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:
- Never cast into the school – this will only scare the fish and make the bite more difficult for everyone
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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