Hawaii Nearshore Fishing

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Online store has been open for 2.5 months

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We opened the Store with the intention of selling products we endorsed, that couldn’t be found in a local shop. Small quantities of products were offered to determine what would sell. Prices were set lower than anywhere else online, and these deals were only available to Hawaii addresses at very low shipping rates. Breakthrough JDM lures sold out quickly, as well as some unique items like Shade Socks to eliminate UV damage while kayaking, while other products didn’t move as expected.

No glitches in purchasing process (PayPal) and shipping of products were encountered, and all purchasers were happy with their purchases, as far as we could tell. We would really love to hear how the products worked out in the field.

We were surprised that the Sufix braid and VMC 4x treble, inline and live bait hooks didn’t sell better but maybe we weren’t offering the size/colors that more people wanted?

So for our next round of product offerings, we’d like you to tell us what you would be looking for. If we can bring that product in, we’ll try to sell it for less than anywhere else you can find it. We aren’t planning to compete with the local tackle shops so please limit your requests to things you can’t buy locally. Please use the Contact page to let us know.

Thank you for all your support!

Shorefishing holoholo day

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We had been hearing that halalu were biting good at a few of the regular spots, and oama were being caught too, so Frank and I planned to just see what the day presented. Frank headed out east to the halalu spot, but they weren’t around, so we met at a spot where he could catch oama and I could throw some lures.

There was an unmolested school of 4.5″ oama that began to bite for Frank and I began to whip a 120mm (4.75″) subsurface lure. My FG knot separated on a cast and I tried to listen for the splash of the lure to retrieve it, but didn’t hear it land. Searched around for the floating lure but couldn’t find it. Ouch.

I did see a small Portuguese Man of War drifting in. My nemesis! Got stung at least 5 times last year, even while seated in my kayak! I was wearing the Anetik Shade Socks for leg protection on this day but had never tested them against stings. I warned Frank about the Man of Wars and put on the Shimano Shallow Assassin Flash Boost. Even though it was a few grams lighter than the subsurface lure was lost, it cast further because it was more compact, and had the sliding weight transfer system.

The Shallow Assassin has a fairly aggressive side-to-side wobble for such a small lure, and sure enough, I stuck a small kaku outside its mouth on the sticky sharp treble hooks.

Shortly after, an omilu pounced on the Shallow Assassin and was stuck with both hooks. Both fish hit just a crank or two after the lure hit the water, so I think the small profile of the lure matched what they were searching for.

Action slowed so I switched to a longer, jointed sub-surface lure that is the most enticing lure I own yet has never caught a fish. Well, it’s bolohead streak continues. Didn’t get another bite in the next hour. I looked towards shore, Frank was putting his oama catch in a cooler. Waded in and had to walk around a bunch of Man of War near shore. Turns out that’s why Frank quit, he was dodging 3 Man of War at a time and didn’t want to press his luck further. He caught enough oama for a couple trolling trips and I verified that the Assassin truly is a killer so we considered it a successful outing.

The online Store had sold out on the Shallow Assassins so I begged my supplier for 4 more, 1 in each color. If you want one, buy it now because these are hard to get, even in Japan. I’ll also order more Anetik Shade Socks if more people want them, please let me know. These is the first time I waded with them and they protected me from the sun and stings and didn’t sag down.

Hunting the schooling white papio

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Seasonally the white papio, some ulua-sized, school up in the bay for a month or so, and for the last couple of years Frank and I tried to crash their their feeding frenzy party on our paddle watercraft. Each year we couldn’t find them, or they just didn’t want to bite.

We have caught small ones (less than a pound) just as the sun was going down, but never got the bigger ones to bite in the morning. Our boating friend Erik located a big school a few weeks ago, and that was the intel we went on.

Frank and I were on our smaller watercraft since we weren’t going past the breakers. He was on his SUP converted into a sit down kayak style board and I was on my old Scupper Pro kayak. I still had use of my Garmin Echomap fish finder and could see scattered bait and what looked like larger fish spread out in as shallow as 8ft. I dragged sinking swimmers and lead headed jigs through the schools for nada. Frank trolled through them with frozen oama and stopped off a reef edge to throw a popper. As soon as the popper hit the water he was on! The aggressive white taped out at about 11.75 inches. Way to find the biting fish Frank! But the action shut down since it was getting close to 9am.

I slurped the same popper Frank had luck with, over large fish marks but couldn’t get them to wake up. Finally I foul hooked a baby omilu with that popper, on the reef. Almost 2 hrs from Frank’s first fish, in the same general area, he got a surface explosion on his popper I could hear 40 yds away! This was a bigger fish, and went almost 14 inches.

That was all the action we got on poppers. Frank wisely dragged his frozen oama around and released a small omilu and got another white to match his first one. Good thing I have a fishing partner that can catch fish when the fishing gets tough. Without his whites I would have assumed those big blobs on the fish finder’s screen were turtles or something!

So we know the whites were there, it just was too late in the day to get them to frenzy. We’ll start earlier next time!

Holoholo: Tips to help you catch more halalu

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Duane is a very accomplished shore caster, ultralight whipper and fly fisher. If it swims, chances are he’s caught it. He’s also married to the Oama Psychologist, Tina. Duane shares some technique and etiquette tips to put more halalu in your cooler.

Duane: Summer is here and most people get excited for the oama bite, but for me, I’m looking forward to the halalu run. When I get the phone call that the halalu school came in, some of my first questions are: how far out is the school, what color are they biting and how long does my leader have to be and what pound test?

The reason I ask how far out the school is, it will dictate what length of rod do I need. For halalu fishing, I will have 3 rods. A 5-6’, a 7-8’ rod and a 8.5-9.5’ rod. Typically, if the fish are closer to the shoreline, I will use a shorter rod. The shorter rod will provide more accuracy which is especially important when fishing amongst other fishermen standing a few feet from you. However, if the fish are further out, you’ll need to go with a longer rod to be able to cast past the school and drag your lure thru the school in hopes for a bite.

Regarding the leader question, it allows me to know how finicky the bite is. The more finicky, the longer and lighter the leader needs to be. That tells me how many casts will it take to get a strike.

And finally the question regarding the color of the lure that the fish is biting, I carry over 15 different color and shape combination of proven halalu colors and to be able to narrow down one of the variables from the start saves time and money.

The main thing to be successful at halalu fishing, as well as all types of fishing, is being able to adapt to what the situation calls for. One day the fish might be biting a fast retrieve and the following day, they might like a slower presentation. If I am not catching much, I will watch the guys hooking the most fish and emulate what they are doing. I will jig my rod at the same tempo, crank my reel at the same cadence, and see if I can get a peek at their lure. If they have figured out the magic recipe to hook fish consistently, then I should be doing my best to copy what has been successful.

Here are a couple old timer rules for fishing for halalu:

  1. Never cast into the school – this will only scare the fish and make the bite more difficult for everyone
  2. Cast straight – with people fishing shoulder to shoulder, it is very important to cast straight to avoid tangling others. If the school is not in front of you, wait til the school moves or pick up your gear and change spot.
  3. Cast from one direction – if the majority of the people are casting from one side of the break wall, don’t go on the other side that is 90* from the first wall and start casting. You will only tangle everyone.
  4. Don’t try to snag fish – while it’s tempting to bust out the treble hook and try to snag the fish when they aren’t biting, you’re going to just scare the fish more and turn off the bite. You’ll only snag sardines that is sometimes mixed in with the halalu but you’ll never snag halalu…they’re too fast anyways.

JDM vs Non-JDM Rd 2: Size Matters

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Top to bottom: Daiwa Shoreline Shiner Vertice 120F SSR, Shimano Shallow Assassin Flash Boost, Shimano Waxwing Baby, gold Kastmaster 3/8 oz (Matt’s didn’t have the teaser and single hook)

For this version of JDM vs Non-JDM testing, Holoholo writer Matthew and I decided to test our various JDM and Non-JDM lures against each other and not so much limit ourselves to using or not using JDM lures. We also wanted to fish with the lures available in the Store to make sure we’re selling something that catches fish. Matt would be using a 3/8 oz gold Kastmaster, JDM Lucky Craft Sammy 100, Daiwa Shoreline Vertice 97F (not sold in Store), Shimano Shallow Assassin Flash Boost and his secret top water lure. I would be using a Daiwa Shoreline Vertice 120F SSR with stronger VMC 4X treble hooks, Shimano Waxwing Baby with stronger, shorter double hook (not sold in Store), and Shimano Shallow Assassin Flash Boost. Matt carried 2 spinning rods and a bait casting rod with him, pre-rigged, so he could easily use a different lure as conditions dictated. I used a 13 Fishing bait casting travel rod with Tactical Angler Power Clip to easily change lures.

The spot we fished was a shallow, murky flat with a few pockets of small bait fish. Matt started with his gold Kastmaster and I started with the Vertice 120F. We fished murky water without any bites until we saw small iao being whacked by a few predators. Matt casted into the fray an immediately hooked up with a chunky white papio. I casted my 4.75″ Vertice 120F all over the bait school with not a single hit. After releasing his papio, Matt registered more hits on his kastmaster that didn’t stick. He figured they were smaller whites that were bumping the spoon but not getting stuck on the rear treble.

Feeling left out of the action I put on the smallest lure I was carrying, the Waxwing Baby, which is 2.7 inches long and about half an ounce. A little ways down from the bait school I finally hooked something, a small kaku. Whew, I was getting tired of being schooled by Matt! As we made our way down the beach, Matt went through his arsenal of lures and the kaku boiled on his top water lures but didn’t stick.

Nothing else hit my Waxwing Baby so I put on a brand new Flash Boost and fished it for the first time. For a lure just shy of 4 inches and weighing less than half an ounce, it casted really well due to Shimano’s spring loaded weight transfer system. It swam in a fairly aggressive wobble/zig zag, and dove about 10 inches at the speed I was retrieving. I really liked how it matched the small bait and was expecting it to be slammed but had to wait for the witching hour to start. About 45 mins before sun down, we returned to where Matt caught his white papio and my Shallow Assassin got hit just 15 ft in front of me. Another small kaku. That was only my second hit of the day; Matt probably had at least 5 hits by this point. But being the witching hour, it really turned on and I had 3 more kaku hits that I missed on the Flash Boost, and it was time to go.

Not a lot of fish, and those caught were babies, but what we learned was that our lures had to match the small iao in order to see any action.

I really like the construction of the Shimano Shallow Assassin. It looks and feels well made like the Shimano Waxwing, and has a pronounced wobble/zig zag that gets looks. We’re down to 1 Shallow Assassin left in the Store because I took one to do this test, but our supplier said he will restock us very soon. He’s buying them retail from Japan so there’s not much margin to mark up, but we really just wanted to expose you guys to some great JDM equipment. There isn’t a domestic lure under 4 inches that casts far, doesn’t dive more than a foot, and attracts fish. The Shallow Assassin is legit.

And the Non-JDMs won this round because the Kastmaster and Shimano Waxwing can be bought in stores here.

Holoholo: Ala Wai JDM vs Non-JDM and King Tide fishing

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Soon to be 8th grader, Matthew, fished the target-rich Ala Wai Canal with traditional and JDM lures, and fished the bottom and the top of the King Tide on a beach outing. Here’s his very entertaining recap and recommendations.

Matthew:

Ala Wai

Most people think of the Ala Wai as a stinky, bacteria filled canal, and that’s very true, but fishermen see it as a gold mine for fishing. Some of the less brave fishermen don’t fish it, so that takes away most of the crowd. But the fish that do remain in there have seen just about every lure on the market, including grubs, spoons, and poppers. So you have to switch it up a little bit. I use JDMs, which are lures that are made in Japan. I took Jacob, other Matthew, Luca, and Vance to fish the Ala Wai. 

The first hour and a half was very boring, with no strikes, until I switched it up with the JDMs. I tried the Shimano Shallow Assassin Flash Boost 99mm, which is a solid lure, but I had never tested it much. First cast on it and boom, a nice Omilu hits it but the side treble got stuck in its scutes, which made it feel huge. I kept fishing with it for a while, and eventually landed a decent White Papio, and a good size Kaku. 

Editor’s Note: Shameless plug – there are still 3 Shallow Assassin Flash Boosts left in the Store.

Then I switched to the transparent JDM model of the Lucky Craft Sammy purchased in the Hawaii Nearshore Fishing store for $7.50. First cast, and I could see a Kaku following it in. I paused the lure for a second and it jumped on it and immediately went airborne. I tagged and released it quickly and got back to fishing.

I landed one more on the Sammy before I decided to switch it up to the secret JDM lure that I’ve been using recently. No surprise at all, I landed four fish on it, three being Kaku, all violent and exciting strikes, but then I saw a bait school getting busted on in the middle of the canal. 

I casted far out there and saw four or five White Papio each fighting each other for the lure. They missed it many times, but one eventually grabbed it and stuck on. Right away it started peeling drag. It took an easy 30 yards on the ultralight setup and I started to get concerned of the huge log it was trying to run into. I radioed back to my mom that I had a big one on, and I decided I had to lock down and boost it or lose it. Remember, this is six pound line main with a 2500 size reel, an ultralight setup. I locked down the drag and muscled it out from the log close to where I could see it. When I saw it, my heart dropped. 

One treble was in its mouth and hanging by a flap of skin. I loosened up the drag, and that must be when it saw me and it took another 30 or so yards. It kept resisting for another minute or so before I got it close again. I kneeled down and grabbed the leader, and brought it up onto land. It was the biggest Papio I had caught in a while, so I was of course happy, and tagged it and released it. This was on a rising tide, and was around 2.1 feet when this happened.

Beach Fishing

Cut back to July Fourth and a -0.5 tide. This was the lowest tide I had ever fished and I could walk all the way to the breakers. First cast and the lure flies off to Narnia and I never see it again. Strike one. I keep walking out to the breakers, and retie. I spook a giant Oio and it scares me to the point where I fall off the boulder I’m standing on. Strike Two. I landed hard on the bottom of the boulder, right on top of a Wana (Sea Urchin). Dang. Strike Three. 

I pull off the creature but leave the spikes on my foot, and wonder how I am going to get inshore, because if it took me 30 minutes to get out here with two feet able, how am I going to do it with one? I see my answer soon. I go into the sand channel, which is a lot deeper, but only up to around my waist, and walk all the way in. I quickly pulled the spines out of me, and was careful for the rest of the time not to step on that foot hard. 

First cast since I made it in and boom, an aggro kaku hops on. It had a tag in it, and was my own! It had grown an incredible 4.5 inches since April, which is a lot. But that was the only fish of the trip if you don’t count an eight inch Omilu.

Go to July Fifth and I go fishing on the huge 2.5 King Tide. The spot looked a lot different from when it was a negative tide. I set my dunkers out from 6pm. I started whipping but the only fish that came up was a slimy Nunu (trumpetfish0, but it was caught on the Shimano Shallow Assassin Flash Boost 99mm. It got dark really fast, and I started to eat my food.

The rest of that night passed horribly quiet until 10pm, when we left. Not a single bell rang or a single bite. The dunking bite was horrible, as well as the whipping bite. Maybe because of the swift current? Keep tuned for future updates.

VMC terminal tackle and Sufix 832 to be stocked soon!

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Some of the tackle we’ve endorsed on this website will be stocked soon, at introductory prices.

Clockwise from top left:

  • VMC Heavy Duty Live Bait hooks for big baits like opelu
  • VMC 4X Inline Hooks to replace big trebles on plugs or use as trailing hook on bait
  • VMC 4X Treble to replace stock trebles on small lures
  • VMC Heavy Duty Ball Bearing Snap Swivels
  • Sufix 832 Braid – 20lb – 300 yds – Hi Vis Neon Lime
  • VMC Heavy Duty Ball Bearing Swivels with Welded Rings

If these sell well, we’ll bring in more sizes.

Mahalo to those who have purchased from our fledgling store. We’d love to hear how the product(s) has worked for you.

Brought in some incredible products, don’t miss out!

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We are selling 3 products we’ve tested and love.

  • Action Hat DIY kit that allows you to mount a GoPro to your favorite hat
  • Anetik Shade Socks that provide UPF 30+ protection to your legs and wicks sweat away
  • Anetik Shade Mask that provides UPF 30+ protection to your face, neck and shoulder in a contoured, breathable manner

We just bought a few of each to see how they sell. The Anetik shade products are $5 off so grab one before they are gone. And make sure you’re subscribed so you can receive store coupons.

Visit the store now!

Holoholo: June Catch Report

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Our hardcore Middle School fisherman, Matthew, provided this timely inshore report.

Matthew: I know I haven’t done a catch report in a while, so here it is. Fishing’s been picking up lately, with more Omilu and Kaku showing up inshore, even some Oio. Moi season is now closed. After going to Japan again, (I know, lucky) and picked up some new crazy good JDM’s, I went fishing.

I walked around half a mile until the crazy things happened. I saw some large Iao jump 20 yards from shore, so I made a cast. I reeled the lure in, but dropped my walkie talkie. The lure is sitting still in the water. I picked up my walkie talkie and there was a Kaku that had apparently jumped on my lure. It put up no fight, and I could see it was a goner. The hook was deep inside its throat and it was bleeding immensely. I quickly got pliers and got the hook out, and made a short cast at the 4 or 5 Kaku that followed the other one in.

Due to the rushed cast, I didn’t notice that the front hook was all tangled with the line until it started moving. The Kaku didn’t notice and didn’t care. A bigger one jumped on the back hook and must’ve been mad it fell for a fouled up lure because it fought extra hard. Tag and release. I thought they would have been tired of the Vertice Z by then, so I switched to the top-secret-sworn-to-secrecy-topwater-lure that has been working insanely well for me recently. A Kaku took a swing for it but popped off at shore. Then I realized in that rushed cast my baitcaster was very tangled. Great. At the worst time possible too.

By the time I fixed it, the school was gone. The lure that worked well that day is the Daiwa Shoreline Shiner Vertice Z, which is also the same lure that Scott opened with in his shop recently. I’ve been getting other mixed action recently as well. I visited a sardine pile on the east side and caught a few, but couldn’t fool the Omilu that were attacking the school. However, I made up for it with an Oio the same day.

That top-secret topwater lure has got me great catches, including some rather odd ones. I caught the biggest Kaku I’ve seen at my shallow water spot, while being smaller than my personal best, it was big for the flats. I also somehow got a Menpachi Papio at midday using that topwater too. Strange, huh? And something that was almost laughable, I landed a big Obake Weke on that topwater. If you want the lure’s name, you’re gonna have to do some real convincing. On the other hand, the Vertice Z is just as good or better at times.

Oama are in at some spots already, as well as sardines. No sign from the halalu though except for the spots that have most of the year. Nehu are getting bigger so time to upsize your lures. Go gettum guys!

JDM vs Non-JDM Round 1

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So, we kicked off our informal comparison of Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) lures vs Non-JDM lures. The plan was to use Erik’s aluminum skiff to take us to promising reefs for wade whipping.

As Erik and I were launching we saw papio blowing up bait fish. We scrambled to put a lure on, and Erik threw a JDM micro jig; I threw a Shimano Waxwing Baby. On the second cast I hooked a papio and was surprised it was an omilu, not a white, in the muddy water. Waxwings are sold in the US and not in Japan, so Non-JDMs were up one! I got another hit that missed the upturned double hook, and the school swam out of reach.

We picked Robert up on the way to the wading spot, and he rigged Carolina-style with a non-JDM soft plastic knob-tailed shad. Erik threw a JDM popper, I threw a JDM hard plastic sub-surface lure, but there was no life on the flat. We got back in the skiff and trolled around for nada.

Then Erik put us on a drift into the shallows and Robert connected with an omilu on his Maria micro jig, followed by a lizardfish. Officially, the jig is not distributed in the US, but sold in some local tackle stores here, so we considered it a JDM jig. JDM 1 – Non-JDM 1.

The sun was sitting on this action-less day so we dropped Robert off and headed back to our launch site. Low light conditions are when the popper really shines and with 5 mins to go, Erik pulled off the last inning rally. His JDM popper got hit as soon as it landed in the water, and the fish pulled drag like a big papio. Turns out the biggest fish of the day was foul hooked, but was released relatively unharmed.

Final score JDM 2, Non-JDM 1. We really didn’t have enough shots at fish to stage a head-to-head lure comparison. We did confirm that the papio really aren’t in yet. More testing to follow!

Are JDM whipping lures worth the $$ ?

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The product testing crew here has been buying Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) whipping lures from Japan for a few years now, and some JDMs are beginning to show up in the local tackle shops. Because of the higher quality and international shipping, they cost quite a bit more than US Domestic lures. But are they worth it?

Scott:

I had been trying to fish shallow reef flats (1ft to 3ft) and sinking lures like Kastmasters kept snagging the bottom or picking up limu. The floating plugs found in the shops at the time were bigger than our inshore baits (nehu, iao, baby mullet) and didn’t swim that well. The popular bubble and grub setup required a long leader and therefore a long rod to be fished effectively.

I was given a Shimano Waxwing in 2015, a couple years after it made its successful debut in Hawaii. The Waxwing immediately caught fish on the flats because the rear double hook faces up and is relatively snag free, and it has a very aggressive zig zag swimming action. The Waxwing worked in the surf too, and I even caught an oio on it! Read about that here.

The Waxwing was so ingenious, yet only sold in the US market, not in Japan. That got me curious. Did that mean there were other Japanese lures even better than the Waxwing that we don’t see in the US? I tried some popular JDM lures purchased online overseas, and most worked, to some extent. Then I met Thad through this website and he took my JDM knowledge to a whole ‘nother level.

Thad had been tracking JDM lures for a number of years and started me on a few “guarantee catch” ones. Those lures cast well due to rear weights, swam perfect every time, and drew some incredible strikes.

Thad:

Why do I prefer to use JDM lures over the ones available here in the US? It mainly comes down to variety and quality.  While we in the US are limited to a few domestic brands and a small handful of Japanese makers that have branched out to the US, the sheer number of brands and models available in the overseas market is staggering.  All those lure choices leads to increased competition between lure makers to produce higher quality and better performing lures.  Even when a Japanese company branches out and makes a lure available in the US, the JDM version will often be available with more color options as well as a saltwater version that comes with stronger hooks and increased weights.  

Testing new lures to see how they perform here in our local waters is something I and many of my fishing friends enjoy doing.  With Japanese brands collectively releasing numerous new lures each month, we never run out of models to try.  I’ve come across a few JDM duds that didn’t perform as hoped, but more often than not they turn out to be winners.  It’s an expensive addiction that we all enthusiastically share.

Features I look for when reviewing new lure specs are size, weight, floating vs sinking, diving range, and swim action.  My ideal specs are around 80-125mm, 10-25g, floating, and if it dives, I prefer a range of 0-30cm.  These requirements alone will rule out most lures available here.  Another “must have” for subsurface lures is an internal weight transfer system to provide optimal casting distances and swim action.  I believe Daiwa was one of the first companies in Japan to use an internal weight transfer system back in the early 80’s.  It’s pretty much become a standard feature of subsurface lures marketed in Japan but it’s not as widely available in US lures.

Scott: We’ve been exclusively whipping the JDMs for so long, we’ve decided to do a JDM vs Non-JDM challenge to see if the JDMs really are that much better. Stay tuned as Robert uses grubs, kastmasters and domestic plugs while I fish the JDMs! And if you have had experience, good or bad, with JDM lures, we’d love to hear about it, via a comment on this post. Chee!

Unexpected catch of a lifetime!

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Elias Espiritu , aka @kurupt_hawaiian on IG, shared this amazing land-based, light tackle catch. No net, no gaff, no problem!  

It’s March 15, 2019. I’m sitting at home  it’s about 9:30am and I’m bored. I know I have to be back home early to pick up my son from preschool, so I’m unsure if I want to go fishing or not since I’d only have a little while to fish. I love to fish and try to go as much as possible. I decide to go anyways for a quick trip. I grab my light gear, SPX PE1 rod, shimano Twinpower xd 4000 spooled with 20lb test Jbraid. I plan on catching hopefully one or two pan fry sized papios to eat. I pull up to my spot and throw on my go to lure, the daiwa sp minnow with about 5 feet of 20lb fluoro for leader. I’m whipping for about 20 minutes then finally I catch a small 2-3lb barracuda. I snap a quick picture, take it off the hooks and throw him back in the water.

     5 minutes later I’m at the edge of the water and to my left I see 6 big black shadows swimming my way. I’m thinking these are GT’s so I cast out to my right to try and time it so my lure swims in front of them then BAM! One of them takes it and jets straight out into the deep. It rips my line out so fast and hard I thought I was gonna start seeing smoke coming from my reel. I tighten down my drag little by little just to try and slow him down a bit, but I don’t want to tighten it too much or I’ll break my line, so I let him continue to run and hopefully he’d tire out soon. After what seemed like forever he finally stops running but he’s waaaay out there, my spool is really low on line. I slowly bring him in and finally see something. It looks yellow. I think to myself “Is that a yellowfin tuna? Holy crap I need to land this thing!” Now all I can think is, “Awww man if I don’t land this thing nobody is gonna believe me.”

     The fish is finally in close and I have to go down closer to the edge of the rocks and water to try to keep my line from hitting any rocks so I don’t get it cut or snapped off. The waves start surging in and getting a little dangerous as they could suck me right into the strong current, but I want this fish badly. I decide to take a few poundings to attempt to stay close to the edge to keep my line from wrapping around the rocks. The waves knock me down and scratch me up pretty good and my line gets wrapped around a rock anyways. I’m panicking trying to get my line off the rocks before the fish tries to run again and cuts my line. I finally get it off and don’t feel any pressure, I thought I lost it. I start reeling in the slack and oh there it is, he’s still on, I was so happy. But it wasn’t over yet, I still gotta figure out how to land him cause I’m all by myself with no gaff or anything.

Finally another guy walks up to me and asks what I’m hooked up to, I tell him it’s a yellow fin tuna and he sees it right after. I ask him if he can help me land it and he doesn’t even hesitate. He jumps down onto the low ledge with me where the waves are dangerous and waits, I tell him I’m gonna try to get the fish up to the surface when a wave comes and he can try to grab it, I make sure to tell him not to grab the line because it will snap. First a big wave comes and we both grab onto the rock to try to hold on, the wave almost takes both of us in, I’m thinking “damn this is crazy” haha. Finally by the next wave I got the fish to the surface and tried yanking him up with the wave, he catches the fish and hugs it not letting him go, and works his way up the rocks with the fish while I’m dead tired trying to climb back up.

We celebrate, I’m happy as can be, adrenaline still sky high, some tourist spectators came to check it out too and gives me some video footage that they took of me fighting the fish. They ask if I was cut up from the rocks and I said no at first, then one of the guys say “but you’re bleeding.” I’m like “oh I guess I am.”

     

I get home and weigh the fish a few times to make sure the weight is accurate, he’s a steady 34.5lbs. I’m so stoked, and can’t believe what I just pulled off. Adrenaline ran high for the rest of the day. I don’t even realize all the cuts, scrapes, and bruises I have until I take a shower. It wasn’t until the next day that I felt all the pain in my body from falling on the rocks and fighting the fish. It was all so worth it though. I don’t recall exactly how long the fight was, but from the time I took the picture of the barracuda at 10:44am and the first picture I have of the shibi at 11:25am, I just estimate it around 30 minutes.

Ulua Fighting Championships

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This plugging catch of a lifetime story originally ran in the Hawaii Fishing News, July 2015 edition. The author Gary Soma, aka @sakana_sniper on IG, gave permission to run this on Hawaii Nearshore Fishing, for those who may have missed it the first time. Enjoy!

At 6 O’clock on a midweek morning, I got a text from Kaimi reporting that the conditions were prime for a late afternoon plugging sesh. We had just finished a batch of experimental lures we’ve refined over the last year, and I had just finished wrapping a factory sample of our 8’6” Medium Heavy Popping Rod. This would be our chance to give them a trial by fire. The variable winds made work miserable and I couldn’t wait to punch out and get on the water. As soon as the clock struck 4, I was out like trout! Once home I quickly gathered all the necessary equipment and headed out to gas up. On the way, I got a call from Paul saying he’d be joining us but got held up at work, so he’d be a little late.

After launching the Whaler, Kaimi and I decided to bust out the light tackle for a Papio hunt. We cruised to one of my spots that I’ve nicknamed “Papio Pass,” which usually holds a good size pile of whites. Just like we hoped, school was in session and they were looking for a fight. On Kaimi’s first cast he hooked a good size fish with his bubble and grub rig. After a great fight Kaimi landed the Omilu and we both took a moment to admire the beautiful two pounder’s electric blue, neon green and lemon yellow hues before gently releasing it. We always let the first fish of the day go for good luck, because as everyone knows, a little luck can go a long way when fishing.

Next it was my turn to get on the board. Soon after my lure hit the water on my third cast, something decided to annihilate my 3 ½ inch Yo-Zuri Sashimi 3D Popper. I fought the bugger for around 5 minutes and the white ended up weighing around 3 pounds. The “Scrap and Release” action was awesome that afternoon and we managed to land half a dozen Papio before it was time to scoop Paul up. With the tide rising, I couldn’t wait to see what the big game spots had in store for us.

On our way to the “Proving Grounds” we readied our new weapons for battle. I hadn’t had time to properly connect my 100# braid to my 150# mono leader so I went with the second best option tying a double palomar knot to connect my braid to a heavy duty swivel and palomar knots to connect my leader to my lure. This knot is my go to knot and has proven to be bullet proof when tied correctly. On Paul’s rod, our newest prototype, he had tied an FG knot linking his 80# braided line to 8 feet of 150# mono leader.

Upon arrival at the Proving Grounds we all commented on how epic the conditions were and the anticipation of action was as thick as the voggy Kona wind air. I was the first one with his lure in the water with no takers, but it usually takes a couple retrieves to wake the big boys up. With the commotion of three lures splashing and splashing it didn’t take them long to hear the ringing of the dinner bell. On my fourth I cast really leaned into one and sent my 6 oz. prototype popper on a first class trip. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. The line took forever to float down to the slick cobalt surface and I slowly picked up the slack. Once the line came tight I up jerked my rod and made a perfect pop sending a shower of liquid fire set ablaze by the setting sun. My next jerk created a textbook chug sending a bellowing “boop” resonating to the depths. Just as I was about to follow up with another pop a large shiny submarine half breached, creating a ten foot radius of foamy wash followed by a thunder clap of a tail slap. All I could do was hold onto my rod with a death grip. The fish immediately dove with all of its might as I desperately struggled to get the butt of the rod into my fighting belt. Luckily the fish took a half second break in between runs allowing me to get my rod into its fighting position. I tried my best to slow the fish down by turning up the drag, but my feeble attempts failed miserably. On its second blistering dash the fish managed to find the reef, and my punishment came to an abrupt end. The release of pressure sent me reeling back and fortunately the center console saved me from taking a plunge over the opposite side of the boat. The feeling reminded me of when the opposing team released the rope in a match of tug of war. With my tail between my legs I retrieved my line minus my swivel, leader and defiled lure with about ten feet of the end of my 100 pound braid showing sure signs of being cut off by the jagged ledges below. This first round had gone to the heavy-weights.

An Ulua strike is about the only thing that can get my heart to jump out of my chest. Every blow up never fails to catch me by surprise and there’s nothing that cures the fatigue of throwing a 6 oz. lure a hundred times better than that. Based on the strike, boil and run, we estimated the fish I had just lost to be at least 80 pounds. Even though I took some cracks I readied my gear for the next fight.

The sun was fading behind the Koolaus when the bell rang signaling the start of round two. I was casting off the bow so I was first to get my lure into the zone directly above the Ulua mansion. Every bit of my attention was on my lure and it was as if it was an extension of me. I took up the slack in my line as my lure surfed down the face of the swell. I gently twitched my rod trying my best not to jump and tumble the lure which could tangle my barbless 4/0 trebles around my leader, ruining a perfect cast. As my popper began its uphill ascent I popped with full force creating the ideal series of pops. Nearing the apex of the wave my lure duck dove through the swell and I was startled by a Titanium Ulua side slashing with murderous intentions aimed at its next victim. With deadly precision the fish smashed my popper and plunged downwards shaking its head with its brand new chew toy tightly gripped in its jaws. This pitbull of the sea surely had motives of hanging another lure on its wall of trophies but I was not about to let one more of our home lathed lures suffer the same cruel fate as his brother did minutes earlier. I forced the butt of the rod into my gimbal and locked the drag down. The added pressure only seemed to enrage the Titanium Ulua and its burst of power caught me off guard,  nearly jerking me overboard. Luckily still dry I regained my fighting stance, feet staggered with hands locked high on the rod. The last bits of sunlight were vanishing quickly and I knew I would soon be fighting with the lights out. Luckily Paul was on top of things and gave me an assist by placing my headlamp on, helping me to be as safe as possible. While I exchanged blows with the Titanium Ulua, Paul decided to swap out his lure for one of our experimental nocturnal prototypes for Kaimi to sample. With the fish still diving, I decided to try and turn his head with some heavy upward jerks. I slowed its momentum and thought I had my opponent on the ropes but playing possum the Ulua’s next sprint literally forced me to take a knee. My line was straight down and each inch of line gained was back breaking. Amazingly I endured the barrage and finally got to see color about 20 minutes into the battle with the aide of Paul’s 300 lumen headlamp. About a minute later Paul had the fishes tail in his grasp and lifted it over the gunwale. Once in the boat we realized why the fish fought so hard. It was foul hooked with the front barbless treble lodged in the collar area under the gill plate, unfortunately piercing several gills. Once I removed the hooks the fish began to bleed out and I could tell it was in too bad of shape for a release. I reluctantly dispatched the fish and put it in the cooler. Round two was one to remember.

As I shut the lid of the ice chest I heard a tiny splash behind the boat. With my headlamp I searched the boat and was surprised by a shout of “Hanapaa!” Kaimi was hooked up on his first cast! I immediately put the fighting belt around his waist as the beast ripped line full steam ahead. Kaimi made his way to the bow and I did my best to clean the deck of the blood and slime from the previous fish. Kaimi tried to stop the monster from running home but its charge was one of those freight train screemahs. Paul was right beside Kaimi and told him to brace himself because Paul was about to turn up the drag to the max. Paul coached Kaimi and urged him to jerk the rod to attempt to turn the brutes head. Fortunately Paul’s tactics paired with Kaimi’s strength succeeded in turning the fish and it detoured towards deeper waters with us in tow. The bend in our newest rod was a sight to see. The way it shouldered the burden of whatever was on the end of Kaimi’s line was simply beautiful. I wanted to see what this rod was capable of and yelled to Kaimi, “Boost! Boost Um!!!” Kaimi’s efforts only seemed to aggravate the fish and its next dash for the deep was insane. The pressure was impossible to weather and Kaimi’s rod began to get closer and closer to the rail. I placed my hand between the rod and rail to prevent the rod from snapping in two. Kaimi tried cranking and said,” the reel is broken I can’t crank!” The reel he was using had a 6 to 1 gear ratio, so I told him,” you gotta boost, then crank! The reel no more torque!” Once he figured out how to gain line, the tug of war began. At this point I remember Kaimi saying,” What the hell did I get myself into!” Kaimi would gain 10 yards and the giant would steal 20 in return. The struggle was real! This back and forth punching and counter punching went on for the next 15 minutes. At that point the reel looked half empty so there was still quite a bit of work to be done. Every so often Paul and I would shout battle cries to Kaimi ordering him to keep the line tight and to BOOST! The strain on his back and arms were beginning to take its toll, mirrored by the looks of agony on Kaimi’s face. I told Kaimi to move the fight to the rear bench to alleviate some of the strain on his back. The seated position was also a safer alternative with darkness upon us and his strength fading. Fueled by adrenaline the fight began to slowly tip in Kaimi’s favor and the leviathan started coming in. Once Kaimi gained a fair bit of line back we knew we’d soon see color. Every so often we’d shine our lights into the midnight blue depths as Kaimi continued his give and take battle with the monstrosity on the end of his line.

I can honestly say that If I was the one doing all the heavy lifting I probably would have thrown in the towel by now, but Kaimi has the strength of a bull and the “Cojones” to match. If you’re curious about how it feels, grab a broom stick and tie a thirty pound dumbbell three feet from the tip and have someone push down on the tip every so often. Time yourself to see how long you last.

After a dozen peeks over the side of the boat we finally saw something silver down deep and yelled, “Ulua! Boost! Bring Um Up!!!” The beast had other ideas. Startled by the alien lights above it went on another blistering tear. I again had to cushion the rod from the rail with my hand, otherwise it would be “Sayonara!” Kaimi endured the run and had to pivot as the fish ran to the opposite side of the boat. Gaining line, the weight of the fish was more of a dead weight now. We knew the fish was coming to the surface this time. With Paul’s light penetrating into the abyss, we could see the sterling shape making its death circles on its way to the surface. When given the opportunity I planned on tail grabbing the Ulua. As we watched the beast’s ascent, the reflective shape kept growing and growing. When it finally surfaced I stood in shock stunned by the size of the fish. Paul yelled, “F@#&ING BEAST,” snapping me back to reality. I was not about to tail grab the giant and risk a dislocated shoulder should it decide to flick its tail. I yelled to Paul, “get the gaff!” and he scrambled to find it and eventually found it near the fuel tank. With surgical precision he sank the gaff in the behemoths gaping mouth and the cheering began. Kaimi had triumphed in the 30 minute Super Heavy Weight Main Event, giving him the Ulua Fighting Championship Belt.

On our first attempt Paul and I failed in lifting the titan into the boat but with Kaimi’s help we heaved its enormous head out of the water and slid its torso into the boat. Seeing the fishes length span from one side of my boat to the other I’m sure every curse word out there found its way out of our mouths. I quickly grabbed the measuring tape off my console and measured the fish from nose to fork. We couldn’t believe that the number under the center of the tail read 58 inches (147.3 cm). The fish was guaranteed to be over the hundred pound mark, every ulua fisherman’s dream catch. Several years ago I had landed an 80 pounder while spearfishing and this thing made that one look like a pan fry papio. Paul and I then assisted Kaimi in getting the fish on his lap for some quick photos before the release. After snapping some souvenir pics I gave Kaimi the green light for the release and Paul gave him a hand with sliding the fish back into the water. The momentum of the fish sent it five feet below the surface and we shared a round of fist bumps and “Chee Hoos!” Kaimi soon noticed that the fish had floated back to the surface and was on its side with no signs of life. Occasionally after a strenuous battle it takes a bit of reviving to help the fish recover. I started the boat and we guided the fish, flushing fresh ocean water through its gills for 5 minutes before Paul released it once again. The fish just floated again as it did before. We tried again but the mighty Gladiator had fought to its death. We were bummed that the fish had died, and looking back, the fish never kicked once after it surfaced. The great champion had likely perished on its last ditch run for the reef. We took solace in knowing that the fish would be feeding our families and friends for weeks to come.

Out of curiosity we decided to get the fish weighed before we cut it up the following day. At Nanko’s Fishing Supply we weighed the smaller of the two first. It weighed a solid 43 pounds which was much heavier than our closest guess. It’s funny how small it looked sitting next to Gladiator. Next it was time to weigh in Gladiator, with all three of us struggling to get the Ulua’s tail rope onto the hook of the scale. Once the behemoth was fully supported, our eyes instantly found the digital screen, with mine nearly popping out of my head. The certified scale read 130.1 pounds, a true colossus. I never would have imagined that we would land an Ulua over a hundred pounds, yet alone one that weighed a hundred thirty. After weighing the fish I made a Gyotaku of Kaimi’s catch of a lifetime. Hearing the story is one thing but seeing the true size of Gladiator immortalized on rice paper leaves most speechless.

After printing the fish, we quartered the pair of Uluas with the majority of the meat going into a cooler for an icy bath in my secret marinade. After a two day soak I smoked the strips low and slow for at least four hours. Everyone can’t seem to get enough of the stuff and by the time it comes out of the smoker all bags are always spoken for.

When recounting our greatest fishing tale, people still find it hard to believe that Gladiator was landed on an eight foot six, medium heavy popping rod and a budget spinning reel. With this type of tackle we are clearly underdogs when brawling with large Ulua, but that’s what makes this type of fishing so challenging, exciting, and ultimately rewarding when you do land that one fish after losing countless others. All out scraps with the monarchs of our Hawaiian reefs is what we live for. For us its all about living the Plug Life.

We’re opening an online store!

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A lot of the really good gear we like and endorse isn’t available in the local shops. Some of the stuff we’ve bought from overseas online stores, catching sales and buying in bulk. We plan to share some items with you guys that will be inexpensive enough to mail out, so that the selling price plus shipping is still the best deal you can find.

Since most of the readers are inshore whippers, we’ll start with a couple whipping lures that our *team* has had a lot of success with. We’ll work out the kinks in our online store and fulfillment process, and then offer more unique items and killer deals.

Check out the store here.

What gear to use to fish light lures from shore

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Thad, our resident JDM tackle expert and land based whipper:

So you’re checking out Hawaii Nearshore Fishing, which is loaded with useful information on light lures, and wonder to yourself, what kind of gear should I be using to fish lures like those?  Here’s a short guide on some of the gear I use to whip these small lures in the 10 to 30 gram range, which equates to approximately 3/8 to 1 oz. The gear I like to use is based on my own personal experiences and preferences – it’s what I’m comfortable using.  Others may have their own techniques which are just as effective for them. 

Rod

Enlarge to see the rod specs

I prefer to use rods in the 9 to 10 foot range with 9’6″ rods being my favorite.  I fish mostly shoreline fish areas and often walk the shallow flats and will walk out to the break on low tides if conditions permit.  Longer rods will tend to give you better casting distances.  I find 9’6″ rods to be the perfect length for me because, in the event the line should tangle on the tip of the rod while I’m out walking the reef flats, I can still reach it without having to dunk my reel in the water – a big no no if your reel has no water seal. Rod action, or taper that I prefer is regular to regular fast. I find this action allows me to load up on the cast so the rod does a lot of the work in getting the light lures out.  I try to find rods rated for lures anywhere in the 5 to 35 gram range and avoid using lures at or above the rod rating.

Reel

I tend to use mostly Shimano reels in the 3000 to 4000 sizes with the 4000 being my go-to.  If you decide to use other brands such as Daiwa, be aware that the number sizing is not the same between brands.  A Daiwa 4000 reel will be bigger and heavier than a Shimano 4000.  I also prefer high speed reels with a gear ratio of 6.0:1 or faster.  

Line

I use braided mainline for its high strength relative to its small diameter.  It will allow you to get maximum casting distance without sacrificing strength.  It also won’t deteriorate as quickly as monofilament, which usually needs to be changed regularly depending on how often you fish. Monofilament will deteriorate and lose strength from sunlight and even from fumes if stored in a closet with chemicals.  The drawback to braid is its higher cost and low abrasion resistance.  I use 20lb braid on my Shimano 4000 reel and 10lb braid on my 3000. 

Leader

My preference is to use 25lb fluorocarbon leader but I will use 40lb on occasion if I’m seeing a lot of big kaku in the water.  Monofilament leader will also work and is much cheaper.  I use a little less than two arm lengths of leader and connect it to the mainline with an FG knot.  This will allow the knot to be just below the bottom guide when casting.  Some people have no issues with longer leaders which wrap the spool a few times but I find it decreases my casting distance considerably.  The JDM rods I use tend to have much smaller guides so having the FG knot between the bottom guide and reel will give the knot a smooth, straight-line path through the guides.  If you’re not yet comfortable tying an FG knot, you can also use a swivel to connect the leader and mainline, but you will need to shorten the leader since the knot will not and should not be cast through the guides. 

I tie a Tactical Angler (TA) clip to the end of the leader using an improved clinch knot or an Orvis knot. Orvis knots are very strong and the tag end points towards the lure so there’s less chance of catching limu on it but the knot can be difficult to tie on thicker lines. The TA clip is strong and makes it easy to switch out lures in seconds.  I like to switch lures constantly when I whip so I can’t fish without a TA clip.  I experimented using a small swivel between the leader and clip but found that the extra weight often affected the action of the light lures.  None of the lures I use spin in the water so I don’t need the swivel. 

So there you have it.  My preferred set up for whipping  small lures, small jigs, and bubble with fly or grub.  It works for me and fits the style of fishing I enjoy the most.    

Editors Note: No wonder Thad outfishes me, his rod is 1.5ft longer than mine, and his leader is twice as long as what I use!

Poll Results: For Shoreline Fishers

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Thank you to those who participated and helped us understand our audience a little better.

Most of the poll participants fish even when it’s not oama season, finding other fish to target.

Presumably, good size papio is the most popular nearshore target species, so taking that out of the choices, you guys rather catch a screamer oio than a trophy size kaku.

The vast majority of you either just whip, or dunk and whip. Less than 20% just dunk and chill.

And if you’re fighting a hard fighting fish and buss line, more than half of you are just stoked to have had the experience of hooking and fighting such a good fish. A third quickly shake it off and try again. 10% throw a mini tantrum and were honest about that!

You can see the poll results stats here.

Whipping Lure Recommendations by Junior Angler

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Matthew: Over the past few years, I have been experimenting with lures, from bottom dragging lures to subsurface, to topwater. I found that topwater is generally better from around 6 am to 9 am and 4pm to 7pm. Subsurface lures still work well during those hours, but I feel that due to the low light the fish can see a topwater lure better because there’s less glare in their eyes. During those midday hours is when those subsurface lures work the best. Here is a list of some of the lures I like, although some I can only provide limited information about. I only use lures I have good faith in.

Editor: 3/8 oz gold Kastmaster was the Moana killer from the surfboard

Kastmasters: Kastmasters are good because like the name suggests, they cast very far. They also catch fish. I use Kastmasters in just about any type of water, whereas other lures are limited to certain conditions, tides, and water clarity. I cast them out as far as I can and burn it in pretty fast. You can also jig it like a jig or run it on the surface like a topwater lure, but I find it best to burn it fast. ¼ or ⅜ size is my favorite, anything over ½ is too big for my style.

Editor: This Sammy came from Japan in coloration not seen in the US market.

Lucky Craft Sammy: I like the Sammy as one of my favorite topwater lures because of the great walking action it has. However, it is a little too chubby to be the best lure, and due to the chubbiness, the Kaku often hit it and miss the hooks. However, it has some of the best walking action out there. Great lure to learn how to “walk the dog”.

Editor: Stainless steel Japanese trolling hook installed.

Shimano Waxwing Baby: The Waxwing is good because of its small profile (2.68 inch) and the great motion. The lure has “wings” that make it move from side to side, but I don’t rip it because in my opinion if it swings too aggressively it scares away the fish. The double hooks it’s supposed to be used with make it pretty snag proof, but 75% of the time the fish will miss it. I’ve been experimenting with treble hooks on the Waxwing and the hookup ratio has increased, but the snag ratio has also increased. Uncle Scott recommends using the stronger, shorter, stainless steel double hook used for small aku squid skirts that the tackle shops sell. They are expensive but the hookup ratio greatly improves.

Duel Hardcore Heavy Shot: I like the Heavy Shot because it punches through the wind even better than a kastmaster and has a good sinking and swimming action. It is classified as a Heavy Swimmer. Only bad part about this lure is that it sinks pretty fast, so I don’t use it on the flats too often.

Ima Komomo Counter: I really like the Komomo because like a lot of other lipless minnows, it has a wide, more natural side to side action than traditional lipped minnows, and is also heavy yet floats, so it punches through the wind very well. All the color patterns on Ima are pretty fit for Hawaii if you don’t chose the Akakin (reddish orange) color.

Shimano Coltsniper 80F Twitch: The Coltsniper is a solid lure, like the Kastmaster, functioning in all types of water. The pink-silver color draws in the fish and on a choppy day, helps them zone in on the bobbing lure. I fish it by dipping its head, which drives the Kaku insane.

Daiwa Shoreline Shiner Vertice Z: The Vertice is a floating that dives to about a foot, with a very lifelike side to side wiggle that gets Papio to commit unlike other lures. When fished fast however, Kaku sometimes aim ahead and cut the line. Best to use a slow to medium speed retrieve for maximum wobble. It casts very well into the wind due to its weight transfer system and streamlined body, and comes in a variety of realistic colors. The slim profile matches mullet, oama, and all of the baitfish in our waters.

Shimano Flash Boost: This new product by Shimano has an interesting new feature – a vibrating metallic foil plate in the middle. When it shakes, it creates a huge flash that is supposed to increase the catch rate. It also has more realistic scales. It is 99mm and floats. True to its name, Shallow Assassin, it dives shallow and has a wobbling action similar to the Vertice Z. It does not come with a split ring, so I’ve found for certain lures I have to add the split ring to make the action right.

Note that my experience is limited to shoreline fishing no deeper than 15 feet deep, and only a few spots. All of these lures will work but each shines in its own conditions. I throw them on a Medium-Light spinning rod and a Medium baitcasting rod. I throw the heavier lures on the baitcaster for more distance and less tangles.

Holoholo: Using inexpensive level wind bait caster for shore whipping

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Matthew explains in very relateable terms how level wind bait casters have become a joy to fish, once he got past the learning curve.

Matthew: Yes, I use a baitcaster for whipping, but not the kind you would use for Oio or Ulua. Uncle Scott had done a review on level-wind baitcasters in 2017, but I thought it would be good to revisit the topic, especially with the success I’ve had with them recently.

The kind of baitcaster that Scott, a few others, and I use in Hawaii are the bass reels that are made on the mainland. He uses the Tranx 400 along with a few other baitcasters like the Concept Z. I, however, am not willing to pay the large amount of money it takes to get one of those better reels, so here I am with my Abu Garcia Blackmax. It still is a very good reel, but it has more tangles than the rest of the reels also.

I use my Blackmax for whipping for Kaku, Papio, and whatever else will bite the lures I am throwing. I find it really shines in sub-surface lures, but I find it really lacks in popper and walk-the-dog lure fishing. It is hard to reel up the slack fast enough to continuously fish a popper the right way, and in walk-the-dog lures, I have a hard time walking any lure at all.

I originally started with spinners, until I saw a guy fishing the shoreline with those bass reels I had seen on mainland bass fishing videos. It kind of started curiosity about baitcasters. I researched more about baitcasters, until I finally realized that Uncle Scott used baitcasters also. I purchased the cheapest reel I could find, the Abu Garcia Blackmax, which I bought for 48 dollars. At the time, I thought that was really expensive, but it wasn’t until later I started getting into better spinning reels, like the Ultegra, and that isn’t even close to the top of the line.


I spooled some line on it and tried to figure out how to even release the line into free spool mode. It took me a while to figure that out. When I finally did that, I couldn’t figure out why the line was bunching up on one side of the reel until I realized there was a hole I had to place the line through first. Duh. I finally got comfortable with the small five meter casts, and then I tried to bomb it as far as I could. Big mistake. At the time I couldn’t figure out why it kept tangling each time I casted. So, I tossed the rod and reel in the storage closet until I finally met up with Uncle Scott. He showed me some quick tips and how to fish it better. From then on, I fished it a lot more, and eventually got proficient at it.

One thing I find good about the baitcaster is if there is no wind, then you can cast it a lot farther than a spinner would. If there is a tailwind, like in one spot I fish, then you can cast farther than I would have ever imagined a cast can go. However, if there is a frontal wind, baitcast fishing sucks. You will get wind knots if you have braid, and almost certainly get tangled a few times. Another plus about baitcasters is the conveniency of casting. I can cast with only one hand if I really want to, even if it casts a little less than a two handed cast, it still is good if you need to rest your other hand for a short while before reeling it in. Baitcasters in general are just lighter than spinners too.

If you were to purchase a baitcaster, I would suggest that you ask Scott or any other guy you know that fishes a baitcaster. Look for the gear ratio, which if you read it right, it can tell you how many inches per crank it retrieves. I am currently looking for a high speed baitcaster. Another thing you want to look for in baitcasters is the line capacity. Most of the reels on the mainland only have 100 or so yards, because bass don’t run at all. You want to have a baitcaster fit for Hawaii’s hard running gamefish, so 200+ yards in case you run into a big Papio. If you have any questions for me, shoot me a question through my email, matthewikeda808@gmail.com.

Holoholo: Japan tackle shopping and fishing recap by Matthew

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Frequent guest poster Matthew was able to travel with his family to Japan during Spring Break and enjoy the food, tackle deals and fishing opportunities. Thanks for sharing your experience with us Matt, makes me want to go to Japan now!

Matthew: Warning: this is going to be a long one, so if you don’t have time, stop right here.

Over spring break I had a lot of fun. The day after I got out of school, I went fishing at my secret spot and got two Kaku and a Papio on some JDM’s (Japan Domestic Model products). I left for Japan, hoping to find more JDM’s and some fish.

We arrived in Osaka, stayed one night, then rode a local train to Kyoto, where we saw the monkey park and some other attractions. I found a Tackle Berry store, where I got some new used lures, even some JDM’s, some such as the Ima P-CE, and a lot others I will not name. However, the highlight of that store was a used Daiwa Sealine 250, which I got for only eight bucks. Must be a fake right? Nope, tried it when I got home and everything works fine, except for a few scratches and it being an old model.

In Tokyo, the food was so good, and one ramen place had the best ramen I’ve ever tasted. We visited Ichigaya Fishing Center, which has carp ponds. You have to pay to fish there, but it is worth it as you can catch up to twenty in an hour. I enjoyed fighting the carp on an ultra light handpole and a barbless hook. I was happy for my family, which all landed a fish. My mom and sister even landed one!

We visited the Joshuya in Shibuya, where I found the new Duel Hardcore shallow runner, which may be a limited edition, so get it while you still can. At a good price it should be 11-12 dollars in US conversion. For a general Yen price move the decimal two to the left. The shallow runner works very well, and is better than most lipped minnows, as it is not lipped, and has sort of like a built in lip, like all other Japanese lures. It is 90 millimeters and is floating, and has a knocker. Be careful not to get the mid diver, which looks exactly like it. It runs less than a foot below water when used correctly.

I also got a Pugachev’s Cobra, which is a lure that Uncle Thad likes so much. Now that I’ve tried it myself, I can see why. But for 90 millimeters it is highly priced at 19 dollars or up, some even going for 24 dollars on Amazon and Ebay. It walks very well, with a wide side to side motion. I also got a few more lures, but I have been warned to not mention their names. One works very well, with a slim nose and a nice surface action, moving around very erratically. We went to Shinjuku the next day, where we tried a fish foot spa. Some of you may have seen the video of me in the foot spa on my instagram – @shorefishing_oahu_style, but if you haven’t, then go check it out, it’s kind of funny. We went to the Tackle Berry there, where I found a used conventional for only ten dollars. Seems like Tackle Berry has good deals on used items. On research, I found out it was last made in the mid to late 1960s and was an Abu Garcia reel.

I picked up a lure that Uncle Thad had recommended, called the Daiwa Switch Hitter. It is 105 millimeters and has a neat S moving pattern 2 inches under the surface, which should drive the Kaku mad. I was lucky to find it marked off 30% of its original price, 17 dollars.

We went to a tonkatsu place next, where the chicken and pork tonkatsu was so soft, it melted in my mouth. I really liked that place.

The last fishing store we stopped at was Sansui, which is very confusing. They have two different “parts” that are broken up into four different stores, all within 1000 feet of each other. It was a huge challenge to find the saltwater part, and although it is a great place, I would advise you to not come here unless you know exactly which store you are going to, and which kind of fishing you are looking for. I purchased a Ima Komomo, which also was 90 millimeters and a diving bait with a knocker.

After five days in Tokyo, we left for Hakone, by Lake Ashi. We arrived there when it was already cold, but I couldn’t resist but to throw some lures. We ended up catching 11 smelt, but no bass or trout. After, we ate a traditional Kaiseki meal, with nine courses, which made me think my belly was going to burst. We stayed in a traditional Ryokan, with even a real Onsen. An Onsen is a lava-fed spring pool with minerals that are supposed to help with relaxation and skin issues. Only bad thing is that you have to get naked to go in there. With strangers. It was packed too, which was not good for privacy. Overall, I enjoyed the Ryokan though. The next morning, the lake was so glassy, that I couldn’t resist throwing topwater even though it was only 30 degrees fahrenheit. I somehow got a bite on my switch hitter, but it missed and was too lazy to come back for it in the cold weather.

We left Odawara Station for Osaka shortly after. When we got there, we checked into our hotel, which was very nice and in a good location. The food in Osaka was very good, unlike the fishing. I had the best crab ever at a street vendor selling king crab, Kani as they call it.

We left at five in the morning for a place in Misaki, for fishing. It was supposed to be good, but I ended up not getting a bite for four hours, and just watched my bobber move with the waves. My mom bought live Halalu, or Aji as they call it, to try lure in the Hiramasa (Japanese yellowtail). I had one do a heart-stopping circle around it before watching it leave. Again. Back to bobber fishing. Waited for another hour and a half, until, finally, I saw my bobber twitch. I broke out of my trance and watched it more carefully. Sure enough, it started moving fast across the surface. I set the hook hard, and a screamer was on. What could it be? Finally done with the junk fish, I thought to myself, and for sure a new species. No. No. No. No. No. It seems like bad luck follows me everywhere. After 30 well-fought seconds, I pulled up a fully inflated… Puffer. A puffer. Not those same pests you catch all the time in Hawaii, these can sell for hundreds of dollars per fish. But still, I was happy to finally catch a fish, but sad that it was a puffer. I was so discouraged by that, so that we left shortly after giving the Tora Fugu to a local fisherman, who was enormously grateful.

We left for Hawaii the next day, thinking about the crummy fishing, but also about how good the food was. I didn’t have a single meal that tasted bad or even mediocre in Japan. Now, time to test the JDMs. I tried my luck with the Kaku and got very lucky. I quickly got three kaku within only 45 minutes.

Next, I wanted to try bass fishing. I went to a stream and casted my topwater lure. Almost instantly, a nice size smallie demolished my bait and put up a very nice fight. I later caught a smaller one that I trapped in a pond before taking pictures.

Overall, it was a very good break and I hope to get more action on my JDM’s, and more good food like in Japan.

Matt (who is too tired to complete another long bait report)

I will do a brief bait report.

Sardines: Few, rare at this time of season

Halalu: Two piles I know of

Oama: Starting to come in, seven spots I know of

Iao: Plenty, almost everywhere

Nehu: Same as Iao

Fred Hall Show 2019 – Part II

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Axel Valdez of Hotel Buena Vista

Last year, Steve of Promar / Ahi USA introduced me to Axel Valdez, co-owner of the renown Hotel Buena Vista on the East Cape of Baja Mexico. Steve highly recommended the family owned hotel for their hospitality and fish catching prowess.

Felipe Valdez of Felipe Valdez Sport Fishing

This year, I was able to meet Axel’s brother Felipe, who recently launched his independent guide service, Felipe Valdez Sport Fishing. Felipe puts together customized trips that could include surf fishing for roosterfish, panga (wooden motorized skiff) fishing for nearshore and bottom fish, and cruiser fishing for pelagics. He could even take a kayak out on a cruiser and put us right on the fish, equipped with live bait. East Cape trips are very affordable compared to farther destinations, and because the Hotel Buena Vista is rustic, clients don’t have to pay 5 star prices. Since their warm water species are similar to our jacks, grouper, mahi, tuna and marlin, we could use our own gear and techniques to try to land them. Makes for an easy destination fishing trip from Hawaii. Our crew is trying to see if we can put together a trip for next year’s prime season!

I sought out Ali Hussainy of the Bloody Decks website and the Local Knowledge fishing show. Bloody Decks started as a fishing forum, I believe, and is now the world’s largest saltwater fishing website. If you haven’t watched their tv show Local Knowledge on YouTube, the focus is to compare and contrast SoCal fishing with Florida fishing. Makes for some interesting background on the two fisheries and some serious smack talking. I told Ali I manage a tiny Hawaii based fishing website and would welcome any advice he had on how to grow it! Traded him a box of Hawaiian Host Caramacs and a couple NOH Poke Mixes for the original Bloody Decks t-shirt. Unfortunately they were out of the Local Knowledge shirts.

Stumbled upon the Anetik booth, maker of the world’s only UV protectant leg sleeves, as far as I know. I had read about them in a kayak fishing review when I was looking for leg protection from Man Of War stings. The “Shade Socks“, as they’re called, provide UPF 30+ coverage on feet and legs, in an ultra breathable way, and have a rubber grip at the top of the sock to keep it in place.

Pete walked me through the fashionable lineup of fishing shirts, polos, hoodies and face masks in their breathable UPF 30+ material. The show pricing was so good, I got the shade socks ( no need to put sunscreen on our legs now!), performance shirt and shade mask and will be testing them on the kayak soon.

I like the contoured fit of the shade mask. Won’t catch a lot of wind when kayak fishing. Turns out Anetik’s products are sold on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands. Check out their Hawaii retailers here.

In the outdoor perimeter of the Long Beach Convention Center, there were wading pools filled with hatchery rainbow trout kids could catch and take home, and trained dogs leaping off a ramp to catch a ball before landing into a pool of cold water.

This little pooch was just getting acclimated with the chill.

Ended the trip with a stop at an REI (Recreation Equipment Inc) store, to bring home reusable canvas bags for the wife. She loves these because they wash and dry without distorting as they shrink. For $5.99 they are a pretty good deal to be used as grocery bags and gift satchels.