Ideally you can fish the live oama with as little terminal tackle as possible, allowing it to swim naturally. Some fishers walk out to reef dropoffs and “free line” their oama with just a hook. Dunkers use a lead line and shorter leader tied to a small papio hook Slow trollers, like me, hook the oama in the head with a second hook dangling near the last fin.
If you’re able to make a soft cast, you can lightly hook the oama behind the dorsal fin to cause the least amount of damage. If you want to hook the oama as securely as possible, you can hook it from under the lower jaw, out through the top of the head, but in front of the brain so you don’t kill it. Since I very slowly troll mine on my longboard or kayak, I hook mine through its nostrils so it can still gulp water.
Lively oama get bit better than sluggish oama, but even dead ones still work.
If your oamas die but are still in pretty good shape, you can freeze them for use later. First lay them out and salt them with Hawaiian Salt or rock salt. Let them sit that way for a few hours, in the fridge. The salt will draw out water from the fish, which minimizes freezer burn. If possible, vacuum seal the oama, then freeze. The oama will look a little dehydrated from the salt but will plump up when you use them in water.

Best conditions to score papio

August 12, 2014 By Scott Leave a Comment

best day so far

After trolling oamas aimlessly for a month and a half, I noticed a pattern as to when and where I get most of my strikes. These conditions apply to dunking and whipping also.

First third of the rising tide
Cool, moving water; not still, sun warmed water
In front of the surf break (I’m not going past the surf break)
Bouldery terrain with a mix of sand and dark rocks
Edge of channel and bouldery reef

And for those trolling oama:

4 to 6 foot fluorocarbon leader
front hook through nostrils, rear hook past the ventral (anal) fin
30 to 75 feet away from you
liveliest oama (but wounded or freshly dead still work if that’s all you have)

Please keep in mind I haven’t caught anything big this season but I am getting a lot of strikes when the above conditions come together.

Live bait: Sand turtles – not really a turtle

April 28, 2014 By Scott 13 Comments

sand turtles

Sand turtles are called sand crabs or sand fleas on the Mainland. Reptile lovers can rest easy, they are a crustacean that burrow in the sand near the water’s edge. They are often caught on sloping beaches with fine sand, but are even present on grainy, pebbly beaches as those in the picture were.

They seem to always be present until you try to catch them. My theory is that they don’t like the heat of day, so early in the morning or in the late afternoon, on a low tide, may be best.

The most comprehensive writeup regarding capture, preservation and use as bait refers to the Florida version but all that’s mentioned applies to our sand turtles too. Click here for that guide.

ika tied to a beach vine

Traditionally fisherpeople in HI would use string or cord they found on the beach and attach some kind of bait on one end, and tie the other end to a stick. If left to be pushed around with the incoming water, eventually a swarm of sand turtles could be dug up nearby. A more streamlined version is to simply zip tie the bait to a stick and stake the stick in the water, with the bait buried. A piece of ika, chosen for its strong scent and toughness, is a popular bait. Click here for an even easier way to catch sand turtles.

The sand turtles molt like other crabs and shrimp, and the fish can tell the soft shell versions from the regular versions. Fish also love the females that are carrying orange eggs. If you’re lucky enough to have either soft shell or egg laden sand turtles, use those first.

On the mainland, the fish that eat the sand turtles just gulp them down so the hook point can run through the top of the shell, but here on our reefs we have a lot of nibblers that will try to suck out the good stuff and leave you with an empty shell.

The best way to hook the sand turtle is to turn it over and place the point of the hook through the “digger” or slender triangular piece that starts from the turtle’s back and points forward. That will prevent the turtle from burying itself. Drive the point through the top of the shell and then bring it back through the top so the point of the hook ends up facing downward.

You can dunk the sand turtle or slow drag it along a sandy bottom. Moi, oio, goat fish and papio love them, as well as the other reef denizens you may not want to catch.

For a summary of other bait and lures you could use, click here.

Live bait: Oama, long live the King!

April 14, 2014 By Scott 3 Comments

raising oama

If you google for “oama”, eventually you will come across hits for our current President (this is written in 2014). But if you fish in HI, you would know that oama are juvenile “weke” or goatfish that arrive in the shallow sandy areas between early July and late September to flee their many predators. You’ll also know that fishing with oama during this “season” is the best time of the year to fish for papio (jack crevalle). Some people only fish during this period and pack their gear away the rest of the year.

There is much information on what beaches to find them and how to catch them. Sometimes the catching is easy, sometimes it’s really hard. The best way to catch them is to have an experienced person show you how it’s done.

Every oama you catch can potentially be converted into a papio. While it’s an art to catching the oama, it’s a science to keep them alive long enough to use them for bait. Here’s what I learned the hard way, at the expense of the poor oama.

Oama are a schooling fish that are comforted by the company of their friends. It’s ok to keep quite a few of them together.
It’s not enough to keep them in a bucket of salt water with an aerator going. Heat and their own ammonia kills them. Keep them in an aerated, cool place, and change their water daily. A large cooler in the shade will do, and to increase their chances of survival you can use an ammonia detoxifying agent like Ammo Lock to neutralize the bad chemicals in their water. You can buy Ammo Lock in a pet fish store. Keep their holding pen dark and the oama will be much less stressed.
A dying oama seems to give off strong toxins that kill the others. Remove dying or dead fish immediately and dose with the Ammo Lock.
If you have the luxury of a tank with filtration, you can actually keep oama alive for a long time. Just don’t get too attached to the cuddly, whiskered cuties. I did and couldn’t put a hook through them so I had to wait for them to die before I used them!
If you plan to use the oama for bait within a week you don’t have to worry about feeding them but if you really want to you can get some frozen Mysis shrimp from the pet store. Start with very little because they won’t be feeding well initially. If they don’t eat the shrimp you’ll have to remove them because it will cloud the water. Some people use brine shrimp but I haven’t had good luck with that. Just feed what you can see them completely eat in a minute or so.
Oama are fairly fragile and most of the initial ones will die. After administering last rites, if you want to preserve them for future bait you can do the following. Lay them out, salt their bodies with rock salt, and vacuum seal them in a bag if that’s available. That’s the best way to freeze them.

I trolled my frozen, salted oamasickles from my surfboard last year and they worked almost as well as live oama. They did spin as I pulled them through the water so I needed to connect my fluorocarbon leader to my main line with a ball bearing swivel, replacing the standard ball swivel.

For other bait and lure options please click here.

When is the best time to fish?

March 31, 2014 By Scott 4 Comments

Please also see When is the best time to fish – 2018 Update for additional tips on how to optimize your next fishing trip.

Fisherpeople, especially those with limited recreation time, often want to know what conditions determine the optimum time to fish. While conditions vary based on the location and particular day, there are some basic, accepted rules:

Low Light

Predator fish can sneak up on prey better when the water isn’t clear. Overcast or choppy, murky conditions are ideal times to fish.

Time of Day

Diurnal (awake during the day) fish are hungry after fasting the night and look for breakfast in the morning.
Diurnal fish try to eat before retiring for the evening.

Moon Phase

For daytime fishing, in general, the smaller the previous night’s moon phase, the better the bite.
- Predators can feed better on brighter moon phases at night and will be less hungry during the day.
- Prey will be chased around on brighter moon phases at night and be resting during the day.
For nighttime fishing, in general, the larger the previous night’s moon phase, the more activity there will be.
- Predators will be hunting.
- Prey will be running away.
- Torching visibility will be brighter but there will be fewer creatures sleeping.

Tides

Fish bite best when the tidal currents are stirring up food sources. The greater the difference between the low and high tide, the stronger the tidal current.
Days close to the full and new moon have the greatest difference between the high and low tide.
Fish bite best after the bottom of the low tide as the new water floods the reef. Second best tidal period to fish is after the peak high tide, as water rushes out of the reef. Fishing is generally slower as the low tide bottoms out and the high tide tops out.
Daylight fishing the strong tides near a new moon are better than fishing the strong tides of a full moon because the fish didn’t feed by moonlight the night before.
Fish have less places to feed on a low, rising tide than on a high tide, so it’s easier to guess where they are.

tides for April 1, 2014

Tides4fishing.com does a really nice job explaining the best times of each day and best days of the month to fish. In the above graph, the fish symbol denote the optimum periods based on tidal movement, to fish on April 1st, 2014. Here’s the link to the actual web page this graph was snipped from. Select the day and month on the right hand side of that page.

Stormy Weather

Fish can feel storms coming because the barometric pressure change can be felt underwater. Since they plan to lay low in deeper water during storms, they may eat before the storm comes and eat after the storm passes. Usually fishing around periods of stormy weather isn’t good, for the catching and for your comfort.

So what’s the takeaway from all of this? If you’re able to pick your opportunities to fish, pick periods of large tidal movement during low light conditions, coinciding with early morning or late afternoon, and not during stormy periods.

Catching ‘opae for bait

February 23, 2014 By Scott 2 Comments

Small and large ‘opae

The small, translucent Hawaiian shrimp called ‘opae is one of the best baits for near shore fish. Years ago the larger shrimp referred to as ‘opae lolo could be readily caught but now it’s hard just to find an inch long regular ‘opae. ‘Opae are found where fresh water meets salt water, often in some slow moving brackish water. Two well known, kinda yucky spots are the Ala Moana Beach Park lagoon and the Ala Wai canal. Click here to read about catching the coveted `opae lolo.

There are other more closely guarded spots on Oahu that have some ‘opae. Look for them against rock walls with brackish water algae growing. They seem to spread out during the day and cluster on rock walls and piers at night. Shine a light and look for a pair of eerie red eyes shining back.

Scoop up a bunch of them and keep them alive in a bucket with some aeration. When you’re ready to use them, carefully thread one on a hook and fish with a floater. Be ready to set the hook when your floater goes under, just about every carnivorous creature on the reef will want a taste of that offering.

There are even some salt water pet stores that sell `opae as live food for marine fish. Those `opae are fairly small but may be great for the smaller reef fish you want to hook. I recently saw a store selling them at 6 for $1.

Fishing Weather Resources

February 16, 2014 By Scott 1 Comment

(This was written in 2014. I need to update this!)

Isn’t it a bummer to clear the day to finally get out and fish only to get skunked, blown out by wind and surf, or stormed on?

These are the online resources I use to look ahead to determine weather and tide conditions.

Tides4Fishing.com – I recently discovered this very comprehensive website with indicators covering tidal movement, barometric pressure, wind speed, temperature, humidity and more. You can look ahead and see what days have the best tidal movements to fish, and see a very detailed breakdown of exactly when the best tidal movement occurs each day. I haven’t come across another site or app that captures all this info in one place. It’s like the Hawaiian Lunar Calendar on steroids.

iWindsurf.com – The normal 15 – 20 mph trade winds make it a little hard to fish the south and east shores of Oahu so I check the forecast days ahead of time to plan my next outing. iWindsurf constantly updates their forecast to be extremely accurate, down to one hour changes. Amaze your friends by predicting a significant drop in wind speed. Phone app also exists.

Surfline.com – Large surf can ruin your day whether you’re on the water or on the beach. A premium subscription allows you to see forecasts 5 days in advance. Phone app also exists.

Wunderground.com – The simple interface allows me to see hourly and daily forecasts. I love the radar map showing me the rain that’s gonna hit in the next hour or so.