I’ve asked Jason, our in-the-water fly fishing reporter, to fill us in on how the Spring has been, and what the near-term outlook may be. You can check him out on IG at commonmango82.

Jason Tsurumaki: For reference, I mostly fish the east Oahu flats and employ a mix of bombing (blind casting) and sight casting, which I personally feel is the most productive approach to these deeper, reefier fisheries.  Because I do not strictly sight fish (like the majority of fly fisher’s targeting o’io), I tend to pick up all sorts of interesting bycatches which can act as a barometer for the overall nearshore fishing picture.  

Looking back at my catch log, east Oahu was pretty hot from the start of the year up until about mid April.   We are unsure what caused the slow down, but speculate it’s a combination of increased fishing pressure (from both fly and regular fisherman) and more activity in the water overall due in part to reopening.  Those familiar with these spots know they are easy to access and frequented by every waterperson under the sun including fishermen, divers, surfers, SUP boarders, windsurfers, kite boarders, and in recent years, foilboarders.  We believe the fish are still around but have become more wary and less likely to come onto the flat and feed aggressively.  

Outside of the fly fishing world, I am not sure how many folks are familiar with the concept of “educated fish.”  In short, the belief is that as more fish are caught (and subsequently released), the population gradually learns to either not go after strange pieces of fur or plastic, or to simply avoid an area altogether.  The degree to which this actually occurs is debatable, however.  There are certainly other factors, many of which cannot be easily accounted for.

We’ve recently pivoted to another south shore spot and have seen modest success, but time will tell if this holds.  In the meantime, we will intermittently check out the east side spots, to see if things perk up again.  Sometimes locating the fish can feel like a game of whack-a-mole.  

One last thing worth mentioning is we haven’t “bycaught” too many papio yet this year, I would say far fewer than most years.  So not sure if this is a bad sign or not for all the papio whippers out there.  Although readers do need to keep in mind that we normally fish on the flat, well inside of the breakers.   As always, your mileage may vary. 

If pressed for a near-term outlook, I’d say the current La Nina cycle will keep fishing on the slower side.

Good luck folks, and have fun!