Lawai'a issue 10 by Lawai'a Magazine

A LOVE FOR THE OCEAN LINDSEY CALDWELL

RECIPIENT OF THE MIKE SAKAMOTO MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

THANK YOU UNCLE A 808Mr.Papio Fish Story

The World Calls Them GT A Journey Into the World of Casting Lures to Ulua

A Special Reel An Old Workhorse ISSUE is Reborn TEN 2012 1

Trophy or Lomi O‘io

with the

Bonefish

If you recover a tagged o‘io call 265-4962

The coolest way to keep your appetizers tasty and fresh.

Be prepared to provide the following critical information: 1. Your name, address, and telephone number. 2. Capture date, island, and fishing location. 3. Tag number. 4. Fork length – measure from tip of the nose to “V” in the tail. 5. There are 2 species - Sharp Jaw Albula virgata which has a bright green/yellow dot under the pectoral fins, and Round Jaw Albula glossodonta has no green/yellow dot.

Reward

In return for your valuable information, you will receive a free special edition t-shirt featuring original artwork (seen above) by artist and fisherman Mike Sakamoto.

For more info log on to:

sachikitchenware.com

For More Information 2

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

150 Hamakua Dr. PBN# 430 Kailua, HI 96734

Ph: 808 265-4962 Web: fishtoday.org ISSUE TEN 2012

co nt en ts

ISSUE TEN 2012

S E C T I O N S

7 / INSIDE 10 / E HOIKE MAI 14 / DASH GASTROPUB 18 / SHORELINE TECH 20 / TOURNAMENTS 22 / FISH STORIES 46 / PIFG WRAP UP 55 / TIPS FROM METC 56 / KELA A ME KEIA 62 / GEAR REVIEW

F E A T U R E S

12 KWONG’S KITCHEN / 29 JARED’S VERY SPECIAL REEL 32 MY DAUGHTERS LINDSEY & AIMEE, LOVED THE OCEAN 38 GT FIGHT CLUB / 52 TRADITIONAL PRACTICES GT FIGHT CLUB MEMBERS nate tsao and charles cintron

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

ISSUE TEN 2012

Inside

Publisher Pacific Islands Fisheries Group

Hawaii’s Premiere Alaska Fishing Destinations • Anchor Point Lodge • Shelter Lodge

Editor Pacific Islands Fisheries Group pacificfisheries@gmail.com Design Darin H. Isobe > Art Director darini@hawaiiantel.net Director of Marketing + Advertising Marc Inouye lawaiamag@gmail.com

ACCESS

Advertising Suzanne Eugenio kaicomm.eugenio@gmail.com Consultant Fluid Media Publishing www.fluidmediahawaii.com

GO ON AN

Alaska Reel Adventure!

Contributing Writers 808Mr.Papio, Keith Caldwell, Charles Cintron, Jared Clapper, John Clark, Brian Kimata, Mark Kimura, Lawai‘a Editorial Board, Joel Kiyosaki, Aunty Kwong, Pacific Islands Fisheries Group, Paulo, Matt Ramsey, Ed Sugimoto, Ed Watamura

Reservations & Info (808) 551-1993 info@alaskareel.com

A LOVE FOR THE OCEAN ELL LINDSEY CALDW SAKAMOTO NT OF THE MIKE RECIPIE RSHIP MEMORIAL SCHOLA

THANK YOU UNCLE

A 808Mr.Papio Fish Story

The World GT Calls Thethemworld A journey into of casting lures to ulua

ON THE COVER: Lindsey Caldwell Recipient of the Mike Sakamoto Memorial scholarship A Special Reel

is Reborn TEN 2012 1 An Old Workhorse ISSUE

Letters and Comments email: pacificfisheries@gmail.com Salmon • Halibut • Black Cod • Rockfish Dungeness Crab • Alaskan Spot Shrimp

Lawai‘a Magazine Every attempt is made to publish Lawai‘a 4 times a year. Printed by Lotus Printing Hong Kong. www.Lawaia.net

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

In this issue, we feature several stories submitted by our friends from the Island of Hawaii. Joel Kiyosaki, better known as “Spyda”, returns with “Just Hangin’”, a story about his ulua fishing days and crawling over lava fields of the Big Island. 808Mr.Papio shares the rewards of revealing the world of fishing to our youth with “Heart of the Sea”. John Clark’s Kela A Me Keia features well known Volcano-based artist, Deitrich Varez. The Pacific Islands Fisheries Group and Sakamoto family recently awarded the Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship to four promising high school graduates, including Andrew Hanano of Honokaa and Lindsey Caldwell of Kona, both from the Island of Hawaii. Lindsey is featured in a story done by her Dad, Keith Caldwell, and graces the cover of this issue with a beautiful omilu that she caught slide bait-style. If you’ve ever fished from shore on the Island of Hawaii, more than likely you’ve had to pass through private property and needed to ask for permission. Knowing that, the best news one can hear as a shore caster is “We got the key!” That one phrase can bring the anticipation of a fun filled fishing trip and the thought of fishing in a spot with no one in sight for miles. Not hearing that phrase can bring the uneasiness and uncertainty since that now means perhaps much longer driving times and leaves finding an open “public” spot up to chance. Many years ago, the late Kinney Louie of the Hilo and Kona Casting Clubs used to comment to fellow club members and his fishing buddies from Oahu that “Honolulu guys get more public places to fish than here on the Big Island. You guys need to go to these meetings when they talk about access.”. While most people think Hawaii is truly a big island with miles more coastline than Oahu, Kinney was pointing out that continuous stretches of privately held land and lack of public rights-of-way restrict most of the coastline from being freely accessed. The late Chief Justice William S. Richardson is well known for his ruling which made every inch of the shoreline on every island free and open to the public up to the high water mark. The problem is that you need some reasonable way to get to that shoreline in order to freely enjoy it. The issue of access for fishing grounds on the Island of Hawaii, in general, is not as highly contentious as it is on Oahu. This is often due to absentee land owners and indifference but mostly because the population density is much lower. That’s not to say many Big Island land owners do not monitor access as there are certain locations where unauthorized

activities occur and fishermen, caught in the middle, often end up locked out. While Hawaii Island’s fishermen have free range through State parks that are generally open at all hours and unrestricted in terms of location and duration, their Oahu counterparts have been warning that fishermen should not become complacent about access. Having everything from parking restrictions, camping rules, night time park closures, military and homeland security restrictions, permits, harassment and measures to control the homeless thrown at them, Oahu fishermen have watched their beach access quickly erode from what used to be similar to that on the Big Island to what it is today. Already, some Hawaii Island landowners have closed off traditional fishing spots completely, citing liability concerns and rising costs for management. Pacific Island Fisheries Group board member from Honokaa, Hawaii, Neil Kanemoto, cites that out of a dozen or so regular camping and fishing spots accessible up to the mid-1990’s, all have been gated or blocked off for 100% loss of access to their regular fishing grounds along the Hamakua Coast. A few others around the island have placed conditions for granting access, including assessing fees for entry up to as much as $300. The owner of one very popular shore casting spot has, in addition to charging a fee, created its own set of fishing regulations which include arbitrary bag limits or complete bans on certain species. In order for “guests” to gain access to the shoreline and fish in the publicly owned Pacific Ocean, they must abide by these regulations or risk loss of future access privileges. Access to remaining open fishing spots across private land is tenuous and it is most important to note that everyone must remember their individual responsibility and accountability when it comes to respecting private property. There are other ways that fishermen are being impacted when it comes to access. In general, it is commonly understood that spreading out and increasing fishing areas decreases fishing effort and impact on the resource. Continually restricting fishing areas concentrates effort and impact on a smaller area, thereby increasing impact on the resource and setting up blame on fishermen for “over fishing”. In an ironic twist, one recent issue being discussed by Big Island residents has some claiming that the increase in access is now being blamed for impacts on near shore areas along the northern Kona coast (now referred to as the “Gold Coast” by the tourist industry). Due to increased access to a stretch of coastline stemming from the construction of hotel resorts, what was once inaccessible due to lava fields is now paved with roadway and parking lots. As a result, an advisory group is recommending a 10 year, no-take closure in front of the Kukio, Hualalai Four Seasons, and Kona Village Resorts as an effort to revitalize the area. Others see this as taking a step backwards, especially considering that a host of marine protected areas in various forms have been established around the island over the last 30 years and more are always proposed. Combine these man-made designated areas with increasing recreational and tourist industry activities and areas where mother nature creates naturally restricted areas due to rough ocean conditions or high cliffs and the miles of inaccessibility add up. In the end, Mr. Louie did offer some very wise observations and words of advice. Or perhaps it was more of a warning. Lawai‘a Editorial Board

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LAWAI窶連 MAGAZINE

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Glenn, Braddahs, Sherwin 500+ Marlin

Kent Chung 10.5lb Omilu

Brandon Peahu 16lb Knife Jaw

Colm O’Carroll 6.5lb Kagami Shari Hayashi Kagami

Quinn Abrigo Aholehole

Kirk Shiraki & Corey Hakigawa 19.8lb Omilu

GO DIGITAL

Tyson Arakaki 3.48lb Panther Grouper

SEND US YOUR PICS

Shaye Sakanoye 14lb Kagami

Allisa’s Pelican Shibi

Email digital photos as jpg files. Please take pics at your highest setting possible. Email jpg photos to: lawaiamag@gmail.com Include all info please. All pics sent become the property of Lawai‘a Magazine.

Kathy Nakata Omilu Timi Abrigo with his Kumu and Papio

James Wagner

Keith 26lb Hapuu

Russel Hayashi Kagami

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ISSUE TEN 2012

Mrs. Kwong’s Kitchen By Aunty Kwong

FOLD EM AND GO!

Here’s a tasty concoction from Auntie Kwong that’s good for your heart and soul, and guaranteed to excite your taste buds. Any dish featuring Hawaii’s fresh, local seafood gotta be good for you! Many out there promise ono Fish Tacos, but Auntie Kwong’s Fish Tacos are sure to be filed among your favorites —with a smiley face! What you’ll need: 6 – 3-4 oz local white fish filets (shutome, mahi, opah, etc.) About 2-3 tbsp olive oil, for coating the fish 6 taco-size corn tortillas

1 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp salt

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Once you got your stuff, follow these directions: In a small bowl, combine the Taco Spice Mixture and set aside. Rub olive oil on both sides of each filet, then sprinkle with the Taco Spice Mixture. In this case we used swordfish, or shutome. Heat a nonstick frypan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the fish, and fry until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. (NO OVA COOK DA FISH!!!)

Accompaniments: • 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage • Cilantro sprigs • Your favorite salsa • Lime Crema, recipe follows: — 1/2 cup yogurt — 1/2 cup mayonnaise – only Real Mayonnaise here! — Juice of 1 lime — 1/4 cup chopped cilantro — 1/2 tsp salt

After all the fish has been cooked (AND NOT OVA COOKED!), wipe out the frypan with paper towels. Place a tortilla in the dry frypan, and heat until the tortilla softens, about 2 minutes. Place on a warmed plate and cover until all the tortillas are done. To assemble the fish tacos, place a fish filet on a warmed tortilla. Top with shredded cabbage, cilantro sprigs, salsa and Lime Crema. Dress for efficiency or to impress. Welcome to Auntie Kwong’s Fish Taco heaven!

PHOTOS JESSE VICTOR AND RACHEL SAMSON

Taco Spice Mixture:

WHEN YOU GET HOT DATE!

Gas

tropub By Ed Sugimoto

Rainbow SashimiSpecial - $16

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Enter DASH Gastropub, the relatively new (grand opening was on Feb 10th earlier this year), 5,000 square-foot hotspot located in the old American Savings Bank location on the corner of Young and McCully. As the first locale in Hawaii to use the term Gastropub in their name, it has come with a fair amount of self-appointed pressure. It is a powerful word with great responsibility, but they’ve definitely got all the right pieces in place to make it happen.

PHOTOS STERLING KAYA

Wikipedia defines the term “gastropub” as “a portmanteau of gastronomy and pub” and refers to a bar or restaurant that serves high-end beer and food. While gastronomy is the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine, a pub is not usually known for more than just beer and “bar food.” So when you put the two together, it is quite the oxymoron that deserves further investigation.

Home made Fresh Kettle Chips (Seasoned fresh cut potatoes fried golden brown and crispy served with strawberry guava ketchup - $7)

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“DASH” Rib Eye (1 lb seared USDA Choice Rib-Eye cubed pupu style with sautéed Hamakua Alii oyster mushrooms and onions - $21)

DASH is actually an acronym made up of the four partners’ first names. Along with a silent partner who wishes to remain anonymous, Alysha (Tanabe), Shane (Tsubaki) and Executive Chef Hyuk (Kim) have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the bar and food service industry with stints at places like Remedy Sports Lounge, Maile’s Place, and the once uber popular Osake Sushi Bar & Sake Lounge. Well known food guru and local celebrity Grant Kawasaki (Hawaiian Grown TV & Hawaiian Grown Kitchen) also acts as a consultant here, so you know their food is always going to be on point. As a lover of both food and beer, this concept of “gastropub-ery” is a dream come true. Here’s a look at what we pounded.

Oysters on the 1/2 Shell (Half dozen Gulf oysters served on shaved ice with citrus oroshi, tobikko, jalapeno masago, & spicy ponzu sauce - $12)

As if that wasn’t enough, DASH is also chock-full of wines, sakes, beers (crafts & imports) and specialty cocktails. So far, it looks like they are well on their way to living up to that self-appointed pressure. Pub? Yes. Gastropub? Definitely. But here’s a portmanteau I’d like to propose to help sum up my experiences there: Gastronomical!

Dash Gastropub 1018 McCully Street Ahi Tataki (Fresh Hawaiian BigEye Ahi with sunomono, yuzu, tobikko, soy vinaigrette and a dash of white truffle oil - $18)

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(808) 943-1025 dashgastropub.com

Beef Sashimi (Seared USDA Choice filet mignon with minced garlic and soy vinaigrette - $16)

Open Daily 6pm - 2am

ISSUE TEN 2012

Shoreline Tech B Y B R I A N K I M ATA

have too much deflection, bending and yielding with every movement you make. This deflection reduces the action passed onto a lure. Think of trying to work a lure with a rubber band between you and the lure and you’ll get the idea. Power refers to the rods ability to move a fish through the water. In essence it is much like the “towing capacity” of a vehicle. Rods here are labeled from ultra-light to extra heavy, depending largely on the size of the fish you are targeting, although factors like current and lure selection may need to be considered as well. This “lifting power” will have to be sufficient to haul your fish in as it tires, so you will need to have some idea of what you’re after. Most anglers will have a rod that’s light or medium in power. Now, take a look at the line and lure rating of your prospective rod. It’s telling you what you can and cannot do with your pole. Pick a rod that is rated for the line rating and lure rating you’re planning to use. This will optimize the benefit and use of the rod and keep it from getting damaged by overloading it. Some experienced anglers sometimes select a rod that is line rated much higher than the line test they are using in an attempt to get more control over the fish. That can be a great idea but may be something left for the more seasoned caster. By contrast, you should not select a rod that is rated less than the line test you are planning to use. Rod length. Now that alone is a subject that could fill an encyclopedia. In general, the longer the rod, the further you will be able to cast. It’s a matter of leverage. Each rod is a lever and you are holding the fulcrum. In addition to this, longer rods are at times much safer, allowing you to cast without getting too near the edge of a cliff or a slippery patch of seaweed. So, longer would be better right? Well, not so fast, cowboy! Length comes with some consequences. First of all, the longer a pole is, the heavier it becomes. This can

OK, so let’s move on to the selection of the rod. Now you did say whipping so let’s assume that your rod will be used mainly for that purpose. The questions here are: Where are you whipping from? What are you whipping with? And, what are you targeting, or expecting to catch? The answer to these questions will lead you to the correct action, length, line and lure rating, and power. So, what do these terms mean? Let’s start with action. Action refers to the way the rod responds to a load and how it recovers from that force. It’s categorized by taper. These tapers are typically fast, moderate- fast, moderate, and slow. Fast taper rods have most of their action at the tip and bend mostly in the upper fourth of the rod. Slow taper rods by contrast bend much farther down near the butt and reel seat of the rod. I usually steer my customers toward fast or moderately fast rods. The reason for this is that when you are working a lure, you will need to use your rod to impart some action onto the lure, making it look like something the fish will want to eat. Slower actions

be particularly tiring on a long trip or with a lure that needs a lot of action. You will also have to weigh the length against the type of lure you are selecting. Remember, longer rods will have more deflection and that’s something they will all have in common. If you recall, more deflection means less action at the lure. It is for that reason very short rods, 6 ft. or less, are often used to work lures like jigs where a lot of action needs to be imparted onto the lure. If you were selecting a cast-a-bubble with a long leader attached, the additional length would come in handy. You may also want to consider that the longer a rod is, the harder it is to control a hooked fish. Remember, a pole is simply a lever and a hooked fish has the longer end on his side. I know that these are a lot of factors to consider. For starters try simply holding the rod in your hand. How does it feel? Is the grip comfortable? How’s the balance? You may even want to bring your reel down to the store and slip it in to see what it’ll be like as your fishing it. Have someone hold the tip and try loading it. Does it have the bend and power you’re looking for? If it’s not comfortable, then it’s not right. Trust me, you won’t want to “try and get used to it”. It’ll just feel more awkward as the day progresses. Much like Harry Potter selecting his wand, the rod has to sometimes picks you!

STERLING KAYA

you asked first before you made a purchase. You probably wouldn’t have made a “mistake,” but you may not have selected a rod and reel best suited for your needs. I’m sure you could have made whatever you chose work, but finding the right rod and reel is magical. First of all, let’s start with your budget. If you plan to fish fairly seriously, say every weekend, then get a good quality rod and reel from a reliable manufacturer. Quality products will simply perform better and last longer. In general, more expensive rods not only have higher quality components, they are usually much lighter in weight and that’s very important. Lighter rods are not only less tiring, they perform significantly better. They have more sensitivity and are able to recover much more quickly, yielding better casts and more control over your lure and fish. You’ll be able to manipulate the rod with much more agility, giving your lures more action and control. That’s something that won’t happen on a heavier rod. In general, as the weight goes down, the price will go up. If you’re an infrequent fisherman and say, cast a line once or twice a year, you may consider a rod and reel combo. They are fairly inexpensive and unlike the combos of years gone by, they can be quite capable. Here again, try to stick with name brand products for performance purposes. You will have to remember that combos are usually considered “disposable” and are usually not worth repairing should they break. Many manufacturers don’t even produce the parts to fix them. It’s just simple economics since most combos would be cheaper to replace than repair. The rule of thumb I use in my store is to buy the best quality product that your budget will allow. Use that as your guideline, and you won’t go wrong.

BRAD GODA PHOTOGRAPHY

Answer: Well, you are on the right track because

You may even want to bring your reel down to the store and slip it in to see what it’ll be like as your fishing it.

BRAD GODA PHOTOGRAPHY

Question: What do I look for in selecting a whipping rod? I’m new to this and there are so many choices. I don’t know what to pick and don’t want to make a mistake.

Today’s tip:

When selecting a reel for you new rod, make sure that it has a high ratio of retrieve. That’s essential if you’re using it for whipping. On smaller reels, that would be a ratio of about 6:1. Larger reels would have ratios nearing 5:1. But why is that important? Can’t I simply reel faster? Well, no. In order to work a lure correctly you need to be moving at a comfortable pace. If you’re feverishly cranking the handle of your reel to get the speed you need, how are you going to be able to move the rod with any kind of control? It’s just not going to happen. Let the reel do all the work and you can spend your time controlling the lure. 18

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

ISSUE TEN 2012

Tournaments

Mililani Middle School Fishing Club

For The Everyday Fisherman and His Family DURING THE SUMMER OF 1987,

ON APRIL 28, 2012 a fishing tournament was held at Haleiwa Harbor for members of the Mililani Middle School Fishing Club. The tournament was jointly sponsored by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) represented by Kurt Kawamoto, the O‘io Tagging Project represented by Kimberlee Harding and Eva, The Ulua Tagging Project, represented by Clayward Tam and the Mililani Middle School Fishing Club. The relationship between these organizations and the school began when a student caught a turtle and wanted to know what the proper way to handle it and set it free was. Each of these organizations visited the school prior to the tournament and talked about conservation as it pertained to their projects. Fifteen excited student participants showed up supported by family members. Things were kicked off at 6:00am with a briefing on the rules and a description of three types of fishing: dunking, whipping and hand-pole: After which the students were allowed to leave and fish where ever they wanted. All students had to be back by 2:00pm to weigh in and get their prizes. The students were thrilled with the array of prizes presented to them. The sponsoring groups had out done themselves and brought fishing poles, reels and tackle boxes along with other items to present as prizes. The student couldn’t wait for the next fishing excursion so they could use their new equipment, but more than that they were all enthusiastic to put the knowledge they had gained to the test. NOAA, The O‘io Tagging Project and the Ulua Tagging Project set up booths that the students and families could visit to learn more about each project. Anna O. was very intrigued to learn that there is more than one species of O‘io. The family members were excited to see these booths in per-

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son, so they could see first-hand what their children had been talking about. More than one parent commented on a new awareness shown by their child in respect to conserving fish species for the future. The majority of the students elected to use the barbless hook during the tournament and several students practiced the catch and release method. After the tournament Devon Ando, the fishing club student president said, “I hope more will start tagging fish so we can learn more about certain species and hopefully sustain or increase the amount of fish for the future.” Kumahao A. felt a special pride that his heritage was being preserved thru the conservation of fish species. Several of the students said that was lots of fun and the prizes were so cool! Maybe at the next tournament other schools can come too.

Roland Galacgac entered his first shoreline fishing tournament. The tournament was hosted by McCully Bicycle and Sporting Goods. Like many other tournaments, it was filled with fun, camaraderie, and excitement. Then, much to the dismay of Roland and other fishermen on Oahu, the tournament was cancelled the following year. The cancellation of the tournament was much like giving Roland a bite of candy, then closing the candy store doors. He had tasted the joy of a fishing tournament and craved for more. As the year progressed, he and other members of the Atlapac Fishing Club reminisced over the fun times that they had at the McCully Bike tournament and tossed around the idea of starting one of their own. At a memorable outing at Kaena Point, the casual chit chat turned into something more decisive and talk of dreams turned into planning for an actual tournament. Roland, his wife Gladys and Roy Cameron started plans to have a shoreline tournament on a dark mooned weekend in May of 1988. Because Roland was in charge of weighing in the fish for the club, the tournament was appropriately named the “Weighmaster’s Pre-Summer Classic”. Within only one year, Roland had gone from fishing tournament 1st timer to Chairman of his own tournament. During that first year, the Weighmaster’s Pre-Summer Classic hosted 30 fishermen and as the years passed on, the tournament grew in size and popularity. In 1993, the Weighmaster’s tournament took a unique turn that in many ways, set it apart from most other tournaments of its time. From the urging of friends, family, and Atlapac club members, the founders decided to split the tournament into two separate events. The Weighmaster’s Classic would continue to be held in the summer months and would honor the ultimate challenge of shoreline fishing in Hawaii – catching the big Ulua. The newly created Weighmaster’s Wintershootout would honor the family values of fishing and everyday joy of holo holo fishing for small game. The following year, tragedy struck and Roland lost his beloved wife. While sadness filled the hearts of all who knew Gladys, they also remembered her love for fishing and knew she would have wanted the tournament to go on. With the help and support from the entire Galacgac family, the tournament continued as the

Weighmasters Classic / Gladys Galacgac Memorial. The years passed on, and the tournament weigh in locations and names changed but the underlying philosophy remained the same. The Winter tournament quickly became a favorite among Oahu fishermen and their families due to its open invitation to the public and categories for men, women, and children. The name “Obake” was later added referencing the Halloween season around which it occurred, which coincidentally, was Gladys favorite holiday. Fast forward a few years and in 2011, the Weighmaster’ Obake Shootout III had the most participants to date. Over 250 men, women, and children enjoyed the fun family event. Neither parents nor their kids were required to take off on vacation to play the tournament. While some had planned for weeks, filled live baitwells with tako, and dusted off all the old Nitros, others simply grabbed a loaf of bread, reached into the back of their trucks that weekend and pulled out a few hand poles. Whether it was an Ulua or a kupipi that was brought in by the youth, all the kids had smiles as they received prizes. Perhaps the only larger smiles in the crowd were those of their proud parents. Roland Galacgac also had a large smile on his face as the 2011 Weighmaster’s Obake Shootout III came to a close. Maybe it was due to the understanding that, after 23 years of being tournament Chairman, he would step down and pass the reigns (and stress) of the tournament on to the next generation. Maybe it was due to his knowledge that a small 30 person tournament had evolved to become one of the most popular tournaments on Oahu. Or maybe it was due to the realization that his dream had been reached and there was a shoreline tournament that promoted the simplicity and joy of fishing with family. The Weighmaster’s Obake Shootout was truly a tournament for the everyday fisherman and his family. The Obake Shootout IV will be held on October 12-14. Whether you’ve fished all of your life or have never done it before, join in on the fun. Pick up that Ulua pole, spinner, or hand pole and spend some quality time with your family and friends. Thanks to generous donations, there will be lots of prizes and tons of fun at the weign-ins. For more info, visit http://www.facebook.com/ obakeshootout.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLAPAC FISHING CLUB

B Y M AT T R A M S E Y

ISSUE TEN 2012

Fish Stories

HEART

OF THE SEA I HAD WORKED REALLY HARD IN THE YARD AND WAS FILTHY WITH SWEAT AND DIRT AND I WAS JUST SO TIRED. It was about 4:00 in the afternoon and there was going to be about three and a half hours of light left so I decided to do some fishing; mostly it was so I could go down to the ocean to wash off all of the sweat and grime. I had done the earth thing and to balance it off, I would do the water thing. I used to do a lot of fishing before we moved to the larger property. I now spend a lot of my time planting stuff and slowly developing the property, so going fishing is a rare treat for me. I gathered my equipment but decided not to take the cooler; if I caught any fish, I would tag and release them. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has a program of tracking certain species of reef fish, and I am a participant. When I catch a fish I insert a tag with a unique identification number into the back of the fish, measure it, release it and send the information to the DLNR. The next person who catches the fish will call the phone number on the tag, identify the fish by its number and let the DLNR know where and when they caught the fish, its weight and the length of the fish. This way the DLNR can monitor how far the fish traveled, the number of days between capture, and growth rates.

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So today was just a “play” day of fishing. I went down to a fishing spot where many people go to swim, but since it was late in the afternoon, most of the swimmers and beach-goers were packing up to go home. This is when I like to do my fishing; the sun is not too hot and the energy of the land and ocean is “settling”. This fishing spot also has some of the most beautiful sunsets. This was one of those days. The water was clear. The current and wave action was right. The tide was constant, and there was only one swimmer in the area. On the far side of the small enclosed bay there were two young fishermen, kids who did not seem to know what they were doing. I washed off in the fresh water spring near the rocks and set up my fishing equipment in the parking lot. I walked to the other side of the small bay so I could watch the sun set and enjoy the elements of sky and water while I fished. On the first cast I hooked up with a large fish that I fought for about 7 minutes

before losing it. When I reeled in the line I discovered that the hook had snapped. This happens with “large fish” because of the equipment that I use. I fish with ultra light tackle and the basic set up is 2 pound test leader and main line and very small hooks. 10 to 13 inch fish will snap my small hooks so I re tied with a hook that was up one size (which is 4 times the size of this 6). The next three casts lost three fish because I could not stop them from running into the rocks; they cut the 2 pound test leader. I switched to 4 pound test leader and tightened the drag, and from that point on the battles with the fish were of epic proportions. Ultra light fishing equipment being used to catch fish that are in the 10 to 15 inch range is a test of my skills in combination with a stroke of luck. The fish would not be cutting the leader or snapping the small hook, but it was going to be a test of my fishing skill to avoid having the fish pull out too much line and move into the rocks and cut the 2 pound test main line. The school of fish was lined up in a deep sand channel and I never got the chance to retrieve the line without hooking up to a fish. I brought 15 tags with me and before I knew it I had almost depleted my supply so I needed to go back to the car for more. I was standing on the flat rocks in knee deep water. I believe that this is good for the body when you are in water up to your knees and the water is moving. I think it cools the blood in the legs--sort of a Yin Yang thing. So I turned around and started walking back to the shore about 25 feet away. Sitting on the shore were the two young fishermen from the other side of the small bay. They had been watching me and decided that they would see what I was doing that caused me to catch all of this fish, or so I was told by the younger one. He was about 7; the older one who looked about 11 was quiet. I ask the younger one who his partner was; his brother, he said. Where are your parents? He said they lived 4 blocks away and they came to see if they could catch something for dinner; they had walked. Inside their 5 gallon bucket I see some bread in a plastic bag, 2 empty cans of juice and packets of small mismatched sinkers, hooks, and a spool of heavy leader. They had a knife; the only correct answer I could see in there. I asked them if they had gotten any bites because the fish had to be moving through the whole area within the small bay. Again the younger one answered that they were there all day and they were using bread as bait and had caught nothing. I was using a plastic lure and light line.

ISSUE TEN 2012

PHOTO RENEE KESTER

B Y 8 0 8 M R . PA P I O

I could already see that their equipment was set up all wrong. Short medium tackle rods in poor shape with reels filled with line meant to catch ten pound fish. Their leader was also too heavy. Nothing that I had with me would help them unless I could offer them heavier sinkers. I said, “I’ll show you how I catch fish, but it comes with a curse.” And I watched them as the words sunk in. “Do you want to know what the curse is?” The older boy shakes his head no. The younger one continues to look into my polarized dark glasses for my eyes. “I’ll tell you what the curse is. If the fish you catch is smaller than your hand, you have to throw it back.” I pause, “Unless, you are going to eat it.” The young one thinks about that for a while and says that the curse is not a bad thing because under those rules, they could keep everything they caught. He is looking at me like there is some sort of trick to this. I asked him, “What happens if everyone keeps everything they catch, even the small ones?” He thinks and says that after a while there won’t be any more fish for anyone to catch. The older one is nodding yes. I tell them, “Ok, you pass! Now, put down your fishing rods and find rocks about the size of golf balls, I am going to set you folks up; and you’ll fish right here, the fish are in the sand channel. Can you tie knots for hooks?” The younger one says yes. I then instruct them, “Also, go and find pieces of wood about the size of a film container.” The younger one asks why. I am wearing dark glasses, a broad straw hat and a face that has not been shaved for 3 days. When I get irritated, I can take on the appearance of a person that you would not want to see coming toward you in a dark alley. “Bruddah, we have very little sunlight left. Go get the stuff and then watch and learn. Now go!” They go off searching for the rocks and pieces of wood along the shore. While they are gone, I cut off the light red and white plastic floaters from their lines and inspect the drag on their reels. The drags are set so tight that line cannot be pulled from the reel. I reset the drag to something more reasonable for the size of fish they will encounter. When they come back, they show me their collection and I select the rocks and pieces of wood that will allow me to tie fishing line on to the body of the rock or wood piece so it won’t come off. Sometimes the fish will bite on

the surface and the area I was fishing was shallow. We are going to make sinkers and floaters. I set up one of their fishing rods with the rock sinker and tied it up with my light leader, hook and plastic lure. I told the younger one to start fishing and see what happens. The older one was disappointed but I told him that I would set him up with a floater to see if the fish would bite that way. He only waited 3 minutes before tossing in his line and starting the retrieval. The older one was the first to hook up. He was really excited, so I told him to play the fish and work it in. He did it with much difficulty because of his excitement. When he landed the fish, he put down the fishing rod and actually placed his open hand to the body of the 10 inch fish, then placed the fish inside the bucket to flop around with the stuff that they had in there. I had the younger one bring in his line and we switched to the floater method. On his third cast he had a fish on. The sun was now behind the mountains but there was about an hour of light left. I asked them if they understood what was happening. I got only smiles and hoots as the younger one landed his fish and tossed it into the bucket and recast his line. I left them more plastic strips, hooks and some leader material. The older one had snagged a rock and lost his leader, hook, and lure. As I was starting to leave, the younger one asked me what they should do.

know each other by sight and vehicle, but not by name. One of the guys got up from his beach chair and asked, “Bruddah, I no mean to be rude, but I gotta ask what you was catching? From the first throw you was hooking’ up, man.” I told him and his friends, who had stood up and gathered around, that it was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced. I kept catching the same fish again and again, and I gave them the serious face behind my dark glasses. I wish I had a video camera because all of them had this amazed and confused look with a dash of reverence, mixed with audio clips of, “No kidding?” “Wow!” “Ho man, that’s mean brah!” Then I cracked a smile and told them that I was doing catch, tag, and release. There was about 2 seconds of utter silence while this information registered before they all started hooting and laughing! One guy yelled, “You know what brah? You caught 5 more! Us!” And they all roared with laughter. The ladies were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. I showed them the tag and told them about the program. Then one of the guys said, “That was nice of you” as he nodded in the direction of the two boys. We looked over as the younger one was fighting a fish while the older one was cleaning and gutting their catch, washing it in the water near the shore. “I know the family” he said, “the older one ‘slow’.” A quiet moment

settled over the group. I broke the silence and told them that I still had more scientific research to conduct and they all laughed as we shook hands all around. I went to the car, replenished my tags with the last 10 that I had, and I went to the spot where the boys were the first time I saw them fishing. I was now facing away from my last fishing position and on the first cast I got a screamer. The fish in this spot are larger than the ones I was catching in the sand channel. It was going to take more time and skill to land the fish here. As I was fighting the third or fourth fish, I heard simultaneous shouts from somewhere back in the parking lot, “Thank you, Uncle!!” and without looking back at them, I raised my hand and waved to the departing fishermen. I used up all of my fish tags and continued to catch and release until one particularly large fish dragged out so much line that it cut my main line against the rocks. I just stood there watching as the gray clouded sky turned an orange-red that would be worthy of approval by the Hawaiian Fire Goddess, Pele. What a fitting end to a most magnificent day! I stood on the rock next to the water as the sky went slowly from orange-red back to gray, and I realized that today I was blessed with the heart of the sea.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council supports and congratulates the accomplishments in 2012 to enhance opportunities for indigenous communities to participate in natural resource management

“Did you watch?” “Yes.” “Did you learn?” “OK” he said, and then he started to tie on a new leader. He cut the line using his teeth, tied on a new hook, then he hooked the lure on to the hook. The older one was happy again and they both went back to fishing. Walking off without looking back, I told the younger one to bring scissors or a finger nail clipper to cut the line the next time. He yelled, “Thank you, Uncle!” Half way back to the car, I looked back to see both of them hooked up to fish. When I reach the parking lot, there were still a few cars and people enjoying the sunset and having the tail end of a nice day at the beach. I passed a bunch of guys and ladies who were there when I first came to the park. They are regulars and we

The Aha Moku System was formally recognized by Act 288 of the Hawaii State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. The Aha Moku Advisory Committee was established to advise the Department of Land and Natural Resources on the understanding and use of native Hawaiian methodology and expertise in natural resources management. For more, go to www.ahamoku.org. held its inaugural symposium in Washington, DC; incorporated as a 501(c)(3); and passed a resolution asking the U.S. government to consult with tribal governments and indigenous communities for guidance in all policies that affect their way of life and to support their management efforts. For more, go to www.firststewards.org. Established by the US Congress in 1976, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council manages fisheries in the US exclusive economic zone waters surrounding the State of Hawaii, US Territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Pacific remote island areas. www.wpcouncil.org

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TSUTOMU AD FNL.indd 1

ISSUE TEN 2012 4/29/12 10:14 AM

Just Hangin’ BY JOEL KIYOSAKI ( R E P R I N T E D C O U R T E SY O F S P Y D A’ S B L O G , H O S T E D B Y W W W. I F I S H H AWA I I . C O M )

he Big Island: miles and miles of barren shoreline, some accessible only by boat or helicopter, other areas access limited to those who possess a much coveted key. This trip, we had a key! We slowly worked our way down toward the shoreline, the three of us, in three trucks as is typical for a serious ulua outing BI style. That moment when you break through the treeline and see the dusty black lava landscape is for some, just a lot of rocks. But, for me that first gust of wind you felt as you broke into the open was like feeling Pele’s breath, hot and rough like she was there watching and waiting. Beautiful, yet hard and serious, unforgiving, yet, alluring. I always felt somehow undeserving, as though dues remained unpaid. The better part of an hour passed before we reached the shoreline and worked our way towards the planned campsite. We were traversing a pahoehoe flow, a typical example of Madam Pele’s deceptive artistry. Appearing smooth in comparison to an a’a flow, which is essentially a field of large loose chunks of lava cinder, pahoehoe is the type of lava that forms huge underground tubes hiding pockets of air that can suddenly crumble under the weight of four-wheel drive vehicle like the ones we drove. Put a wheel wrong and you can quickly end up in Pele’s grasp… Gotcha!! After selecting a spot and setting up camp, we all walked out toward the water to look at the grounds. I was immediately drawn to a hump in the lava on the far right side. As I looked around I noticed an angled crack that looked like it would position a rod perfectly for hang bait! I normally would set up my big spinner as a hang bait rod, but, the crack was a little loose for all my rock spikes except for my largest one which I always used for my half

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and half rod and Daiwa 600H. So be it, I set up the half and half rod for hang bait. After setting up the rod, I walked out to the spot and set it in the spike. Hmmm, a little awkward. I had built this rod with the idea of big baits and big fish and had set the reel seat up high (43”) so I could wedge the rod in the rocks and stand up to fight the fish (I’m 6’2”). The problem here was that after the rod was set in the spike, the reel was out over the edge of the water! Pulling the rod out with a fish on might prove tricky! After we got all the rods out and slid some tako and puhi down, I set up a small spinner to hopefully get a nice bait for the hang bait pole. I tied on a floater with a 6’ leader and a small piece of shrimp. I dropped it right down about where my hang bait would be sitting and immediately hooked a good size hinalea lauwili (saddle wrasse)! Alright, good sign!! I had 80lb test mono on the reel. A bimini twist doubled up the line and this was albrighted to 8 feet of Berkley Big Game 120lb wire braid. The leader was a lot shorter than normal, but I wanted all the knots already though the guides and tip when hanging the bait. I attached a 36 BKN hook with a flemish eye and crimp, hooked the hinalea on, dropped it down and adjusted until I got it to stay right below the surface at its highest point of the swing. The water below was about 15 feet deep and the set up looked great! Quiet night, puhi on the tako, nothing on the puhi. I walked over to check the hinalea; still there, lively as ever! The sky is starting to turn grey; time for the dawn patrol! Before going to sleep, I had set up my whipping rig with a black Pili, so I only had to throw on the tabis and my backpack and I was ready to go! I glanced over at my hang bait and, as I walked past to the next point, I remembered thinking it looked perfect. The surge was just kicking up enough white water to create some “natural cover” for the bait without being too rough. Whipping, except for lack of strikes or follows, was really nice in the soft morning light. I had worked my way along the shore about a quarter mile when I decided to turn back toward camp. I was working my way around a particularly rough section of shoreline when from the corner of my eye I saw something in the water. I turned to look and saw a spray of small bait fish along with that distinctive black flash of an excited predator swirling below them! I had to slowly pick my way across about 20 yards of big rocks and large tidal pools to get to the actual edge where I could get a cast out into “the zone”. When I got there, I crouched down on a rock and just watched the water for a minute, trying to catch a glimpse of the flash or another spray…nothing. I stood and tossed the Pili out at a two o’clock angle; pop, pop, pop…nothing. I switched my footing and tossed it the opposite way about 10 o’clock position, pop, wham! It throws a semi-circle spray

like a surfer does when they snap off the top of a wave. I raise my rod instinctively, “Gotcha!” The omilu was about 8lbs, but looked small compared to the black flash I had seen earlier. It took me a while to get the fish off the lure. As is typical, the forward hook was in its mouth but the trailing hook was also embedded in the area near its pectoral fins. I slipped the fish into a small pool and got back up on the rock to try for its partner. I worked the area for a while but with no success, so I grabbed the omilu and headed back to camp.

I was almost back to camp when I saw the boys looking over at me. I was “mack’in it up”, raising my arms in a “victory” motion when a bell rang and I heard that sweet sound of the ratchet coming from the hang bait line!! I could hear them laughing as I madly hopped rocks trying to get to the rod from the opposite side. I set the whipping rod down and un-clipped the safety cord. As I leaned forward to try and get the rod out, something poked me in the back of the head! I had forgotten about the omilu in my backpack! I took a step back and took the backpack off (more laughter from the peanut gallery!). I finally managed to get the rod out of the holder and got to feel the fish; it was clear, but, still fighting strong. One of the advantages of hang bait is the fact that the fish will be closer after the initial run than when you bomb it out there. The trade off is it’s not fighting a long length of line in the water so the strength of the fish is felt more directly. Case in point, this fish turned out to be much smaller than it initially felt. Anyway, despite a clear lack of confidence in my skills by my so called, friends, I managed to land it and one of the boneheads actually stopped laughing long enough to gaff it for me! A 36 lb white ulua and an 8 lb omilu to go with it. Not too bad a weekend!

ISSUE TEN 2012

I was 6 years old and I can still remember that day.

Jared’s Very Special Reel I wasn’t always a shoreline fisherman although I grew up fishing with my dad and my uncle on my uncle’s boat from when I was about 5 or 6 until I was about 12 years old. I remember those days like it was yesterday! Trolling, bottom fishing, night fishing for red fish, they used to take me all the time. As I got older and my dad got busy, my interests started to change. One day my Pops came home with a surfboard and that was it for me- instant SURF ADDICT. From the age of 15 until I was about 26, that’s all I did: surf, surf and surf. I got so hooked on the sport I actually started to shape my own surfboards and even started my own surfboard company. At one point I was shaping surfboards for a living, but in the last few years I started to drift from surfing. Growing up on the laid back, peaceful, Eastside of O‘ahu I never learned to deal with crowds and bad attitudes in the water and I found myself not even enjoying the ocean anymore. Until one day, I decided to buy a cheap fishing pole/reel combo, hike out to one of my favorite surf spots and enjoy the ocean, maybe in a different way? Luck was on my side. I actually caught a fish and this is how my addiction to Ulua fishing began! After a few more outings with some better whipping gear and some Mark White Lures I noticed somethingthe shoreline of O‘ahu still get some big fish. I got smoked more than one time using the whipping gear I had, so I started to think- time to step it up and get some gear that can handle these fish.

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I jumped online, joined a forum and started asking a MILLION questions about catching Ulua and the gear used to catch them.

I jumped online, joined a forum and started asking a MILLION questions about catching Ulua and the gear used to catch them. A couple weeks later I bought a Nitro pole and my first fishing teacher, “Bradah Kent,” sold me my first conventional reel (Penn113hl). After a few months pounding with that setup, I decided I needed a couple more reels and poles so I could increase the strikes and get into sliding for the big boys. But, I soon realized Ulua fishing can get expensive and I was out of money. So I thought to myself, “I wonder what my dad did with all the gear that he used to have?” I knew he owned at least one conventional reel and figured maybe I could just use whatever I could find. I start digging in my mom’s garage and found some Penn spinners that were rusted to pieces. In the corner of the garage was a red conventional reel with all this white crust on it. After I busted the reel off the broken rod it sat on, I noticed the model number on the frame. I couldn’t believe my eyes because it was a Penn 113hlw,

By Jared Clapper

ISSUE TEN 2012

The next day to my surprise a lot of guys were telling me ‘save um,’ ‘she still go’ and ‘I seen worse.’ MADE IN USA! I took it into the house, washed it off and my heart started to sink: “If only we took care of this gear.” The reel barely worked, drag wouldn’t budge and the spool barely moved in free spool. “Oh well, guess I got to save up for a newer model Penn”. Later that night I decided maybe I’d take a picture of the reel and post it on the forum. “Get some helpful people on there, maybe they can give me some advice on what to do with this reel.” The next day to my surprise a lot of guys were telling me ‘save um’, ‘she still go’ and ‘I seen worse’. One very helpful member, simply known as “Peesherman”, decided that he needed a challenge and would help me restore the reel for FREE. I met up with him at work and he tells me “I got a magic potion that can take care of the rust and crust that formed on the reel. I can also save most of the guts in the reel”. I left the store just praying that he could get the reel fishing again. I didn’t even care if it looked good - I just wanted to fish with it again. A few days later he shot me a email telling me to check the forum for some pictures he posted of the reel after working on it. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The next chance I got, I flew over to his house (with a few Papio for payment). I was STOKED! The reel was cherry! He did a awesome job. Not only did the reel work perfect, but it looked good too. I got home, threw some 60lb. Berkley Big Game in the reel and I was ready to go fishing!

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After a few outings with my new gear, I noticed something - my last few strikes came on the pole with my dad’s old reel on it. I started to think maybe this reel has some extra Mana behind it. Could it be that saving this reel was bringing me some luck? One night I went fishing with my buddy Brian. It was a pretty mellow trip - bait casting on one pole, slide one tako on my other pole with my “Lucky Reel”. Brian just came along to catch small game and shoot some pictures. 10 minutes after my tako went down it got taxed by a fat Lemon Head eel! I figure, “I never hear good things about this type of puhi but maybe my lucky reel can bring me a fish”. I slide down a chunk of puhi and sure enough, later that night HANAPA‘A! My pop’s old Penn is screaming. I get to my pole, tighten the drag and start boosting. A short 5 minute battle and we can see color- ULUA! I hand the pole to Brian, get down to the water’s edge and yank the Ulua up on the rocks. I can’t believe it, my special reel caught me a fish! My 3rd Ulua was a 22 pounder and perfect for the dinner table. Now for the crazy part of the story. A few months ago my girl and I tied the knot. We got married on February 18, 2012, a perfect day! A few weeks before the wedding it was crunch time. So much to do, so many things to get organized. One of the things we needed to get together were some pictures for our picture wall. We were going through some photos with my mom when she handed one to me and asked “Do you remember this picture?” It was a picture of me and an Ahi that I caught on my uncle’s boat. I was 6 years old and I can still remember that day. They put me in the fighting chair and everything to battle my monster 8lb Ahi. I remember how happy everyone was when I got the fish to the boat. The only thing I couldn’t remember from that day was the gear I used to catch my Ahi. I looked closer at the picture and I noticed the rod in the picture was the same color as the old broken rod I’d found in our garage. Then I noticed the reel, a Penn113hlw. I was thinking “Is this possible?” At the next chance, I asked my dad how much gear he owned and he said whatever we had in the garage was it. I couldn’t believe it! The reel I was using was the same reel in the picture! Here it is, 20 something years later, still catching fish, still in the family and still my reel! I almost got chicken skin when I realized how special this reel was. You can be sure this reel will never leave my side. So to all you young fisherman just getting started, never throw out those old boxes of gear in the garage, you never know how much Mana those old workhorse reels might have. Mahalo for reading.

ISSUE TEN 2012

My daughters, Lindsey and Aimee, loved the ocean

K E I T H ,

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L I N D S E Y

A I M E E

C A L D W E L L

and lived in it at a very young age. They first started fishing with a scoop net, rescuing fish trapped in tide pools due to the minus low tides. They would fill their buckets with Manini, Hinalea and whatever else they could find and get their nets or hands around. They would then take them to a much larger tide pool and let them go, one by one and occasionally giving a fish or two a kiss good bye. As they grew older they started helping me catch live bait that we would use for Papio and Ulua fishing.

ISSUE TEN 2012

“AIMEE’S FIRST PAPIO WAS A FISH I HAD CAUGHT AND TAGGED A YEAR EARLIER. SHE WAS VERY EXCITED WHEN SHE SAW THE TAG WAS STILL IN THE FISH AND WAS EVEN MORE EXCITED THAT SHE WAS GOING TO GET AN ULUA TAGGING PROJECT T-SHIRT.”

My daughters always enjoyed watching me catch Papio and Ulua and they would always want to be the ones to let the tagged fish go so they could be caught another day. I taught them that it was ok to take fish to eat, but to only take what you need and release the rest. Lindsey and Aimee never felt the need to eat them, only to release what we caught. When they weren’t catching bait or Papio, they were using any dead bait to palu for eels and then catch them with fishing line attached to a stick. They attempted to catch “Big Red” every fishing trip, but he has yet to be caught, and they still haven’t given up on it. 34

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ISSUE TEN 2012

Lindsey and Aimee started catching their own Papio at a very young age. I would help them reel in their fish by keeping my hand on their pole, but a short time afterwards they went on to catch their fish on their own. Lindsey always wanted to go fishing every time we would go camping or to the beach and would spend hours out on the rocks with her snacks and tackle. Aimee’s first Papio was a fish I had caught and tagged a year earlier. She was very excited when she saw the tag was still in the fish and was even more excited that she was going to get an Ulua Tagging Project t-shirt. Lindsey has caught a few small Ulua, but is very anxious to catch the big one. Maybe on our next kayak, camping fishing trip this July, at one of my favorite spots, she will land a nice size Ulua like I have in the past at this spot.

“FISHING IS A WAY OF LIFE, WHETHER YOU KEEP YOUR CATCH OR TAG IT, AND I LOVE THIS LIFE AS DO MY DAUGHTERS.” 36

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I grew up loving the ocean, fishing and camping. My family, friends and I would always go on fishing adventures. I loved this as a kid and I still love it, which is why I wanted to have my kids grow up the same way. We have created many wonderful memories fishing and spending time at the ocean. I will always cherish those moments we had together fishing, and I look forward to the memories we are going to make. Fishing is a way of life, whether you keep your catch or tag it, and I love this life as do my daughters. I know when they start their own families one day, they will make fishing a part of it. Many thanks to the Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship Foundation and the Sakamoto family. I appreciate you selecting my daughter, Lindsey, for your scholarship. It will be used for her college education at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo in the fall. Mahalo and Good Fishing ISSUE TEN 2012

GT Fight Club A journey into the world of casting lures to ulua, or what everyone else in the world calls them, GT (giant trevally).

By Charles Cintron

Rookie Moves As we motor out to my first venture into the battleground, I’m oblivious as to what I’m up against. Sure, I’ve caught some small ulua from shore bait casting - no problem. A tough fighter, that’s what I’m looking for. What happened during the course of the trip is best described by a phrase we’ve used for years in Hawaii, “dirty lickens”, and I was on the receiving end. It seems I’ve brought a knife to a gunfight. Strike after strike decimates my gear and pride, leaving me helpless and wondering if I should even still keep casting. At one point during the trip, a GT struck my lure port side just before taking it out of the water and pinned my forearm against the side of the boat, ripping line out as if there was no drag at all, and finally breaking it and my spirit. I throw in the towel and head back with my tail between my legs, thinking about what just happened. Line shredded, hooks bent, and lures lost. Time to regroup. We’ll be back. This means war, GT War. Training Begins My fishing partner, Brian Himalaya, is a true Lawai‘a. What would take me a decade to learn has been cut in half by shadowing him for the last few years. Brian has been put on earth for one thing and one thing only, to catch fish. Whether it be diving, fishing with a rod and reel or throwing net, he is a true master at what he does. Reading through Brian’s old collection of Hawaii Fishing News from the 80’s,90’s and early 2000’s and scouring for info, it seems “whipping, plugging, or popping” for GT’s have been going on for years. I come across names such as Peter Dunn-Rankin, Mike Sakamoto, Darryl Nakasone, Gary Au, Rick Gaffney, and many others who have either pioneered this technique or mastered it. One name seems to stand out when I inquire about “GT Popping” to fisherman here in Hawaii and abroad, Pat Victorino. It seems this GT war veteran has been pounding GT’s with spinning gear for decades not only in Hawaii,

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but places most people have only read about, such as the Coral Sea, New Caledonia, Komodo, and many other exotic places. After inquiring about gear on Hawaii Fishing Forums, I come across other enthusiasts with comic book user names such as Baitballah, Bubblerise, Konaplugcaster, and as fate would have it Pat Victorino aka GTFISHERMAN, all offering advice and tips. Little did I know the first three would soon be fishing buddies, mixing it up side-by-side with me in the GT Wars. So after a year of beating the shoreline refining my technique, the time has come to meet Pat and gear up. The call is made and flight booked to Kauai to meet this legendary GT hunter. Gearing Up At the airport I shake his hand and say, “Pat, I need help with some gear and advice on fighting these monsters.” He just smiles and says, “Don’t worry, I’ve got what you need, but first I’ve got some errands to run.” During the day I take numerous notes, but three of Pat’s tactics which really sink in are: 1. Use heavy gear to better the odds when the fight comes. My preference is to land more fish versus get more bites. 2. GT’s will rarely make a mistake, but when they do, you need to capitalize on it. 3. Throw big lures! Don’t mess around! Flying home from Kauai with an empty wallet, new rod, and a bag full of lures, I feel I’ve got one more stop to make, Tokyo. Japanese Tackle is built to NASA standards and second to none. I meet up with the designated GT expert, Yoshi san, at a branch of Sansui on the outskirts of Tokyo. Yoshi san doesn’t speak

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English and is sweating as he shows me how to tie a PR knot using a bobbin. I laugh and tell him to relax, but “can you show me again?” I trust he knows what he’s talking about and after suggestions on various braided line, I leave feeling confident. Now I’m ready to head back to the battlegrounds and get my revenge. GT War If you go into battle, it’s best to have a crew with the mental toughness to see it through, guys who don’t give up. As it turns out three guys have been waging a war of their own. Ladd Yoshimura, Vinh Nguyen, and Nathan Tsao. These GT mercenaries are battle-hardened and as driven as Brian and I when it comes to hunting GT’s. Through a chance of fate, I come into contact with this trio and GT Fight Club is born. First strike. As we motor out to face these monsters, Vinh Nguyen joins Brian and I. Sharing his experiences with us, I am reminded of my first encounter on the battleground and how through their actions the GT’s were implying, “This is our House.” We’ve reached the front line and the conditions are favorable, the first

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cast is made and the hunt is on. Hours pass and frustration settles in as no one shows up for the fight. The sun is beating down and fatigue ensues. Will anyone show up? As to taunt them I yell out to the water, “I’m back and I got something for you. Bring it on!” In an instant the water erupts and a silhouette of a giant GT explodes on my lure. They have arrived. The fight is on and line rips from my reel as if it was in free spool. Vinh shouts instructions as Brian moves into position to ensure I don’t end up overboard. The run is stopped and I quickly go to work trying to best this beast. The first five minutes is methodical, pump and reel, pump and reel. The next ten is described as pure pain. Dehydration gets the best of me as muscles start to cramp and my back is put to the limit. Like a coach on the sideline, Vinh shouts at me to “man up” and finish this. Putting pain out of my thoughts and only victory, I make my last stand to bring this fish to the boat with full back-arching boosts that pushes me and my gear to the limit. The fish gives up and is raised to meet its foe. I thank my crew for keeping me in the fight, and I thank the fish for putting up a great fight. Pictures are taken and we send him back to the depths to fight another day. Tales of battles with one hundred pound GT’s are legendary and are what every GT fisherman dreams about. What happens in the next few weeks is nothing short. The next trip to the front line brings Ladd Yoone thing shimura to join the fight. Again echoes in my the conditions are favorable head, one of and as the hunt begins, the wait is short. The ocean opens up Pat’s golden and Brian’s lure disappears berules: GT’s neath the surface, followed by a rarely make blistering run best described as a mistake, but tying fishing line to a truck and when they do, stomping on the gas. Everyone you need to capis caught by surprise as we get into position to back each other italize on it. up. Brian’s line stays high in the water column and, as I look at the scenario, one thing echoes in my head, one of Pat’s golden rules: GT’s rarely make a mistake, but when they do, you need to capitalize on it. I position the boat and yell out,” The fish is staying high, make him pay, Brian!” With Ladd backing him up, Brian goes to work. Five minutes into the fight things look good, and Brian is in control. Then things take a turn for the worse. With a burst of raw power, the fish makes a run straight towards us and heads for the depths. In an attempt to stop his run, Brian makes a massive boost to turn him and, in the process, breaks the butt of his rod. He is now at the mercy of this beast of a fish. With no leverage he leans his pole against the bow of the boat in an attempt to regain control. Things look bad and Brian is clearly exhausted and at a stalemate with his opponent. In a show of a never give up attitude Brian starts to turn the rotor of his reel with his hands. To be clear, he is manually winding line on his spool without the handle to gain every inch he can. Again the fish digs in, letting Brian know he’s in it till the end. Now What? Like Calvary charging in Ladd steps in, grabs a hold of the first third of the rod and tells Brian, “I boost you crank!” This fight isn’t over

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just yet. With two of them battling a true warrior, the fish is finally brought to its knees and surfaced. The size of the GT is overwhelming and unbelievable, it takes three people to boat the monster and adrenaline kicks in with screams of another victory that could be heard all the way to Kona. Pictures are taken and the King of the Reef is tagged and released. It seems that the cries of victory were heard in Kona where an east coast fishing machine has been living for the past seven years. I get a call from Nathan Tsao out in Kailua-Kona telling me he’s heard the news that the bite is on and he wants to tango with big GT’s. A week later Nathan arrives in Honolulu and through the night we determine a plan of action, which includes the testing of some of the heaviest gear we have used to date. We both come to an agreement that to try and stop a big GT, we need brute force against brute force - finesse tactics are no longer plausible. Morning breaks and with the battlefield in sight you can sense that they are waiting for our arrival. Who? Monster GT’s.

With everyone’s eyes looking forward with anticipation, the boat ride is silent except for the hum of the engine and the sound of the bow cutting through the waves. Today is going to be tough and conditions are not favorable. The forecast calls for 10-20mph winds with higher gusts and an incoming high surf advisory in the afternoon for north and east facing shores. We arrive and it looks like I’ll have to stay in the driver’s seat to ensure we’ll be ready to position the boat should a rogue wave head our way. Nathan is given full access to the bow and the hunt begins. Immediately he gets a strike that stays on for a few seconds then shakes off - a good sign. An hour passes then strike number two, a thirty pounder is manhandled into the boat in no time, barely testing Nathan’s setup. Minutes later, what looks to be a 60lb GT shows his face to defend his territory. Another hour passes and Nathan hooks a nice 12lb Omilu that is brought in as if he were bamboo pole fishing from a pier. It’s 12:30pm and with the rising swell and gusty winds, our

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has held on and we’ve stopped the fish. Both angler and fish have been brought to the breaking point. Now it’s time to finish it. With a last burst of energy from Nathan, the GT is raised and brought to the side of the boat. Not to be outdone, the GT makes a short bursting run, catching Nathan off guard and a loud gunshot sound is heard. In a daze, we look around to see what has happened and we notice that Nathan’s pole has snapped about a foot from the top and slid into the water. Three cranks later we are able to leader and land this great fighter. Pictures are taken, thanks are given to this great GT, and we release him to his home.

time seems to be coming to an end. I need to make a decision - head in or make one last drift? Then, as if on cue, the current changes to the direction I’ve been waiting for all day – so one last drift. Nathan is told to get into position as this is the drift we’ve been waiting for. The boat is repositioned and confidence is high. I gesture to Nathan to let him know this is it - this is what we’ve been waiting for. A few minutes into the drift a depth charge explodes beneath Nathan’s lure, leaving him screaming, “100 pounder!, 100 pounder!” As we turn to look at his lure, a site I have seen before unfolds. The

Release the GT In Hawaii the ulua is one of the most sought after game fish and stories of battles from land and sea with this champion have been told for decades. It is only fitting that this great fighter be released to fight another day. Releasing a GT shows great respect for a fish we love so much. After the battles, we look back on how exciting the strike was, how hard the fish fought, and mistakes we’ve made. Nothing beats the anticipation of doing it all again. Carpenter, the foremost leader in GT rod and lure manufacturing has a motto which defines GT lure fishing: “Keep Casting and Never Give Up!”

ocean opens up again and Nathan’s lure disappears into the mouth of a beast that has been unleashed from the depths of the ocean. We immediately jump into position as the fish makes a short powerful run away from us, ripping line out, then takes a turn toward us and straight down. This GT wants to head home. Nathan tightens the drag and calls for full reverse. I yell overridden with adrenaline, “Yeah! Hold on Nate!” Time to separate the men from the boys. I reverse the boat, focusing on keeping Nathan’s line off the nose of the bow which puts extreme pressure on him and the fish. Nathan

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ticketed event is being held to benefit the Community College culinary programs and PIFG. For more information on these and other PIFG festivities, visit www.Hawaiifishingfestival.com or www.fishtoday.org.

PIFG KOA

Oio Action

On Sunday, July 22, 2012, PIFG completed tagging and releasing the 3,000 oio that they set out to do under the PIFG Hawaii Oio Tagging Project. All fish were tagged off of the Leeward Coast, between Nanakuli and Keawaula (Yokohama Beach). In just the short period of 16 months since starting, 60 tagged fish have been recovered so please keep an eye out for oio with green tags. Public service announcements have been airing on cable television’s OC 16 since mid October, 2011. Also in support of the project, PIFG volunteers attended the 2012 Ewa Beach Fenceline to Fenceline Tournament and will again be present at the Oahu Transit Services, Weighmaster’s Obake Shootout and Kakaako Kasting Club shoreline fishing tournaments to perform outreach and education, targeting members of the shore-based fishing community. PIFG would like to thank the organizers of these tournaments for supporting the Oio Tagging Project. If you catch an oio with a green tag, be sure to call the number on the tag to get a free t-shirt and participate in improving the management of our valuable fisheries.

Whew! What a busy summer it’s been for Hawaii’s fishing community and the PIFG gang. With both trolling and shoreline tournaments in full swing, PIFG volunteers were canvassing the State to support the State-wide Tagging Challenge, Mike Sakamoto Scholarship Challenge, Barbless Circle Hook Program, cooperative research and numerous other projects. With no time to catch our breath, PIFG rolls right into the fall season that sports more tournaments and the biggest PIFG event of the year, the annual Hawaii Fishing and Seafood Festival on October 7th, 2012.

year PIFG is stepping it up a notch by adding fishing and seafood events and activities during the week leading up the October 7th Festival to host a Hawaii Fishing and Seafood WEEK! Our schedule of festivities start with the 2-day Fishing for Hawaii’s Hungry tournament that aims to benefit Hawaii’s disadvantaged. The tournament runs on September 28 and 29, with weigh-in on Sunday, September 30 from 10:00 a.m to 12:00 noon at POP Fishing and Marine, Pier 38, Honolulu. All fish will be donated to help feed Hawaii’s hungry in collaboration with the Institute of Human Services and other support organizations. Also planned is the PIFG and Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship Keiki Art Contest that will be open to all keiki in three age groups, grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. Keiki will compete for great prizes including cash, travel and gift cards by entering their original artwork by September 21, 2012 that

BRAD GODA AND TAMMY TAKIMOTO

It’s our 7th year hosting the Hawaii Fishing and Seafood Festival and this

best address the theme, “Why is Hawaii’s fishing and seafood community important to me?” Awards will be given to winners at the Festival center stage on October 7th. Finally, PIFG is partnering with the University of Hawaii’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific to host the “Sea-to–Me Tasting Event” featuring our best up and coming young chefs paired with season veteran chefs from each island that will create original onolicious local seafood dishes. The Sea to Me gala will be held on Friday evening, October 5th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Harbor View Center at Pier 38. This

Bottomfish Research

On May 8-9, 2012 PIFG participated in the Fish Smart Barotrauma Pacific Regional workshop in Portland, Oregon. Representing Hawaii in this national workshop were Clay Tam, on behalf of PIFG, and Kurt Kawamoto, on behalf of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. Other panel members included fishery scientists and fishermen from Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California. The two day workshop featured the latest research in the treatment of barotrauma and safe release techniques to ensure the best chance of survival of released fish. Many workshop participants were interested in the drop shot developed through the PIFG bottomfish tagging cooperative research project. Many mainland fisheries deal with “floaters” in shallower-water species, such as rockfish ranging from 90 to 200 feet. In Hawaii, bottomfish fishermen are tagging

and releasing Deep-7 bottomfish—onaga, ehu, opakapaka, gindai, kalekale, hapuupuu and lehi—that range from 240 to over 900 feet deep. So far, the deepest tagged bottomfish recovered has been an ehu that came from 600 feet deep! PIFG, in partnership with NMFS Science Center, continues tag and release Deep-7 bottomfish in Hawaiian waters, expand bottomfish tagging efforts to Guam and CNMI, support fishery independent data collection and assist in collecting Deep-7 biosamples for life history studies.

If you’d like to step up and take personal responsibility, PIFG encourages you to take the pledge – the Fishermen’s Pledge for the Future. Whether you are an individual, family, club or organization, The Pledge confirms your commitment of responsibility for your fishing practices and activities.

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The Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship Fund (Fund) supports

Hawaii’s students to carry on Mike’s vision and philosophy of celebrating our ocean dependent culture and sustaining Hawaii’s marine resources. If you know a student entering college or graduate school that is looking to study in an ocean or marine resource related field, tell them to check out the Fund at www.fishtoday.org or email us at pacificfisheries@gmail.com. Congratulation and Mahalo to all the tournaments for providing PIFG education and outreach opportunities and/or partnering with PIFG through the Hawaii Tagging Challenge and Mike Sakamoto Memorial Fishing Challenge programs! • Obake Shootout, Atlapac – Oahu • Lanai Keiki Fishing Tournament – Manele, Lanai • 29th Junior Keiki Fishing Tournament, Hawaii Yacht Club/Waikiki Yacht Club -- Waikiki, Oahu • Mililani Middle School Fishing Club – Haleiwa, Oahu • Fenceline to Fenceline – Ewa Beach, Oahu • Hilo Trollers – Big Island • Pole Bendas – Big Island • Hilo Casting – Big Island • Tokunaga Challenge – Big Island • Ahi Fever – Waianae, Oahu • Wailua Boat Club, Oahu • Shelter Lodge – Juneau, Alaska • Anchor Point Lodge – Juneau, Alaska • North Shore Trolling Tournament - Kauai • Molokai Keiki Tournament – Molokai • Garden Island Trollers Tournament - Kauai • K-Mart Fishing Tournament - Kauai • Ohana Shoreline Tournament – Big Island • Family Feud Papio Tournament – Kaneohe, Oahu • GT Classic (Hawaii Ocean Expo) • Grace Bible Tournanemt • New Hope Kids Fishing Tournament (Maunalua Bay, Hawaii Kai) • OTS Ohana Fishing Tournament If you’re interested in having your school fishing club participate in the State-wide Tagging Challenge or Mike Sakamoto Memorial Fishing Challenge in your next tournament, contact PIFG at pacificfisheries@gmail.com

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2012 Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship Winners

The Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship, now in its third year, was created to honor the late Mike Sakamoto, who was a tireless advocate of responsible fishing and fishing rights & traditions. This scholarship is intended for students interested in the field of fisheries management. Applicants are judged upon their written application, and a panel interview. Since its inception in 2009, the Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship has awarded over $16,000 in scholarship funds to Hawaii high school seniors. The 2012 awardees are listed below. Lindsey Caldwell – Kealakehe High School Lindsey has been a fisherwoman throughout her life in Kona on the Big Island. She grew up fishing for papio and ulua with her family, and today participates in the papio tagging project with her father. Lindsey will attend college at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Andrew Hanano – Honokaa High School Andrew is a lifelong resident of the Big Island, and was a big fan of Fishing Tales with Mike Sakamoto. He fishes and dives. Andrew is experienced in opihi monitoring and is familiar with various fisheries issues. He will attend Oregon State University. Mikayla Pico – Molokai High School Mikayla grew up on Molokai, and often fishes with her father. She is an experienced diver, fisherwoman, and has also participated in the Roi Roundup tournament. She will attend the Missouri Valley College, and plans to return to Molokai after she graduates. Caitlin Strickland – Waianae Caitlin plans to attend University of Hawaii at Hilo. She is an experienced sailor with the Waianae Sailing Club, and volunteers with the Waianae Boat Club. She enjoys stand-up paddling, and has a deep love for the ocean and all types of ocean recreation. Carson Young – Kamehameha Schools Carson, an avid paddler and diver, graduated from the Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus. He is primarily interested in fishpond issues, and will attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa. For more information on the Mike Sakamoto Memorial Scholarship, please contact Stefanie Sakamoto at sakamotoscholarship@gmail.com.

Take 2 - PIFG Takes Fisheries Development on the Road - Again

Earlier this year, PIFG Board member Neil Kanemoto, participated in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) Fisheries Development Workshops hosted by the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council (WESPAC). Neil shared with the CNMI fishermen numerous tackle techniques utilized by Hawaii’s fishermen. With the fuel prices in the CNMI surpassing $5 per gallon, the presentation focused on low-cost fishing styles such as jigging or slow trolling – methods that consume less fuel. Many of the tackle and techniques demonstrated are not currently used in those fisheries and were well received by the local fishermen from Tinian, Rota and Saipan. Following up on the tremendous response from those workshops, PIFG partnered with the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife to host another pelagic fishing gear workshop on July 7, 2012 at the Saipan Multipurpose Center! Workshop participants were treated to training sessions on trolling, jigging, tagging, bio-sampling, more.

This time, fishermen were able to walk away from the workshop new gear in hand to test on their next fishing trip. Workshop presenters Kurt Kawamoto, Eddie Ebisui III and Clay Tam followed the workshop with a day on the water showing local DFW staff bottomfish tagging and barotrauma treatment methods and procedures. While out, they also tested some of the Hawaii jigging and trolling methods and gears that were demonstrated at the workshop. Fishing overall was slow but the crew did manage share and exchange some new fishing and sampling information, in addition to bringing in a few fish along the way.

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DEBBIE TAKAYAMA

Calendar Of Events

Debbie Takayama is a Pacific Islands Fisheries Group Director based on the Island of Hawaii. She is also a member and past president of the Hilo Trollers, who have nicknamed her “The Admiral”. Lawai’a recently caught up with Debbie in between fishing trips. founding members of the Malibu Marlin Fishing Club that comes to Hawaii every year for the International Billfish tournaments. It’s definitely in the blood.

September 28-30, 2012 Fishing for Hawaii’s Hungry – Boat Tournament to kick of the Hawaii Fishing and Seafood Week Honolulu, Hawaii PIFG co-hosted tournament with the Institute for Human Services, Sakamoto Challenge

What type of fishing have you done?

Shoreline, casting and more recently, boat deep sea fishing that includes trolling and live baiting. While we mostly fish recreationally, I do possess a commercial license and we occasionally do sell our fish to help pay for expenses. If I had to put just one choice, it would be subsistence fishing as we eat and share with our friends and neighbors most of what we catch. We like to go after marlin, ahi, ono and aku.

October 5, 2012 Sea to Me Tasting Event -- benefiting University of Hawaii, Culinary Institute of the Pacific Honolulu, Hawaii PIFG event co-hosted with the Culinary Institute of the Pacific

What kind of fishing do you like to do and why?

October 7, 2012 7th Annual Hawaii Fishing and Seafood Festival Honolulu, Hawaii PIFG hosted event benefiting Hawaii’s fishing and seafood communities

October 12-14, 2012 Obake Shootout IV Shoreline Tournament Oahu Tagging Challenge, Barbless Circle Hook, Sakamoto Challenge

October 21, 2012 Oahu Transit Service Oahu Barbless Circle Hook, Tagging Challenge

November 11, 2012 Kakaako Kasting Club Oahu Barbless Circle Hook

December 2, 2012 Altapac Oio Tournament Oahu Barbless Circle Hook

How long have you been fishing? I have been fishing my entire life.

Who taught you how to fish or how did you learn how to fish?

Live bait; the challenge and the potential payoff of a big fish. I love catching aku and mahimahi and I think mahimahi are the most fun to catch. I just love fishing, any method, anytime, anywhere.

I was self taught as a child, fishing in Enchanted Lakes when it was all swamp and dairy land. My friends and I would go fishing in the canals for tilapia, Samoan crab and an occasional barracuda. After I grew up, I taught my children to fish from the shoreline for weke. We spent a lot of time fishing off Sand Island on Oahu when we still lived there and then, after moving to the Big Island in 1988, we spent a lot of time fishing at Ho‘okena on the Kona side. My boat based fishing experience started with my husband Reid and he taught me much of what I know about deep sea fishing (I’ve also taught him a few things).

What part of the island do you fish?

How long has your family been fishing?

What are some of the most important things a fisherman/ fishergal must know to be successful?

We have a long history in my family of fishermen on my father’s side. My great grandmother, Clara Dinkelman, was a deep sea fisherman on the California Coast. Her son, my grandmother’s brother, Fred May, was also an active fisherman and one of the

We fish the waters around Hilo, from Kumukahi to Hakalau. Near shore and pretty far out in the deep waters.

What are some of the changes that you have seen over the years?

In fishing methods? Just in the time we’ve been fishing on our boat, we’ve seen more fishermen live baiting. When we started using this method, we hardly ever saw anyone else using it. Now, when the bite is on with the big fish, almost every boat out there is using this method.

Patience and how to read the water, fish and birds. I’ve seen folks come into an area, run through for a little while and leave with nothing. The folks who sit on that spot and

keep trying usually end up with some pretty nice fish. I don’t think fishing can be an impatient undertaking. You need to be patient and also be willing to modify methods. What works one day in an area may not work the next day.

What do you think about fishermen/fishergal being responsible for their activities?

Responsibility is the key name of the game. Everything from how you operate your vessel to how you manage your catch is important. Respect of the ocean is very important as she can be very unforgiving. Respect your fellow fishermen and the environment goes without saying. It should be second nature. If you don’t fish responsibly and have respect, then you shouldn’t be out there.

What responsibility do fishermen/ fishergal have with respect to themselves, their family, their community, the resource and environment?

Fishermen have an absolute responsibility to themselves, their families, their communities and to our resources and environment. A smart/ responsible fisherman will take each of these into consideration when they fish. If we don’t take care of each of these elements, then we won’t be able to fish and feed our families. Here in Hawaii, fishing is a very important resource that has to be tended to in a way that doesn’t deplete our fish and their cultural and traditional importance to our Islands. We each need to stand up and make sure our voices are heard when rules and regulations are brought up that will affect the fishing community (and in turn, the entire community). That is our ultimate responsibility.

Is there a particular event or person that is most memorable in your fishing history?

Winning the Hilo Trollers Tournament with a 519 lb marlin caught on our 20 foot boat (a Boston Whaler), pulling up to the weigh in with the fish on our boat and being told we need a bigger boat! It was pretty awesome! The first year we had entered tournaments, we had a great year catching 2 marlin and winning Largest Marlin for the year, as well as total overall weight of the fish caught for the year.

Finally, what’s your favorite fish to eat? How do you like it prepared?

Aku, fried (including the bones), dried, poke or sashimi. I love to eat ALL fish, shoreline and deep sea.

HONORED Mike Tokunaga, owner of S. Tokunaga Store of Hilo, Hawaii, was recently honored by the Hawaii State Legislature for being named USSBA’s 2012 State of Hawaii Small Business Person of the Year

Fish Today For Fish Tomorrow PIFG celebrates several big hearted fishing clubs that step up to support the annual Boy Scouts Makahiki held at Ala Moana Park every April. These clubs live the Fishermen’s Pledge for the Future by not only setting a stellar example for our youth, but by teaching the scouts about responsible fishing and all the Pledge principles (visit www.fishtoday.org for more information). Members from the Kakaako Kasting Club, Atlapac Fishing Club and Wailua Boat Club spend the day hosting stations that help the young scouts work toward their fishing merit badges. As scouts work their way through the series of work stations, messages of responsibility, conservation, respect, safety and fun are woven into the lessons and hands-on demonstrations on fishing tackle, bait and methods, water safety, species identification and rules and regulations. Roy Morioka from the Wailua Boat Club, who helped coordinate the last event, says that the club is “happy to help as it ensures fishing as a tradition and culture continues to be fostered.” He also adds that their philosophy “lines up nicely with those of the Boy Scouts and the requirements of their fishing merit badge.”

To read the full Fishermen’s Pledge for the Future, visit www.fishtoday.org. Or call or email a PIFG representative at 808-265-4962 or www. pacificfisheries@gmail.com to learn more about the Pledge or discuss how the Pledge can further benefit you and/or your organization. 50

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TRADITIONAL PRACTICES BY PAULO

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

STERLING KAYA

In the not too distant past it was important for all islanders to know how to survive without weekly imports of food. Current residents of Hawai`i have been quick to forget the days of doing without or collecting their own food. The reliance on food imports has made the practical use of the once essential traditional fisheries knowledge an almost forgotten skill. Local residents have lost much of the ability to “read” fisheries cycles and detect underlying rhythms that are good or poor for fish harvesting. Fisheries management is now assumed to be the responsibility of government agencies tasked with that purpose. In this new paradigm, the potential contributions of traditional practitioners tend to be overlooked or superseded by modern theories. Traditional Hawaiian marine resource use poses a paradox of unsubstantiated or unqualifiable but effective sustainable practices. Communities in different island areas, on the one hand, are characterized by a unifying world view and similarities of basic designs or principles that are the result of continuing experimentation and innovation. On the other hand, the very details of the individual practices vary from one area to another because they are adapted to local situations for which they are effective. Detail and historical knowledge for each traditionally managed area is important because of the “patchy” character and variability of inshore marine environments in the Hawaiian Islands. The transfer of knowledge from one person to another is a process that risks losing its vitality. Even capturing it in writing changes some of the fundamental properties and unnecessarily freezes it or promotes it as the solution over broad areas. This increases the chances of dislocation and misappropriation of practices outside the restricted context of time and place during which the knowledge evolved and had proven to have been effective. In a time and place where life depended on traditional knowledge, the absolute dependence on ancestors as libraries of unwritten wisdom essential to sustain life in each individual area (ahupua’a) was essential. The value of this knowledge is one of the reasons why Native Hawaiians revere their elders - ancestors are the embodiment of knowledge that is essential to sustain life. ISSUE TEN 2012

to offer their personal and family experiences to further define wise practices in their kuleana. In Native Hawaiian practices, this may be: • Generated as a consequence of practical needs in everyday life; • Based on intimate acquaintance with a local situation; • Linked to specific places and sets of experiences; • Preserved through the memories of particular individuals; • Orally transmitted; • Continually reinforced by experience, trial and error, and deliberate experiment; • Dynamic and evolving, not static and rigid; • Transferred through practices and interactions of subsistence fishermen; and • Shared in the community to a wider extent than conventional scientific knowledge about marine resources. Through such processes, fishermen can make their own sense of a problem and of the inherent natural process as they move through

problem solving and reach a reasoned solution. Meaning is created when fishermen are driven by real-world problem solving. Real-life applications demonstrate that true fishermen have self guided responsibilities, as well as “rights”, in the use of shared fisheries. One method of recovering traditional practices is by remembering the stories told by previous generations, stories that embody what they have learned about wise practices through real life experience. When such information is fed back into stable communities (but not necessarily in the ever-changing city), this further enables the connection to the practices of the past with the continued education and subsistence of future generations. Educators, managers, and modern society should not underestimate the resiliency of Native Hawaiian culture and the ways in which its core values and local knowledge continues to remain relevant, despite considerable assimilation with outside cultures and modern economies.

BY MARK KIMURA, HONOLULU COMMUNITY COLLEGE, MARINE EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER

HOWZIT GANG! Ok, now that you have been running your engines all season long, it might be a good time to check the fuel system out. With today’s fuels, we need to keep a close eye on our filters. Portable fuel tanks generally stay cleaner than built-in tanks but all boats can benefit from adding a fuel filter before the engine. All filters should have a means to trap water within them. So when checking a fuel filter, I will get an old, junk container that is clean and clear and spill/shake out the contents of the filter into it to see what the filter has trapped. Water and fuel will not mix well and the water will settle to the bottom of the container. Dirt and “stuff” should be easy to spot in a clean, clear container. If you find no water or dirt and the filter is in good condition with low hours, you may reinstall it if you like. But it’s always a good idea to replace filters if you have any doubt on the condition of the filter. Since we are looking at the external fuel filter, how are the fuel lines? Are they cracking, stiff, kinked or leaking? If they are, it’s time to replace them. When replacing fuel lines, remember to check the diameter of the hose and match it with the original size. Decreasing the size may starve the engine of fuel and lead to other trouble. Hose clamps should be all stainless steel. And while you’re at it, check the screws as some are not stainless. Always check for fuel or air leaks in the system and repair them. On outboards, listen for possible air leaks and or fuel leaks while using the primer blub. Check under the cowling or hood too. If your filter before the engine has water or dirt in it, you should check the engine’s filter. Most bigger HP motors will have engine mounted filters which also need inspection.

STERLING KAYA

A favorite method of reviving Native Hawaiian fishing practices is by recognizing some places as having meaningful links with the past as they adapt to the present. Detailed knowledge of fisheries resources guided the practice of malama, or taking care, so that Native Hawaiians were just as wise in not fishing a resource when situations demanded it as in fishing it when it was the right time. The ancient people of Hawai‘i learned through patterning, which developed over extended periods of time through natural systems thinking, or becoming aware of general principles that arise from complex specific examples. Anyone can become “native” to a place through becoming aware of the particular ecological relationships that operate within it and through it. People who are learning fisheries, to practice or study, need to have their “places” and knowledge gleaned from those places recognized as rich and powerful sources of learning. Through valuing local perspectives and knowledge, trainees can be encouraged to participate and

Tips from the Marine Education Center

We are OC16’s top-rated show for the second year in a row thanks to you!

Dedicated to Hawai‘i’s fishing community 54

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

ISSUE TEN 2012

BY J O H N C L A R K

ietrich Varez, one of Hawaii’s most famous artists, came to Hawaii in 1948. “ I was born in Berlin,” he recalled, “in 1939. We lived close to an industrial compound called Telefunken, which U. S. occupational troops made their headquarters. My mother, who could speak English, became a translator for the American headquarters. She met my step-father, Manuel Varez, there. He was a soldier from Hawaii. My mother was divorced from my German father and married Varez, who adopted me and my brother, Chris. In 1948, we came to Hawaii and lived in Palolo housing for a while. Then we moved to Manana housing, and then to Fort Kamehameha.” Fort Kamehameha, the military residential community at the entrance to Pearl Harbor, introduced Dietrich to the ocean, and soon he was an avid fisherman, roaming the reef which today lies between the west point of the reef runway at Honolulu International Airport and the Pearl Harbor Entrance Channel. In a letter

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

to me in 2011, Dietrich reminisced about the days of his youth. “That reef off Fort Kamehameha was my second home. I went out to it almost daily. It was directly in front of our house (Quarters #80) about 300 yards away. It, the reef, was of coral aggregate, probably partially from dredging material from Pearl Harbor. Our house was right on the beach, or the shoreline there. The depth of the water to the reef was three to four feet at most. Much of it was only knee-deep. So at night it was idea for lamalama with a Coleman lantern. And it was also the world’s best place for gathering limu, ogo or manauea, which we’d eat all day long while on the reef fishing. And there were those deep purple wana, too. I heard one time that the queen [Queen Emma] used to have a palace right there before the haoles took over. I can see why. She “dubbed” the most perfect place ever! “It was the best place for crabbing (haole crabs), and we’d walk out into the water up to our chest and set out the crab nets

ISSUE TEN 2012

with half an akuhead for bait. It got kind of scary sometimes because brother niuhi would come by to check out those aku heads. And when you’re up to your chest in the water, you can’t run too fast. Because none but the military could go there, there were lots of fish and crabs all the time. Sometimes our friend Alika Cooper came by and brought his nets and dinghy. My father had to phone ahead to the sentry gate to let Alika in. Those were the days! And Fort Kamehameha was also one of the few places where nehu would spawn, and aku boats were allowed to net them. “Also, I used to catch papio and ulua there. First, you use your cupped hands to catch to catch a few small one or two inch oopu. Then use the oopu to catch “donko,” or what the Hawaiians called ulae. These ulae are the best bait for kaku and ulua. I used a double hooked 40 lb. test throw-line off the reef or the old Fort Kamehameha pier. You whirl the ulae with two hooks in it over your head and then fling it out into the water as far as you can. Then, with jerky tugs, you pull it in again. Sometimes you can see the barracuda or the papio following the bait in. Then if they decide to take the bait, you give them a few seconds to let ‘em chew it up. Especially the barracuda will bite it in half and then come back to gobble up the pieces. Then you can gently put some tension on to set the hooks. I’ve always thought that kaku are not even half the “fighters” that ulua are. For all the fearsome stories about barracuda, they don’t put up much when hooked. “And yes, the biggest shark I’ve ever seen was right there at Fort Kamehameha pier. Two navy guys in a double-ender skiff brought in a fourteen footer by using a defrosted ham stolen out of the ship’s kitchen refrigerator. The ham was hooked onto a cable leader and tossed over into Pearl Harbor. They said the hooked shark towed the small skiff around Pearl for hours. They left the shark there by the pier and as it decomposed over the weeks, we kids ripped the teeth out to take home. “There is good reason why Fort Kamehameha and Pearl Harbor was such a lush fishing ground. In those early years, there were no “health rules,” and all the slop generated by the many ships kitchens and so on was simply dumped overboard three times per day. The fish loved it! We even knew where to catch the biggest pualu: right where the sewer pipe emptied into the water. “We used to fill pillow cases with manauea limu

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

‘O‘opu Hi‘u Kole Sculptures at Kapolei High School

On November 2, 2011, the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the Hawai‘i State Department of Education held a dedication ceremony at Kapolei High School for ‘O‘opu Hi‘u Kole, a collection of sculptures of the endemic ‘o‘opu fish. The bronze and concrete sculptures were made by Kaimuki resident and sculptor Kazu Kauinana as part of the Art in Public Places Program, which commissions artists to create works of art for specific public locations. Kauinana was inspired to use the ‘o‘opu as the subject for his artwork because the fish possesses many character traits, such as adaptability and determination, that parallel qualities students must have to succeed in school. He believes that his artwork on the high school campus mirrors the journey of the ‘o‘opu, which travels from the open ocean into the highest reaches of Hawaii’s fresh water streams. The individual ‘o‘opu sculptures are placed throughout Kapolei High School from the school entrance all the way to the library, the on-campus symbol of the pinnacle of knowledge in a student’s journey.

ISSUE TEN 2012

and then our father would take us to the downtown fish market to sell for spending money. “And when mullet spawned at Fort Kamehameha, we’d just throw a spear (from the pier) into the “school” and pull up big mullets. As many as you wanted. One clever trick we had was to first toss a stone into the water because the fish would all congregate around that splash. Then when they’re all together, you let fly with the spear! I will never need to go to heaven because I’ve already been there. It was Fort Kamehameha!!” From his fishing stories it’s easy to see that Dietrich’s immersion in the ocean as a child at Fort Kamehameha included an immersion in Hawaiian culture, and from his art it’s obvious that he’s been a lifelong student of the culture ever since. Today, after more than 40 years at his craft, Dietrich’s unique, internationally-renowned block prints continue to show Native Hawaiians practicing many different traditional activities, not the least of which are fishing and gathering on the shores of our islands. His books “Pele and Hiiaka- A Tale of Two Sisters” (Petroglyph Press)

and “The Legend of Laieikawai” (University of Hawaii Press), also showcase his talent as a storyteller. Both are illustrated with a wonderful series of his prints, many of them with ocean themes. Dietrich lives in a remote rainforest near Volcano Village where he finds inspiration in the wilds of Hawaii Island, or as he puts it, “I’m a hermit in the bushes of Puna.” Dietrich’s artwork is available at the Volcano Art Center, Honolulu Museum of Art, Bishop Museum, and Kokee Museum. It’s also in the Reyn Spooner line of Hawaiian clothing and may be found online under his name.

Hawaii’s Home For Poke Voted Hawaii’s Best Poke in 2011 Try one of our freshly made flavors today!

We guarantee you’ll love all of our fresh seafood* or We’ll Double Your Money Back**!

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LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

ISSUE TEN 2012

gear review

Limp and Skinny, but Strong

Safety First THAT OLD ADAGE CANNOT BE MORE APPROPRIATE than for us fishermen. Boat, kayak, and jet ski fishermen venture out beyond sight and cell phone coverage in search of our prey, often without our personal safety and the safety of our crew being the first priority. I remember the days when I would go out to the Waianae Buoys in a 10 foot Zodiac powered by an 8 horsepower outboard with just a handheld CB radio. Not too wise. We were lucky, but as you all know, some of our friends weren’t as lucky. ACR’s ResQLink is a PLB or Personal Locator Beacon that could be a life saver. At half the price of an EPIRB, smaller than a cell phone, and weighing less than a manapua, it is difficult to justify not carrying one of these devices when we go looking for “da big one”. Its small size makes it reasonable for all you shore fishermen that seek out remote areas to hook in to that big ulua. The ResQLink may be small, but it is mighty. It is a full powered, GPS enabled beacon device that has three integrated levels of signal technology-GPS positioning, a powerful 406 MHz signal, and 121.5 MHz homing capability. Just deploy the antenna and push the “on” button and this PLB will quickly and accurately relay your position to a worlwide network of search and rescue satellites. It even has a built-in strobe light, necessary for night rescues. This technology has saved over 30,000 lives and during a rigorous test program of ResQLink it saved over 400 pilots, boaters and back country explorers in Alaska. This device also has a 66 channel GPS self test and a 30 hour non-hazmat battery. So to all you fishermen, no fool around, be safe!! Check it out at Life Raft and Marine Safety, upstairs at Pacific Ocean Producers.

Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle, Do the Wiggle THIS LURE IS SEXY AND IT KNOWS IT. Candy Mack Lures, made by Aqueous, move like no other swim bait available. The side to side action and life like paint job is so “fish like” that I don’t know how any predator could resist taking a bite out of it. The action is created with two pivot points and dual venturi ports that cause the water to flow and move the tail to mimic a real fish swimming. Any fish that feeds on opelu, akule, sardines, or oama will want a piece of this lure. In fact, with the type of prey that this lure will attract, I’m already thinking about switching to a stronger hook. The Candy Mack can be cast and retrieved or slow trolled up to 5 knots. It comes in two sizes, 5.5 and 6.75 inches and 5 different colors. Hang on when that ono hanapaa’s!!! Candy Mack’s are available at Brian’s Fishing Supply.

LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE

I KNOW IT SOUNDS PARADOXICAL, but Berkley has developed a new line called Prospec Premium Monofilament. The Company says it is for serious saltwater angling!! Das us, right? Prospec is a premium copolymer monofilament designed for big water and big fish. Prospec has high strength per diameter and excellent knot and impact strength. Just what you need to combat those hard charging ahi’s and marlins. Prospecs ultra-smooth formula allows it to lay great on the spool and also lets lures run deeper with more natural action. Another obvious advantage to the thinner line is that your spools line capacity is much increased. Prospec comes in translucent Ocean Blue and hi-vis Flourescent Yellow colors and is available in 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, and 130 pound tests in 1, 3, and 5 pound spools. Brian’s Fishing Supply has it in stock.

Vow to Spray and Protect CORROSIONX HEAVY DUTY FORMS A dripless, non-hardening, no cracking, film that actually penetrates existing rust and corrosion, removing moisture and halting electrolysis. This new formulation is a high performance, thick film version of the original CorrosionX. This new formula resists erosion by splash, spray, and even complete submersion in saltwater, thereby making it ideal for boat trailers. Spray it on your springs, brackets, bolts, hubs, and even on your sliding tongue for easy extending and compressing. Gone are the days of smearing on the lube with your hand and having the excess squirt out when you slid the tongue in, leaving a lump of grease on your driveway. CorrosionX HD provides serious long term protection against rust and corrosion without attracting dust and killing geckos and lizards. I would often look at my trailer tongue and see a gecko or lizard dead and stuck to the aqualube. This unique product will outperform lubricants fortified with Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene [PFTE] ) by using a polar bonding technology. This technology is what allows it to not dissipate or wash off in the harsh saltwater environment. Whatever the application - marine, auto, trailer, agricultural, or industrial - there is nothing like it on the market. Buy a can at Charlie’s Fishing Supply and start lubing!

ISSUE TEN 2012

PHOTOS BY ED WATAMURA

BY E D WATA M U R A

When

the ocean decides to happen to you

it doesn’t ask where you bought your gear

or how much you paid it only asks if you’re ready . Really Ready.

We got it. next to nico’s at pier 38 1133 n. nimitz hwy. • honolulu, hi 96817 • 808-537-2905 • toll-free (u.s.): 1-800-288-6644 • pop-hawaii.com