I recruited Holoholo writer Matthew Ikeda, who has been red hot catching oio (bonefish) on the flats with a jighead and grub, to help test the old, used JDM lures I had banished to Second String status. Those lures were described in this post.
Matt suggested we fish at a not-so-secret urban canal in Honolulu in case landmarks were exposed. He was using spinning gear (8″3″ Major Craft rod, Shimano Twin Power 3000 reel) designed to cast 1/2 ounce lures and I dusted off my 7’3″ 13 Fishing travel rod and 13 Fishing Concept Z bait casting reel. I hadn’t whipped since 2019 so I needed a few practice casts to get going.
The wooden Lucky Craft Sammy and wooden Tiemco Red Pepper were duds. They just didn’t float as crisply as their plastic versions we’ve fished before. They’re X’d out in the photo above. The plastic Tiemco Red Pepper and Daiwa TD Salt Pencil seemed to bob up and down ok but the fish weren’t interested in top water lures so we’ll have to try them again later. They are marked with a “?”.
Matt was able to walk-the-dog with the Tackle House M Quiet in a wide, sweeping way, but the fish didn’t want that presentation either. The Maria Chase SW (Salt Water) wobbled erratically and looked good with my steady retrieve and I missed a couple short kaku bites I think. You can see the action of those two lures in the video below.
The lure presentation that stood out was the Duo Tide Minnow Slim SSR (Super Shallow Runner) under Matt’s control. That lure, circa 2015, has a fixed center weight unlike it’s rolling weight successor but still casted well and swam with a really tight roll.
Sure enough it got slammed by a white papio (juvenile GT) you would think was too big to be in the canal. Maybe what they say about those fish being mutants is true – this fish seemed to float in the air when Matt lowered it to be unhooked.
Matt will be writing up his perspective of the day and that guest post will include the capture and release video. Stay tuned for that, and another round of whipping lure testing in easily accessible spots.
Nice fish Matt! They must be around now cause I scored one a few days later while targeting kaku on my new 6wt. I wonder if these fish are resident or were just there for the food? I recall reading that once white papio reach 9.5” they tend to leave the area they spent their juvenile days in traveling counter clockwise around the island during the summer and back the other direction in the winter.
So for all those who’re squeamish about Ala Wai fish, I wonder if they know the white papio they caught and ate from K bay (not that K bay is much cleaner, but that’s another story) probably spent it’s early years in the Ala Wai lol..
That spot is gonna be the new Hot Spot for Oahu Destination Fishing! Fly fishers will come from all over the world to ply the waters for trophy fish. 🙂
Lol! Actually, a close friend of ours has been fly fishing the canal for years now, we actually got our initial tips on setup and flies from him. We mostly target kaku, since they’re the most plentiful and relatively easy to hook. the papio was a nice surprise!
Do you need a lot of room behind you so you don’t snag a tree or a dog walker?
We do a lot of spey casting here, a fly casting technique invented centuries ago for salmon fishing tree or brush-lined rivers with steep banks. Easiest way to describe it with a video..
https://youtube.com/shorts/n9tdy7WG6uI?feature=share