whipping for papio

After enjoying occasional fishing adventures as a child, Logan started whipping this past Fall to spend more time with Holoholo writer Dino and to find a way to unwind. The repetition of casting and retrieving while occasionally catching a fish is now her way to relax between teaching and doing work to support teachers. Now she’s hooked and has recently been outfishing Dino and Matt (Holoholo writer and Hookum Flies owner).

Logan:

It all started on a Saturday at the end of September 2019. Dino wanted to stop to pick up more fishing gear and I jokingly picked up a pole and reel combo and said I was going to buy it. Well, the joke was on me and we left the shop with a simple setup and a pair of tabis. That afternoon we went to Magic Island and I caught a moana. The next morning we waded out on the flats and I caught a small papio. I was hooked!

After a couple of months of what seemed like endless sessions of coming up empty, Lady Luck is on my side again. It started a couple weeks ago during an unplanned afternoon trip to our favorite spot. The tide was higher than normal and the surf was up. I was tempted to say the conditions were too rough, but I had a good feeling. I’m glad I stayed because I caught eight omilu (6”-9”), a lai, and a wave (knocked me off my feet and dunked my reel!). That Sunday we went to the same spot for a dawn patrol session and I walked away with two omilu added to my count. Dino couldn’t believe it and suggested we go out one more time that afternoon. I almost didn’t go, but Lady Luck was calling and I caught two bigger papio and a tilapia. This past weekend, my streak continued. I added five omilu, a papio, and two kaku to my count. I can’t wait to get away from my computer and my virtual work this weekend. Hopefully the streak continues!

My strategy? Keep it simple. I use a simple whipping setup with a medium bubble. I usually use grubs – greens and anything that sparkles are my favorites!

People say Dino is lucky that his girlfriend likes to fish, but I am lucky that he’s a patient teacher and gives me tips so that I can improve. Poor Dino has had to listen to me brag to my dad about catching more than him and listen to me cheer when I feel the tug.

I had been meaning to try two new wade fishing spots that looked pretty fishy. One was all the way up in Lai’e and the other was just a couples miles east of a Maunalua Bay spot I fish.

The conditions were good last week to fish the Lai’e spot and I made the 1 hr trek out there. I could only reach the reef patches near shore because the shoreline sloped downward and I was quickly in waist deep water. I ended up with at least twenty 5-inch omilus and a couple small white papio. I was really hoping for something that would pull drag but I just couldn’t reach them with gear I had.

obake weke

Today, the West wind was blowing at 15 mph plus. Not great conditions but the Maunalua Bay spot isn’t too far away so I decided to field test a longer, beefier casting rod. I wasn’t expecting too much out of this popular location but I ended up with a mixed bag of small omilus, a small moana, a thick humuhumu, a kaku that shook the hook and a mid-sized obake weke that had me hoping it was an oio.

All the fish caught at Lai’e and Maunalua Bay were released.

Wading a shallow reef shelf is much easier than reaching a scattered, patchy reef from shore.

I needed to increase the weight I was throwing to load the beefier 8 ft rod, and was getting about the same distance I was getting with my lighter weight/7.5 ft rod setup. More field testing needed.

It’s always fun to fish new spots with new gear. And sometimes you don’t have to travel far to catch fish.

Holoholo: Lady Luck Has Me Hooked!

New fishing spots, near and far