Holoholo: Fishing the Calm Before the Storm

August 24, 2021 By Scott Leave a Comment

Big Island kayak fisher Shea shares their best outing yet, right before a storm was supposed potentially flood the island.

Shea:

The ocean on the windward side of the Big Island was crystal clear and flat as a lake and winds were dead calm through the work week, and the remnants of Hurricane Linda were supposed to pass by on Sunday, so my buddy and I decided to head out on Friday. Even with the full moon and a sub-par fishing forecast, we figured maybe the incoming low-pressure system would turn the fish on. We launched in the dark and immediately noticed that the water had some “morning sickness” as the surfers say. The winds also started blowing onshore 5-10 mph with higher gusts, so going out to the grounds was slower than usual. We got out to the bait zone just as the horizon was lighting up with hues of red and orange.

*The only time I hooked Opelu that day. Hooked 4 but one fell off right at the kayak.*

It wasn’t long before we started passing some massive schools of taape or some other bottom fish. Experience has taught me that sometimes the opelu will be close by. Sure enough, a cloud of bait spanning 25-75 feet deep soon came into view. I was able to hook four on the first drop, but only managed to get three onto the kayak. I decided to take my chances and head out deeper to catch the dawn patrol. I sent my first opelu out on a 44 lb wire stinger rig and slowly pedaled out over the drop-off. As I passed over into deeper water, the fish finder came to life with marks from the surface all the way down to ~150 feet. Some of the marks had the telltale cloud shape of opelu, so I dropped my sabiki rig down hoping to pick up a few more.

*A school of Rainbow Runner destroyed my sabiki right after, but managed to land one just as something took off with my opelu!*

Something much stronger than an opelu immediately started screaming drag in short runs from my bait rod, and as I was fighting what would turn out to be a rainbow runner on my 10 lb test sabiki, something grabbed my live bait and took off on a short run. I tightened the drag on my Penn Spinfisher VI 8500 in an attempt to set the hook, but whatever was on the other end had come off. Thinking either my bait was gone or my line cut, I focused on landing my little rainbow runner, and just as I was brining it onto the kayak, my live bait rod bent over and screamed in its rod holder, listing my kayak over to the right. I guess my bait wasn’t gone after all!

*First time seeing one of these ninjas right next to my kayak.*

Whatever was on the other end put up a decent fight, but it had obviously burned a lot of energy in its initial run. After a few minutes of tug-of-war, the fish was within 20 feet of my kayak, but I still couldn’t see it in the dark water.

*It’s really hard to take a good photo of these long fish on a kayak*.

Suddenly, the fish broke surface right next to me and I realized that for the first time in 7 months of kayak fishing, an ono (wahoo) was within reach of my gaff! I sank a rushed kage shot into the back of the fish’s head, then readjusted and got a decent stab clean through.

**Zoom** in to see the stinger hook caught right in the roof of the mouth.

The ono curse had been lifted, and the stoke was real! My Hobie fishbag was not nearly long enough, so I radioed my buddy and asked if we could stow the fish in his. Turns out he was also hooked into a scrappy shibi ahi (yellowfin tuna). Nice double strike!

*Chunky uku that ate my next bait immediately and really high up in the water column*.

The fish finder screen was still lit up, and my ono would have to wait until my friend was done with his fish, so I decided to quickly tie on another wire stinger rig and get my second bait out. Not even a minute after letting my second opelu swim out, something grabbed it and I was on again! The bait couldn’t have been more than 50 feet down when it got eaten, so I figured it might be a shibi or another ono. After a brief but intense fight, the biggest uku (green jobfish) I had ever hooked broke the surface! My kage actually bounced right off of its skull so it took a few tries, but I was able to get the point to stick and wrestle it aboard.

*Unmistakable two-toned and sickled shibi outline!*

I tied on yet another wire stinger rig and sent out my third and final opelu, then slowly made my way back to where I’d hooked the ono. I had passed over some promising looking bait schools while fighting the uku, so the plan was to try pick up more bait and perhaps give some to my friend. At the time, he was improvising using a live 2 lb rainbow runner and trolling out deep. Before I could even find the bait school, something devoured my last opelu and took off on a screaming run. After a couple decent runs, the fish started coming up easy and I saw the sillhoute of a shibi circling under the kayak.

After a fair amount of struggling, I rushed my kage shot, lost my grip, and watched in disbelief as the fish took off with my spear sticking out of it!

*Luckily, he came back up with the kage still inside!*

Luckily, the shibi came back up quickly and even still had my gaff in it. Nice easy and free lesson to be patient and wait for a clean shot, especially if the fish is hooked well!

*These guys are a plague while trying to catch bait, but great fun on the jig!*

My friend had managed to catch another opelu while I was fighting my shibi, so we decided to give the area another drift. With no baits left in the tube and not much energy left to pedal around and look for more, I decided to drop a 120g Majorcraft Jigpara slow-fall vertical jig into some promising marks on the sounder. After what must have been 7 or 8 missed strikes, I finally got a decent hook set into something. It turned out to be a rainbow runner slightly larger than the one I landed on my sabiki. There must have really been a lot of these guys out there.

After landing it, I looked over and saw that my buddy’s rod was bent and he was battling something. As I pedaled closer, I could see the long silver outline of an ono circling around under his kayak. Double shibis and double onos! Definitely one for the books and I don’t think either of us will be forgetting this day’s action anytime soon.

Here’s the video action of the story you just read:

Holoholo: Flying Fish TV double ono, shibi and kawakawa on kayak!

October 18, 2019 By Scott Leave a Comment

My name is Dan, but a lot of people know me by my YouTube channel Flying Fish TV. I am pilot by profession, former military and now as a civilian I am pursuing my greatest passion, kayak fishing. Before moving to Hawaii I told myself that if I managed to figure it out that I would start a channel to teach others. I started kayak fishing back in 2010, but never really went anywhere with it until my family was stationed in Hawaii. After fishing mostly solo for 6 months in Hawaii I started to get it down and started a YouTube channel in May of 2018.

Dan: It was a Saturday morning and despite having to work in the afternoon I hit the water. My friend and I had been eyeing the forecast and it looked like the last day before the wind was going to pick up. It was supposed to be 14-18 knots and 4ft swell. On the way out in the dark we could tell that it was going to be a little rougher than expected. As the sun came up and we could see the conditions and we decided to make it as short of a trip as possible. We easily caught bait and I filled my bait tubes with 5 opelu each. I set out my first long bait and then my short bait, both on wire. The current was ripping pretty hard and after about 40 minutes I was thinking we would be going home with a big donut.

I had drifted a couple hundred feet in that time and started moving back. I opened the bail on my long bait and the line seemed to peel off a little faster than my bait could move. I closed the bail and I was on. It was fighting a little weird and I wasn’t sure if I had a needlefish (aha) at first or later on a yellow fin tuna (shibi) or a wahoo (ono). I had the fish at my 50ft leader and I strained to see it in the water. With waves and the ripples I wasn’t able to tell it was a wahoo until it popped up right by my kayak. Knowing there wasn’t enough light to get a good picture I kage’d him and brought him in the kayak. It had a big scar near the tail and a broken dorsal fin as well.

At some point after catching bait I managed to lose one of my bait tubes despite it being in a carabiner. It must have slipped out, but the paracord may have broken as well. Either way the bait tube sailed off with 4 live baits inside. During the fight I managed to drown my other bait and after switching it I set it out at my 200ft mark. Shortly after I put the wahoo in my fish bag I heard a buzz as something hit my long bait. I picked up the rod thinking that I missed the fish. I left my bait out there hoping the wahoo would come back for the other half. After a few seconds I started reeling in the slack and the fish was still on. I moved my other live bait rod around so I could chase the fish without getting majorly tangled. I got to my leader quickly but the fish fought hard digging in circling below the kayak. I must have gotten the yellowfin in range to kage several times, but it kept taking line. I finally kage’d the fish and I was surprised how lit up it was. It might have been that I pulled the fish in about half as much time as usual.

During the fight a big swell of around 8ft knocked something loose on my battery or so I thought. The fish finder kept powering on and off every second and it turned out that the power cable was broken at the fuse. I disconnected the fish finder after the fight. I now had my first ever wahoo and yellow fin combo and I started to dream about a grand slam. I have had several yellow fin and mahi mahi combos in the past. Another swell snapped me back into reality as I put the yellow fin tuna in the fish bag. I had drifted about a half mile since the first hook up and decided it wasn’t worth moving back. I set out another short bait on wire and it wasn’t long before the bait was freaking out. The rod tip was bouncing so much I wasn’t sure if a shark was about to eat it or it was running for its life from a pelagic. I opened my bail to let it run as life like as possible. It was maybe 3 seconds later it stopped taking line and I closed the bail. I could feel that something was chomping on it so I put the reel into live liner mode. Once the fish started to run again I clicked off the live liner mode and I was on. It felt tiny like I had hooked a bonita (kawa kawa) or a small yellow fin as I brought the fish to my leader. I pulled it right to within 20 feet of the kayak and then it must have realized it was hooked. It was another yellow fin screaming off line in desperation. Once I got the fish close again I saw that it was only hooked by the stinger and I stood a good chance of losing the fish. I chilled out a little bit and waited for it to wear itself out. I pulled it into the kayak and it was a copycat of the first all lit up. I told my friend that if I caught another fish that it was going to be too heavy for the kayak as it was getting pretty tippy with the big swells. He offered to let me throw fish in his fish bag if needed.

The night before I had texted my friend that I was going to bring the Dock Demon, my toy rod. If I was successful in catching one wahoo I was going to try to get one on the Dock Demon. I was still in the area where I caught the last yellow fin and set out my second to last bait on wire with the dock demon. Initially the bait ran around my bait tube lanyard, but after I got it loose I free lined the bait. It swam down and away from the kayak with the line jerking off the spool. The last fish I had caught on the dock demon was the 20lb yellow fin and a lot of the braid was tightly compacted. With the jerking motions I barely noticed that something had picked up my bait and was swallowing it. That was until I stopped free lining with about 70 feet of line out. The small dock demon bent over and I felt the weight of something. I instinctively moved the steering handle in an attempt to get the line around the bow to the right side of the kayak. If at all possible I fight fish from the right side of the kayak that is free from my camera, fish finder or transducer. The line got caught on the front handle and my luck held as it popped free.

By now the fish was running and the Shimano Senora was singing. It was way up on the surface and I knew it had to be a wahoo. I initially thought I was in for a pretty long fight but after a few minutes the fish had stopped running on the surface and was around 30 feet below the kayak. I could see something long and skinny, but a little smaller than I imagined. Below the kayak it started circling and having forgot about my other line and I slowly drifted over it. I grabbed the small wahoo and after putting the dock demon in the rod holder I started to realize that I actually made it happen. It was at this point I noticed my other line going under the kayak and grabbed my rod to avoid a tangle, but it was too late. My line was flapping in the wind as it had been clean cut 200ft above my bait. I’m pretty sure that the wahoo swam through my line and cut me off. Since the fish was pretty small I decided that it would just barely fit in the fish bag with all of the other fish. It wasn’t easy maneuvering the fish bag with nearly 100lbs in it, but in the process the unthinkable happened. While struggling to get the zipper closed my hand slipped and I knocked the Dock Demon out of the rod holder and it was gone sinking below the kayak.

A little heart broken I had almost met my goal of catching a wahoo, yellow fin tuna, and a mahi mahi on the dock demon. I was totally loaded down at this point and started heading in slowly. I still had one bait left and I tossed it in not knowing the depth. My friend was also near us on his boat and I asked him if he wanted one of the yellow fin tuna. He said yes and was maneuvering to take the fish when my bait got hit. It was a kawakawa and I ended up giving him both fish. I gave the smaller wahoo to my friend on the trip.

I finally purchased a scale and the wahoo were 24 and 16lbs, and the yellow fin tuna was 18lbs. With my 20lb bag of ice my fish bag had 96lbs in it, the second most weight I have ever put in it. If it was flat this much weight would have been fine but not in 5ft waves. My friend was still trying to catch some more fish but after the bite died off we made our way in at 9am. Tons of action for such a short trip and my best fishing trip in Hawaii far. Double wahoo and a yellow fin, now I just need to tack a mahi on and I’ll have a grand slam.

Holoholo: 1st ono off Big Island kayak

August 2, 2018 By Scott 2 Comments

Jorden and his wife Dominique have actively supported PIFG’s Tag It program with beautiful photos of their tagged papio/ulua for use in the Lawai’a magazine. They’ve been kayak fishing off the Big Island for about a year, targeting bigger and better fish. I’ve asked Jorden to describe his most recent kayak fishing accomplishment so Frank and I can prepare for the deep water pelagics.

Jorden:
My wife and I launched our 13 ft Hobie Outbacks from shore around 9:00am. After trying for small inshore game for bait with little success, we decided to head out to deeper waters for pelagic species before the winds picked up. At about the 100 ft depth I pulled out the largest frozen opelu I had, which was hooked on my pre-made leader set-up that included 6ft of 80 lb Yo-zuri topknot fluorocarbon leader with a 7/0 live bait hook put through the head, which was connected to 7 inches of 120 lb Malin wire attached to a 4/0 treble hook that I attached near the posterior end of the bait. This leader set-up was connected to the mainline on a 5 1/2 ft Seeker trolling rod/Shimano TLD 30 loaded with 200 yd of 200 lb braid and about 150 ft of 80 lb mono for some stretch.

I let out about 75-100 ft of mono and began trolling. After about an hour or so of trolling and no action I decided to do a bait check by giving the rod a couple of pulls and BANG! The reel screamed off about 25 yd of line, then slowed. I began to fight the fish which felt nice and heavy. A couple more solid runs then nothing….. I reeled in about 30 ft of slack line and then the reel started screaming again. After a few similar situations of the fish running away then towards the kayak, the fish started circling the kayak. As the fish approached the kayak it gave one more run and then I finally saw color… A long shiny spearhead shape appeared and I knew immediately that it was an ono, which I’ve wanted to catch for 20 years. I pulled out my kage and with one shot, speared the fish perfectly and the fight was over. It’s quite a feeling to have a fish like this lay across your lap.

I feel extremely fortunate to have landed this fish given that it had completely swallowed both hooks, but didn’t cut through the leader. The rudder and mirage drive system on the Hobie was clutch, which enabled me to adjust the kayak to best fight the fish. Not only did this fish provide an awesome experience, but also provided us with weeks worth of ono food. We didn’t weigh it, but guess it weighed somewhere around 35lb.

Guest Post: Ono on only second kayak trip ever!

March 19, 2018 By Scott 4 Comments

Frank and I first fished together in 2014 just as this website’s blog began. He is a very accomplished longboard surfer of Hawaii surfing aristocracy, and was my surfing and church mentor. Frank’s family had a small boat when he was growing up that they used to target reef fish but he was much more experienced with a surfboard than a fishing rod. In the spring of 2017 we made an effort to fish together more often, starting with some top water whipping. As expected, Frank quickly caught on to the art of retrieving surface lures and landed good size kaku. Here’s one of those kaku top water trip reports.

Then Frank modified his stand up paddle board (SUP) to sit and paddle kayak style. With that, he had a very light watercraft he could safely paddle around to troll and whip. We started in the protective bays to get used to fighting fish in the relatively cramped, seated position (I was on a kayak), and began to venture near the surf break. By the fall of 2017, we were going past the surf line, dragging live and dead oama. Frank was much less prone to capsizing on his SUP than I was on the yak, and he did especially well fishing just behind the waves. Here’s one of our productive days.

The inshore bite came to a screeching halt in the winter of 2017, so we carefully went deeper on vary calm days. At least a third of the time the wind came up and we had to paddle in for safety, but when we could fish the deep we began to see schools of bait on the fish finder, and we stumbled upon small uku and papio in the 40 – 60 ft depths. I wouldn’t have attempted to kayak fish past the reef if I didn’t have Frank as a very competent water safety/fishing partner. Hard to believe how far we progressed in just one year of fishing on the SUP/kayak!

This trip took place in the first week of December, 2017. I am a little uncomfortable with his words of appreciation but didn’t want to edit it all out!

Frank:
Planning and packing the night before my next fishing adventure and OJT (on the job training) with Scott was extra exciting. This will be my 2nd time on his Swing kayak and first time using Scott’s fish finder. Our main plan was to jig in deeper water and this will be my 1st time jigging. Scott instructed me to join a 25 lb floro leader line to the 30 lb Suffix Braid line that Scott gave me to fill my Penn 440 SS. He has choke top of the line fishing gear and he’s so generous. Scott showed me the Uni knot a long time ago while teaching me top water lure fishing. Of course I forgot so I had to use instructions with pictures. Tying the Uni knots took a while but it came out pretty good, I hoped. I made sure I packed the jigs Scott gave me. My first plan was to troll oama on the way out prior to meeting Scott in the deep for my OJT jigging session. So I had to pack pre-tied leader lines and hooks and stage the frozen bait to load the next morning. Fishing gear, rinse off water, fishing/change clothes and paddle was now in the car. After going through my new check list (for kayak fishing) it was time to sleep.

We met at our launch site about 8am and the ocean conditions were perfect, what a Blessing! After unloading and setting up the kayaks with fishing gear, Scott briefed me on how to read the fish finder and how to attach/remove the jigs on the Anglers Power Clips along with some jigging techniques. We made sure our safety gear was secured, walkie talkie radios loud and clear and cars were locked. We dragged the kayaks into the water and I said a pule before hopping on the kayak. As we started paddling that’s when I realized that I forgot the oama. I grabbed the Arctic Ice pack from the freezer for my fish bag but forgot the oama. I told Scott my plan to troll was canceled so I concentrated on the fish finder. It’s an amazing tool to measure depth and see fishes. It was cool to see the change from 30’ to 100’ and the scattered fishes at different depths.

We paddled to an area where there were a lot of fish so we started jigging. I picked a Live Deception jig and attached it to the clip, then double checked that it was secured. As I was dropping the jig down I was so thankful for the super calm day as the line was almost straight down. After hitting the bottom I started slow jigging while trying to follow Scott’s instructions. It took me a long time to get a good rhythm while untangling the line tangled around the rod tip during the lifting and dropping motion. After a few drops I paddled to another area that the fish finder (FF) was marking fish. After slow jigging for a while I changed jigs and tried jigging again using different jigging techniques. After a few more drops and tangled line on the rod tip I changed the jig again and tied my luck again but no takers. I think the fishes knew there was a rookie on the other end of this jig. I drifted apart from Scott so I reeled up the jig roughly half way up, put the pole in the pole holder, attached the safety clip to the reel and started paddling toward Scott. The water was so calm and clear that I spotted a long silver fish about 30’ to 50’ down just cruising. I thought it was pretty cool to be able see a good size fish swimming right under me.

After paddling for about 45 seconds the pole bent over and my first thought was I snagged the bottom. I realized that I reeled the jig up quite a bit before paddling so it couldn’t be a snag, and then the pole started reacting like a hookup. I grabbed the rod and reel from the pole holder and the fish took off taking line with ease. After two long runs I was thinking the fish was going to spool me so I tightened the drag a little. It stopped taking line but the fish was pulling me East. I finally had the chance to call Scott and tell him I had a good size fish on. He started paddling towards me while my good fun battle continued. Our give and take tug o’ war lasted a few minutes when the line went kinda slack so I reeled in as fast as I could remembering my last adventure fighting a good size heavy fish from a boat. That boat fight lasted over 50 minutes when the fish started swimming toward the boat and I didn’t know to take up the slack in that situation. The fish turned and I felt a tug on the line and I lost that battle.

In this battle I prayed I didn’t lose the fish as I reeled in fast until I felt the fish’s tug again then panic turned to joy again. Scott was close enough to watch his kayak being towed by a fish. He yelled with excitement and encouragement saying to take my time. But Scott also said on the walkie talkie that I should try land the fish ASAP because the possibility of sharks.

Editor’s note: I said that because my feet were in the water for balance to help land the fish and I didn’t want to become shark bait!

I didn’t”t want my first good size fish from a kayak taken as an easy meal so I picked up the pace. The fish was getting closer and it also started swimming in a counter clockwise direction around the kayak. It wasn’t close enough to see color but it did keep me busy reeling in while trying to keep the line clear of the bow and the stern of the yak as it kept circling in the same direction. My poIe was just long enough to clear both ends of the yak, another Blessing. I could reel in line only when the fish was on the port and starboard side of the yak. After uncountable circles around the yak I finally could see a sliver color. I told Scott it was a Mahi Mahi but it was an Ono. Scott soon paddled in closer to see the sleek silver fish still swimming around the yak. Scott’s excitement got me more excited. As the fish got closer we started talking about how we going land our very first Pelagic on kayaks. Scott got close enough to see that the jig was hooked to the left side fin which prevented its sharp teeth from cutting the 25 lb. leader line. Another Blessing and more excitement but we still needed a plan to land the Ono with a round gaff or a “bonker gaff” used to pull Alaskan halibut aboard boats and then bonk ’em. Problem was both were on Scott’s yak. The Ono was still circling the yak but was slowing down. We agreed that as the Ono circled around in between our yaks Scott would gaff with the bonker gaff. As the ono was coming along my port side Scott saw that the ono was making a U-turn around the transducer. His calm voice turned to frantic instructions to free the line from the transducer to prevent cutting. The wrap was loose so I freed it easily. The ono continued in the same direction but did the same U-turn. It was like an instant replay with the coach yelling from the side lines. Kinda funny now but nobody was laughing at that moment. Good thing the Ono was tired and swimming slow, the line was easily cleared from the transducer, another Blessing. The transducer was tilted out of the water and it was time to gaff this fish. Scott got into position (my starboard side) and was ready with the bonker gaff. The Ono made one lap around my yak and heading next to Scott but was little too deep to gaff so I reeled in more line as it made one more lap. It cleared my stern and was heading to Scott right below the surface. As it got within Scott’s reach he used one chopping motion to set the gaff but pulled up and immediately said he didn’t want to cut the line using that gaff. I reeled up to the leader and had the fish on the starboard side of the yak. Scott said he was going to hand me the bonker gaff as he paddled to my port side. After he gave me the gaff the fish swam in the same counter clockwise direction around to the port side. I grabbed the leader line, pulled the Ono along side the yak and inserted the gaff into the gill and lifted it on board. The Ono was barely moving and my coach said to make sure it was dead so I used the back side to the bonker to knock em out. Now we could celebrate, take a few pics and relax after a exciting battle. Our first pelagic! A Blessing from God! I didn’t even know what a pelagic was until my coach told me.

Our challenge wasn’t over yet. Our Ono was longer than my Seattle Sports fish bag which is 20” long and we were about a mile from shore. While we were deciding what to do to keep our Ono fresh, Scott was marking a lot of fish around him and his attention quickly focused on catching another pelagic. My mind was on sashimi, fried fish and fish soup. I looked at the fish and the fish bag lengths and figured half of the fish would fit in my bag. A thought came to mind. Scott had the exact same bag with the same Arctic Ice pack and was empty. If I put the other half of the Ono in Scott’s bag and butt the openings together, the Ono would have a better chance of staying cool. Scott let me use his fish bag and the Ono fit perfectly, still another Blessing.

I watched Scott fish while I rested and hydrated. After a few minutes I told Scott I was going to start my long paddle in. He was going to fish a little more then head in also. After a radio check I started my paddle in, still in awe of what an exciting adventure this trip turned out to be. An adventure filled with excitement, flashbacks, panic, joy and choke Blessings. And I got to share this special experience with a great friend and fishing sensei.

We finally made it to shore safely, our biggest Blessing. Within an hour we were at Scott’s house. The makeshift Seattle Sports fish bags and Arctic Ice packs kept our Ono surprisingly cool. After a weigh in at 11 lbs and a few more pics, the Ono was cleaned, cut, bagged and iced in a cooler. We were able to Bless our families, FWA (Fishing With Aloha) brothers Scott, Kelly, Erik and Thad, and a friend who fabricated Scott’s transducer holder with fresh Ono.

When I asked Frank to take a photo of the Xesta After Burner swimming jig he caught the ono on, he decided to wear it as a necklace.

This fishing trip definitely tops the list of all my fishing adventures since retiring and learning to fish more seriously under Scott’s tutelage. Mahalo to the FWA guys who humbly shared their many years of fishing knowledge and experiences which has helped me enjoy fishing, catch fish and see more our beautiful Aina (from the ocean). They even stretched me to write this article which is harder than tying knots. Mahalo & Aloha ke akua.

Going further and deeper to extend the season

December 13, 2017 By Scott 12 Comments

In the past, our “season” has ended when the water temps cool and the bait leaves the inshore waters. Knowing this end was near, we prepped the kayaks and SUPs to do some nearshore bottom fishing further out than we had previously attempted.

The first outing yielded our first kayak/SUP uku but we had to paddle in to safety against strong winds and deal with having to keep the kayak straight in following seas. This was how that outing went.

After that successful but dangerous outing, we tried another deep drop off but the wind came up and was pushing us out to sea. We had to paddle for our lives to get in and were emotionally shook up from the realization that we would have needed to be rescued if we had become incapable of paddling hard for shore.

I had Go Bananas in Kapahulu add a rudder and some convenient bungee “trees” to my Scupper Pro, and I picked up a Garmin EchoMap 44cv fish finder/gps from West Marine on Black Friday. My hope was that the rudder would make my paddling more efficient, especially in windy conditions, the GPS would take us to nearby artificial reefs and mark hot spots, and the more advanced fish finder would accurately tell us what type of fish were below. I also got a Thule Hull-A-Port “J” style cradle to securely carry the second kayak on its side.

Our next outing was back to the deep water spot where we had gotten in trouble. This time we picked a day with almost no wind, and not much swell. The new fish finder/gps accurately told us the depth we were in, and marked what I think were fish on the bottom and a large bait school suspended from about 50ft to 100ft. Nothing was biting our jigs and I paddled further out to mark more bait. I heard Frank yell “hanapa’a” but couldn’t see what he was fighting. He tried to talk over the walkie talkie while fighting the fish but I was just getting fragments. When I paddled back to him, he was getting towed against the wind and current towards me! The fish didn’t want to tire, and he was battling it on an ancient Penn 440SS which was definitely not made to fight fish of that size. I shot video of the long fight and the very difficult landing process.

Frank will write up his recollection of the amazing, miraculous experience but here’s a preview of his catch. We still can’t believe he caught a pelagic on only our 3rd deep water outing. I jigged near the bait school for a few drops for nada and then we paddled in to take care of the prized fish.

On the next light wind day I was dying to return to the opelu / pelagic spot. Frank couldn’t make it but had designed and oversaw the process of fabricating a streamlined transducer rod and plate so I could hang the transducer over the side with as little drag as possible. This thing is work of art!

I tentatively paddled out solo but was relieved to see so many boats around and helicopters above. The bait school was deeper on this day, in 125 ft of water but again, nothing bit my jigs. I even tried trolling jigs and swimming plugs “Frank-style”.

Happy enough that all the new equipment was working well, I let the wind blow me in as I steered with the foot controlled rudder. At 100 ft I had a bite on the jig that came off. I assumed it was a hage but was still glad for that one bite. At 80ft I hooked something that felt like a small hage and winched it up. I was stunned to see a nabeta hooked on the rear treble of the Live Deception 2 oz jig with its swim bladder popped out through its gill. I marked the spot on my GPS and returned to it but couldn’t catch another fish. I’ll have to return with a proper damashi-type of setup.

My friend and fellow kayak fisher, Haru, told me how to gut the fish but leave the scales on and scrub the slime off with Hawaiian salt, then salt and pepper it before deep frying, taking it out to cool, and then frying it a second time to crisp up. My wife used a ponzu sauce and chilli pepper water Frank had given us, and that fried nabeta was ono with a non-fishy, sweet, soft texture.

So far the uku, ono and nabeta we’ve caught in deeper water have been much less fishy tasting than the papio we’ve been catching inshore. Now I understand why boaters often prefer bottom fish to reef fish.

Instead of waiting for the bait fish to return to the shallows, we’re now gearing up to target the bottom fish and pelagics of the winter season. Chee hoo!!