Feeling good about ending my bolo, I ventured to the Windward side for some shallow water kaku action.  The tide hadn’t filled in at my dependable spot so I decided to wade around an area we’ve kayak fished in the past.  There were a lot of 7 inch mullet near shore, much more than I see on the South Shore, so I was hopeful that an ambushing kaku would be nearby.

In 2.5 feet of water I spotted the purple-blue float of a Portuguese Man of War.  The trade winds blow these stinging menaces into the Windward beach shallows, which is why there are so many sand turtles on the Windward side. The sand turtles love to eat the Man of War tentacles!

 

I walked about 12 ft downwind of the Man of War float and crossed its path.  ZAPPP!! It felt like my lower legs received an electrical shock.  I rubbed the areas in disbelief but couldn’t see much of a wound.  Wasn’t sure if the pain would get worse so I headed into shore to text the guys.  Thad, our resident wade fisher, turns out to be our resident jellyfish stingee also. He said the pain subsides very quickly so I drove to another spot but the kaku weren’t home.

By then, the tide had filled in a little at my dependable spot so I waded out into less than knee deep water.  My first cast resulted in a huge eruption of water. Now that’s the kind of greeting I like! I turned on the GoPro and recorded 3 more boils in the next 2 mins and 45 seconds. Sadly none stuck.  I did see another Man Of War float and kept one eye peeled for more.

On my slow walk of shame in I changed to a longer, heavier JDM sub-surface lure with 3 treble hooks, hoping to hook the sneaky kaku that hit the middle of the lure.  I hooked something that had a lot of resistance but couldn’t pull that hard.  It turned out to be a 6 inch omilu that attacked the 4.5 inch lure and was hooked in the mouth and the side.  The side wound was just below the skin and he swam off fine.  Omilu always seem to get foul hooked on the sharp trebles which is partly why I take those off if I’m not targeting kaku.

The next day my Man Of War sting got itchy and the following day was even worse.  Cortizone 10 Plus kept the itch bearable.

At Day 4 it wasn’t itchy anymore but looked really bad!  A friend said he welts up like that too and wears support stockings to prevent the sting from reaching his flesh!  That might look a little funny but less odd than walking around for a month with this scar.

I’ve ordered “calf compression sleeves” from Amazon Prime for less than $10 that don’t look like old lady stockings and am hoping they will prevent further leg stings. Will let you know how they perform.

Windward side has more bait and predators but more chance of getting stung too.  Is that price worth paying for a better shot at fish?