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We battled sharks/ulua on bigger gear and landed the target species – catch and cook

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Look at the discolored 20lb mono on the Sealine SL20. I even found salt clumps that I hadn’t washed away before storing it. Shame on me.

The last time Frank and I ventured out to the deep I ran into a strong fish that manhandled my light gear. This is what went down.  We were advised by my uku sensei to use 60 – 100lb leader and big rods/reels.  So I went into storage and rummaged through the gear I brought back from my party boat days out of San Diego that haven’t been looked at in more than a decade.  Cleaned and lubed a Daiwa Sealine SL20 conventional reel, put on fresh 50lb Sufix 832 and matched it to a Daiwa VIP boat rod.  This was my light setup to cast live anchovies on 20lb test mono back in the 90s before we used fluorocarbon leaders.  I figured it would be strong enough for Frank to land big uku and small ulua.

The red marking on the Trinidad’s side plate says “300yds 30lb Sufix” on clear tape. It isn’t a blemish.

I went into the “museum” to pull out the original gold Shimano Trinidad 14 and 7′ 7″ G Loomis Bucara bait rod I had purchased to catch yellowtail on the kayak in SoCal and never used.  That combo is at least 18 yrs old and the rod and reel are out of production now.  I really didn’t want to scratch the beautiful gold reel but the guys convinced me that the reel was meant to be fished, not to be tucked away in a box on a shelf.  Took off the discolored mono and put on 30lb Sufix to get more capacity. Both the Trinidad 14 and SL 20 are really 20 – 30lb test reels but I put 50lb on the SL20 just in case Frank needed to lock down on a big fish.

My uku sensei recommended VMC tournament 12/0 hooks that looked huge to me but the gap between hook point and shaft wasn’t really that big.  The intention was to hook the bait on, drop down and raise it off the bottom, away from hage, and just leave the rod in the holder until something hooked itself.  The circle hook with the severe turned in hook point was designed to be initially taken deep into the fish’s mouth, and as the fish turned and ran, the hook would slide out to the mouth’s corner, roll into position and hook into the thick cartilage.  Layton, at Charley’s Fishing Supply, suggested we also carry a few 14/0 hooks in case our baits were so big the 12/0 hook point wasn’t fully exposed.  The 14/0 looks a lot larger but the gap really only is an index finger width versus the pinkie width of the 12/0.

Frank and I both started with the 12/0 hook.  He used 50lb mono and I used 60lb fluoro as leader.  I figured we had tipped the scales in our favor.  Boy was I wrong.

We picked a light trade wind day with a rolling swell due to a big east swell wrapping around the island.  Not as glassy as our previous time but still easily fishable.  The Garmin 44cv took me to where we started the last time and we put down 5 inch opelu halves Frank had skillfully brined,  wrapped in newspaper and froze to preserve the integrity of the soft bait.  Not much was biting at the 80ft reef except for an occasional hage that shortened our bait and plucked out the eyes.  We kept our baits off the bottom to lesson the hage attack and set up behind the reef where it suddenly drops down.  Fishing with a light drag and clicker to allow the fish to run with the bait before getting hooked, we had numerous hard pulls that didn’t set. Some took the entire bait.  Others left teeth scrapes halfway up the bait but not at the hook area.

Suddenly Frank got a hard pull and run that almost tipped his SUP over.  The fish ran down and hugged the bottom like my fish did the last time, but Frank stabilized himself and quickly learned how to use the conventional reel.  He constantly had to adjust his seating position since the fish was pulling him forward, and had to reposition the gear strapped to his board.  The drag down fight went on for more than 25 mins and then I saw a large light colored shape at deep color. Looked like a big ulua, but Frank had a better view and he realized he had been battling a 6 ft plus shark!  It was another 5 – 10 mins before he could get the shark close enough to cut the leader and salvage most of his line.

This is just a couple mins of Frank’s physically challenging battle with the shark. Can you imagine sitting on a surfboard with no foot rests to push off of, feet dangling in the water with the ocean bottom 130 ft below, as a shark does its best to unseat you?  Frank did an incredible job getting that shark to leader.  Unfortunately the video of his release, with the shark swimming directly under me, had too many landmarks to use.

That shark didn’t take him too far out from where he had hooked it, but we slowly paddled back inside of the 100ft line. Frank caught his breath, and I dropped my opelu bait down.  More strong pulls and baits stolen.  Maybe our 12/0 hook was too large for most of the fish below us?  Then Frank hooked up with something big again!  This fish took him from the 100 ft depth to the 190 ft depth, which is about 350 yds based on the Navionics chart.  This fish cut his leader about 2.5 ft up from the hook before Frank could see what it was.  At this point, Frank’s arms and lower body were torched from doing big fish isometrics in a seated position on an SUP.

We paddled in to 80 ft, and Frank dropped a bait down, put the rod in the holder and started jigging with a Live Deception jig on his Shimano Stradic 4000 FK XG, which was a whole lot smoother than his old Penn 440SS.  He cast, jigged the lure back at an angle and bam! Hanapa’a! Up came a scrappy 2.5 lb omilu!  With that kau kau fish in his cooler bag he didn’t feel so bad about losing the second fish.  Then his bait rod bent over and he almost went with it.  The fish was running so hard he couldn’t get the rod out of the holder, so he loosened the drag, pulled it out and went back to work.  This fish fought like the second fish and pulled him out before cutting him off at about the same halfway up the leader spot as the second fish.  We’re wondering if the scute of an ulua cut the line so far away from the hook but I guess we won’t know until we land one.  I was wondering why I wasn’t hooking them or anything for that matter.

Out of desperation I dropped my opelu half down, cranked up about 40 ft, and held the rod to feel for bait stealers.  Soon I felt some hard taps, then stronger tugs, then the clicker sang.  After so many missed fish I expected this one to drop the bait but it stayed on and I fought my first fish on the Bucara/Trinidad setup.  It felt awkward compared to my short jig rod and bait casting reel. The rod had a stiff tip and long butt, and I had to think about laying the line as I retrieved.  The fish felt strong, much stronger than a hage so I was hoping it was the target fish.  It was, and the circle hook was securely tucked in the 3lb uku’s mouth.  That was the only fish I caught that day, but I was stoked to get my personal best.

In this video you can see that I wasn’t smart enough to put the rod in the holder and hold the leader with my left hand while netting with my right. I kept trying to use the rod tip to pull the fish close enough but the 6ft leader was too long!

We tried to fish that area harder and I finally got a strong, steady pulling fish. Thankfully it cut the leader within 15 seconds and I didn’t have to do big fish isometrics like Frank did. We were nearly out of bait and drinking water, so we trolled our baits in.  I put on a whole frozen halalu and it got hit hard but the fish had only taken the back half in its mouth and missed the hook in its head.

When we got to the beach we both had trouble standing up. 6.5 hrs seated makes our old bodies stiff!

The uku had a small fish, a red opae and a crab in its stomach; the omilu’s stomach was empty.  Frank gave the omilu to our friend who made my custom transducer rod and mounting plate so streamlined I could pull the large transducer through the water with minimal drag.  That Garmin 44cv fish finder/gps has been critical in putting us on the deep water fish.

Frank put slices of ginger and diced chung choy (pickled turnip) into the cuts on the side of the uku and steamed it.  After it was cooked he took it out and drizzled shoyu, then poured hot peanut oil over the fish, then garnished with green onions, parsley and shiitake mushrooms. He said was “ono” and he’ll be targeting uku next time and getting his workout on land.

We have to fine tune the size of the hooks we’re using to increase our catch rate, and get better with the conventional reels. I did put a small scratch in the Trinidad, probably while transporting the rods after our long day, but I guess it doesn’t hurt too badly.

 

The stuff I use and why I use ’em – Fishing Tackle

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(Updated April 2019)

Since starting the blog portion of this site in 2014, I’ve stumbled upon equipment to make my fishing easier, more productive and more enjoyable.  I can’t share our fishing spots with you but I can share the equipment I especially like.

The gear categories are fishing tackle, fishing attire, and kayak fishing equipment.

My style and preference may be very different from yours so please take that into account.  Where I deviate the most is using bait casting gear instead of spinning gear.  I’ve mentioned why I like to use bait casters here.

Some of my gear may be discontinued but you should be able to find a newer, hopefully better version of the product.  If you have a product you think is better, please share it with us.  I’m always looking for continuous improvement.

I’ll update this list as I think of other products to add or replace, and write separate product reviews for the really deserving ones.

Fishing Tackle

Rods: I primarily use bait casting gear and like my rods to be as light in weight and as sensitive as possible.  I try to be careful with my rods so I’ve been able to use graphite / carbon fiber rods which are lighter and more responsive than fiberglass. The lightness really makes a difference when I’m whipping or jigging for hours at a time.  For whipping, I try to find G. Loomis demo rods on eBay, and use Shimano Trevala rods for jigging.  I also have a Shimano Game Type-J jig rod that is a super light, strong delight to jig with all day.

Reels: Again, I primarily use bait casting reels.  I used other brands in the 90s to kayak fish and they corroded quickly so I switched to early model Shimano Calcuttas and have used Shimanos since. The Shimano bait casters rated for salt water are easy to cast, corrosion resistant and fairly easy to maintain.  If I need to have the reel professionally repaired, Shimano’s flat rate repairs have been very reasonable.  Reel parts are also available online at a great price with expedited shipping.  I’m able to do most of my reel maintenance myself now, after bungling my initial repairs.  Besides the Calcuttas, I use Shimano Curados, Tranxs and a Trinidad (conventional).

Line – Backing or Main: Sufix 832 braid. I’ve tried the other popular brands with less than desirable results.  I’ve found Sufix 832 to be round (8 strands), smooth and cast very well.  It doesn’t bind into itself they way the other brands did, and if I do get a rare backlash I can easily pull out the snag without too much drama. I’ve heard great things about Jerry Brown braid and want to try that soon.

Line – Top Shot: I’m able to put Seaguar Invizx fluorocarbon on my bait casting reels. I’ve tried to put it on a spinning reel and it spun itself off.  Invizx, being castable fluorocarbon, is nearly invisible in the water and very abrasion resistant. It takes a lot of rubbing on the reef to get cut off by a fish but it also makes it hard to break off snags.  I use Invizx on my trolling reel and inshore casting reel.  Invizx only goes up to 25lb so I don’t use it on my plugging setup.

Line – Leader: Seaguar Blue Label fluorocarbon leader. I like that Blue Label is supple and easy to tie knots, and doesn’t seem to kink like some other brands.  I use 40lb Blue Label in place of wire leader when kaku are around and don’t think I’ve been cut off yet.

Hooks: When I lived in California, I’d go on party boat trips once or twice a year.  The guys would tell me that if you’re gonna spend the money for these trips you don’t want to lose a fish because your hook was too weak or too dull.  The “designer” hooks cost a little more but you know they are sticky sharp and won’t break on a fish.  I use a Gamakatsu Live Bait hook as the front hook on my double trolling rig because the short shank doesn’t extend out too far and make the bait look funny, and an Owner Flyliner hook on the rear hook because the longer shank will extend out of the fish and be easier to unhook. I pinch the barbs down because I often tag and release and it’ll be easier to pull out of my flesh. I replace my lure trebles with Owner Inline Singles for the front hooks and Owner 4X trebles for the rear hooks.  The designer hooks have a corrosion resistant coating and when they begin to rust I toss them.  Usually I lose them before that happens.  I started using the big VMC Tournament Circle hooks to fish big baits from my kayak’s rod holder.  They are strong and sharp and not as expensive as the Owner and Gamakatsu circle hooks.

Update April 2019: I now use VMC hooks in place of the designer brands wherever I can because they perform almost as well and are often close to half the price of the designer hooks.  My hookup ratio hasn’t seemed to suffer. Here’s an team review of the VMC 6X circle hooks and 4X treble hooks.

Lure Clips: Tactical Angler Power Clips.  These clips make it easy to slide in and out lures very quickly and the wide bend allows the lures to swing more freely than if tied directly to your leader. Haven’t lost a fish due to clip failure yet.

Weights.  I do use a special weight to whip and troll.  It’s my secret weapon.  Maybe I’ll reveal it later.

Swivels.  I don’t have a specific brand but I do try to use ball bearing swivels.  The bait casting reel doesn’t introduce line twist like a spinner does so I don’t have problems with tangles.

Lures – Whipping. I’m of the belief that the bait fish in Hawaii are small and shifty. Most of the plugs available domestically are larger than I prefer, or don’t cast well in the wind.  Friends and I have been using 1/2 to 3/4 ounce, 4 to 5 inch JDM lures that match our hatch, cast well and most float.  They are hard to obtain at a reasonable price but I’ll write more about them later.

Lures – Jigging.  Since the Japanese invented the Slow Pitch jigging technique it stands to reason that the JDM jigs are the best.  The jigs available locally work too, and I’ve had some amazing results with the Live Deception jig by Ahi USA.  I love jigging but don’t get to jig very often. Friends and I are still trying to get better at the sport.  All but the Live Deception, 4th from the top, are from Japan, but some were sold in the local tackle shops.

Landing Net: Promar ProFloat landing net.  It floats, it has tangle free mesh, an elastic lanyard and it’s cheap.  What more can you ask for?  It’s available in the tackle shops in town.

Gear Lanyards: I use various tethers on my tackle bag and kayak.  I really like the T-Reign Retractable Tether because it doesn’t leave loose cords around to get tangled in.  So far, after a few years of use, they haven’t corroded.  I use Boomerang Snips too and after years of use, if the retractable spring stops working I glue an attachment point and use the T-Reign tether to hold it to my bag. (see photo)

Waterproof Tackle Bag – Patagonia Stormfront Sling.  This bag is expensive, and the price has gone up twice since I purchased it 2  yrs ago.  But the main compartment really is waterproof and makes for worry-free wade and boat fishing, and easy cleanup. Patagonia honors their lifetime warranty. A zipper tab broke and they gave me a brand new sling bag after 2 yrs of use.  This time around I won’t be carrying bait for oama and stinking it up.

Fishing pliers: Rapala aluminum pliers.  All my previous “carbon steel” needle nose pliers have eventually rusted out and left corrosion stains in their sheaths.  These aluminum pliers shouldn’t rust but they are shorter than the ones they are replacing.  Hope they’re long enough to keep my fingers away from sharp teeth.