Kayak Fishing Archives - Page 9 of 10 - Hawaii Nearshore Fishing

Always get chance when you have live oama…

July 13, 2017 By Scott 2 Comments

peaceful paddle out

Screamah addiction lured Frank and me back to a deep water channel that came up empty the last two times we fished it. Erik had been consistently hooking big papio and ulua with poppers off his small boat, and I stubbornly felt we could get something big to bite our live oama offering.

We launched in absolutely beautiful, glassy conditions and glided to the general area. Hope began to fade as I scanned the fish finder’s blank screen. No bait fish near the surface and no white papio below. Our live oama went on a tour of the likely looking reef drop offs and channels for the next 4 hrs. Maybe the water was too calm and clear? The wind began to pick up, and the tide surged, yet the only things grabbing my oama were reef outcrops and a fat puffer fish. I got stuck 4 times, trolling over shallow water out of desperation, and the puffer was hooked so solidly in its lower lip that I cut off the hook. I was out of trolling rigs, and even bummed one off Frank, so I had to use my 20 lb fluoro main line to make a 2-hook trolling leader.

water has begun to bump up a bit

Frank got stuck a couple times also, but had devised an anchor system for his SUP and could retie his rigs while staying in place on the papa. Brilliant! I drifted a lot while retying rigs because I didn’t want to create an anchor trolley system for my kayak. Frank continues to improve his fishing processes and had built a “rack-a-yak” washing station for me to clean my yak off when we land. Maybe he can help me build the anchor trolley!

We were sun burnt, tired and really disappointed. Besides an omilu that Frank lost right at the net, we didn’t have anything to show for our efforts. We positioned ourselves to let the current push us in, and as we entered shallow, murky water, I took the fish finder’s transducer out of the water that was marking bait near the surface and Frank pulled up his live oama. Even though I had never caught anything this close to shore, in such silty water, I left my oama in the water out of complete desperation. Then the ratchet went off. The sound was faster than I would hear from a snag so it was actually a fish! I got the rod out of the holder, felt a few surges and the fish came off. Ugh… Frank was too far away to hear the ratchet but did hear me yell “HOOKUP!!”. He paddled over as I put the transducer back in the water. 5 feet deep and so silty we couldn’t see more than 2 feet down. He quickly deployed his live oama and I put a new one on and retraced my route.

“HOOKUP!!” Couldn’t believe I hooked something else and was overly excited. I’m so used to saying “hookup” instead of “hanapa’a” after fishing so many years in SoCal, I guess.

Expected a white papio hunting in the very silty water yet it was a fat 1.5 lb omilu that took the back hook down in it’s gullet. The fish bled during the hook extraction process so I kept it. After Frank took this photo, he trolled the inside and when I tracked him down he was landing a similar sized omilu. The fish finder said 3 feet!

We trolled the shallows some more but the bait fish were gone and so were the omilu. I guess God wanted us to each catch a fish and spare us the bolo head.

everything is strapped to Frank or his board for easy transport to and from the launch point

Erik fished shallow water on his bigger boat, and Kelly fished inside the break on his SUP. Both said the bite was very slow. We’re thinking it was because the moon was still so big and the clear night skies let the fish feed at night.

And Frank and I learned that as long as you have live oama in the water, you always have a chance.

Live oama vs big moon and gusty trades

July 10, 2017 By Scott Leave a Comment

The winds were forecast to be blowing 15 – 20 mph and the moon was just shy of full. Not the most promising of fishing conditions but I had some early season oama that were beginning to get skinny in captivity. Kelly invited me to his partially wind shielded SUP fishing spot. The winds were still gusty at times but we managed to slow troll the oama. Kelly let his oama swim unencumbered while I kept mine off the rocks with a floater.

Kelly inched close to the waves and was rewarded with the first fish, a scrappy omilu between a pound and 2 pounds. I was leery of being dumped in my Scupper Pro and played it safe for a while, finally finding a stretch of reef that yielded a bunch of 1.25 lb omilu without pummeling me with waves. I hadn’t brought my tags so all were released.

Fishing closer to harms way, Kelly had a much more diverse hit list: omilu, kaku, trumpet fish and an aha that screamed his drag. The bite was much slower than normal for Kelly, but the live oama overcame the adverse conditions. He even got bit on frozen oama when the livies ran out.

This was my first outing with live oama this season. I was hoping for a screamah but settled for a pretty consistent bite in the protected waters. Still dreaming of the screamahs…

Converting “finding” to “catching”

June 20, 2017 By Scott 1 Comment

Frank and I checked a protected, deeper water spot I hadn’t fished all season. In previous years, the white papio and awa awa would be hitting non-oama bait schools before oama arrive on shore. The plan was for me to locate the bait and predators with the portable fish finder mounted on my yak, and for Frank to bring ’em up for viewing with frozen oama. Once Frank identified the predators I’d try hooking them with a sinking lure.

A few minutes into our launch a large fish symbol appeared on the fish finder, 5 ft off the bottom. Anything suspended above the bottom is a potential predator and sure enough Frank hooked up on his 1 yr old frozen oama he slow trolled in mid-water. The fish battled hard, up and down, and Frank was able to land the first white of the day. I cast out a heavy sinking swimmer that worked well the first time I tried it, but hadn’t worked since. Nothing. Frank baited up with another frozen oama, retraced his route and was on again. This one shook off before he could see it.

The bite stopped so we ventured out into the 12 – 15 mph head wind for a mile and a half or so but there were no bait balls and no bites. I put on a 2 yr old frozen oama and we let the wind blow us back towards our launch point. As we got neared our destination my line felt like it snagged the reef edge. I yanked and pulled and a scuffed up 11 inch omilu came up! It might’ve been pulling a little line off my whipping reel (no ratchet) and I might’ve been dragging it for a while. It was tired but managed to swim back down.

We neared the channel where Frank had his earlier strikes. I checked the opposite edge that had held awa awa in the past after seeing small bait marks on the fish finder but nothing took my oama. When I paddled over to Frank, he smiled and exclaimed “I had a screammmmmmaahhhhhh”. Something hit his oama and made 2 or 3 very strong runs straight down, against his tight drag. Unfortunately the hooks pulled and I wasn’t able to witness the biggest fish he’s battled so far. He asked if he should have run a looser drag but that’s risky too since a big fish could find the reef edge, or take a lot of line in a few seconds. I think I’ve read that 1/3 of the breaking capacity of the line is a good amount of drag to run. ‘Course we go by feel, and don’t pull line off with a scale, but it’s good to remember not to run too tight a drag unless the grounds are really snaggy.

Frank baited up with another frozen oama and circled the area that had been so productive for him. I paddled through a channel closer to shore and my light whipping rod bent over like I had snagged the reef. Line peeled out smoothly so I realized I was actually on a fish. This fish fought up and down like Frank’s and felt bigger than it actually was because of my lighter action rod and small reel. It later measured 14 inches (FL) and was headed for my family’s dinner. I baited up again, paddled over to Frank and we trolled the stretch side by side.

the top fish is only 1/2 inch shorter than the bottom fish but looks a lot smaller due to camera angle

Fish showed up in the same area on the fish finder just as they did when we started the day, suspended off the bottom. Frank had to tell me I hooked up again because my rod was bending from the tip but I couldn’t tell without the sound of a ratchet. The fish felt pretty big but ended up 13.5 inches (FL). While it was fun to battle the whites on small gear it was a big disadvantage not to have a reel with a ratchet to tell me when something was tasting the oama. I liked to imagine I was on Wicked Tuna when a strong fish would scream the small trolling reel.

All in all, it was a successful day. Frank paddled his custom Fishing SUP further than he had in the past, against a stiff head wind. My cheap fish finder found the suspended whites and the frozen oama brought them up for identification. I was a little disappointed that the sinking lure didn’t get bit. Next time I’ll try to drop a jig on the whites’ head and call them up with a popper on the surface.

SUP with oama = 3; Yak with lures = 0

May 26, 2017 By Scott 3 Comments

Kelly, Frank and I hit the deeper water grounds that have been productive recently. Kelly would be trolling frozen oama, Frank would whip lures first, and then troll oama. I was loaded for bear, with 40lb fluoro leader and abrasion resistant fluoro main line so I could bring in a big fish before Sharkey took his cut. I would stick to the lures that had been working the last two times I fished here solo. The wild card was the “King Tide” that would flood the shoreline later in the day.

We started while the tide was below zero. The wind was calm at the launch and we easily paddled to the area that was working last week. Something wasn’t right. The water was a copper-yellow tinge, not the way it would look if it were caused by runoff. Visibility was reduced and we suspected that the turbulence from the big tide stirred up sediment. I marked much less fish on the fish finder, and nothing hit Kelly’s oama he SUP’d around. I even tried fishing the suspended marks that produced big strikes the last time but I couldn’t even get a bump.

We spread out and a couple hrs of no bites went by. Then Kelly found a productive reef and landed a 2lb omilu followed by a kaku that cut the leader, and a roi that took his meal down a hole. He ended his outing with a larger omilu that shook off before it could be landed. Kelly passed some frozen oama on to Frank before having to leave, and Frank began trolling the reef closer to shore while I explored a deeper water papa further out.

The wind was over 12mph with gusts to 15 mph and the papa’s protected side was still bumpy. The drift was fast but I was able to mark larger fish near the bottom. The big boys were there but didn’t take any sub-surface, sinking lures or jigs. Big contrast to the earlier trip when they came up in packs to hit lures. I let the wind blow me back to where Frank was SUP trolling.

Frank had some roi action, then pulled in an oama head that was left by a papio or kaku. After putting out a new bait he instantly hanapa’ad a 12″ FL omilu. Repeating his path again he landed a 12.5″ FL white that was thicker and stronger. After I had covered so much ground for nary a bite I was very surprised that an omilu and a white would be caught in the same area. I put on a Waxwing Boy and whipped the flats and papa edge nearby. Still no love for me. Frank’s last oama bait was pulled down into the rocks so we whipped lures on the way back to the launch site.

I put the trusty sub-surface lure back on and sure enough a roi jumped on. Luckily it didn’t rock me and I dispatched it with a knife. I’ve been catching roi with full bellies lately. Are they pregnant or just stuffed with reef fish? This particular colored lure has caught more roi than any other lure for me. Good for roi roundups but bad when the roi make it into the holes.

We checked the usual spots on the way back in but they were all barren. So was it the King Tide and off color water that scattered the fish and made them unresponsive to lures? The bait schools I had seen earlier were gone. Perhaps the bait didn’t feel safe in water they couldn’t see their predators coming, and without bait, there was no reason for the predators to hang around?

It was awesome to fish with Kelly and Frank. We tried to work together to find fish. Kelly was the “control” with trolled oama, proving that some areas were indeed barren, and some areas held fish that wanted a room service delivered oama. Frank hooked a roi on the same sub-surface lure I did, but no papio. That told me that the heavier leader and thicker main line I was using wasn’t the reason I got blanked. And, it’s always good to fish with great guys who happen to be skilled watermen.

Predators gone amuck!

May 22, 2017 By Scott 10 Comments

The whites I stumbled upon the other day kept calling my name. I went a little earlier this time, and the tide was still falling in the morning. It was a little windier, maybe 8 to 10 mph trade winds, but lighter than normal. Headed straight for Erik’s spot where I struck out the other day. My go-to sub-surface lure got bumped repeatedly on the papa edge but nothing stuck. That was odd cuz it normally produces. I put on a sub-surface lure that I modified to run two inline single hooks instead of 3 small trebles. I wanted to see if having 1 less hook would affect the hookup ratio.

Evidently not. On the first cast a fish chased it down, jumping out of the water twice to eat it. I thought I was fighting an awa awa but brought a white papio to color. I guess that fish preferred the swimming action of this slightly longer lure that was missing its belly hook. Disappointed it wasn’t an awa awa, I shook it off. My tag kit got soaked while tagging fish the other day and I decided to skip tagging today.

Since the water was higher on the papa I drifted on it and cast to productive looking areas. A smaller white hit about 10 ft from the papa edge but shook off before I could shake him off myself. Hmm, didn’t know white papio feed on top of the papas like omilu do. Trying another drift over the papa I hooked something that took my lure into a long rocky tunnel. When the line finally broke, I was missing the lure and 3 ft leader. I hope that roi chokes on my lure and dies, though I bet it was able to shed the single hook quickly.

Not wanted to lose any more sub-surface lures, I put on a heavy lipped swimmer. It cast well but didn’t get bumped at all. I had thrown it before and didn’t get a bite then either. Maybe that’s why it was half off on eBay.

Continuing with my lure tests, I paddled away from the papa and marked what looked like medium-sized fish suspended a little above squiggly lines that I assumed were bait fish. I put on a smaller-bodied heavy lipped swimmer that was supposedly the hottest thing in Asia. Cast out, let it settle to the bottom and retrieved steadily. It got bumped and I hooked fish but the hook kept pulling. The fish felt like smaller white papio or maybe taape or some other reef fish? I threw it closer to the pointed edge of the papa and an awa awa grey-hounded out of the water. Finally, the target fish! The line went slack for about a second, and then took off again. I fought the stubborn fish to the yak, and when I brought it to color it was a 13.5 inch (FL) white! The awa awa had dropped the lure and the white picked it up thinking it was his lucky day. Wrong, I bagged him for getting my hopes up.

So far that heavy lipped lure got bumped or hit on just about every cast. I paddled back out to the concentration of fish settled near the bottom and dragged the lure over them. I could feel the bumps again and imagined the fish were annoyed that this lure was interrupting their nap. Then I got a solid hookup and the fish felt like a 3lb white papio, just 3 times stronger. It fought up and down, and didn’t take a lot of line but I couldn’t bring it to the surface. Fish started showing up on the fish finder all over the water column so I imagined the white papio school was trying to find out why their big bruddah was swimming so erratically. I tried to get him to the yak as soon as I could before another fish ran into the line with its scutes and maybe 5 mins in the line cut. I was disappointed that I didn’t see what I had hooked but kind of expected this ending.

The 17 lb mono main line was frayed; not the clean kind of cut like papio scutes normally cut line. I sent the picture to Erik and he said I got sharked. The next day he went out and sharks were chasing down his fish and spinning in the air! And to think, I had my legs in the water, straddling the Scupper Pro to stabilize it.

I put on another sinking swimmer and it got bumped but didn’t hook up on the first couple of casts. It was time to go anyway, and I was pleased again with the equipment mods. My cheap, portable fish finder put me on fish resting in the channel. The 4X treble and single inline hook combination seemed to still allow the lures to swim and yet have the holding power to bring fish in. I am gonna have to replace the 17lb mono with the castable fluorocarbon I used to use, to get more abrasion protection. And keep my limbs in the boat, and a tourniquet nearby.

“Fish finder fish” landed on the stronger hooks

May 21, 2017 By Scott 5 Comments

Erik had been nudging me to get out on the water with his detailed catch reports. He actually drew maps of where he caught fish, and met me on the water to tell me where they were sitting earlier for his epic tag and release session. I braced for a hit as I threw out the sub-surface lure with stronger hooks. Something jumped on that pulled a little and had a lot of resistance in the water but came off on the papa. Big roi or foul hooked papio? I metered fish near the papa drop off, a few feet off the bottom but couldn’t get them to come up to identify themselves. My guide, Erik, had to leave for work so I was left to find my own fish.

The kayak with reduced transducer drag glided easily in the sheet glass conditions so I ventured further out than I had ever fished in that area. My lure got hung up deep in a hole at the papa edge and the main line broke off. Dang roi hit the lure on the surface and pulled it down deep. That was an expensive loss. I put on another modified lure and trolled a little off the papa edges but nothing hit so I daringly trolled on the top of the papa in a few feet of water. Finally, I landed a 10.5 inch (FL) omilu that was hooked in the mouth and lightly foul hooked with the front belly hook. The fight felt a lot like the first fish, so I suspect that was a foul hooked papio also that got off. The omilu was tagged and released back to his two waiting buddies.

The current pushed me to the edge of the papa and the fish finder marked 3 larger fish suspended a few feet off the bottom that looked like a bunch of whites resting in the deep shade. Sure enough one came up and took the sub-surface lure deep in its throat. A larger white came up with it, eyeing me warily. I had to use my long nose pliers to remove the rear single inline hook. Note that the front treble hook didn’t foul the fish like the stock trebles had been doing. I’m sure it would have survived after being released since the rear single hook did much less damage than a treble would have, but I kept the fish since I had already tagged a fish. It went 14.25 inches (FL).

The wind had blown me far off the spot I had caught the whitey so I had to try and recognize where I had gotten the strike. I used the fish finder to locate larger fish hunkered down in groups near the bottom and sure enough, on my next cast, a 15 inch (FL) white got caught on the front treble hook. The free swinging rear single hook didn’t snag the fish at all. Maybe that white was the fish that was eyeing me earlier. The fish was tagged and set free.

Today’s whites were fat and strong for their size. They seemed to be eating well and the stronger replacement hooks didn’t stretch at all. The reduced drag of the transducer mount let me expand my range and locate fish with the fish finder. It was great to verify that the equipment modifications were actual improvements.

Equipment mods = longer kayak range and more fish landed?

May 21, 2017 By Scott Leave a Comment

After fishing with Frank the last couple of months and seeing how his custom equipment mods really enhanced his fishing experience, I finally put grab handles on the Scupper Pro to make lifting much easier, and attemped reduced the water drag the fish finder transducer creates.

I had been mounting the portable fish finder’s transducer with a suction cup that was intended to be out of the water but the deck of the Scupper Pro was too rough to hold the suction cup. By sticking the suction cup under the water line I was creating an incredible amount of resistance that felt like I was pulling a small bucket on that side of the kayak.

Ended up using a small Ram Mount and recycled the blank of a fishing rod to make a very streamlined, above water mount. By barely keeping the transducer below water level I hoped to reduce drag by 75%.

Next significant modification was to replace the stock treble hooks off my various lures with 4X Owner hooks and Owner inline single hooks. It sounds like the serious guys that go after larger fish upgrade their hooks. The photo at above left shows how the stock Owner 2X hooks opened up on a large fish. Here’s what had happened. The photo at above right shows the Owner 4X belly hook, 1 size smaller than the original treble, and an Owner inline single.

I had tested various combinations of replacement 4X trebles and inline singles and the singles seemed to let the lures swim more freely but often were too loose in turbulent water and the lures came in leaning on the side. The 4X treble in the belly seemed to stabilize the lure. I tested the modified lures from shore and the kayak and had only hooked 1 roi, which was hooked on the belly hook. I didn’t know if I was just unlucky or if the modified lures no longer swam as well. Not sure if the roi was pregnant or had just swallowed a fish but it sure was plump for its length. I dispatched it on the beach and threw it back to feed the ecosystem.

Next up: Take the kayak out to test paddling range and strength of hooks against big fish!

SUP and Kayak whipping action

May 3, 2017 By Scott 8 Comments

Frank had been customizing his surf SUP for fishing and came up with design where he could sit kayak-style with legs supported by foot rests, and paddle as if it were a surf ski. It was much easier to transport than my kayak, and he could climb back on easily if he huli’d (flipped). If I huli on my old Scupper Pro, it’s a struggle to climb back in with all the accessories attached, and the hatch would have let in water.

We went out on a light wind, low surf day to see how Frank’s Fishing SUP fished. I had misjudged the waterline of my kayak when I made an adjustment to the fish finder’s transducer mount so the transducer was high and dry and unusable. I rely heavily on the fish finder when scouting new grounds so it felt severely handicapping but turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Without the drag of the transducer mount, the Scupper Pro felt lively and glided like it had never before.

Frank ventured into the white wash, and I stayed just out of range, trying to gauge the tippy-ness of the kayak. Straddling the kayak as if it were a longboard helped greatly with stability. Frank found a small break in the surf and hooked something on his JDM sub-surface lure. It tugged pretty hard for about 10 seconds and then unbuttoned. That gave us hope. An hr later I had yet to feel a tug. I followed Frank into a protected break in the surf and watched as he fished up in the white wash.

In the serenity of the calm 5 ft water I hooked something! It pulled drag a bit and was hard to bring in. Turned out to be an omilu that was hooked on both treble hooks. I was stoked to catch something decent in the safety of the protected water and eventually worked my way further into the waves as they got smaller with the rising tide. The grounds looked great but we didn’t get another strike for the next 2 hours.

At 6pm, when we were considering paddling in, we made one more attempt. It was the witching hour, after all. We looked for the largest boulders and turbulence and bam! Something ran against my tight drag, making two strong, brief runs, then the hook pulled. UGH! The two treble hooks were bent open! The fish probably was hooked like the first fish was, and was able to pry itself loose by straightening out the hooks. Since I had pinched down the barbs, it easily slid off after that. That had never happened to me before, mainly because I had never hooked a big fish with treble hooks. I’m still amazed that the Owner 2X #3 treble hooks opened so easily but friends have since explained why single hooks are a much more secure connection to the fish. I’ll be replacing the hooks on these very productive lures soon, hopefully keeping their swimming action intact.

Frank’s Fishing SUP performed very well. He was able to paddle comfortably and access rougher water than I could risk. Frank is very skilled at fabricating customized solutions and has created a fishing / surfing SUP transformer. He gets compliments on his gear wherever we fish. We both have some equipment and technique tweaks to make to fish safely in the wash, and we’ll be back, ready for the next SCREAMAH!

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.

Gear shake out

July 12, 2016 By Scott 2 Comments

Finally, after a month of gusty days, the wind slowed enough to kayak fish. During that time off the water I had repurposed two reels I hadn’t been using, purchased a light, sensitive jig rod, and assembled some eye catching micro jigs from Japan. With so many things to try out I left the frozen oama at home.

(L to R) Calcutta 200TE, Calcutta 300TE w/Trevala rod

I started by whipping the black/chrome Waxwing Baby with an upgraded Calcutta 200TE. The level wind reel was great for fishing bait but too slow for retrieving Waxwings, so it hadn’t seen use in months. I came across a 200TE main gear upgrade sold on a Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) website that increased the line retrieval from 25 inches to 32 inches per crank. The downside of that retrieval increase is a proportional decrease in torque and drag (level wind reel have drag washers on the gear stack and are affected by gear ratio). Sure enough the Waxwing was zig zagging like it does on the high speed Shimano Curado 300EJ, but on the discontinued Calcutta 200TE that sports a stronger frame and better centrifugal brakes. I did feel one bump and a miss.

I put the whipping rod down and picked up the new lightweight jig setup: A Shimano Trevala S rod so thin and light that it made the compact Calcutta 300TE reel look big. The 300TE, one size up from the 200TE, was gathering dust in a box since I stopped using it as a small trolling reel. I added a longer power handle to replace the two-knobbed paddle handle and could immediately feel the increase in cranking efficiency.

(top to bottom) Live Deception, After Burner Japanese jig, Jigpara Japanese jig

I lobbed the shiny, nehu looking Jigpara jig (bottom lure in the photo) from Japan and lifted and fluttered it back. Not a single bump. Odd. So much activity on the fish finder and so little interest in the lures. In the distance, 2 guys on a boat were whooping it up like they landed an ulua, so that made me fish harder.

Switching back to the WW whipping setup, I cast onto the shallow reef top, hoping I wouldn’t backlash and get my lure stuck. A long fish lunged for the WW and missed the hooks. On the next cast, the lure was sucked down and a fish swam through the shallow crevices in the reef. I was relieved to see omilu blue instead of aha gray. The omilu ran line out against the drag and I had to tighten it further. The drag really was diminished by the higher gear ratio, and didn’t feel as smooth as it normally did. Because I was “practicing” tagging papio, I had planned to take a photo while the fish was still in the water, measure the fish against the markings on my kayak, and let it go. The fish wasn’t aware of my good intentions and literally spit the lure at me. It missed me by about a foot to the right. The freed omilu, which I got a good look at, was at least 2lbs, maybe even 3lb.

Nothing else was on that reef top so I paddled out a bit and cast over another reef edge. A pretty big aha grey hounded across the water like it’s nickname “poor man’s marlin” and also spit the hook. I was relieved my lure was still attached and I didn’t have to release that toothy demon. To give the jigs an equal chance, I switched back to the jig setup, changed to the Live Deception jig and bounced it off the shallow bottom. Still no interest. Back to the Waxwing and I got another hit and drop of either an aha or kaku.

It was about time to see if the white papio were gonna swarm at dusk like they did the last time they hit every micro jig dropped in the water. The fish finder picked up breezing fish gathering close to shore, but they didn’t take the Waxwing or the Live Deception jig. Maybe it was too early? I waited for the sun to drop lower and then “poof” they were gone. No fish on the fish finder. I paddled around not believing that they would suddenly pick up and leave but appeared to be what they did. The whites must’ve gotten bigger and headed somewhere else to attack bait.

Look at what 3 fish did to this lure! (zoom in)

Maybe I had missed other fish and didn’t realize it?

No fish landed but I was glad my confidence in the Waxwing was restored. It had recently been outfished by surface poppers and heavy jigs, but proved once again that in shallow spots holding bait, there is no equal to a well-retrieved Waxwing. And the Calcutta 200TE with higher gear ratio was fast enough to make the Waxwing look enticing.

The Trevala S light jig rod could cast jigs well despite it’s short 6’3″ length due to its soft tip. I guess I’ll have to see how well it holds up to a fish some other time.

Note: Charley’s is running a jig combo special, which includes the Trevala S jig rod and the Shimano Curado 300EJ reel I used on that Big Island jigging trip of a lifetime. Trust me, it’s a deal you don’t want to miss out on.

The New Moon Curse?

June 6, 2016 By Scott 6 Comments

Kelly and I SUP’d / kayaked fished the day before the New Moon. My fish finder marked fish and we caught a few legal omilu and whites on frozen oama, with Kelly getting cut off on coral by a larger fish. Nothing hit my micro jig. All the papio were released intentionally or unintentionally, in preparation of the start of Papio Tagging this summer. The bite was the best around the top of the tide so we went back the following day to dial things in.

The wind and swell were down a bit from the day before, and nothing seemed to be stirring in the depths. The same places that showed fish on the fish finder the day before were barren. Even the turtles were absent. I scouted the deep areas and the reef edges, and Kelly crossed over the flats into deep water and back. Halfway through our outing Kelly got a strong hit that took a third of his line. He had paddled over the reef edge, into the deep side, and was perfectly positioned to fight the fish in obstacle-free water. But it came unbuttoned.

That fish gave us hope but all we got was a series of short bites on our frozen oama and I landed a 9″ white. Kelly paddled back to the launch point and I dawdled behind, hoping an evening bite would magically materialize. In the 20ft to 15 ft sandy/muddy gap in the reef, the fish finder began to show some mid-sized fish. Another 9″ white was hooked and released, and the next oama got hit as I let out line. The frenzy was on but Kelly was already out of the water.

He texted “goodbye” and I was free to try out the small but heavy jigs. I paddled out to deeper, clearer water to give the jigs their best chance. The fish finder transducer was suction cupped to the side of the kayak at an angle so the depths read deeper than they actually were. I’m guessing it was 30 – 40 ft even though the fish finder said 56ft. The fish were marking from the bottom to halfway up and really thick.

Exploded view of Live Deception jig and assist hooks before being slid onto Power Clip

I cast a 1oz Live Deception jig that had a rear treble hook, with added assist hooks connected via a Tactical Angler Power Clip. I had snagged my trolling line and as the lure sank it hooked up! Another 9″ white came up but the Live Deception lure was gone! Meanwhile the oama didn’t get touched so I reeled that in and stowed the rod.

Exploded view of micro jig and assist hooks before being slid onto Power Clip

I kept the assist hooks and slid on a 30 gm micro jig. It got hit halfway down the sink also! And same thing, 9″ white caught on assist hook but the micro jig was gone. What the heck? This happened when I had caught a kahala deep jigging an 80 gm Shimano Flat Fall. I had thought a fish hit the Flat Fall hook and another hit the independent assist hook, and the Flat Fall-hooked fish pried itself off the clip. Now I began to realize that the kahala and small whites were flipping the heavy jigs off the clip with their head shakes.

this white threw off the Live Deception jig

this white threw off the 1st micro jig

this guy threw off the 2nd and last micro jig

this one threw off the 2nd and last micro jig

I had one 30 gm micro jig left and slid it down the power clip next to the assist hooks. Cast out, let it sink, hookup, repeat. Couldn’t be any easier. Reel in a 9″ white and no jig left on the clip. I guess the clip wasn’t intended to have heavy lures and separate assist hooks. 3 casts, 3 whites, 3 jigs lost. I was out of jigs so I got a chance to see how surface lures would work on these sub-surface whites.

The normally effective Waxwing Baby couldn’t raise them and neither could the Yozuri Hydro Popper, which slayed the 1lb – 3lb whites off the boat the previous week. I had been disappointed that the Waxwing and micro jigs did not work at all when the Poppers raised all those fish from the depths and was beginning to think poppers were all we needed. But on this weird evening following very little activity during the day, when the small whites were swarming halfway down the water column, the only thing they wanted were sinking jigs. I guess every lure has its day.

Friends who fished further out on their boat, and others who fly fished the flats said this day was unusually slow, yet the next day had more action. I had heard that the New Moon, like the Full Moon, was a slow day to fish. One theory, my wise fishing kupuna told me, is that fish travel on those two moon phases so they’re less interested in eating. It’s like the predators and prey have a truce so they can complete their migration. How productive has the New Moon been for you?

One strike in 3 hrs of paddling

March 16, 2016 By Scott 1 Comment

Monday was the only day with relatively light wind/good tide/time to fish this week. The windward side was drizzling off and on but it looked like it was clearing so I headed out on the kayak. The synthetic fiber clothing I wear shed water fairly well but it did get cold when I stopped paddling.

And paddle I did. I headed out to where I last hooked an awa awa, about a mile from the launch point. I passed over some small fish on the bottom but nothing wanted to eat my oama. Got to the area that had action before and it was holding bait and suspended fish. It still took about 10 mins before I got a strike. The fish hit, then jumped but this time it couldn’t shake the hook. Had I not seen that I would’ve hoped it was a papio by the way it took line. Instead it was a 3lb awa awa youngster that didn’t know how to pace itself. After pulling hard against a stiff drag it came up tired.

I decided to let it grow up a bit, and after taking this photo it popped off as it rubbed against the kayak. Slack line really does allow the hook to wiggle loose even when it appears the fish is hooked well.

The rain fell harder closer to land and the wind was choppy at times. Nothing else hit the oama or flat fall jig.

Smaller moon, rising tide = more fish activity

March 1, 2016 By Scott 5 Comments

Last Wednesday, I kayak fished the deep Windward waters and didn’t even register a nibble. The nearshore fishing has been slow this Winter but that skunk really made me feel “kill fight”. Yesterday was forecast to have the lightest wind – best tide combination of the week so I made it a gear testing day, telling myself that the fishing was incidental. I took the old Scupper Pro out, which hadn’t touched water in more than 10 years, and used a heavier weight to keep the live oama down deep.

After the afternoon showers stopped, the wind completely died down. Not a fair comparison with the chop and slop conditions of the Aquaterra Swing’s last outing. I was worried the Scupper Pro would be tippy since it’s a lot narrower than the Swing, but because the seat sits lower to the water, it reminded me of sitting on a surfboard with my legs in the water. The Scupper Pro also paddled much easier due to its longer length and narrower, rounded hull. The Swing, in comparison, has a flat hull that feels like it’s pushing water, not knifing through it. The SP’s cockpit did feel cramped compared to the Swing’s, but I eventually got used to it.

There were a lot more tiny bait fish and suspended reef fish on the fish finder than last time. I braced myself for a strike on the trolled oama but none came. Hmmmppphhh. Well, since this was supposed to be a test of the Scupper Pro, I paddled further out than I had been fishing recently, enjoying the glide of the long, slender craft. The heavier fishing weight seemed to be keeping the oama down better, without getting hung up on the bottom. I slow trolled over numerous little bait collections but no predators felt like eating an oama with a hook in its nasal cartilage.

Finally something pulled the tip of the rod down a couple inches, then pulled drag. The fish seemed to be shaking its head but the vibrations were a little too frequent to be papio head shakes. I pictured an awa awa swimming in such a way that its large tail was slapping the line. Sure enough, after some powerful runs, I was able to short pump the fish to the surface. About a 4lb awa awa with its weird transparent forehead greeted me. I think awa awa pull harder, pound for pound, than omilu and whites, but once you get them boat side they’re pretty tuckered out.

It felt great to land a decent fish again. I dropped down another oama and a few minutes later something pulled some line off the reel. In my peripheral vision I could see a smaller fish leap out of the water. That was the first awa awa that jumped in the deep water, and it was able to shake the hook and gain its freedom.

Fish began to puddle on the surface and I expected more action but alas, the bite stopped. I took advantage of the glassy conditions by trolling through other promising spots, and dropped the flat fall jig down on bait pockets but nothing wanted to eat.

So why was there more bait and predator activity than last week? The moon was smaller, being 7 days after the full moon rather than just 2 days. And I was fishing the first third of the rising tide instead of the last third. The heavier weight was keeping the bait in the zone longer. And the glassy conditions made it much easier to fish. Why do you think it was better this time around?

Big moon, big swell, choppy conditions = no fish

February 25, 2016 By Scott 3 Comments

According to iWindsurf.com, the Windward side yesterday was supposed to have relatively calm wind conditions. I picked a spot protected from the booming North West swell and was expecting close to sheet glass conditions. Instead my launch spot looked like this from the afternoon onshore winds.

Since I had schlepped all my kayak gear I was committed to paddling out. Heading into the wind and chop was definitely slow going and at times, small waves were cresting into my kayak. Not ideal conditions at all. I trolled a live, captive oama looking for bait schools on my fish finder. Bait was hard to find and the few suspended fish above the schools didn’t want to eat the oama or flat fall jig.

I trolled the outer papa edges, the deep channels, the inner sand beaches and came up empty. Not a single critter touched the oama. This had never happened anywhere before.

Was it because the full moon was two days earlier and the fish were feeding at night? Or did the epic swell that caused the Eddie Aikau Contest to run today cause the fish to hunker down for safety? Or maybe the windy conditions caused me to miss running over the fish with my fish finder? I sure hope conditions improve next week.

Live oama comes through on a slow evening

February 19, 2016 By Scott 1 Comment

Took the kayak out with two rods, one to troll live captive oama and the other to fish the Shimano Flat Fall jig. The tide was falling to a minus tide at around dark, and sure enough the fish and bait activity was almost non-existent. Something hit the live oama but wasn’t strong enough to take drag. It unbuttoned before I could see it.

I slow trolled the reef dropoffs hoping for a strike on the oama, and for a bait ball to show up on the fish finder. No strikes. When I found suspended fish I dropped down the 2.8oz flat fall jig and quickly realized my 6.5ft fiberglass/graphite blend bass rod was too soft for the heavy weight of the jig, and potentially strong fish that might eat the jig. 40 feet of water might be too shallow to fish that sized jig. It fell pretty fast and didn’t stay in the strike zone long enough, on the retrieve. I think I need a heavier action rod, and need to fish it in deeper water.

The evening witching hour arrived when the fish normally feed before dark but I couldn’t find the bait school. The falling low tide must’ve changed the fish behavior. I worked my way in, and out of desperation, paddled across a large channel to the opposite side of where the bait normally congregates. I began to see fish suspended two deep off the bottom and finally got a hookup. The fish was vigorously shaking its head all the way through the fight so I suspected it was a trumpetfish or needlefish (aha). I was thrilled to see a thrashing white papio that was trying to shake off the hook barely attached to its lip. It later taped out at about 14″ head to fork.

The bait school was holding near the bottom, and larger fish were suspended above it. I dropped the flat fall jig again and didn’t get a hit. When I stowed the flat fall rod away, I couldn’t find the bait school again and it was getting dark so I headed in. Oh well, I learned a new spot the bait school may use.

Shallow water “heavy” jigs to tackle test off kayak

February 18, 2016 By Scott 5 Comments

Green Mackeral Live Deception 1oz, Black/Chrome Waxwing Baby, Blue Sardine Waxwing Boy, Black Anchovy Flat Fall 80g, Blue Sardine Flat Fall 80g

Since I’ve recently been spending time floating in my kayak waiting for something to eat my live oama, I figured I may as well try some shallow water “heavy” jigs. My weighted live oama makes it down to the bottom if I’m not moving. But if I paddle, to fight current or slow troll, the oama is pulled near the water’s surface. A jig would more effectively fish the 40 – 50 ft depths.

I’ve never fished heavy jigs in Hawaii, and only speed retrieved “yo yo iron” for yellowtail in California. Just a few weeks ago, I was given two types of heavy jigs to tackle test.

Ahi’s Live Deception jig is meant to be fished like a “knife” jig, I believe. It’s made out of flexible lead and is laser printed with actual photos of fish so it looks as realistic as possible. The one pictured on the left is a 1 oz Green Mackeral, and it’s about the same length as the smallest Waxwing Baby next to it. It looks cylindrical in the photo but it’s actually beveled, with a narrow keel on the bottom. I’m not sure what kind of action it presents in the water, but the sales guy said that it could be bent so it would death spiral when dropped down. Might work on the nehu and sardine schools yeah?

Shimano’s Butterfly Flat Fall jig has been out for a few years, and like the Shimano Waxwing, I’m getting on the bandwagon a little late. The flat fall jig is a new twist on Shimano’s butterfly jigs, that were meant to be speed retrieved and slashed back to the boat. Due to the flat fall’s wider, keeled surface area, it falls much slower than the butterfly jigs, in an exaggerated gliding zig zag pattern. Practitioners of “slow pitch” jigging recommend a controlled fall, feeling for strikes, and then retrieving it a half crank up at a time, with a smooth tempo. Slow pitch jigging is supposed to be the Tai Chi of jigging, where it is relaxing and non-taxing. Leave it to the Japanese to improve on deep jigging and make it a zen-like pursuit. I’ve placed the two flat fall jigs to the right of the Waxwing Boy for size comparison. Those 80g / 2.82oz jigs are the smallest, lightest flat falls.

The flat falls have already been very successful on the Mainland and here in Hawaii anglers have landed shibi, mahi, uku, ulua and kahala on them. I don’t know if the 40 – 50ft water I’ve been kayak fishing is deep enough but I’ll soon find out.

One mystery sea monster unmasked

February 5, 2016 By Scott 6 Comments

During the winter “off season”, I’ve been fishing the deep water Windward spots. Haven’t landed a decent fish in the last 3 outings. Each time I had a big strike that either broke off or slipped off. So I went back to the general area where I got the awa awa a few weeks ago, and fished the slight tidal rise in pure glass conditions. I headed away from the area that had been productive, and paddled around for nada. Nothing wanted to eat a slightly tired, tub-raised oama.

When I returned to the previously productive area, my fish finder lit up with fish on the bottom and fish breezing near the top. I slowed to let my oama sink to the bottom and sure enough something pulled against the hard drag for a few seconds. The oama was gone but the two hooks were left intact. This happened 2 more times even though I made the drag really tight. I found out what this strong armed Houdini was on the next strike.

I got a hit near the papa (reef) edge and the fish ran faster than a papio normally would. It fought the tight drag for a while and stayed deep. I could see the oama’s white color but couldn’t see what was under it. When I finally began to see color, I saw fluorescent blue fins and a tail. A long omilu perhaps?

Arrghh, no, a big crocodile needlefish or aha, nicknamed “blue bone” because it has blue-green bones. These fish have been known to jump out of the water and unintentionally (we hope) spear people in the head and chest, causing a few very unfortunate deaths.

Not sure if you can tell how large the fish was, next to the kayak with the oama still on one of the hooks, but it was somewhere between 3 and 4 feet. The rear hook is in his jaw but he had bitten off the line connected it to the front hook.

If you look at his top jaw, I think those cuts were from each successful attempt to steal the bait. So this is the guy responsible for all the hard strikes and lost fish I’ve been getting. Kill fight yeah?

Well, I had a few more live oama so I lowered one down the side of the kayak and immediately hooked up. Ugh, another aha since I was right on the papa edge? But no, this fish pulled a little slower and more steadily; it could even turn the kayak.

I was pleased to see a lightly hooked, 2lb plus awa awa. I looked at my watch and it turned out that the flurry of action happened right at the peak high tide and ended 30 mins later. I guess aha and awa awa like the slack high tide so they don’t have to fight the current. Kaku are lazy like that too.

So now I know what’s been ripping drag and stealing baits. I did have a strong fish cut me off on the reef, and a really heavy creature pull me around for 20 minutes. Guess I need to go back and solve those mysteries.

Hooked and fought a sea monster for 20 minutes

January 18, 2016 By Scott 8 Comments

I’m sorry, I don’t have any photographs to back up the story I’m about to tell you. Gonna try to be as objective as I can be, and you can tell me what you think I hooked.

I was fishing the deep lagoon on the Windward side, about 40 yds past the reef drop off. I dropped a live oama, hooked through its nostrils, to the bottom in about 40 ft of water, and began to slowly paddle the kayak away from land. The bait was probably in the mid-water column when something hit and pulled drag at a medium-fast pace. The creature ran for the bottom and then out away from me. It easily pulled line in smooth spurts, but slowed after 50 yds or so. I was able to gain some line, and then it would pull line again, but never ripped line too fast or went too far. It felt like a huge awa awa at first but an awa awas would’ve taken more line.

There were large turtles around so I began to worry that I had hooked one of those. I tightened the drag to bring the “turtle” up, or pop off the hook, and the creature just powered for the bottom again. It was so strong I had to straddle the kayak to prevent getting tipped. It swam out away again, and I thought I thought I felt tail pumps and head shakes. For awhile it circled deep below me and I had extend the rod to clear the stern (back) and bow (front) of the kayak. An accidentally hooked turtle would’ve surfaced eventually but this thing wanted to stay as deep as possible.

I began to suspect it was a large sting ray, although I had never hooked one before to know how one would feel. It stayed down deep and swam back to the reef’s edge but stopped about 10 ft away from it. I was worried it would cut me off on the reef so I tried to muscle it up. About 2/3 of the way up the 15 lb fluoro leader cut. It was frayed just a bit, a few inches from where it cut above the hook. I never got to see color.

The creature didn’t head shake much, like a papio/ulua would, but it also didn’t just rest on the bottom like large sting rays like to do.

After retying, I paddled over a bait school suspended off the bottom, let my bait sink and sure enough I got a strike. The rod bounced like a papio hit the bait, but all that came back was the oama head on the single hook. I changed to a double hook setup and hooked a 10.5″ (FL) white papio and that was the end of the action.

What do you think the sea creature was? I would like to think it was an ulua, hunkering down on the bottom.