We’ve had a few weeks of wind and rain which lowered the nearshore water temps. As expected for this time of year, the bait fish aren’t in, and the predators don’t have much reason to make their way in to the skinny, cold water. White papio/ulua are being caught at night/early morning, since they feed on other things besides bait fish, and some omilu have been caught in the deeper water reachable from shore by the really dedicated guys. If you need to feel a tug, even if it’s from a kaku, you might want to fish in the late afternoon after the sun has warmed the water up and is just beginning to set.
The blustery wind seems to have put the offshore fish down a bit, with the kayak guys reporting catches of opelu and not many pelagics. The shallow bottom fish like uku and weke ula have been grudgingly biting. We’re hoping that when the wind settles down, the food chain adjusts to the temperature change and starts feeding with vigor on all the nutrients recently stirred up.
There’s definitely better times in the year than now. I’ve had over 12 whitewashes in the past month, only three times caught something at all. Hope some people can get better luck during these “no-fish” months.
Hi Matthew,
Have you learned anything special during these whitewash trips?
-scott
Matt,
12? Wow you fish a lot! I’ve been out maybe 3 or 4 times during the same period, and only got whitewash on my last trip. I agree, things have definitely slowed down, though.
Scott,
A friend picked up a 4.5 on white early morning about a week ago. On fly and Blind casting from shore. So you’re spot on about early the morning action. My stuff’s semi-mothballed I think until the weather starts to improve again.
Hi Jason,
4.5lb white papio on the flats is a BIG fish! How does he compare that fight to a similar sized oio?
And yeah, you fly fishers are affected by strong wind like we kayakers, but for different reasons.Wind might drop next weekend but rain is forecasted. Guessing rain dimpling the water makes it hard to sight cast?
-scott
Was during the big 2 foot morning tide we had recently, so it wasn’t your normal shin deep conditions. The larger papio don’t run as far or long as the oio but are way more stubborn. They run in shorter, but to me, more violent or jerky spurts than the long, surging but smooth runs of an oio.
The dimpling on water is not as a big a problem as is the lack of sunlight. I know guys who have sight fished big fish with light rain, but otherwise it’s blind casting time.
Yup, lots of rain in the 10 day forecast. May try to still get out if the rain is on the lighter side, but the fishing isn’t likely to be great. It’s exercise, if nothing else 😛
Jason,
Good to know that the peak high tides bring big fish into the flats.
Another question if you don’t mind. What’s easier to land on the fly rod, the smooth, long running oio or the violent spurting white papio?
And man is fly fishing challenging: you need overhead sun to see your prey, shallow enough water to stand and cast in, and light enough wind so your fly doesn’t snag your ear. You guys are studs!
-scott
Papio seem to shake the hook much more, and are more stubborn all the way to the end. Once you weather an oio’s runs it’s basically just winding in line. Of course, terrain can become a factor. With lots of coral heads/papas, i would rather have a fish not run too far, because the belly of the line tends to hang up on them.
I was on winter break… I don’t normally fish that much, but since I had no school I decided to fish a lot.
Not a bad way to spend your break!
Fish are still around…just need to target different species, try multiple techniques, and possibly move to other parts of the island. For me, topwater is slow, but still managed a few bites. Grubs always produce…if not biting, step down in lure size.
Great tips Jeremy, what species are you targeting?
Matthew, have you been throwing grubs recently, or mainly the trusty kastmaster?
I’ve been throwing grubs and kastmasters in deep spots, also tried swimming minnows, poppers, flies, etc… My partner is catching them so they’re there, I just gotta figure out how to catch them.
Uncle Jeremy, you’re the one who catches the Oio on grubs right? Nice Omilu you got recently on the grub.
I think Thad also catches them on curly tail jigs.
Yeah, it’s insane. One of my future goals is to catch an Oio whipping, on ultralight, on the flats. I gotta figure that out one day. Do you guys have to sightfish them, or just blind casting?
Matthew: For catching o’io on the flats – sightfish in the shallows, but play the deeper pockets and blind cast. I’ve caught most of mine blind casting. Also, depending where you go, you might want to run heavier line and not do ultralight. If there’s lots of reef structure and coral heads, I run at least 8# leader. You might get slightly more bites on the ultralight, but if you get cutoff, it might be more detrimental to the fish since it’ll be dragging around all that line.
Matt: I concur with Jeremy, you can attempt ultralight, but be prepared to lose fish! You might be able to get away with it on “flatter” flats like Kaneohe, or some parts of Hickam, but in most other places you will be behind the 8 ball with anything less than 15 lb. i standardize on 20 lb, but drop to 15 or 12 for Hickam/Kaneohe.
As to blind vs sight, most fly fisherman i know are hardcore sight fisherman, but most do some combination of the two depending on the conditions. I personally prefer blind casting as i find it more relaxing, but I also look for fish at the same time. If i am seeing plenty fish, i will stop casting and focus on sight.
Oh one more thing. Keep in mind, the lighter your line, the smoother your drag gotta be. Don’t scrimp on the reel for an UL setup, and make sure that drag is well-maintained.
Jason, I think we need another Holoholo post from you! Since you used to whip with spinning gear, it would be interesting to hear similarities and differences from fly fishing. 🙂
Scott: I target the usual game fish like papios and o’ios. But, depending on the spots I go, I’ll go for other things like goatfish or anything that bites.
Matthew: Yeah, I get lucky once in a while using grubs for o’io. Was really surprised to hook up on two big omilus recently…usually would only catch small 1-3lb size ones.
Well at least there’s still fish guess I can’t go fishing today cause the rain but it JUST has to be my birthday that the weather is junk
Good fishing,Elijah
Happy Birthday Elijah! Looks like it’s gonna rain for a week. Maybe you can ask your parents to postpone your birthday celebration til next week. 🙂
Uncle Scott
Go fishing, rain or shine, wind or not, hot or cold, at least that’s what I would do lol. Me and my fishing partner go no matter what the weather is. Definitely not the most comfortable weather to fish in but as long as I think there is a chance for fish, then I go. Happy birthday Elijah. Good luck when you go next time.