Last weekend I went papio fishing with my friend Chris. The surf was small and the early morning low tide looked ideal, but the reality was totally different than predicted.
Continue readingRed Water Bones
a mangrove island
Many of the bonefish flats here on Oahu include mangroves. In some areas, the mangroves line the shore and in others they have grown up around small, sandy islets. The mangroves are not native to Hawaii, but they are happy here and have spread steadily over the past decade. Recently, the government made the decision to remove the mangroves from one of the main fishing areas near Honolulu.
Continue readingClassic Ed
Alone Together
A lot of fishing naturally necessitates “social distancing”, and fly fishing even more so, what with the flinging of sharpened metal hooks to and fro. This weekend, I found myself fishing the same flat at the same time as Makani and, alone together, we enjoyed a sunny morning within shouting distance of one another.
Capt. Makani
Trevally Fishing in Hawaii
A few months back I wrote a post about fishing for trevally during our trip to the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia last summer. Summer in Hawaii is the best time of year for trevally, or ulua, as we call them locally. In the spirit of looking forward to the upcoming season, I thought I would point out some of the differences I noticed between fishing for trevally in Tahiti, and fishing for trevally here in Hawaii.
Continue readingThe Hitchhiker
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
