Jeremy (Oahu shore whipper and frequent Holoholo writer) –

I always loved fishing.  I grew up with only using bait, but over time I’ve found my greatest enjoyment came from whipping.  I just liked the challenge of trying to get a fish to eat an artificial lure.  I also liked the fact that there are a bunch of different lures to choose from, so I started to learn all the whipping techniques like egg lead, bubble float, poppers/stickbaits, jigs, and jig heads.  Over many years of trial and error, I became more proficient, but never kept track of all my catches. 

One day, I just had a thought that it would be interesting to see how many different species I could catch in a single year by only whipping.  I started this challenge in 2019 because I thought it was possible to catch ‘19 different fish with only using artificial lures.  I was able to hit that goal, so in 2020 I continued the challenge by trying to catch ‘20 different fish.  I’ve continued this until now, but catching 25 different fish in 2025 has been the toughest so far.  Thankfully, I was able to complete this goal with only 10 days left in the year. 

With the new year quickly approaching, I’m hoping everyone has a successful 2026.  I’ll be trying to hit this years goal of catching ‘26 different fish.  Who else wants to join me in this challenge?  It’ll force you to use all different techniques and make you target specific species.  But really, it’s just a fun way to keep things interesting all year long because now you’ll want to catch everything, even the “rubbish” fish 😂.  Good luck!