modified kastmasters
Kastmasters are an old school favorite in Hawaii. As the name implies, the lure’s streamlined profile casts really well, even into the wind. Its shiny, machined surface is beveled to cause it to flash as it swims enticingly. If you pause and let it fall, it flutters to the bottom like a dying fish.
The stock treble hook it comes with is notoriously weak and prone to snagging the reef so a suggested modification would be to replace that hook with a single “siwash” hook. I use Gamakatsu “open eye” siwash hooks that have an eye that can be slipped over a split ring and then crimped tight. I’ve heard that the kastmaster sinks with the printed side up so I position the siwash hook such that the point is facing up not down. In theory this minimizes snags.
If you want to add further modifications, you can purchase the kastmaster with the trailer attachment, and add a stick on eye to the front of the lure. I can’t tell you if those mods increase my catch rate but they don’t seem to hurt.
I get way more bites dragging cut bait than on the kastmaster but if something hits the kastmaster usually it’s a good one. I try to start with the kastmaster and if I do get a hit on the kastmaster often that’ll be the only hit in that area until I switch to bait.
moana on 3/8oz gold kastmaster
Use the kastmaster when you’re fishing near the water’s surface, to impart the right action. If you’re fishing too shallow, say shallower than 4 feet of water, you may end up getting snagged a lot. The blue/silver version attracts papio, kaku and awa awa, and the gold and rainbow trout version attracts moana and other reef fish. Use the smallest size you can cast since the prey you’re imitating is often pretty small. The 3/8 oz size will get more hits than the 1/2 oz size, and anything larger will lessen the number of hits but may attract a monster fish.
Click here to see how effective the gold kastmaster was on the He’eia Fishpond kaku.
For a summary of other bait and lures you could use, click here.
Another informative post. Mahalo Scott! Keep em coming. I always bring some Kastmasters. When the rocks only let you walk so far out they can go the extra distance to get you to the fish. I hadn’t thought of replacing the hooks or known that the printing may stay facing up.
I’ve had some luck with small heavy spoons that cast out far on the islands as well.
Hey Justin,
Awesome to hear from you. What types of fish have you caught on Kastmasters in the islands? And have other spoons worked well for you? They seem to work well when the fish aren’t as wary and once the fish figure out it’s a lure, the bite is over for that spot.
I think the fish I caught the most with spoons were Poopaa. I was hesitant to touch the first one I caught because it was very spiny and I had no clue what it was (almost thought it was a lion fish ha ha). They seemed to be pretty aggressive. Perhaps they were being territorial? I had luck using a Krocodile die #4 spoon. The spoon was one of there brighter and more colorful patterns with a red treble hook and a little piece of red plastic spinning right before the hook.
Wow you have excellent lure control to hook the po’opa’a without snagging the reef they live in!
Those ugly buggers are tasty steamed, fried or cooked in soup. They’re a small grouper, I believe, and taste like one.
Cleaning them is an ordeal because it’s so hard to get their scales off, avoiding their spines, and then ripping their gills out is hard too. Every thing is tough about that fish except its taste!
I went to a small known tackle shop on Oahu last year and asked if they had Kastmasters. They all laughed at me and said “that lure is so old, does anyone still use it?” Won’t be going back there anymore.
Hey Rick,
I might’ve read about your experience on a forum last year. Or maybe someone had the same experience. There’s a reason why they still sell Kastmasters all over the world; they work. They cast well against the wind, and work really well when the predators are hitting a bait school. Retrieve them slow and let them flutter and fall like a dying fish.
-scott
Oops, sorry, I guess I had already described those benefits of the kastmaster in the original post. Interestingly, I get most of my large predator strikes off kastmasters as soon as it hits the water, as if the fish were tracking it in the air. Moanas tend to follow and strike on the fall.