More and more people are entering the water to dunk, wade, dive, net and boat/ski/kayak their way to a catch. It’s a good time to remind new fishers and old timers ways to fish with Aloha. A good rule is to treat others the way you’d want to be treated. The following has been contributed by our team of Holoholo writers. If you have something you’d wish to add, please comment or send us a private message with the Contact form.

On Land

• Park respectfully, especially if parking in front of someone’s home. Leave room for other cars to back up, don’t make a lot of noise, and don’t dump bait or fishy water when you pau fish.
  • Give mail carriers enough space to get to mailbox from their vehicles. Some won’t deliver if a car is blocking mailbox.
  • Be cognizant of trash cans on road. If it’s trash day, give them enough space for the trash guys to stay in their vehicle and not have to move them to pick up cans because some won’t.
• Smile at the non-fishers you see at the beach, they may have flown thousands of miles to see the ocean for the first time, and you will affect what they think of “Hawaiians”.

On a Watercraft

• If on a boat, jet ski or even pedal or motorized kayak, stay at least 100yds away from other water craft. Don’t cut in front of their intended path to race them to the hot spots.
• Don’t approach a watercraft to ask how they’ve been doing unless they call you over.
• If you make make eye contact with another watercraft operator, wave hello. You never know, that guy may be the one who comes to your aid when your watercraft takes on water.

Oama Fishing

• Try to find your own oama pile before joining a group of oama fishers.
• If in a group of strangers, observe the mood. If they are quiet, try to be respectfully quiet also.
  • Don’t walk forward as you fish, that moves the oama further away from shore.
  • Restrain your kids or dogs from swimming near the oama pile.
  • If you’re doing well and someone is struggling to catch oama, consider giving that person some of your bait that is working, or providing a helpful tip.

Wade Fishing

• Respect the space of others. One fly fishing rule is, if you can have a shouted conversation with a person, you’re too close to them.
  • If a person’s fish can run far enough to entangle you with the line, then you are too close.
• Try to go around those fishing from shore by wading farther out or wading in and walking along the shore.

Baitcasting / Dunking

• Don’t pick a spot where folks frequently enter and exit the water.
• If you’re baitcasting from shore and the spot is shallow enough to wade, you’re going to have to accept that guys will be near your line, whether they are swimmers, SUP boarders or wade fishermen. 
• If you are baitcasting or drone fishing (illegal in HI as of June 27, 2022) a shallow flat from shore and you “bankrupt,” try not to leave all your line on the reef.  Throw on some tabis and clean it up.  Also, it it’s happening frequently, it’s probably a sign the spot is too shallow to feasibly baitcast.  The dead line is safety hazard to surfers, divers and wade fisherman (not to mention aquatic life) that can become entangled in the line. 

Diving

• Use a good float and flag and stay a safe working distance from it. This means that if you’re in an area where there’s choppiness, stay closer since visibility of flag will be less. 
• Mark your buoy/float with name and number.  This is always said but seldom done. 
• If you get separated from your buoy/flag, swim to safety holding the one end of you spear/speargun with other end protruding as high as possible out of water.  Keep looking up as you get to safety.  
• For Boaters: Be aware of dive spots that are frequented and always go slow through those areas or try to avoid in general.

   General

• If a spot has been producing for you, let it rest and find a new productive spot. If you hammer it, it may not recover for a long time. We are all blessed to have the ability to get outside and enjoy Hawaii’s resources. However, we must think about the future. Just because you could keep a limit of fish doesn’t mean you should.
• Consider releasing very large fish. The largest fish are the “breeders” and produce the most eggs and sperm. Take photos of the trophy fish and release ’em to populate the next season. Large, old fish don’t taste good anyway!
• Be careful what you show in your social media content. Spots can quickly become crowded and overfished once word gets out fish were caught there.
• Leave only footprints in the sand.  Pick up all your opala, bait, and release rubbish fish back in the water.
• Be friendly and remember we’re all out there to have fun and relax. You may make life long friends that way!