Hunting oio on a narrow reef shelf

Decided to give the most recent spot a rest.  On a friend’s recommendation, I explored a narrow strip of reef that falls into a deeper channel.  The terrain was the common crushed rock and tufts of seaweed found on the inner reefs of Oahu.

The bite on the shallow reef during the rising tide was slow so I made my way to the outer edge.  I picked up an obake weke halfway out, which I thought was a good sign that oio would be around.  Sadly, nothing else bit as I waded deeper and deeper.

I was using a 7ft 11inch casting rod and a heavier 3/4 oz weight. With the help of the wind,  I could cast much further than normal.  I walked out to hip-high water, and tried to hit a reef section in the channel.  I let the bait sit and eventually felt very light taps.  It felt like something was pecking away at the bait and I forced myself to wait it out.  After about 25 seconds the fish took the bait and pulled line off the reel.  Oio!  But because of the rocky terrain the fish ran under a rock outcropping and I could feel the line rub.  My drag was sticky too, and the line pulled in spurts.

look how well it blends in

The fish dragged all my fluorocarbon top shot through the rock hangup and I was into my braid backing.  I turned the fish but it was still hung up on the rock so I waded out to chest high water and was able to free the line.  The oio came in easily at this point because it was fighting the increased drag of a stuck line.

I walked it back to shore to take some pics and release it.

my tabis are size 9

Nothing else of consequence bit after that.  In the past, catching a 4.5 lb oio measuring almost 22 inches at a new spot would’ve been great accomplishment.  But after this week’s 6 pounder, it was kind of anti-climactic.  And fighting the 6 pounder with a locked down drag must’ve warped the drag washers.  I’ll have to rebuild the drag system before the next screamah hits.