First good fish on the Westside jumped in the yak, 4 trip slump is over! Catch and clean.

August 2, 2024 By Scott 4 Comments

I’ve fished the Westside 4 times and never done well, but with the Windward side too windy, and traffic light because school is out, I had fished twice recently and the only thing I brought home was a lonely nabeta. Meanwhile friends who launch in the dark and target the pelagic species had been getting shibi (yellowfin tuna under 100lb), ono and uku. School is starting up next week so this was possibly my last Westside trip this year.

The major solunar bite was happening in the mid-morning and it was slightly overcast so that gave me hope that the normally wary bottom fish would be more active. But the bite never materialized until after the major bite time was over. I had gone deeper to find less cautious fish and something finally bit the damashi rig and felt a little heavy coming up. I was stoked to see a thick nabeta and hoped to catch a few more but that didn’t happen.

Instead, I got bitten off and re-rigged with a 25lb store-bought damashi set, adding a Completely Hooked Lures Minnow to the damashi fly. This combination has been effective with the tackle busters at this spot. The fish skin wings and tassled thread must make the CHL Minnow look like a larger creature.

I hooked something near the bottom that bent the soft jig rod and took drag! It pulled in spurts, and circled but didn’t feel like the jacks that had broken me off the 2 previous trips. I was ecstatic to see my biggest weke ula / weke nono on the kayak but the fight wasn’t over as it slipped out of my hands and jumped in the kayak with the second damashi hook dangerously flying in tandem. See the hilarious video below.

Another cut off followed, then the deep bite slowed so I went in a bit to check a depth a friend recommended. Sure enough I hooked a smaller, keeper weke nono. It started to drizzle and the offshore winds gusted to 20mph so I cranked up the Bixpy motor and made my way in, dropping the damashi on enticing marks.

Something bit at the 100ft mark that surprised me. A daytime menpachi that must’ve thought night time was coming!

I was grateful that the distance to deep water on the Westside is very close compared to the Windside because I was battling strong offshores and choppy seas to get in.

The large weke nono was just under 2.5lb and the smaller one was just under 1.5lb The nabeta was 0.75lb. Weke nono is a little dry when cooked so it’s best eaten as sashimi or poke and very underated in my opinion. Because the weke nono primarily eat shrimp and crab, their flesh is clean and sweet tasting, on the soft side but not mushy.

This is the fillets of the 1.5lb weke nono. The bones and head were cooked Japanese style in shoyu, sugar, ginger and water.

It helps to chill the weke nono in ice for day or so before cutting to firm up the meat, and then wrapping the fillet in paper towels in the fridge for another day or so to remove moisture . The Rapala Fish Pro 6 inch Fillet Knife made slicing the soft-ish flesh a breeze.

My neighbor Brian artfully sliced and presented the 2.5lb weke nono.

And here’s the short video of the weke nono jumping above the kayak.

It’s raining Nabeta! Check out the underwater footage of this crazy bite.

April 24, 2023 By Scott Leave a Comment

Nabeta (razor wrasse) are considered the best tasting fish to fry in Hawaii, and one of the best tasting fish to eat overall. They’re found in sandy patches, near scattered reef, in 80 to 200ft. They aren’t picky eaters but are hard to find unless you’ve saved the spots prior, and didn’t tell anyone.

I’ve gotten a few small to medium sized nabeta when trying for opelu, but never really found a consistent bite. On this day however, they bit like crazy, and I’m guessing a number of conditions came together. Light wind, small waves, major lunar bite period, and overcast rainy conditions.

I had struck out on pelagics outside, with my sole live opelu being pulled off in 270ft as I reeled it in to check on it. I tried to catch another opelu in the deep and failed so I went in to where the shallow opelu had been and instead a 7 inch nabeta ate one of my CHL Minnows on my damashi. It had started to rain steadily and the nabeta bite improved. Something bit off 1 of my 3 hooks and yet 2 large nabeta came up on the next drop.

During this mayhem my reel knob broke off and I took that as a sign that I should slow down on the fish catching. Nabeta are easy to fish out because they are a slow growing bottom fish. I had a rod rigged up with an underwater GoFish cam I hadn’t used before, and I put a piece of bait on the hook hoping the smell would draw the fish within camera range. I couldn’t feel any nibbles because of the weight of the camera, but could feel a hooked fish on the line! I reeled up and found an angry nabeta at the end. I rebaited and dropped down again and could feel a fish run with the bait and then the line went slack. All good as long as the camera was recording.

Dropped the baited rig down again and could feel another fish get hooked. Kinda crazy to have these uncommonly found fish just hook themselves. At this point I had enough nabeta in the kayak and hoped I had some meaningful video to target these tasty critters more effectively.

I was stoked that the video clips clearly showed the nabeta mugging the bait, and when I slowed the video down, I could even see opelu and lai as the camera was pulled up to the surface (not shown in the video below but I’ll try to record other species next time).

Friends who hadn’t had nabeta in decades really enjoyed deep frying them, eating the scales like panko chips. I had been frying nabeta for my dad recently so my sister steamed the biggest one for him. I almost forgot to tell her to take the scales off!

Lemme know what you folks think of the underwater footage.

Rain offshore made for dangerous kayak conditions

February 5, 2021 By Scott Leave a Comment

On the day before a cold front/rain event was due, the forecast for the South shore was 9 mph south wind with gusts up to 15 mph, and rain falling in the mid afternoon. Thinking we would be back on shore by 2pm, Frank, Guy and I headed out for a return trip to the spot that yielded uku on live moana.

We could feel the onshore south wind as we left the protection of the land mass. It was a little bumpy with a lot of current 2 miles out, but still fishable. The drift was much faster than the last time we were here, so it was hard to stay over the reef fish spots, and I could only manage a small nabeta early on. Frank was feeling the rock and roll of his kayak so he went on water safety patrol for us.

Guy, fishing his first time in choppy conditions, was on fire, landing two good sized nabeta and some brown hagi that a friend from Japan wanted to eat.

Even though the rain clouds were a couple miles further offshore from us, the conditions deteriorated sooner than expected and we decided to head into the shallows to wait for the rain to pass. Frank’s Hobie Revolution 13 with a 28.5″ width and raised seat was really rolling in the “following sea” (disorganized waves pushing us from behind as we headed in). My Ocean Kayak Trident Ultra 4.3, with a 29″ width and lower seat felt more secure but there were times I had to put my feet in the water to stabilize. Guy’s Hobie Compass with 34″ width and raised seat was the most stable but still felt dicey if a wave caught him from the side.

When we got to the safety of shallower water, the rough conditions had passed but we decided to call it a day anyway. It was a valuable experience to be aware when the weather conditions were turning dangerous, and to learn how to brace and correct in following seas. I’ve since read that some Hobie paddlers recommend putting the fins up against the side of the hull, and paddling in very rough following seas because the fins could be hit from the side if deployed, and turn the boat broadside into a wave. Sitting as low as possible and paddling lowers the center of gravity.

It was good to see some hagi removed from the reef. Although it requires more tedious prep, some people like the taste of the triggerfish. Guy was using a secret bait which he offered to us on the water but we declined. We’ll definitely be taking it next time since he said he also had a big strike break off his line, and brought up the head of a moana. In comparison, it was super slow fishing with just soft plastics on the damashi. I’m thinking the incoming storm was giving the fish sinus headaches like it does to me.

These nabeta were deep fried and greatly appreciated by Guy’s family.