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Why is it so hard to get a quality rod in Hawaii?

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If you’ve gone to your local tackle shop with a certain rod in mind, chances are you didn’t find it in stock. Maybe you had to settle for what they had, or had them order a rod for you, and then the rod broke during normal use. So you took the broken rod back to the shop you bought it from, only to be told that you have to contact the manufacturer to have it replaced under warranty. Then you find out you have to pay shipping to send the broken rod to the mainland, which could cost more than $25.

There’s so many issues to unpack here.

I get it, our local shops don’t have a lot of space to display rods, and shipping the rods here from the mainland costs a lot of money. They have to bring in the types of rods that would sell the easiest, which often means lower priced rods.

What if you wanna try a premium rod but don’t see it in the stores? Have you been able to order the rod online and was the final price reasonable?

A few friends have snapped rods at a rate that seemed higher than years’ past. Maybe quality control has gone down in certain brands? Kayak anglers put a lot of stress on their gear, but a friend broke 2 St Croix Rift jig rods in two successive trips and didn’t appear to do anything out of the norm.

Holoholo guest poster Matthew broke a Major Craft N-One whipping rod on a tilapia!

Major Craft Crostage

And another friend broke a Major Craft Crostage whipping rod after buying it in a local shop and testing the spline at home!

These rod issues are a pet peeve of mine. I’ve been on a mission to vet rod brands and bring in quality rods to sell to the local crew. I started with St Croix (the St Croix Rift rods that snapped were not purchased from me!), but the company became so unresponsive that I could never fill an order. So I moved onto Phenix Rods and really liked the two kayak live bait rods I have been testing, but Phenix was bought out by a larger company and they moved operations from Southern California to TX. Shipping to Hawaii nearly doubled and they were initially bogged down in the transition but have been responsive to requests again.

So I tried United Composites, the well respected, Made In The USA, rod blank company out of Huntington Beach, CA and they miraculously accepted me as a dealer. They are well known for making very strong, sensitive, light rods for specific needs, and would be a good source if you plug for big fish, shore cast for ulua, troll for pelagics or live bait fish. There’s a 7ft boat rod that looks like it would work well as a kayak or jet ski live bait rod that I will be trying soon!

My rep at Phenix Rods moved from Phenix to Ocean’s Legacy, which is an Australian brand and makes durable rods for the Aussie land based and boat based plugger and jigger. Their rods aren’t as thin and light as the Japanese rods, but they are less expensive and handle stress better. Ocean’s Legacy ships their products out of Texas for the US market and there’s a few reasonably priced jigging rods I’m hoping to test soon.

No wonder the local shops can’t bring in a variety of brands. So few of the quality rod makers are filling orders. I sure hope I can secure a dependable source of very good rods at reasonable prices that fit our unique needs in Hawaii.

We are a Phenix Rod dealer! Anyone interested in trying these premium rods?

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Update: 4/24/24: Phenix Rods was purchased by a larger company and the factory has been moved from California to Texas so the shipping cost to Hawaii has increased. We’re currently working with Phenix to bring more rods in. Stay tuned.

We’ve been a Phenix Rod online dealer for half a year now and I’ve been trying to verify that the rods are as good as I’ve been hearing from the bass, trout and salt water guys. Been using a 7ft Heavy and a 7ft Extra Heavy live bait rod on the kayak and they performed well so far, but haven’t gotten really big fish to stress test them. I do like the lightness, sensitivity, components and durability of both rods.

Here’s a short video of the first day using the Black Diamond Heavy rod.

Phenix sells finished freshwater, saltwater, and travel rods in spinning and casting models, as well as the blanks of each. They are known to be very light in weight, yet strong in backbone, and are less expensive than the comparable high end brands.

Phenix offers a lifetime warranty on the rods that is basically this: If you break the rod, you send the pieces back to Phenix in California, and pay a bit more than 50% of the cost of the rod to have a replacement shipped back to you. That’s better than a lot of rod manufacturers these days.

These are just a few of the products the Hawaii angler may be interested in:

Black Diamond Surf – 2 piece Spinning rods 9ft to 14ft

View details on Phenix website.

Redeye Travel Saltwater Spinning rods – 3 piece, 7ft 6in, rated 15lb – 40lb and 30lb – 80lb.

View details on Phenix website.

Megalodan Jigging rods

Spinning: 5ft 6in PE 4-8 to 6ft PE 6-10

View details on Phenix website.

Casting: 5ft 6in PE 2-4 to 6ft PE 6-10.

View details on Phenix website.

Shipping of the rods from TX to HI is pretty expensive so I plan to order a batch of rods at a time. If you’re interested in trying any of the premium rods you see on their website, I’ll drop the price to make it worth your while. Please get in touch through the contact page.

Mahalo!

2023 Wrap-up – Shoreline to Boat (Oahu)

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2023 was better overall than 2022 but fell a bit short of expectations. A weak El Nino did warm up the water in the late Spring but faded, and it was a windier than normal year. Overall water temps didn’t get that high and there were less fishable offshore days than the previous years. Thanks to the Holoholo writers for summarizing their season.

Shoreline:

Oama:

Some spots were very good and consistent, holding oama through September. Other spots that normally hold large schools were dry. The oama came in late July and left by October, which is the typical timeframe. Overall, an 8 out of 10. Papio weren’t hitting the piles much though.

Halalu:

It was a very good halalu season on Oahu. The regular spots held fish for a long time despite getting pounded. Papio were seen and some caught near the halalu piles.

Oio Flats Jigging:

Matthew:

The O’io fishing this year has been great in general. Unlike previous years, I chose to completely forego the summer Papio run and instead focus on only flats fishing for O’io. It got a little tough this year with the presence of many new anglers on the flats, but spot rotation is something that I’ve found extremely valuable. Rotating between four or five spots has kept each one fresh for the next time I fish it. I never fish the same spot twice in a row. With the increase in pressure, I’ve hardly seen any fish in the shallows, instead being forced to go to deeper water in search of those smart fish. 

This summer showed a really impressive number of O’io, but most of them were smaller fish (under 4 pounds). This winter has been very cold and while the numbers of O’io have decreased exponentially, the quality of fish has also increased exponentially. Recently I’ve been fishing for most of the trip without a nibble but depending on that one 5lb+ fish to come around. I haven’t had much numbers, but nearly all of my fish in the past month have been over 5 pounds. For example, I went through the entirety of August, September, and October without catching a single Oio over 5 pounds, although I was catching more numbers in smaller fish. I’ve also shifted my strategy from “stay in one area you’re really confident in” to “cover as much ground as you possibly can” recently. They’re still out there, you just gotta hope for the best sometimes. Good luck🤙

Fly Fishing:

Jason: The year overall was a fairly productive one, with all of our usual flats producing bonefish, along with the occasional 10-12” omilu (a trophy on our flats).  By October, the action started to taper off, but this is perfectly normal for those of us hunting roundjaw o’io on the flats (versus the deeper water sharp jaw variety). Looking back at my catch logs for myself and friends (aka our group text string) I’d say our numbers were pretty much right around our averages, however we did focus a bit more on the windward side of the island this year than years past.  This is partly due to the Navy’s closure of a popular flat, which remains closed as of this writing, and partly because exploring new waters is part of the fun in fishing!  

Plugging/Whipping:

Thad: I dedicated more time during the summer of 2023 to throwing plugs instead of bubble/fly, so my papio catches were down.  Did that mean I caught more of the bigger predators like the elusive ulua than in the past?  Nope.  But my fishing partner Dino had a year to remember with his back-to-back big ulua on consecutive days.  I did have in increase in big strikes so the opportunities were there but I suffered from the rubbah hook/bent hook curse so I caught less fish overall.  The plugging action picks up around the summer months but the timing is a little different every year.  The 2023 action seemed to start a little earlier than the year before.  Whipping the flats for oio was more productive for me this year as we’ve been able to dial in some new spots.  People say the winter months are better for oio but to me they seem to bite equally year-round.  Hopefully the oio action will continue through 2024 and I’ll be able to make the summer plugging strikes stick.

Dino:

2023 has been a really weird year as far as fishing goes. It was really up and down for me. I accomplished what I feel I will never be able to accomplish again. I hit uluas on back to back days in July.  A white ulua in the 35 ish pound range and an omilu in the 22 pound range. Lost another one at landing some time after. The oio action on the flats has been hit or miss. Some days it’s good. Some days it’s dead as can be.

The Summer was good and the plugging really slowed in the Winter so I’ve been doing flats fishing for oio which has been a little bit of hit and miss for me. Picking one up here and there.

Hoping that 2024 can bring some good action for the bigger shoreline game. Gathering and prepping the plugging gear as we speak.

Nearshore:

Kayak Fishers (West and Northsides of Oahu): Largest shibi (yellowfin tuna under 100lb) of the season were caught in the Spring, along with mahi. Summer to early Fall were consistent for shibi and mahi. Aku popped up in the early Fall. Ono were caught in early late Fall. Bite has slowed in Winter but there are still pelagics to be caught if you’re in the right place with a lively opelu. Uku seems to be available year round.

Scott: (Windward side kayak) Slow ’til March when aku schools moved in shallow. Then the wind blew ’til October. When the weather finally allowed offshore kayaking, the small shibi and small mahi were in shallow but that only lasted a few weeks, water temp was 79 degrees. In December the temp dropped to 74 degrees and the pelagics were scarce. Currently, nehu bait balls are getting pounded by small kawakawa and opelu from below, and birds from above. North swell often shutting down exposed spots.

Dive:

Kayak diving

Pono: Didn’t get a ton of diving in this year due to having a busier than normal schedule and a windier than normal summer (my usual dive season). However, the few outings that I were able to go on were very productive! I had a lot of fun down-sizing my speargun, kayak diving, and trying new recipes. Diving deeper has shown me that Oahu still get fish if you know where to look! I think there were more nearshore pelagics in the Fall compared to other times of the year, we were seeing shibi and kawakawa on reef dives.

Boat:

Erik: 2023 brought two new boats into our fishing experiences, a 21’ Force and a 17’ Boston Whaler.  The year started steady and progressively got better with October being our best month.  We are blessed to have landed Ahis in both boats this year and have caught enough fish to share with friends and family.

Offshore fishing is still good but the wind and high surf have been limiting factors.

We look forward to more fishing adventures in 2024 and hope to see more of our fishing family out in the ocean.

Holoholo: Urban JDM lure testing – Papio, broken rod and Tilapia

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On summer break before his Senior year of high school, Matthew Ikeda accepted my plea to test some of the oldie but goodie JDM whipping lures and give his feedback on an Anetik shirt. I had previously posted about the lures we had tested that day here.

Matthew:

A little while ago, Scott messaged me wanting to find a test spot for some JDM lures. We played around with a few options at first, but not wanting to show any landmarks, we chose a secret-not-so-secret spot that we were sure wouldn’t upset anyone. When Scott picked me up, he gave me an Anetik hoodie to try for the day. The sun was high and scorching by the time we arrived at the spot, so the semi-porous fiber of the shirt felt pretty good. I decided to start off with a Duo Tide Minnow Slim SSR, which was around four inches and in a pearl color. It casted well, despite there being a crosswind and its lack of an internal weight transfer system. In the murky water, the pearl color really stood out and because of its enticing side-to-side action, I felt confident using it. 

This spot is extremely dependent on the tide, so I was wondering if the tide was right for the Papio that sometimes run through. I began getting bites from Kaku early on, but there was no sign of the target species. The tide was rising fast, so I was depending on the influx of water to bring the fish into the canal. I got my wish 20 minutes later, when I felt a violent take that nearly ripped the rod out of my hands. I set the hook and let the fish take its first run. With the headshakes, power, and quick movements of the fish, I was pretty sure that I had just hooked a nice Papio. As I brought it closer in, I could see that I was correct. It was a good-sized white Papio (GT), larger than any I had hooked at this spot before. I babied the fight on the way in, unsure of how secure the hooks were, but the Papio eventually got tired. I grabbed the line and pulled it over the wall, landing the fish. Scott took some pictures, recorded a short video, and it was released back into the nasty water.

We fished pretty unsuccessfully for the rest of the time, as the bite went completely dead. We were just wrapping up when I got another bite. I set the hook and my rod crumbled. Shocked, I reeled the fish in with half of a rod, and I was pretty disappointed to see that the fish was just a snagged tilapia. It really sucked because the rod was my go-to O’io rod for the longest time, and there was a lot of sentimental value to it. To break a favorite rod on such a trash fish sucks, but that’s fishing I guess. In all, it was a good trip but the broken rod kind of killed the vibes. 

Reviews:

The Anetik Remix Tech long-sleeved shirt had great ventilation and felt soft. I never felt like I was sweating despite the midday sun. It fits my body well and is better at adapting to slightly different sizes than some other brands. It comes with a hoodie and drawstrings if you need to tighten it. One thing that the Anetik shirt does lack is a face covering. Nearly all of my fishing shirts come with a face covering (attached to the shirt) that I can cover my face with. If you need to cover your face while wearing the Anetik hoodie, you will need to buy a separate face buff, either from Anetik or another brand. However, Anetik shirts have some of the softest material I’ve felt while also fitting me perfectly, making it worth the hassle. The sizes tend to be small, so you may need to buy one size larger than usual. For example, I am normally a “large” but I needed an “extra large”. Rating: 9/10, just find a buff to go with it.

The Duo Tide Minnow Slim SSR is an intriguing lure. It has a thin profile that matches a lot of our young baitfish. Some other common lures like Rapala X-Raps have fatter midsections, which I’m not too fond of. It casts well despite not having an internal weight transfer system and moves well in the water without needing too much attention. It dives around 1-2 feet deep. Lighter lures like these are good, but are best suited for harbors, canals, and calm areas without wind and choppy surfaces. In other terms, I wouldn’t use it anywhere with waves and lots of water movement. Lures like these would probably struggle to cast directly against the wind, due to the lack of the weight transfer system. However, when used in the right areas, or casted downwind, it should be very successful. Rating: 8/10, need to use it in a calm area.

Threw 4 Domestic lures and 4 JDMs in the water to see how they swam, and 4 got chased! Check out the videos.

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To wrap up the testing of the old whipping lures I had from 2019, I stood on the side of a harbor, mid-day, to video how they cast and swim. The wind at my back was blowing hard at times, so casting them out with my small bait caster wasn’t an issue. This was only the second time casting lures since 2019 so I was a little clumsy; on the kayak I have just been bottom fishing or live baiting. There were sardines on the side of the harbor where I was standing, and small aha (needlefish) were patroling outside of that school.

It was interesting to me that the aha ignored most of the lures but chased certain ones, and 2 white papios (juvenile GT) chased 1 particular lure that has worked well in the bay off the kayak.

Please let me know if you find these types of tackle tests helpful.

JDM Lures with video timestamps

IMA Popkey 0:00 Slant faced top water lure that walked and rolled fairly convincingly. 120mm and cylindrical, so a slightly larger bait fish profile. Got intercepted.

Maria Chase SW 1:04 Floating shallow diver with realistic tight rolling action. Casts well and got chased.

Palms GIG 100s 2:07 Only 100mm (4 inches) yet 30g (1 oz) so it’s a small, narrow, heavy stickbait. Didn’t get bit but will be deadly for bigger papio and small pelagics in deeper water.

Zetz F-Lead 90 3:02 Only 90mm (3.5 inches) yet 26g (almost 1 oz) so it matches the size of the small bait and sinks down quickly to their depth. This was the only lure to get chased by white papio (juvenile GT), and was chased twice! It’s killer in the bay for suspending papio off the kayak.

Domestic Lures with video timestamps

Shimano Waxwing Boy 0:00 Zig zag swimming action that may look too bold to mimic a bait fish. Slowing down the retrieve slows down the zig zag to a less aggressive pace. Casts well.

Vudu Mullet 3.5 inch 0:43 Very lifelike swimming action. An aha thought it was a dying bait when I just dropped it in the water, and would have inhaled it had I not lifted the lure out of the water reflexively. So the aha continued its path and attacked the sardines! The light weight and flexing body makes the 3.5″ lure difficult to cast, at least with my bait caster. A long spinning rod would have an easier time. There is a 4.5 inch Vudu Mullet that is heavy enough to cast well.

Rapala XRap Sub Walk 1:50 Has been hard to cast into the wind on previous outings. Rolls and wanders just under the surface.

Rapala XRap Twitching Minnow 2:40 Has been hard to cast into the wind on previous outings. Erratically rolls and flops on the retrieve.

JDM whipping lures are in the Store and more are coming!

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The halalu and oama fishing is the best we’ve seen in years and the predators know it. Now’s the time to fish the shoreline before the bite slows down.

We’ve restocked the Store with lures you can’t find domestically that hammered fish the last time the shore fishing was incredible, and we’re getting some Duo International lures in soon to sell at Intro pricing.

Duo Realis Pencil 130mm. 5-1/8 inch, 1-1/8 oz. Utilizes 2 steel bearings to balance the lure and call the fish in. Perfect for the bigger shoreline predators and strong enough to land mahi mahi!

Duo Spearhead Ryuki 110S. 4 3/8 inch, 3/4 oz slow sinking twitch bait with moving weight transfer system to cast far. Check out this video!

Anetik products restocked after 25% off sale

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Matt rocking the Anetik Remix Ice Hoody

Been running a 25% off Anetik Performance clothing sale so more people could try their amazing products, and a lot of styles/colors sold out. So the new replacements are now 20% off, and the originals still around are at the amazing 25% off price.

The guys and gals who used ’em for land based sports (golf, tennis, pickleball) will be reviewing them very soon, and so will an active fisherman in hot and humid Florida. Stay tuned to hear how the clothing out perfomed and strugged a bit under adverse conditions.

Check out the Anetik products in the Store here.

We tested those old Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) lures and caught a stud of a fish!

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I recruited Holoholo writer Matthew Ikeda, who has been red hot catching oio (bonefish) on the flats with a jighead and grub, to help test the old, used JDM lures I had banished to Second String status. Those lures were described in this post.

Matt suggested we fish at a not-so-secret urban canal in Honolulu in case landmarks were exposed. He was using spinning gear (8″3″ Major Craft rod, Shimano Twin Power 3000 reel) designed to cast 1/2 ounce lures and I dusted off my 7’3″ 13 Fishing travel rod and 13 Fishing Concept Z bait casting reel. I hadn’t whipped since 2019 so I needed a few practice casts to get going.

The wooden Lucky Craft Sammy and wooden Tiemco Red Pepper were duds. They just didn’t float as crisply as their plastic versions we’ve fished before. They’re X’d out in the photo above. The plastic Tiemco Red Pepper and Daiwa TD Salt Pencil seemed to bob up and down ok but the fish weren’t interested in top water lures so we’ll have to try them again later. They are marked with a “?”.

Matt was able to walk-the-dog with the Tackle House M Quiet in a wide, sweeping way, but the fish didn’t want that presentation either. The Maria Chase SW (Salt Water) wobbled erratically and looked good with my steady retrieve and I missed a couple short kaku bites I think. You can see the action of those two lures in the video below.

The lure presentation that stood out was the Duo Tide Minnow Slim SSR (Super Shallow Runner) under Matt’s control. That lure, circa 2015, has a fixed center weight unlike it’s rolling weight successor but still casted well and swam with a really tight roll.

This wasn’t photoshopped at all, it really is levitating. Zoom in – no cut and paste seams!

Sure enough it got slammed by a white papio (juvenile GT) you would think was too big to be in the canal. Maybe what they say about those fish being mutants is true – this fish seemed to float in the air when Matt lowered it to be unhooked.

Matt will be writing up his perspective of the day and that guest post will include the capture and release video. Stay tuned for that, and another round of whipping lure testing in easily accessible spots.

Holoholo: DOUBLE – Double Digit Oio!

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Matthew Ikeda, our young, on-the-water intrepid reporter, shares the details of his back-to-back fishes of a lifetime catch.

Matthew: I was in bed when Sean from Nervous Waters Fly Shop asked me if I wanted to tag along with him and Frank to their spot, which I was only vaguely familiar with. I had just got my wisdom teeth removed hours before, so I was in a lot of pain and bleeding quite a bit. While I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able in a day’s time, being able to watch fly fishing masters at work was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. I accepted the offer and arranged to meet them at the spot. 

That morning, I was still bleeding a little bit but most of the pain had subsided, so I figured I was okay, plus I figured the adrenaline of sight fishing would help numb the rest. I met them at the spot and we walked out into the water. I had brought both my fly rod and a spinner rod, but I decided to start off with the spinner as I got used to the spot. We split up pretty far from each other at first. I decided to take a long loop around, wasting 15 minutes just to get in position to cast with the wind into a spot that looked good. I saw a few fish initially, but they didn’t want anything to do with the neon orange grub I was using. I switched to a darker grub that looked more natural, and immediately the fish started to show more interest. I started to feel pretty good about my chances. 

Twenty minutes later, I was on my phone changing the music when I saw the outline of a big fish passing just 15 feet in front of me. I quickly put my phone in my bag and flipped an underhand cast in front of it. To my surprise, the O’io rushed the lure, ate, and immediately took off at breakneck speed. Within seconds, half of my line was gone and the fish had almost made it to the ledge, which would make my loss certain if the fish reached it. I started backpedaling and tightened the drag a little, trying to slow the fish in any way. Eventually, it did slow down and I was able to regain some line. But I had a long fight ahead of me.

Because I chose to carry two rods on me, I had to bring the smallest spinning rod I owned (so it fit in my backpack). I’ve used the same rod to catch Halalu before. The rod, a 7’10” light action, is perfect for sight casting accuracy, but that combined with the 12 pound test I chose to run made for a challenging fight. Over the next 40 minutes, the O’io ran in circles, taking line before I would eventually regain it, like a never ending game of tug of war. But the fish eventually got tired and I was able to grab it by the tail, and that’s when I realized how big it was. “Double digits” immediately came to mind as we took some pictures. Sean had a boga grip so we hooked it up, and I was stoked when the scale read right at 10 pounds. We took a couple more pictures before I released it. I took some time to relax and take it all in while Sean and Frank went back to fishing, completely satisfied with the day. 

Sean and Frank had started to walk into the wind, and were pretty far away so I decided to follow them. I decided to look in the shallows for some tailing O’io, because I had never hooked a “tailer” before. I saw one pretty quickly and casted at it… but was disappointed when the lure landed right on top of the fish and spooked it, causing a big explosion. I continued on, trying to catch up to the guys. The water started to get very skinny and even though I knew O’io could get up that shallow, I questioned whether it was reasonable. 

I was watching Sean, who appeared to be taking a shot at a fish when I spotted a big tail around 30 yards out. It was at a bad angle, directly into the wind, but I decided to stalk the fish. Luckily, some clouds had come in, so I hoped that they would help mask my presence. As I creeped up closer and closer I realized that this was another big fish. Its back was nearly out of the water and it seemed really occupied with digging at a specific patch of seaweed. I made my first cast at it, which was terrible and landed nowhere near, but luckily it didn’t spook the fish. I reeled in the lure quickly, made the adjustment, and casted. This time it was a beautiful line-drive cast, flying just two feet above the water before landing at the perfect distance in front of the fish. I dragged the lure along the bottom, making puffs of sand in an attempt to divert the fish’s attention. The fish jerked and moved suddenly, and then, wagging its tail, it swam over to my lure. I kept dragging the lure, so sure that the fish would spook, just like all the other skinny water tailers I had casted at in the past. But this time there was a small tug, and then a tap-tap-tap. I set the hook hard, and there was a big explosion as the fish took off even faster than the last. Luckily I was all the way on the inside, so the fish would have to spool me if it wanted to get over the ledge. For a little while, I thought it might just do that. But it stopped and started to come back in, much faster than the previous O’io. Within 10 minutes, I had it doing circles right around me. I walked into even shallower water as I tried to beach the fish. The tactic worked and the O’io tired fast, allowing me to grab it. I was shocked. It was another very big O’io and the stoke was high once again. 

Frank took pictures of me holding the fish up as he called Sean to get the weight. This time, the fish tipped the boga at 10.5 pounds, making it another double digit O’io to make the day even more special. We took a pretty cool release video and the fish was on its way. Again, I stayed back to rest because I couldn’t really believe what had happened. Sean caught a good sized O’io on the fly, and Frank sightfished two puffers and an eagle ray, so we all ended up catching. We talked story on the way back and then parted ways. 

The high didn’t last forever, and when I got home my calves and forearms were cramped and my pain from my wisdom removal reappeared. But the memories of that day will definitely last forever, and it was well worth it to get out there. Catching two double digit O’io on the same day is something I’ll probably never do again. I’d be happy if I caught one a year. It was a crazy day for sure and I suppose the lesson is that you just have to get out there and take some chances. Sometimes, you might just get lucky. My thanks to Sean and Frank for inviting me to tag along. I learned a lot from watching the true masters of the art, and I am very lucky to have that chance. Stay safe, have fun, and good luck out there!

Dug up some of the shallow running lures acquired back when whipping was on fire

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From 2017 to 2019 I was fishing shallow water with friends and was looking for lures that floated, dove a few feet at most, and casted well with a 7.5ft bait casting rod. I bought a bunch online from Japan, was given a few, and eventually settled on 3 confidence lures not shown here. The Waxwing was one of the 3; the other two were so deadly I blurred their appearance in blog photos!

When I looked for my old lures, I found a box full of lures that didn’t make the First Team. A couple of these were fished and caught fish, while the others stayed in that box because they were too much like other lures I was fishing, or were experimental lures given to me that I never fished. Here’s a breakdown of what they are.

The Lucky Craft Sammy (top left) is one of the easiest walk-the-dog lures but this one is made out of wood and the original owner preferred the hard plastic Sammys. I’ve never fished it. The Tackle House M Quiet (upper right) is a top water lure meant to fish calm, quiet water and I did catch a kaku on it but it was light for me to cast with a bait caster.

The IMA Popkey (2nd from top, on left) with its slanted face can be walked, waked or splashed but I never got around to fishing it because the fish I was targeting in very shallow water liked very slim lures.

The Tiemco Red Pepper (left side, 2nd down) is an original wooden bodied lures, and the Tiemco Red Pepper (right side, 3rd down) is plastic bodied and customized with reflective material by the original owner. I hadn’t fished either but have fished plastic bodied Red Peppers and have gotten the most violent strikes on them if I let them bob up and down and sit in the water.

The Daiwa TD Salt Pencil F (lower right) is the reknown Daiwa Salt Pencil in a very small, light size, so it really was hard to cast far but was very deadly when pulled so the water gurgled through the cut out gills, then paused.

The Duo Tide Minnow Slim, and Maria Chase SW in the bottom right aren’t back weighted so I assumed I’d have a hard time casting such light lures with a bait caster, thus I didn’t bother to put hooks on them but I had purchased them used from eBay Japan because they were the OGs of JDM lipped lures. They are fished by straight retrieving them and pausing. Their tight wobble and small size is what gets them bit.

These are 5 inch or bigger floating lures, geared to attract larger fish so I ended up not fishing them from shore. The Daiwa SP Minnow (top) has ball bearings that roll back on the cast, so it casts well. The well known Yozuri SP Minnow (2nd from top) is a lousy caster but has a very aggressive swimming action. It’s probably better used as a trolling lure for papio. Both the Jackall Bowstick and River2Sea WideGlide have wide walk-the-dog actions and big fish potential.

Have you guys fished any of these, and how were they? Any comments on their potential? Since I still have the First Team lures somewhere, I wonder if I’ll ever fish these?

The profile of the average shoreline whipper

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The windy Summer conditions have kept me from kayaking, so my attention has turned to the coming papio season. I took a small, informal survey with some shoreline whippers I recently met.

The guys hadn’t heard that oama had come in, so they weren’t really fishing much.

All 3 wished they could fish more often but because of work and family obligations, they mainly fished for an hour or two when they could get away for a quick session. They didn’t have much of a budget for fishing gear, so they throw the bubble and grub, an inexpensive lead head feather jig, or kastmaster and often don’t catch as much as they’d like to. None had tried Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) lures and hadn’t even considered using them. At most, they tried Rapala or Yozuri plugs with moderate success.

In 2017 I was fully caught up in the JDM lure craze and was buying used lures from eBay Japan just to try as many as I could, at 50% of the new price. The lures I received looked almost brand new and swam pretty well but some didn’t have the internal weight transfer system that allowed them to cast extremely well for light lures, and then swim enticingly. I later discovered a couple exceptional JDM lures so I sold a few of the used lures, and the rest have been sitting in a dark bin.

eBay Japan lures purchased used for 50% off.

One of the guys I surveyed works in a grocery store I frequent, and said his arthritic right hand eventually hurts when he twiches his lead head jig, so I gave him the two circled swimming plugs. Cranking and pausing the smaller of the two lipped plugs was much easier and he caught 2 kaku the first time out. He hasn’t used the larger bone colored plug yet because his target fish have been small. He was sold on JDM lures after that but paying $20 or more for a JDM swimming plug was cost prohibitive for him.

(After writing this post I found a box of JDM lures tucked away that weren’t being fished. You can read why they were acquired and how they’re supposed to be fished, here.)

So that got me thinking, the lipped swimming plugs don’t require specialized gear, and can be quickly fished, cleaned up and put away. What if I could sell the US domestic version of Japanese swimming plugs that cast and swim well, at an affordable price, comparable with the Rapalas and Yozuris in our local shops? Would the whippers on a budget and with a short window to fish be interested?

I’m in the process of inquiring if I could become a dealer of those lures. I had been able to get some IMA Sasuke 120Fs a few years back, and sell them at a fair price but the distributor no longer sells them.

Revisting the soft plastic segmented lure “Vudu Mullet”

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In 2019 I was still whipping the shoreline and started playing around with various jointed swimbaits. The hardbodied ones from Japan swam so realistically but were expensive. I ordered a few of the Egret Baits “Vudu Mullets” and decided to do a very quick field test. Our JDM lure expert Thad, our shoreline whipper and equipment reviewer Dino, and I each gave Vudu Mullets a quick going over. Thad’s immediately got hit by the kaku in the top photo. Dino’s got snipped off with just a slight tick in the line. Mine caught this small white papio. The Vudu Mullet casted well for a segmented lure due to its internal weight and swam incredibly enticingly. 2019 was a slow inshore year so we only did the one field test and I began to focus on offshore kayak fishing.

If this year turns out to be a great baitfish year, the Vudu mullet, in the 3.5″ and 4.5″ sizes should slay when cast near the piles. A few are in the Store for the first time and on sale for $7. You won’t find a better swimming lure than the Vudu Mullet for this price.

This is what I wrote about jointed swimbaits back in 2019. Click to read.

Do jointed swimbaits work in Hawaii?

Holoholo: Inshore report and Summer prediction

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Our young, on-the-water intrepid reporter, Matthew Ikeda, offers his prediction for the coming Summer.

Matthew: With a potential “El Nino” year coming, there is a real chance for a great summer of fishing. NOAA analytics suggest that the chance for an El Nino year in 2023 is over 90%. The last time such a great fishing year occurred, it was 2015 and I had just begun fishing, so I was not able to appreciate the conditions. Stories from many fishermen tell the tale, however, of an overabundance of predators in shallow waters and an explosion of baitfish. We can only hope that these conditions recur and bless us with the action for which we have waited so long. 

For those of you who do not know who I am, I fish from the shore with lures, mainly for Papio and Oio. I am a catch and release fisherman 99% of the time. I try to go out a lot, so I see things that I can write up in an occasional report on this blog. With that being said, let’s get into the early summer report. 

Action has been a little sluggish initially, but there have been many good signs that point towards good fishing in July and August. I have whipped for Papio a few times within the last two weeks, and while I’ve only caught a few in the 10 inch range, it is encouraging that those are willing to bite after a very bad winter of Papio fishing. There have been Oama at certain isolated spots for a little while now, although these Oama have already grown kind of big for bait usage. I assume more small Oama will come in with a second wave in the coming weeks. 

One spot I know of currently has a massive mixed school of Halalu and Sardines, which might be the largest pile of baitfish I’ve ever seen. Strangely, I haven’t seen very many predators busting the pile. I also know of one other spot with a sardine pile, although not as big. There has been an early arrival of Iao in some shallow water spots, which is a good sign for the flats. It was the big schools of Iao that brought the great action onto the flats in 2015-2016. Although there haven’t been many predators inshore to feast on this abundance of baitfish, it is probably okay because June is not usually peak season. I believe that the predators will discover the baitfish soon and that we have a great Papio season upon us starting in July. 

As for the O’io whipping, it has cooled off dramatically. After an amazing January-March, these past few weeks have been rather challenging, and there have been many trips where I barely escaped whitewash with a small O’io at the end. The O’io have generally been skittish and uncooperative, and the ones that I have seen seem to be aware of my presence before they are within casting range. Maybe there has just been too much activity on the flats recently? With all the dunkers, fly fishermen, and people like I, perhaps we have been pressuring the fish way too much. 

El Nino brings hurricanes along with the good fishing, and don’t get too caught up in preparing for fishing that you forget to prepare a storm kit. While not guaranteed, it is likely that there will be storms formed, but hopefully they will simply miss the islands. I hope this summer is great for everyone and that there will be more than enough fish to go around. Please “fish pono” and be considerate of others, the ocean, and our finite resources. Stay safe, have fun, and good luck out there!

Here’s how good the shoreline whipping was in 2015. 14 inch white papio in 15 inches of water on a Waxwing. (video)

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I had discovered Shimano Waxwings (unique zigzagging swimming lure) in the Spring of 2015 and everything seemed to wanna crush them. I even hooked an oio from my surfboard in the white wash on one!

In July 2015, I was casting literally from the sand while my friend Kris’ Yozuri Crystal Minnow was snagging limu in the very shallow water. The upturned double hook of the Waxwing proved snag proof and the bite really turned on for both of us as the sun went down.

You can read about the action here.

I haven’t whipped from shore in years since I’ve been doing the kayak thing but during Tiger Shark season, maybe my feet should be on the sand.

How many of you guys still throw the Waxwing?

Holoholo: Intro to Plugging from shore and boat

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Merik Chun is now a Sophomore at Kaiser High School. His Boat Jigging tips were so well received that I asked him if he’d explain the sport of “Plugging” to us. Thanks Merik!

Merik: I am a young, avid fisherman and waterman. One of my favorite types of fishing styles, which I will explain to you now, is plugging. I enjoy this type of fishing because it’s fun working the lures in different ways and when you do get a strike it’s one of the most thrilling, exciting experiences in fishing. Especially when you’re targeting larger species, you may not get hit often but when you do, it’s a ton of fun! Here I will introduce you to plugging concepts I have learned over the years and what has worked for me. This is the way I like to do it, others may have a different approach. Take what you want from this if anything, and hopefully it helps you get your first fish plugging! 

What is Plugging?

Plugging is the act of throwing a hard body lure out, and reeling it back in, impersonating a wounded baitfish. The main target is usually a predatory fish looking for an easy, struggling meal. The lures people use for plugging may vary in shape, looks, and action. The two main lures people use for plugging are poppers and stickbaits. 

Plugging Gear:

Usually, depending on how heavy the plugging setup is, you would want a setup that matches the lures you’re casting. 

Reels: 

Optimally, a sturdy and rigid reel with a smooth drag system and high gear ratio to pick up slack. This is because in some cases, you will be running heavy drag to prevent fish from running into the reef or over a ledge. A smoother drag helps to control the fish, while rigidity in the reel helps keep balance under load. A higher gear ratios (ex. 5.7:1/6.2:1) are the most common for throwing lures, especially stickbaits, where you need to sweep the lure. This can also help rip a lure over shallow reef structure, or keep tension on a fish running toward you. 

Rods:  Rods for plugging can vary depending on the setup. A medium heavy action is usually the softest I’d go for most scenarios. Rod length may vary depending on where someone is fishing from and their comfort level.

Usually, a long rod is better if you’re fishing from shore, off the rocks, on the flats, or in the surf (10’-12’) This can help keep the scope of the line higher up over the rocks, as since  you’re usually level with the fish. A longer rod may also help get more distance on casts. When plugging from the boat, a shorter rod could be easier with maneuverability and casting as you usually don’t have to cast as far (7’6-9’). There are also plugging rods made specifically for certain lures, with stiffer tips being popper oriented, and softer tips being Stickbait oriented. In between, are all-around rods with stiffness for poppers, while still being soft enough for sweeping sticks. 

Main line:

When plugging, braided line is usually the best option since can fit more line on your reel, at a heavier poundage. This helps with casting, and maintaining direct contact to the lure as well as sensitivity, strength and longevity. Typically, good quality Japanese braided line is rated by PE numbers signifying the diameter and breaking strain. For example, for casting 40-80g lures, PE2-3 (30-50#) would work well. While throwing 100-150g lures, PE5-8 could be used (70-90#), and anything up may be heavier. Japanese braided line usually has a smaller diameter with a heavier breaking strain. In some cases, some braids may be limper making them better for casting. I have not noticed a significant difference between the two. 

Leader line:

When it comes to leader line, I like to run a shock leader, around 2-3 arm spans (10’-15’) long for throwing lures. In most cases this would leave my FG knot in between my reel and first guide, or first and second guide, which is where I have found there’s the least amount of wind knots. The leader should cater to the size of the setup. For my PE2.5 setup, I run 40#-60# while for my PE5 setup, I run 120#-180#. Just find what works for you, but usually a heavier leader is better if you’re targeting bigger fish in heavy structure. Whatever you can comfortably cast and get distance. 

Terminal: When it comes to terminal, I typically like to invest a bit more initially on better quality products, as gear failure such as a bent hook or opened split ring is the last way I’d want to lose a fish. For plugging, I run a swivel, to a split ring, connected to the lure. The hooks are connected via split ring. A good split ring pliers makes life a lot easier if you’re working with split rings a lot. 

Lures

Poppers:

Poppers are usually a plug shaped lure with a cupped face at the front. The action of these lures is created by short jerks or long hard jerks with the tip low allowing the lure to displace water and pop, through the cup face. Poppers are made to create a lot of noise and ruckus in the water in hopes of attracting a predatory fish. It impersonates an injured fish or the sound of fish attack a school of fish on the surface. With poppers, I get the most action on short quick jerks, with fish usually hitting on the pause! Faster jerks or Walk The Dog style jerks have also produced. I like to run trebles on both belly and back. 

Stickbaits:

Stickbaits are a lot different from poppers. They are almost like a lipless jerkbait that can swim through the water like an escaping or wounded baitfish. Stickbaits come in both floating and sinking variations, with sinking being a lot easier to work. Generally, with any Stickbait, a sweeping motion or straight retrieve has produced the best action. Floating stickbaits can create a splash or bubble trail as they dive down into the water. Generally, you want to leave slack in the sweep so as the nose hits the surface you start on your next sweep. Stickbaits can also be worked on a straight retrieve, fast or slow, jerking motion, Walk The Dog, or ripped across the surface. I usually run belly treble and inline single on the back. 

My setups:

The setups I have now are definitely on the pricier side. Many of the ones I have, I have gotten lucky and gotten good deals on them. But remember you don’t need fancy gear to start fishing. I started with an old Penn 550 with an Ugly stick, then switched to a small Daiwa Legalis, to a Penn Pursuit and Daiwa Emcast before making my way up to what I am using now. If you really love this type of fishing, nice gear is mainly for the user’s enjoyment, and you don’t need fancy things to catch fish!

Heavy: 

  • Daiwa Certate 14000 SW
  • UAM Surf Rod 9’6
  • Varivas PE5 Avani Casting (78#), 180# Varivas Shock Leader

Medium/Light:

  • Shimano Twinpower 5000 SW
  • Zenaq Defi Muthos 100MH
  • YGK Jigman PE2.5 (45#), 40# Varivas Shock Leader 

Disclaimer: This is just my personal take on what I have learned throughout the years plugging and what has worked for me. Others may have different opinions and methods that work for them, but this is what works for me and what I have learned. Hope you can take something away from this! 

If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability, or even if you have any tips or suggestions, I am always happy to learn! 

Oahu Winter Inshore and Nearshore Report with forecast

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Weather-wise, January 2023 had light wind and not much rain, making conditions fishable but the inshore and nearshore (out to 3 miles or so) bite was the typical winter slog. The inshore guys resorted to targeting oio and the nearshore kayaks and boats did some shallow bottom fishing for uku, nabeta and goatfish.

Yup that’s our JDM expert Thad with a nice C&R oio

The nice weather continued into the first week of February but that was followed by 4 weeks of strong wind and rain storms. When the wind and rain let up a bit, the fly fishers and jig head whippers connected with oio and saw big omilu hunting the flats. March is early for the big omilu who are normally seen by the early June time frame, before the oama begin to trickle in by late July.

Not satisfied with 2 delicious uku, Grant filled his fish bag with a 21lb shibi

The offshore kayak bite has just begun to pick up in some areas. Mahi, shibi and kawakawa are showing up for the live opelu, which has still been abundant in the early morning.

The consistent rain has been making the brackish water estauraries habitable for the little critters the inshore food chain fish feed on. We can look forward to a better aholehole, moi, and mullet season than we had last year, which didn’t have much rain in the Winter/Spring. Let’s see if this prediction holds.

Holoholo: Winter Bones

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Our shore-whipper Matthew is back with a quick update on the o’io whipping action this Winter.

Matthew: Happy New Year! It’s been a while since I last wrote, but I’ve been strictly whipping for O’io recently. The action was surprisingly great for January, which had been my worst month last year. I hooked a couple of very large fish, including one that I could not stop even with very tight drag. The weather has been finicky, with the winds seemingly shifting every few days. One day you might be dealing with a dead wind, glassy conditions, while the next you might be facing nasty 30 mph gusts. There also have been a few days where the wind was blowing from the southwest, which is uncommon and very frustrating for O’io fishermen because it’s a headwind on the flats. There haven’t been many days where sight fishing was suitable, so I’ve been mainly blind casting into areas I know the fish frequent. 

I’ve seen several large Oama schools and one Halalu pile, neither of which I have an explanation for. If you know where they are, go capitalize on this odd opportunity. I’m assuming it has some correlation with the abnormal weather but I’ve never seen large Oama schools this early. 

On another note, there has been an exponential increase in the number of fishermen targeting O’io with lures. The O’io fishery on the flats seems fragile, so I’m not sure how this will affect the numbers of O’io. If you’re new to flats fishing, please be respectful of the reef, the fish, and other fishermen. O’io are very delicate fish and cannot spend much time outside of the water. Please wet your hands, avoid grabbing by the gills, and try not to remove any of their slimy coating and scales. Lastly, if you’re shooting videos, keep the angle low and try to refrain from exposing spots. The long term effects of “burning” a spot are considerable. Have fun, but not at the expense of others or the reef. Stay safe out there everyone?.

Holoholo: Dry Aging Nearshore Fish in Hawaii

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BJ Hosaka, who has previously shared about night whipping for Menpachi and Āholehole, recently started “dry aging” the fish he catches. Please read what an amazing difference it makes.

Dry aged moi sashimi

Maximizing fish quality is a goal many fishermen have when preparing their catch. As most know, this begins by properly bleeding and icing down a fish when caught. Yet, another important factor that is often overlooked for improving fish quality is aging. Fresh fish is touted as being superior but can be tough and lack the flavor profile of a properly aged fish. Dry aged fish enhances fish quality by drawing out moisture from the flesh, allowing flavors to intensify. Proper aging gives ample opportunity for muscles, sinew, and tough flesh to become soft and delicate; a reason why most premiere sushi chefs and food connoisseurs choose to age their fish before serving it to customers.

Dry aging fish can seem complex and overwhelming. However, it is not as complex as it seems. I would like to share a simple method that I have used successfully. The first step is to thoroughly clean the fish.

  1. Scale and gut fish
  2. Remove all blood from belly cavity (Tip: Use your thumb, toothbrush, and strong water
    hose to spray out blood from belly cavity)
  3. Pat completely dry with paper towel

Once the fish is thoroughly cleaned, there are two methods that I have used to dry age my fish.
The methods are listed below.

  1. Materials needed: (Paper towel and Plastic food wrap). Stuff the belly cavity with a paper
    towel and tightly wrap the paper towel around the fish. After doing this, tightly wrap both
    the fish and paper towel with plastic food wrap and place in the refrigerator. Unwrap and
    change paper towels every 1-2 days. .
  2. Materials needed: (Cooling Rack and Baking Pan). Simply put the cleaned fish on the cooling rack with a pan underneath to catch the drippings into the refrigerator. Let the fish dry on the cooling rack for desired aging length.

I personally keep my fish whole with the head and tail on to ensure that outside moisture and bacteria cannot penetrate into the flesh of the fish. This helps to ensure that the fish will not spoil.

Nearshore fish that I have aged: Papio (All Types), Barracuda, Lai, Oio, Moi, Toau, Aholehole, Awa Awa, Mullet, Menpachi, and Aweoweo.

For most of the fish listed above, 5-9 days is best when starting out. Although, I have aged fish for up to 2-3 weeks with very good results. Typically, the bigger and more muscular a fish is, the longer it can benefit from dry aging as it gives ample time for the fish to break down its connective tissue. As a general rule, fish that are oily tend to benefit from shorter aging periods while leaner, tougher fish benefit from longer aging periods. I created a list below of what I believe the ideal amount of time for each fish is for nearshore fish in Hawaii.

White Papio, Oio, Awa Awa, Barracuda, Lai: 7-9 Days
Yellow Spot Papio, Omilu, Menpachi Papio, and Barred Papio: 5-7 Days
Menpachi, Toau, Aholehole, and Aweoweo: 5-7 Days
Moi, Mullet: 5-7 days

Before aging
After aging

When preparing your dry aged fish, simply prepare the fish as you normally would for both raw and cooked dishes. Because dry aging fish reduces moisture and creates a drier exterior, cooking dry aged fish allows for better crusts when searing and a crispier skin when frying. One is able to generate more flavors through the Maillard reaction and decreases the likelihood of a fish steaming. It embodies the same cooking concept of patting something dry but takes it to an exponential degree. With raw dishes, the complexity of flavors and umami become
present, allowing one to taste the unique flavor of each fish.

As noted earlier, it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you. Dry aging can be an option for those looking to increase the quality of the fish they eat. However, it is not mandatory nor is it essential for enjoying your catch!

A few micro 40g and 60g tungsten jigs are now in the Store, along with Little Jack gold blade flashers!

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After a year and a half of product testing, the micro 40g and 60g tungsten jigs are finally in the Store. To make them even more enticing, gold flutter blades from the Japanese maker Little Jack are also being sold.

Why did it takes so long? Well, 2020 and 2021 were actually lousy fishing years, not just because of Covid but probably because of the effects of La Nina. We’re still in a La Nina but fishing has picked up considerably. Oama are still flooding the islands and nearshore preds are being caught.

The jigs glow!

Because of the less than ideal fishing, jigging wasn’t on the top of mind of the lure testers but each had great catches before either losing their jig to a fish or the reef. There were no complaints about the jigs whatsoever.

The Little Jack gold blades are highly sought after jig attractants not sold in the US. When added to the rear hook of a jig, they make the jig look like it has a a small bait fish is following a larger bait fish. The blades are just shy of 1.5 inches.

Blades are often attached behind rear treble hooks so when the predator tries to eat the blade, thinking it’s eating a smaller fish, it ends up eating the treble hook also.

40g and 60g tungsten jigs in both the blue/silver and green/gold colors, and the 3-pack of Little Jack gold blades are being currently sold at introductory pricing. There are only 5 of each size and color combination (20 total jigs) and 5 3-packs of gold blades to start. Pricing will increase after this initial batch is sold out. Comparable tungsten jigs sell for much more.

Holoholo: How to correctly release your fish

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With more fish being caught now, and a lot being released, our On-The-Water fly fishing reporter Jason has some essential tips.

Jason: With catch and release fishing increasing in popularity, it’s important for newer anglers to be aware of the importance of proper fish handling.   I’ve put together a list of tips to ensure the fish you release survives to be caught again:

1) Try to avoid sticking your fingers under the fish’s gill plate.  This can damage the delicate gills, causing the fish to bleed.  A bleeding fish will often end up a dead fish.

2) Try not to hold the fish out of water for more than 15 seconds at a time.  One study showed that a fish held out of water for more than 15 seconds is up to 600% more likely to not survive.

3) Keep ’em wet!  Handle the fish with wet hands, if possible, and try not remove too much of its protective slime.  

4) Revive the fish by facing it into the current or pushing it in a circle.  Pushing the fish back and forth, contrary to what you may see on TV, is actually not good for the fish as its gills only work in one direction.

5) If possible, fish barbless!   A barbless hook does less damage to the mouth of a fish, and is safer for you, too!   I personally pinch or file down all my barbs before I even begin tying a fly.  When people ask why I fish barbless, I joke that it’s as much for me as it is for the fish!  I’ve been fishing barbless flies exclusively since 2017, and I can count on one hand how many bones have spit a barbless fly running at me.  

6) Try to release the fish in an area free of predators.  This is obviously not always possible, but we try our best.  For instance, if I land a fish in an area where I earlier saw a shark, I will to wade to an area further down the flat to release it.   Ensuring the fish is fully revived before the release will also help, as a tired, slow-moving fish is easy pickings for a shark or large barracuda.

7) This last one is going to be controversial since it’s pretty widely practiced by both fly fisherman and conventional fishers alike, and in many cases is done to obtain a weight of the fish.  Try to avoid “lipping” the fish and suspending it vertically.  If you do, try not to hold it in this position for too long as it can damage the fish’s jaws and put strain on its spine and organs.  Anyway, if rule 2 above is followed you should be ok.

Some of the above may seem excessive, or even downright silly.  As a beginning fly angler and catch and release practitioner, I committed many of these myself.  But remember, if it’s worth releasing a fish, it’s worth doing so in a way which maximizes its chances of survival.  Otherwise, you are better off harvesting it (if it’s legal, of course) and making some delicious lomi oio or fried papio! Thanks for reading, and happy fishing (and releasing)!