modified kastmasters
I was a lure fishing purist. I even dabbled with tying flies and customizing Kastmaster lures. It seemed more sporting to fool a fish to bite something man-made, and lures were a lot easier to acquire than bait. But I got skunked way too many times and reluctantly tried dead bait, and then live bait. Lure fishing in HI has its place but bait, particularly live bait, is KING.
Bait and lures can be broken down into the following categories:
- Live bait – oama (juvenile goatfish), halalu (juvenile big eyed scad mackeral), nehu (Hawaiian anchovy), o’pae (shrimp), sand turtles (mole crabs), etc
- Dead/cut bait – oama, tako (octopus), ika (squid), “California” shrimp, aku belly, etc
- Scented lures – Berkley Gulp, Berkley Powerbait, etc
- Unscented lures – plastic grubs/strips, flies, feather jigs, metal spoons, metal jigs, swimming plugs, etc
There’s too much detail to cover in one post so I’ll summarize the categories and cover them in future posts.
Live Bait
The best live bait for the larger nearshore fish, by far, is live oama. Oama school up in the shallow, sandy areas in the late summer because the predator fish are hunting them mercilessly. Halalu season overlaps with oama season, so the summer and early fall is the best period to nearshore fish. If you can catch nehu, `opae and sand turtles and fish them near where you caught them you’ll have much better odds than using dead bait or lures.
Click here to read about the basics of oama fishing.
Click here to read about keeping your oama alive as long as possible.
Click here to read about catching sand turtles.
Click here to read about catching regular `opae.
Click here to read about catching the larger `opae lolo.
Dead Bait
papio caught with frozen oama
Animals release chemicals when they die and thus, smell differently than alive. Freezing bait changes their chemical makeup further. So a defrosted bait definitely smells different to a fish than a live bait. If properly handled and frozen, oama and tako are effective defrosted bait but are much better used freshly dead. Aku belly is much better used fresh. Ika and shrimp should be cut up in their proper presentation size, salted and then frozen to prevent them from getting too mushy.
Scented Lures
There are a number of lures that are impregnated with scent to smell like the bait they are imitating. Berkley’s Gulp lures are the best known and come in many shapes. I’ve tried them with moderate results. Fish in HI that are attracted by smell, like humus, hinaleas, rock fish seem to like these lures. Others may have had better results but the best fish I’ve caught with them were moana. Because they are actually made from a fish food substance, the lure action isn’t as pliable as the better soft plastics.
Unscented Lures
Bait fish and crustaceans in Hawaii are very quick moving because the warm water keeps their metabolism up. Fast moving, jerky lures often do well imitating these creatures. The very popular plastic bubble pulling a plastic strip/grub or fly is very effective when popped erratically because the popping makes the predators think they’re missing out on a feeding frenzy. Metal spoons like Kastmasters and Krocadiles, cast well and can be jigged deep. The new metal jigs with assist hooks can be cast out and retrieved in deeper water, or fished vertically from a boat or kayak. Lipped and non-lipped swimming plugs imitate bait fish and are great whipping and trolling lures.
Click here to read about modifying Kastmasters.
Click here to read about my favorite unscented lures of 2016.
Click here to read how well the Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) sub-surface lure has worked, right out of the gate.
Click here if you were wondering if JDM whipping lures were worth the higher price.
Click here to check out the Store to purchase JDM whipping lures, jigs and flies (if they aren’t sold out).
New to the island, moved here from Southern California and I fish off shore mostly. I’m a avid fisherman and I grew up around the ocean.
I’m from Guam originally, but have spent most my my lifetime in southern California, because I was station on Camp Pendleton for 26 years. I retired from the Marine Corps and I am going to enjoy my retirement here with my wife.
She works on MCB Kaneohe and I plan to try my luck here. I have been trying to get out and learn how and where to fish. Thanks to your website and informative guidelines. I will try to get out and use it.
I’m sure that the area is new, but learning the way to fish here on the island. I must respect the ways here.
Looking forward to going out to fish off the Marina on MCBH Kaneohe.
Thanks, USMC-RETIRED MSGT
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your years of service to our country. There’s some good calico bass fishing grounds and surf spots around Camp Pendleton, hopefully you were able to take advantage of some of that when you were in the area.
Kaneohe Marine Corp Base and Hickam are two of the best areas on Oahu to fish, you’re very fortunate to have access to them. Like anywhere else, there are optimum times of the year to fish them and I’m sure you’ll eventually meet up with folks that have those spots wired. Respecting the customs and traditions of Hawaii fishing is a great way to start making fishing friends. Drop a line (no pun intended) to let me know how you’re progressing.
-scott
How well do buck tail jigs work? I use a customize 1 oz buck tail with a 3 1/4 inch swirl tail grub attacked to it.
Hi,
Buck tail jigs with soft plastic grub is popular in Florida and other places but maybe has fallen out of favor here? I bet it still works well when bounced and retrieved at variable speeds. How has it worked for you?
-scott
Out of all the unscented lures, which type had worked the best for you in near shore fishing? I’m planning to fish in Pokai Bay at Waianae and would like to ask if you know what fish there are there and what works best on them. Also, can you send me a picture of a plastic bubble pulling plastic strip/grub lure and how to make/get one. Thanks in advance!
Hi Chunhao,
I was partial to hard plastic lures because they were easiest to cast with a bait caster and the strikes on top water lures were explosive. I haven’t fished Pokai Bay, and don’t use the plastic bubble and grub set up so maybe it’s best to stop by a tackle shop in Central Oahu or Ewa beach side, ask what they recommend and buy some tackle there. Good luck!
-scott
How well do spinners work around here?
Chunhao,
They work very well. 99.9% of the anglers whipping lures are using spinners. The prevailing strong winds make using a bait caster tedious. Go with a spinner!
-scott
Oh, I guess you meant a bass style spinner bait…
What is the size of the fish I can catch with a 3-4 inch popper?
Chunhao,
A 3-4 inch popper can attract decent sized papio, awa awa (ladyfish) and aha (needlefish). Best time to fish a popper is when the lighting is low and bait fish are around.
-scott
What are the little fish in the tide pools called? Can they be used as live bait?
Chunhao,
There are a variety of tide pool fish. All would be good bait but some have minimum size restrictions for catching them. Here’s a list of the Dept of Aquatic Resource’s fish regulations: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/fishing/fishing-regulations/marine-fishes-and-vertebrates/
-scott
The fish I saw in the tide pools are all black and about 2-3 inches long. Do you recognize those fish?
Those fish are called gobies or “jumping jacks”. You can catch them with bait and a small hook, or try to corner them with a net. They make great bait, whipping for papio.
-scott
What are the best times to use these lure?
Spoons
Spinners
Poppers
Bucktail Jigs
Jerk bait
Soft baits( grubs, Berkeley gulp, etc)
Thanks in advance!
Chunhao,
I’m no expert on the subject. Instead of leading you astray, I suggest that you should research online or in print media. Spinners aren’t used too often here but probably could work if you could cast them far enough.
As often was told to me when I tried to get better at shore fishing, you just gotta put in the time and see what works for you .
-scott
Do you have any tips for when fishing at up to 15 feet in depth from the breakwaters? Like the lure/bait an the fish type I might catch?
P.S Thansk for answering all my comments Scott, I really appreciate it.
Chunhao,
Every breakwall is different, the ones that are near schools of bait fish have larger predator fish like papio, ulua, kahala, kawakawa at times. Good to fish the whole water column by throwing a metal jig and varying the depth, throwing poppers if baits around and even dunking bait, preferably live.
Best to follow what the old timers are doing.
-scott
Hey Scott, I have purchased a 2.75 in. 1/2 oz Kaku Lures, made in Hawaii. Have you tried these poppers before? If so, how well do they work? If you have tried other Hawaiian lures like Wahoo or Hawaiian angler, please tell me how well they work. Thanks!
Hi Chunhao,
I had an original Kaku Lure from the 80s that was cast in resin and didn’t float. Because it didn’t stay horizontal in the water on the pause, the ideal action was hard to achieve. I think the current Kaku lures have much better built in action. I’m partial to poppers that float and have a cupped face that throw maximum water without having to jerk them too hard.
In Hawaii, with such pressured fish, newbies are much more respected if they “earn” their knowledge by fishing hard. Patronize the local tackle shops and ask their recommendations on what lures to use in what conditions. Good luck!
-scott
Cast masters 1oz-3oz?
Hi Derek,
Actually, the smaller the kastmaster the better it gets bit, but too small is hard to cast. The 3/8 oz size seems to be the happy medium where it gets bit well and is castable.
thanks,
scott
Have you used opihi as bait? Does it work?
Hi Mike,
Nope, never have. Opihi is more valuable that the fish you’d catch! I’m sure it would work like any natural shellfish you could find but mo betta you gather up the opihi and trade some for caught fish!
-scott