One morning I caught a ride on Makani’s boat. He was taking a client out, but was kind enough to drop me off on the flat to look for bonefish. On the ride I noticed a baby gecko struggling in a small puddle on the deck, so I reached down and scooped it up.
Continue readingThe Buddy System
I believe I have mentioned the phenomenon of the buddy system before, but I think it bears repeating.
Continue readingNeedlefish Sashimi
With calm winds and gentle southerly surf, my friend Makani has been doing a lot of bottom-fishing lately. I have joined him a couple of times and we have caught plenty of fish: snapper, goatfish, triggerfish, Hawaiian bigeye, queenfish, and, on our last outing, some large needlefish.
Trevally Fishing in Tahiti
Our trip to French Polynesia this Summer was especially interesting because I had a chance to explore the differences between one tropical Pacific island chain and another.
In doing my pre-trip research, I realized that the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia had extensive barrier reefs and relatively small tidal fluctuations. This got me very excited to try fishing for trevally there.
Papio Fishing in Tahiti
Sea Monsters
In my last post I mentioned bottom-fishing. Day or night, it is one of the easiest and most productive styles of fishing from a boat. Just rig your line with a weight and a baited hook, drop it to the bottom, and wait for something to bite.
a night-biting snapper
Fishing from a Sailboat
We spent two weeks in May sailing through the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia. Our shipmates were two good friends, who actually know how to sail! Together we chartered a bare boat (meaning without crew), the 43 foot Utrillo.
This is our second sailing adventure. Two years ago we joined the same friends for an eight day journey through the Whitsunday Islands of Queensland in Australia. I trolled several lures during that trip, including one recommended at the marina, but had no action at all.
Before this trip I tried to do some research to increase our odds of catching fish but I did not find very helpful information. A lot of the specific tips came from sailing websites and seemed to focus on the fish, how to get them on board or how to kill them. This makes sense because sailors are not necessarily fishers, but I was more interested in how to hook fish, not what to do afterwards.
After having some success, I thought I would write down a few things that we learned so that I and others don’t have to start from scratch on the next voyage.
the Utrillo at anchor
Another May
Looking back I realized that I started this blog eleven years ago this month.
Continue readingFish Art
This is a birthday card I received from my family last Fall. The painting was done by my father, Terry McIlrath. He has been a professional artist since before I was born, and has been drawing, painting and sculpting fish images for just as long.
Fish and art have long been parallel themes in my own life and I guess it is only natural that they have combined in many ways.
Continue readingWinter Fishing Blues
I used to get a bad case of the Winter fishing blues every year. I could usually make it to February without going too crazy but eventually I’d bundle up and go looking for something to catch, which was usually nothing at all. For many fishers (especially the carp on the fly variety) Winter is a tough time of year. Even in Hawaii the storm fronts start to roll through weekly and the water temperature falls just enough that the fishing slows down noticeably. This year has been a little bit different. This year, my fishing blues are of a different kind.
A Hungry Winter Bonefish
Sunset Smallmouth
What do you do after a long day of fly fishing for carp on the Columbia, after dinner has been eaten and the dishes have been washed? Go fishing for smallmouth bass!
sunset smallie
