The global availability of Sufix 832 has been affected by supply chain limitations. We just got some spools of 150yd and 300yd in the popular Camo, Low Viz Green and Neon Lime, and line weights 10#, 15#, 20# and 30#. Hurry, they will sell out soon at our lower than retail pricing.
Thank you for supporting our online store.
Coach Haru is a well known and well respected MMA striking coach. He’s been effectively jigging off his kayak in Hawaii using techniques learned in Japan and would like share his insight with us. We’re super blessed to have a jigging sensei share such hard earned knowledge. Coach Haru feels that jigging can be very effective when done correctly, and the assist hooks allow for the safe release of fish you don’t want to take home. He loves the challenge of using lures only to capture his prey. Currently he’s in Japan and hopes to return to HI when the quarantine lifts.
Coach Haru:
These are the most popular lures in Japan now.
Tairaba style jig is good from kayak. Drop it and reel it, no need action, just reel it even fish bite still just reel it. No need to set hook, just reel. The easiest jigging style from yak. Long time ago, Shimano released Lucanus modified Tairaba but didn’t sell well. In Japan, Tairaba is very popular because no need technique just reel it. It is good for bottomfish like uku, opakapaka, onaga, roi, even pelagic fish. But use smaller hooks that big fish can break easy and it’s not cheap.
Tairaba Japanese video 1: https://youtu.be/MDkTPu0Sq2w
Tairaba Japanese video 2: https://youtu.be/j_rvnPYU0rk
You can use a baitcaster with Tairaba, no need to impart action, just reel.
Metal vibration by Big Backer
Set Upper diving minnow by Daiwa
These jigs, metal vibration, and diving minnow can fly so far. Can cast almost 100 yard. I wanna take them to Big Island for shore fishing someday.
Also popular is squid skirt. 3, 4 inch skirt under Tairaba or simply put a weight (1/2 or 1oz) in the head, drop it down to the bottom and just reel it up.
Color of lure is very important. Blue or natural fish color for sunny, daylight with clear water. Silver, glow color, zebra glow for dawn time. Pink for cloudy sky, gold with red or gold with green for murky water.
Usually Hawaii has sunny and clear water, I like to use blue, blue pink, sometimes pink. Deep water I use glow or zebra glow. West side I had good time with gold green. Daiwa sells TG Bait. People call it as bait not lure. It is made with tungsten that’s heavier than lead. Small silhouette than the same weight lure so when fish hesitate to bite bigger lure it works and goes deeper because of small size.
Slow pitch is hard with strong current or windy day. Center balance, long jig is fine when line goes diagonal or even side way by strong current but flat slow jig is hard make action right because it spins.
Jigs like Major Craft Jigpara that are made to swim is good for that. Because just reel it makes jig swim. I used Jigpara cast off kayak. As soon as hit water reel fast as I can. Caught kawakawa, ono, kaku, when I went to buoy caught so many aku and shibi.
In Japan use jig like metal blade. Cast and reel not jig. Many companies making jig to swim.
July is right around the corner but there aren’t a lot of bait fish in. The early oama that came in last month have grown to mid-size but the second wave of oama hasn’t arrived.
There were some halalu piles, like the one Matt found to have his personal best catch, but a lot disappeared and there’s speculation that they were illegally netted.
The iao (Hawaiian sardine) weren’t in at my whipping spots and the predators that follow them into the shallows were missing. I checked two spots with some new lures and bolo’d both times!
The guys (and gals) have been starting at dawn with flies on long leaders behind floaters and have been experiencing improved omilu action.
We’re hoping a waves of oama and halalu come in soon but it is looking like an off year compared the recent banner years. How do you guys think this season will pan out?
After enjoying occasional fishing adventures as a child, Logan started whipping this past Fall to spend more time with Holoholo writer Dino and to find a way to unwind. The repetition of casting and retrieving while occasionally catching a fish is now her way to relax between teaching and doing work to support teachers. Now she’s hooked and has recently been outfishing Dino and Matt (Holoholo writer and Hookum Flies owner).
Logan:
It all started on a Saturday at the end of September 2019. Dino wanted to stop to pick up more fishing gear and I jokingly picked up a pole and reel combo and said I was going to buy it. Well, the joke was on me and we left the shop with a simple setup and a pair of tabis. That afternoon we went to Magic Island and I caught a moana. The next morning we waded out on the flats and I caught a small papio. I was hooked!
After a couple of months of what seemed like endless sessions of coming up empty, Lady Luck is on my side again. It started a couple weeks ago during an unplanned afternoon trip to our favorite spot. The tide was higher than normal and the surf was up. I was tempted to say the conditions were too rough, but I had a good feeling. I’m glad I stayed because I caught eight omilu (6”-9”), a lai, and a wave (knocked me off my feet and dunked my reel!). That Sunday we went to the same spot for a dawn patrol session and I walked away with two omilu added to my count. Dino couldn’t believe it and suggested we go out one more time that afternoon. I almost didn’t go, but Lady Luck was calling and I caught two bigger papio and a tilapia. This past weekend, my streak continued. I added five omilu, a papio, and two kaku to my count. I can’t wait to get away from my computer and my virtual work this weekend. Hopefully the streak continues!
My strategy? Keep it simple. I use a simple whipping setup with a medium bubble. I usually use grubs – greens and anything that sparkles are my favorites!
People say Dino is lucky that his girlfriend likes to fish, but I am lucky that he’s a patient teacher and gives me tips so that I can improve. Poor Dino has had to listen to me brag to my dad about catching more than him and listen to me cheer when I feel the tug.
Holoholo writer Matthew, soon to enter the 9th grade, has dialed in his fly patterns after putting in a lot of field work.
Matthew: Over the past few months, I started tying flies, got better, and eventually started selling them after extensive testing. Many of the tests were successful, thanks to testers. Thanks to everyone who tested flies out and decided which flies were the best.
Based on the test results, we will be releasing the four colors that have been working best, which are the Vanilla Ice (white with flash), Halalu (dark green top, yellow stripe, white bottom), Golden Blaze (gold, black, red), and the Oama (olive top, yellow stripe, white bottom). All flies are tied with premium 2/0 gamakatsu hooks. Currently, they will be sold on my IG page @hookum_flies and in the HNF Store. They will currently be sold for $8.99 USD.
However, if you’d like to request a custom order, please contact Scott, who will contact me. There are also many other colors that I make that are also proven, and if there is enough demand, we can bring those in too. Here are the pictures of the four flies we will be selling for now:
Many Papio have been caught on the flies, as well as Kaku and an Awa Awa, which was caught by Dino in the last post on the Oama fly. Here are some pictures of fish that have been caught on the flies in the past month:
Note that I have not caught all of those fish, but some are mine.
A question I get often is, “What time do I use the flies at?” and the answer is that the flies will work at any time as long as there are fish around, but there are times for certain colors that have been proven to do good. The Golden Blaze seems to be a killer in low light conditions, at dawn and dusk, but it can do good at any time of day. The Vanilla Ice seems to do best in high light conditions, AKA midday, where the massive amount of flash can be refracted off the most due to the sun shining. The Oama seems to do best all day, and there is no time it will work better than not. The Halalu also seems to be the same case, but the test subjects bit a little bit after dawn.
Another question I have gotten asked is, “How do I store the flies and is there anything I should know about caring for them?” and the answer is that since they are Gamakatsu hooks they should last for years, so if you rinse the fly with fresh water and dry it before storing, it should last. A general rule is to never store somewhere moist, as that may cause eventual rust. However, the Gamakatsu hooks are exceptionally good, and have a hard time rusting.
Another question I have got before is,”What setup do you recommend for using your flies?” The answer is that you can use whatever you want. Some people use egg lead setups, same as a grub, but so far all the fish caught have been on bubble floats. For the bubble rig you’ll need a large size bubble, a barrel swivel, monofilament line for leader (I use 30), and the fly. You’ll need to feed your mainline through the bubble and tie it to the barrel swivel, then tie anywhere from 4-7 feet of mono to the other side of the swivel, it is all preference. I prefer around six feet. You’ll need to fill the bubble up with water to make it go far, by pushing down the skinny-push-button-looking thing and letting it fill up with water. You’ll know it is filling up when you see bubbles rising. How high you fill it depends on your pole. Lighter poles may require less water in the bubble to cast effectively, and heavier poles may need the whole bubble filled up. I fill my bubble up either ¾ of the way or all the way.
Let me know if you want more colors of flies to be brought in, some that I am looking at bringing in are the Hinalea (Hinalea – Blue, Orange, Green, Red, Gold), Akakin (Red, Yellow, White), Big Red (Red, White, Gold), and many more colors, if there is enough demand.
Dino’s been fishing most of his life. His father taught him how to fish and he’s been keeping it going ever since. Was a heavy bait caster and is now a heavy whipper. He’s also the adult fishing partner of middle schooler and Holoholo writer Matthew.
Dino: Winds were light and the tide was dropping, so Matt Ikeda, and I headed out to one of our spots that we like to hit up (Matt doesn’t really like this spot, but I think he’s starting to warm up to it lol). Fishing has been a little slow for us lately, but just being outdoors and getting to cast the rods is more than enough to make us happy. The water was pretty calm today, so we ventured out to the point. Bubble + Fly was the name of the game today, and I was using an oama pattern Matt tied for me.
Soon after our initial casts, Matt hooked up to a nice Lai that he kept for a meal and use the skin for his flies. About the 169th cast in, I felt a nice healthy tug on da fly about halfway in. Bango! I’m on! It instantly started jumping and flipping in the air. It made a couple of nice short runs, and was landed shortly after. Eh, it was so nice to hear the reel talk back to me little bit! She’s been giving me silent treatment lately. The awaawa weighed in at 4.5 pounds. A bit refreshing since only baby paps have been caught lately lol.
All in all it was a good day spent being outdoors. Especially during these times. Big Mahalo to Matt Ikeda for netting my fish. Be safe, be healthy, and remember it doesn’t matter if you catch or not. Sure as hell beats working any day.
~ Dino
Fishing is picking up, guys are are refilling their tackle boxes but supply from the gear suppliers has been throttled by the forced shutdowns.
Sufix 832 has become very popular in Hawaii and we’ve sold all our inventory. A bigger order will be placed once the Rapala/Sufix warehouse is restocked.
We’ll also restock the always popular JDM whipping lures.
Thanks for your patience and patronage.
JDM expert and whipping aficionado Thad fills us in on how his last 3 months of fishing has turned around.
Thad: The papio bite at my usual spots had shut down since the start of February, so I tried targeting oio for a while without much success. Other guys I know that were fishing similar spots were landing nice oio regularly so it kept my hopes up every weekend. Its not like I wasn’t hooking up though – I’ve been stricken with the “rubber hook” curse, fighting decent sized fish on most trips only to have them spit the hook before I could land them.
So the weekend before the COVID-19 shutdown, I decided to try the usual spot again, armed with some new flies Matt (IG: hookum_flies) had tied and given to me to test. For someone that just started tying flies a week or two earlier, they were well made and looked sure to fool a fish into biting. The morning proved to be slow again, but I managed to hook what felt like a good sized papio on Matt’s Golden Blaze color. Just as I was bringing the fish to the surface and could see color, the rubber hook curse struck again. Losing fish is just a part of the fishing experience, but I felt a little disappointed that I couldn’t send Matt some pictures of his creation in a fish’s mouth.
Skipped fishing the next two weekends after the COVID-19 shutdown. By the time I felt comfortable enough to get back out there, I had also received some additional flies from Lawaiaflies (IG: lawaiaflies) that I was excited to try. Armed with the new flies on April 26th, I tried my luck again, expecting it to be another slow day but hopeful I could send some fish pictures to some fly makers.
I decided to start with an orange and white fly from Lawaiaflies, appropriately called the Creamsicle. Not long after I started whipping, I got a solid strike and landed a scrappy 12.5” omilu. It felt great finally being able to land something after losing so many to spit hooks. I quickly tagged it with a PIFG tag and released it to fight another day. For the next hour and a half, I continued whipping without any action, switching between flies from different makers.
Walked to another spot I hadn’t fished in a while, to see if anyone was hungry. I tied the Creamsicle back on and immediately foul hooked a small omilu on the top of its head.
A short while later, another small omilu decided to take the same fly. Man, this Creamsicle color was really productive! Just as I was thinking I may need to order more of this color, I got a big blow up on my big Tough Bubble that immediately cut my mainline. I’ve caught several big kaku there so that was the likely culprit.
It was time to start heading back in so I put on another bubble and tied on Matt’s Golden Blaze fly. I tried a slower retrieve this time, working the fly a little deeper in the water column. It worked and I was able to land a very colorful moana. I took some pics for Matt and called it a day. Reports I’ve been hearing from friends and the recent papio bites (albeit small ones) seem to indicate that we may be working our way out of the slow season.
Our Middle School Holoholo writer Matthew is social distancing like the rest of us, and took up fly tying! He also wanted to share how tough this Winter has been for him.
These past few months have been great for a lot of people, but they’ve been the worst four months in all the time I’ve been fishing. During December, January, February, and March, I went fishing a total of 39 times, sometimes going two different spots in one day (mostly because winter and spring break fall in those months) and only caught a measly total of 7 notable fish (not counting a bunch of Hinalea, Nunu, and Lizardfish), which were a 2-3 lb Omilu, a 2 lb Omilu, Three good size Moana, and a small Kaku. Not counting as a fish, but I did catch my first ever Samoan Crab on rod and reel. I tried a bunch of spots, deep and shallow, and tried just about every technique from flies, kastmasters, grubs, to dunking but still not much. I had the mentality, “If I keep pounding I’ll eventually get something”, but eventually it seemed like it would not get better, so I’m giving up until summer, or until this coronavirus passes, which I hope it will. On a positive note, pretty much everyone else has been catching a lot of stuff, with more Papio popping up on my Instagram feed. Certain hammahs have been catching like it’s still summer at certain deep spots, or wading.
In the downtime, I decided to pick up fly tying. I’m figuring if I can’t catch fish I might as well stock up for when the fish are actually biting. At first, I had no idea, and the flies looked horrible. I had no idea what to do, and I just used nail polish to get the flies together at the head. I kept trying, got a little better, my UV flashlight and UV resin came in, and I was able to finally add eyes to some flies.
After a lot of refining the design of the flies, I think I am starting to get the hang of it, but I still have a very long way to go to get to the level that other local fly makers are at. Eventually, I want to sell some to pay back the significant amount of money all the fly materials and tools cost. If anyone has any tips for me they would be greatly appreciated, from materials to different designs I could try, everything would help me.
Good luck to all of you guys that are still going fishing now, although it seems like everyone is doing quite fine. Stay safe and healthy during this outbreak and practice social distancing.
Accomplished whipper Jeremy recently picked up the fly fishing game. He landed his first fish on fly gear this Saturday, and followed that up with a solid catch on the spinning gear Sunday. He’s making it look easy during the “off season”.
Jeremy: Had a good weekend of fishing.
Saturday morning: Winds were projected to be light, so I decided to bring out the fly gear. I’m still a beginner and I need the lighter winds so I can practice casting. Fly fishing, especially the casting, is the hardest type of fishing I’ve ever done. I still suck at it, but can’t get better unless you practice, so my buddy and I headed out just as the sun was coming up. We split up and started looking for tails. My primary goal was to get in casting time, so I blind casted as I made my way onto the flats. I still haven’t caught anything on the fly gear, so catching any fish would be an added bonus.
I slowly walked and looked for tails and every so often made some casts into “fishy” areas. At around 7:15am, I made a blind cast, slowly stripped in my fly, and about halfway into my retrieve, I felt a small tap. I set the hook and there wasn’t much movement, so I figured it was a really small papio. But after about 5 seconds, I think the o’io finally figured out he was hooked and took off on a blistering run. I stop the initial surge, got him turned, and then he decides to swam almost directly back to me! I tried to crank my reel as fast as I could to keep tension on the line, but it felt like he spit the hook. Just as I’m about to give up hope, I feel tension again on the line. Yes, fish still on! He made a couple more small runs before I finally landed him. Chee!!! My first fish on the fly setup! Took a few pictures and released him back.
No other action for the rest of the session, but I was stoked. Landed my first fish and got to get in some much needed casting practice time.
Sunday morning: Winds were slightly stronger, so brought out the spinning gear. No action in the first hour, but around 8am, I felt a small tap on the line. I set the hook and it felt like I was stuck. I maintained tension and then it took off. Scrapped the fish for around 5 minutes and landed another nice o’io.
No action again for the next hour, then I get another slight tap. Set the hook…Hanapa’a! Small one, but it’s a beautiful 13” omilu.
Awesome weekend for me. Landed some nice fish in this “slow” period. But, one thing I’ve noticed recently is the strikes are really different. I’m not getting any of those hard hitting ones. Almost all my bites in the past couple months were really small taps or felt like dead weight, like I was dragging in seaweed. It’s like the fish don’t really know they’re hooked for the first few seconds. So my tip for the week: set the hook if you think you felt a bite and keep constant pressure for a few seconds, even if it feels like seaweed. It might actually be a good sized fish ?
The Long Beach show ran from March 3rd to March 8th. Nothing was explicitly stated but Shimano had pulled out following the directive from Shimano Corporate in Japan to not put their employees at risk of exposure to the Coronavirus, and other smaller brands pulled out also.
The following week March Madness was canceled and the NBA season was suspended. The Fred Hall San Diego show has been pushed out a month ’til the end of April.
There was a slightly subdued feeling to the Long Beach show but the show did go on. I’m excited to try out a few products I saw but was more stoked to be able to spend time with the sales guys and get a better understanding of how the retail fishing industry works because they were less busy with customers! That and the good Mexican and Italian food I had with friends made it worth the trip.
Since I quickly breezed past most of the exhibitor booths the day before, I wanted to spend some time with folks I had met at previous shows.
I started with the crew at Promar – Ahi USA who always take care of me at the Show. Owner Ben Hong and do-everything guys Steve and Joaquin filled me in on their new products including the Live Deception Flash Jigs which uses the proven Live Deception body but now incorporates the highly reflective 3D print used on the Assault Diamond jigs. I forgot to take photos of the crew and the jigs but you can see the jigs here. You might want to use these when fishing low visibility conditions.
When Joaquin heard that I was interested in fishing Cedros Island on a kayak, he took me over to his friends at Cedros Island Outdoor Adventures whom he and his dad fished with in the past. Owner Jose is a Marine Biologist who has been taking folks on land and sea tours for years. He and his wife have an 8-room lodge built in 2012 that overlooks the water. They specialize in panga fishing but can take you and a kayak to any spot on the island that’s holding fish. Kayaks are Ocean Kayak Tridents and Jackson Kayaks that you paddle not pedal. My comfort zone. 🙂
What really sets them apart is their Premium Guide Service that flies you from San Diego on their private American plane directly to Cedros Island. With this service you can fish every day of your stay there (see package pricing photo). Pricing includes transportation, lodging, food/drink, fishing, fish cleaning/processing. They even provide free use of Seeker rods to target the trophy calico bass and yellowtail, so you can leave your oversized rods at home. Mexican destination fishing is very affordable when you consider the quality of fishing you’ll get for your US dollar. I much rather sleep in a lodge on land than in a bunk on a multi-day boat!
I appreciated the time Jose and his guide Carlos spent explaining the offerings to me, and if Joaquin endorses them I’m a believer!
I then made it over to my buddy Rick Carr who was working the Johnson Outdoors (Humminbird, Minn Kota, Cannon). As much of an icon he is in the fishing industry, Rick always has time to try to help everyone who stops by. I forgot to snap a pic of him in his booth but he did recommend I check out the new Bioenno Power Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (LiFePO4) which can take 10 times more charges than a standard sealed lead acid (SLA) battery and and last for 10 years.
The Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery only needs to be rated at half the amp hours of your SLA battery to provide equivalent duration of power. I use a small 9 amp hour SLA for my kayak fish finder. It costs about $22 and weighs more than 5lb. I could get by with a LiFePO4 4.5 amp hour battery weighing one pound! That would cost $65 but last for 10 yrs. Something to consider when I need to replace that little SLA brick. These Bioenno Power batteries are sold at Battery Bills.
I then looked up my Rapala/VMC/Sufix rep, Duke Smith, who has been helping me get the products I’ve been selling in the Store.
Duke was working the Savage Arms gun booth at the show. I wasn’t familiar with the brand and soon realized Savage is a very long standing, well respected American rifle maker. Duke wasn’t repping fishing tackle at the show but took the time to introduce me to the other members of his marketing team who also rep Rapala, and walked me over to meet Ben Frazier, who’s been repping Avet Reels for decades.
I was honored that an industry icon like Ben spent so much time explaining the history, components and functionality of the Avet Reels. My takeaway was that one piece reel frames were machined out of aluminum and anodized for corrosion resistance. The gears and other components were made out of stainless steel. The goal was to make very strong, corrosion resistant reels with strong drags in very small form factors. The reels come in 1-speed, 2-speed, and 3-speed, with various max drags, optional cast controls and many colors and finishes.
I explained to Ben that I kayak fish with a small star drag reel (original Trindad 14) and have been getting rocked by big fish because I fish with very light drag to let the fish eat and run, and by the time I tighten the star drag on a big fish it has built up a head of steam and found something to rub against.
He recommended a 2-speed lever drag SX (the “S” signifies Small) reel in the Raptor line. With a lever drag I’d be able to fish in free spool, and when the fish is hooked and running I can slide the lever drag up to set the hook and visually see exactly how much drag is being applied. There’s a stopper that will prevent me from going past the amount of drag I set it to, but if later in the fight I want to increase the drag, I can push in a button to allow the lever drag to go past that stopper.
The Raptor line has all their bells and whistles. It has double the drag output of the base line and adds a magnetic cast control to remove backlashes. In the lever drag strike setting, there’s a max 17lb, and the full setting max is an astounding 26lb. That will definitely stop the big fish from running to the rocks, or will catapult me out of the kayak seat.
The high gear at 6.3:1 is retrieving 36″ per crank and the low gear at 3.8:1 is retrieving 21″ per crank. I like a high retrieve to reel in my line from the depths but the low gear will definitely help winching heavy sharks. Ben who I believe said he’s past 75 yrs old, has landed big bluefin on this tiny reel that only weighs 17 ounces!
Compared to other brands of similar quality and features, Avet is very reasonably priced. I’m gonna get the SX 2-speed Raptor, which lists for $395, to test on the kayak and if it does what it’s supposed to do, I hope to sell them and other Avets. Stay tuned for that product review.
Fred Hall Show wrap-up coming soon!
Got to the show on the first day, about an hr after the doors opened. The crowd grew as people got off work but thinned well before the 9pm closing. I suspect the early birds wanted to grab the deals before they sold out, yet it was less crowded than last year because of the growing Coronavirus concern.
Starting at one end of the 2 large exhibition halls, I made my way systematically. First place of note was Jeff Mariani’s Cedros Kayak Fishing booth. Cedros Island, 310 miles south of San Diego and just off coast of Baja California, has been a very popular long range sport boat destination from San Diego but the Mexican government no longer allows the US boats to fish it. The prized yellowtail and calico bass fishery can only be sampled though Mexican services like what Cedros Kayak Fishing offers.
Jeff explained that he provides outfitted Hobie Outback pedal kayaks, rental rods and reels if needed, and will take you and the kayaks by truck or panga to the best option to fish that day. Lodging is at his modern 7 bedroom, 5 1/2 bath home. Tours include transport to and from Cedros Island, meals, beverages, fishing trips, fish cleaning and processing. To get there, his guy will pick you up in CA, drive you over the border to Ensenada where you’ll board a small plane to Cedros Island. When I lived in LA and kayak fished, my unfulfilled dream was to land a yellowtail on a kayak. This might be my best shot!
The tours are very affordable compared to other destination fishing trips. We Hawaii folks have to fly into San Diego of course.
4 days/3 nights - 2 days of fishing - $2000 5 days/4 nights - 3 days of fishing - $2400
Next up was Bixpy jet motors. I visited them last year and was really intrigued with the idea of putting their compact electric motor on my kayak’s rudder but thought I could find a cheaper, yet effective solution.
Bixpy’s design is almost plug-and-play. I would just have to replace my rudder with theirs that the motor attaches to, and I can still use my foot controls. No extra harnesses to get in the way of my fishing line. Their lithium battery is so light it floats and the wireless remote would allow me to control the Bixpy’s speed from my wrist. There’s even a kill switch I’d wear that would shut off the motor if I fell out.
I hadn’t been able to find a more elegant solution within the Bixpy’s price range and I really needed the additional help. In the past year I’ve struggled to fight the wind and current in my Ocean Kayak Trident Ultra 4.3, and while I always safely made it in, I paid the price with tight muscles the next few days. Houman, the designer/creator of the Bixpy system explained how I’d install it on my Trident, projected I could expect to run at 4 mph for more than 5 hrs, and that I should expect the battery to last 3 to 5 yrs before it needs to be replaced. The Bixpy jet motor itself should last 3 yrs or more before it needs to be serviced by the factory.
The Bixpy system isn’t cheap by any means but if it gets me to my spot and back, and helps me fight the current, it’s worth it. I can still paddle the kayak and get my exercise in, and use the motor when I need to. I’m hoping to have it powering me around within a month or so.
The Bixpy motor, battery, remote and rudder will cost about $1250.
I stumbled on the Temple Reef rod booth and wondered why that brand sounded so familiar. Then I remembered reading great things about their jigging rods in some online forum. Pro Staffer and rod designer Benny Ortiz gave me the run down on the rods he has selling at the show, and how the 2-piece rods joined near the rod butt, far below where the flex stress point of the rod was. The slow pitch rods flexed properly in the tip yet had backbone for larger fish. Their replacement policy was to pay 50% MSRP one time, after that you’re on your own. I thought that was fair and if I didn’t have an unused slow pitch 2-piece rod already, I would have purchased one at their show prices.
Time was running short so I shot over to the Anetik booth to see Pete, whom I met last year. After wearing the Anetik Shade Mask and Shade Socks last year, we liked them so much we’ve been selling them in the Store. Pete said their new, best selling product is their wind and rain repellent jacket made from a light neoprene type material. In the short time I was with Pete, numerous guys tried the jacket on and some bought it. I picked up two size Large Shade Socks at wholesale to sell in the store and really should have bought more Shade Masks since the last two sold out today! I love the very breathable fishing shirt I got last year and wear when it’s warm (kind of cold now) but I understand it would be hard for others to buy it without seeing and touching it. Let me know if you’re interested in buying any of their UV protectant clothing. I’ll be placing another order with them soon.
There was just a bit more time so I speed walked over to the Boating section in the adjoining exhibition hall, took this photo and realized I knew nothing about boats.
In the outdoor arena, there was no one manning the live trout pond and no dogs jumping into the pool like there were last year. Victims of the Coronavirus scare I’m guessing. Just some food trucks and a few people eating in the cold air. I ordered a pulled pork-style chicken sandwich and called it a night. Stay tuned for Day 2.
When I left last Tuesday on an early flight out of HNL to LAX for the Fred Hall Show, there were no confirmed cases in Hawaii. The Hawaiian Airlines terminal was emptier than normal and there was no mention of taking precautions to not be exposed. It seemed like the airport personnel wanted to downplay the concern since they were already seeing a drop in passengers coming through.
The passengers on my flight didn’t seem too occupied with avoiding germs so I felt a little germaphobic when I wiped down my seating area with a Purell Hand Sanitizing Wipe.
The lobby of my Torrance hotel was always filled with Chinese speaking flight attendants wearing face masks so I did the antibacterial wash coming and going.
The Fred Hall Show seemed a touch less crowded than last year and those there still shook hands for the most part. A few booths had antibacterial soap dispensers that were being used occasionally.
By the time I was heading back to HI on Friday afternoon, there were 14 confirmed cases in Los Angeles and one on Oahu. The LAX Hawaiian Airlines Check-In was much emptier than normal but my flight was full and again, no one seemed concerned about catching germs from the plane.
I have been doing a self-quarantine around at-risk people (elderly, heath compromised, very young) just in case, and am hoping the spread of the virus is diminished as we all adopt better hygiene habits as a whole. Maybe this time I won’t catch a cold after traveling like I do 50% of the time.
I’ll write up the Fred Hall experience next!
Stoked to be checking out the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach for the 3rd year in a row. Nowhere else in the country can you see so many fishing products, talk to the domain experts, and buy gear at “show prices”.
Looking forward to seeing old friends and discovering innovative products to share with you guys!
Check out the show video.
Picked a windy evening to test the Little Jack Gorgon 125 and IMA Sasuke 120F. The minimal whipping gear needed (rod/reel, gear bag, wading boots) was a nice break from the stuff we have to take to kayak fish.
I had just started using a pair of entry level Simms Tributary Felt Sole wading boots from Cabelas ($100) because my neoprene $30 tabis didn’t fit well and kept giving me weird callouses. The high end tabis from Japan were more than $150 and I couldn’t justify that cost for the little I wade fished. The Simms Tributarys go on and off easier than my zippered tabis because of the speed lacing but because the felt bottom is flat and rigid, it feels like I’m an astronaut walking on the moon. Not sure if all felt bottomed wading boots are that way. Still something I’m getting used to, but at the end of each trip I barely notice that stiffness. It is comforting to know that I can kick jagged rocks and my toes are safe from eel bites.
I just had a short stretch of reefy water to cast in because dunkers were fishing both ends. Started with the jointed Little Jack Gorgon 125. It casted ok when the wind was light but didn’t do well into a strong crosswind because of the shifting center of mass. It swam incredibly realistically at slow speeds, and when I paused it, the head of the lure turned back towards its tail. At high speeds it leaned over to the side so it’s definitely a slow to medium retrieve lure. Since it floats, and submerges a few inches when retrieved, there was no risk of snagging and it wasn’t affected by the slight chop. I bet it’s gonna slay the picky fish that follow lures before deciding to eat.
It got windier so I put on the IMA Sasuke 120F. It floated, but barely, and swam in the 27″ to 36″ depth range, so I had to be careful in shallow, rocky water, but man did it punch through the wind. I was never at risk of backlashing my bait casting reel, and because it swam 2 to 3 feet under the surface, the predators would easily see its aggressive side to side head movement. Unfortunately, with no bait fish around, there was no reason for a predator to brave the cold, shallow water, so the two lures didn’t even get a sniff.
I am pumped to fish the Gorgon in areas that require finesse lures, and throw the Sasuke even when the weather conditions get a little nasty. Both lures are currently available in the Store.
In case you haven’t been checking, a bunch of hard to find and very effective JDM sub-surface lures have been added to the Store.
Don’t wait to long to decide if you wanna try these, they are selling out fast now that the Store is open to the whole country and the prices, with shipping are … unreal!
Jeremy is a long time fisherman who loves whipping, but will be adding fly fishing to his game this year. He’s been posting catches on his private IG account @jeremy.poi while the rest of us have been getting skunked, so I asked him if he’d mind sharing his most recent catch report with us. There’s a lot we can take away from this!
Jeremy:
Everyone knows that during the winter the bite really slows down, but can’t catch fish if you don’t go fishing so I try to get out there as much as I can. This past weekend I braved the weather and was glad I did.
On Saturday morning, my friend and I decided to do a dawn patrol session. It was super windy and rainy, but we love fishing so we just threw on our jackets, grabbed our gear, and headed to the spot just as the sun was about to come up. The tide was really high and the water was a little dirty, so wasn’t the best conditions for wading, but we slowly worked our way out into the water. I continuously made casts as I walked the reef and about 15 minutes into our session, I got a nice hit. It’s a decent sized fish and I can feel the head shakes, so I know it’s a papio. I get it to hand and see a nice 14” white papio on the end of my line. I take a few quick pictures and release him safely. First white of the year for me, so I’m happy and the pressures off.
I continue to work the reef and cast into “fishy” areas. About 30 minutes later, I feel a strong tap on my lure…miss…then another miss. And then finally, on the third hit, I get a solid hookup. Hanapa’a! Line starts ripping off my reel and I know it’s a good sized one. It takes about 60 yards on the first run before I get it to turn. I’m only running 8# braid with 10# leader, so I need to be patient and not horse it in. I slowly gain line, but the fish is still strong and takes multiple smaller runs. I could feel the line rub slightly on the reef a few times, but after a back and forth battle of about 10 minutes, I was finally able to see the fish, grab my leader, and land this 5# o’io. Chee! Took some pics and thanked the fish for the awesome scrap before releasing it. And that’s when I notice my hook. The fish wasn’t hooked in the mouth, but on the side of his face on the gill plate, and my hook was opened up. Got lucky on landing this one.
Tip of the day: Set your drag only as strong as your weakest link. I run my drag on the light side since I’m running light line, but the wire of my hook is thin as well, so my weakest link in my setup was my hook. Thankfully my drag was just loose enough and I didn’t lose this fish.
Another fun session in the books. Always nice to be able to get out there and do what we love. And catching fish once in a while is nice too. So all the guys not fishing due to the junk weather, take a chance and make some casts. Fish still have to eat, so hopefully it’ll be your lure. Good luck and tight lines!
For its first 6 months, the Store only shipped to Hawaii addresses, giving the local angler first crack at the deals. It’s now open to the entire country.
Incredible pricing on JDM lures, VMC hooks and swivels, Sufix 832 braid, Anetik sun shade socks, Action Hat Go Pro hat mounts and more.
Aloha!
Finally got a chance to test the latest two jointed swimbaits but unfortunately the wind and rain really chilled the water. No kaku were seen, only lizardfish and baby white papio followed and nipped at the lures.
The little 3.5″ Vudu Mullet, weighing in at 0.4oz with the VMC treble hook, is a little lighter than the lures I throw but casted plenny far enough to be bit if there were predators around. It’s a slow sinker and yet the single treble hook didn’t snag any limu because the water level was a couple feet deep.
The Little Jack Gorgon, at 5 inches and just over half an ounce, cast well for a hard bodied jointed lure and was easy to fish because it floated in a natural position, and dipped when initially yanked.
Both look way more like a live fish than any 1-piece swimming lure. You be the judge.
Can’t wait for the bait to bring the inshore fish back into the shallows so I can really give these a good shakedown. We do have a few for sale but have been waiting to see how they hold up to decent sized fish.