Not Skunked Saturday on the Flats with Big M

I took Marlon to fish the low tide at Hickam Flats today. I've been rethinking my equipment distribution and put the Stradic FJ 3000 back on the TFO Mangrove rod - and boy am I glad I did!!! This is the perfect setup for whipping the edge of the flats. I'm going to move the Stradic FK 4000 to the Nitro 13' rod - but that will be another post. After a few casts I brought this guy to hand - Marlon caught two back to back - first this Hinalea. He referred to them as "the Bluegill of the Sea"! And then this fat hawkfish put a good bend in his rod!!! We wondered if it was the same one I caught a few weekends back... We kept walking south and Marlon found a moray eel - and then another. They were holed up in the flat and we only saw a small part of their bodies. After a couple of snags, I decided to call it and we started to walk back in. Marlon saw some moving black things on the way back in - turns out they were blacktip shark fins so we walked over to take a closer look. There ended up being four sharks on the spit. Knowing there were probably kaku in the area, I tied on the kaku crack fly and cast out. I got two hooks ups and now a new go to fly!!! This drew more interest at a faster rate than the Kaku Candy fly (so I know what I'm tying more of now). Oh - I did break out some kit I got a while back - the Umpqua Chest Pack worked well. It was where I would normally carry my arms while retrieving, but the pack does hold more than the TOPO sling and keeps everything right up front. I'll keep using this for a bit. Great day fishing!!!!

Cactus at Mexican Taco Stands Makes the Food Better

Sunday Afternoon Flies

I tied more pink flies. One is a standard bulbous minnow and the other is a high-tied keel minnow. And I tied a couple of mylar minnows (Kaku Crack) - in my typical short size and the new stinger setup. I'm gunning for some kaku to hit the long one - supposedly they really like eating needlefish. The stinger is connected to the front hook with a piece of Tyger Wire (tied with a two turn clinch, with the tag end whipped finished with the tying thread). I really want to test this one out...

Hawaiian References, Programs and Stories at Windward Community College

I took Marlon over to WCC on Saturday to compete in the Regional Science Olympiad. Walking through the buildings, there were tons of displays and info on Hawaiian sailing, navigation and farming. And they had tons of chickens running around.

Valentine's Dinner

This is what I made the family for our Valentine's Day dinner. Fed everyone for less than $20!!! A mediocre sushi dinner out is minimum $90 :( - Although these were easy... and to really make an accurate comparison, I need to venture into the difficult (volcanos, topped negiri, and some inside out rolls). Next time - for now I'd say this is more than fine!

A Couple of Flies That Didn't Go Fishing

This past friday, I got the urge to tie up some flies - but it wasn't until late that I was able to sit down in front of the vise. These two 'fries' are the results. My intention was to use these to test out the long casting capability (would they hold up to the higher force). But when I go to the beach Saturday morning, I figured I'd work my down from using bait (to get rid of the skunk), to grubs and then the flies. While using bait, I did hook up to this roi (they get much bigger, but this is not a small one). These roi are tasty as they are grouper, but out on tropical reefs they can pick up ciguatera - better safe than sorry. But these are also invasive out here in Hawaii and they have been decimating the native fish. I ended up taking this guy and buried it next to some burrowing crab holes (dinner for them). The tide was pretty full, so I didn't get back out to test the flies. There's always next time!