Pop's Longboard Session

And to finish it all off, a longboard session at Pop's. Awesome day! It's been over a decade since I rode a longboard at this spot. I had forgotten how much fun this is -

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3 m^2 Sensei Training Kite

I felt compelled to have this kite's first flight at Sandy's. 3 meters was a handfull in the blustery trades - 10 minutes and I was worn out!!! This kite rocks!

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Busy Day - Shooting First

Jimmy and I shot about 500 rounds today. His AR-15 style .22 rifle was a blast!!! I never knew this place was as big as it was - there were hundreds of people there shooting everything from high powered rifles, shotguns and pistols. One resourceful guy had his weapons lined up and three obvious Japanese tourists cycling through the weapons. The wind was a factor today - 20-25 mph Trades were blowing, which leads me to my next post...

New Truck???

Magnetic Gray, fully loaded (Navigation, tow package, sport package) LONG BED. 50 or so days...

Waikiki Surf on a Mat

Late afternoon surf at Canoes and Queens. After seeing the surf break when I wait for the elevator, how could I not go? Lots of people at the break proper, including two tandem couples. I stayed on the inside and took the gems nobody else wanted. F-U-N!!!

Saturday Lunch at Waipahu

I saw this place on Diners, Dives and Drive Inns - Highway Inn. The lau-lau was fanastic!!!

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Sprint Tri with a Paddle

Saturday morning I ran a sprint triathlon - thanks Cindy and Jimmy for lending me the board and special thanks to Mother Nature for bringing the strong trades back just in time to kick my butt (I got spanked). At the event (held at Kailua Beach Park), tons of trucks with racks to carry watercraft. I am noticing there are not many longbeds out there.

Rack Config Options

I saw this one parked while I was driving around. Double set on top with a T-Rax on the back. Looks like a very supportive setup.

What I Did Catch

This is what I did catch - another awesome sunset. Some things never change.

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Oahu Flats Redux

So I took an hour (YES AFTER PAU HANA) and tried flyfishing the flats I visited last trip. There were two other guys out and they caught exactly what I did - NOTHING. For all the potential this place has - estuary with a face to the open sea - it is kind of sad that there aren't more fish. I'll try here one more time (but not today - I'll try another place).

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Town Surf

I'll try and get some surf on Sunday - North Shore is sleeping, South Shore time of year (but it's still small). But hey - what is that we say about "gift horses"?

Kau Kau

Back on Oahu for the last time this duty station. Lunch was Ahi Limu Poke I actually like my version mo' betta Chili pepper fo onolicious!!!

Another Tres Amigos

Last time I printed Yellowfin, I did three of them. I don't know why, but this time as I printed Yellowfin, I also did three of them... Steve-O asked me if "the next time I (meaning him) catch a fish, could I (meaning me) make a print for him". Of course I said 'yes'. So on Sunday I get a call in the afternoon - "Hey man - I caught a tuna - can you make a print?" Tuna being round and fat are about the hardest fish to make gyotaku out of. But hey, I'm always up for a challenge. I go over and eat lunch (sashimi and seared tuna burritos) and as I'm eating away, a couple of guys come up to me and start thanking me for the prints that I was going to make them... Mind you I've just barely met the guys. I guess what Steve-O meant to say was "can you make me and a couple other guys I'm entertaining (since they are inspecting my operation) some prints of this fish one of them caught". "Slightly" different story - SO here are the three prints I just finished - one for Steve-O and two for two guys I don't even know. Steve - I DON'T CARE WHAT ALL THE OTHER DUDES SAY - YOU'RE AWESOME!!! Dude - just kidding - no sweat on the prints. These were done in order - first was first, last was last. Short learning curve.

Almost Road Kill

I saw this guy sitting in the middle of the road. I pulled over and picked it up. It must have fallen from a nest above. I've got some fish strips - hopefully I can feed it and take it the rest of the way.

Hermit

Big Guy -

Today's Fishing Report - 22 April

Flyfishing in the morning. Caught three schoolie bones, this huge Dart, a pinfish, a two-bar goatfish, and I hooked (and lost) a big Bluefin Trevally - more on that in a second. I caught most of the fish on an Orvis "Meko Special". I am going to start compressing the barbs on the flies I use to make releasing easier. So about the BFT. It was actually the first fish I hooked - I started off with a gummy minnow on the line. I found the magic spot where I normally fish (it was harder to recognize because the tide was not as low). Within a few seconds of wading out, I saw a blue flash - I cast the fly on a short roll cast and it hit it hard. Learning from the last few times I was in this situation, I let the fish take more line than not. It took me around two rocks and drug me out to water that was deeper. I wrestled that fish for 15 minutes and after another rock wrapping, it finally broke me off. The scream that I let go could probably be heard back stateside. 20# test was what that fish broke off - even though I lost, it was an epic battle and I'm getting closer to winning. That Dart was the biggest I've hooked up - it fought almost as hard a decent sized bonefish. All in all - a great day of fishing - hard, and slow between hits, but still great!

On the Fly -

I went flyfishing in the morning and trolling on a small boat in the afternoon. I caught this small wrasse and two of the bigger (more colorful ones) in the surf. I saw several bonefish and even a school of moi (threadfins) but they weren't giving me the time of day. As the tide filled in, the trevally started their runs. I hooked up with this one but several other big ones bypassed the fly (gummy minnow). Trolling was worse - I dragged a 5" MW Squid Lure and got an 8 pound Bluefin Trevally - but nothing else hit. I am really starting to correlate my actual fishing experience with the Hawaiian Lunar Calendar - new moon fishing is low yield.

Ammunition

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Fish like these. You should too - If you do procure a few to try, be careful - as they will make everything else in your tackle boxes obsolete and if you have any streak of OCD, you'll have to convert. I have trolled these for several months now and when there are droughts where the fish are not biting, I am often the only one catching (I have never been skunked yet). When the fish are striking in groups, I consistently bring in the big ones. I have lost a few of these to some big fish I never got to see, but that in itself is a testimony to the effectiveness of these lures - weight, durability, appearance, and possibly the best attribute being the turbulence pattern put out by the textured bottom surface and metallic based electric signals - resin may be cheaper, but in my book you get what you pay for. I don't mean to sound jaded or conceded here - and this isn't bragging. I don't get paid by Mark White and I do have other lures. I am just sharing my experience and the analysis I have made (I'm an engineer - even in my pastimes I'll analyze data if it's there). If you are serious about fishing by trolling, you need these - or maybe you should stick to what works for you and stick to fishing (I'll be catching!)

Here's the one I caught

I haven't been able to sleep lately - bad jetlag. I'm not even fighting it anymore - one more round of hellacious travel coming up - so why bother. The good part of it all is I have plenty of time to work on fun stuff - rigging lures and improving the gyotaku I've been working on. Here is the barracuda I caught earlier this week. 32" from nose to fork. Mark - if you're reading this, it took a 7" light blue pusher. As far as the gyotaku - where there was once frustration for me, there is now only satisfaction (Ron - many mahalos again!!!) - I have come to realize the current wide paper I have (which doesn't have the visible fibers) isn't really optimal for gyotaku. I doesn't take the sumi ink from the printing or the color application very well - relatively speaking the shoji door type paper is as good as it gets (same paper I used for the shark bitten barracuda). So with the passing of time (I'm still not sleepy), dawn will soon break and despite the new moon, I'll try landing a few more leviathans. Fly first, spinning when the tide starts to fill in. More posts later today.

Subtle Differences in a Grim End

I took a visitor out on a Mako to go fishing a couple of days ago. He brought this guy up, but not quick enough.

Shark got the back half. There is always something bigger....

I took two prints - one for the visitor (top one), one for me (lower).

The raw print went on to be the lower print.

These are the first gyotaku that I've done since I went through that class in Hawaii.

I think it made a difference and with the time I have left, it can only get better (thanks again Ron)!

I am still working on the gyotaku of the one I brought up (also a barracuda, decent sized, but not the giant I hooked into a few weeks back).

Fishing Mojo

Making replacements for those that have been taken by the sea.

Best of the Best

Japanese Toilet Seat

Heats for those cold days

Squirts water where the sun don't shine for the ultimate in cleanliness

Don't knock it until you try it!

Oahu Flats

I burned the last hours I had this trip exploring flyfishing potential near the airport. Sorry non-military folks, this one in on Base.

Wading out and around, I saw two Oio (bonefish) - the first one forearm sized, but the second was approaching double digits.

Now that I've taken the time to look, next trip I'll make the time to cast (and not surf so much).

The way the flats run, there should be some omilu (blue fin trevally) just off the shallows - we'll see.

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