My world is now forever changed!
I finally caught a fish on a fly rig!!!
Even if it is small -
The neat thing is one of the first fish I caught when I first started fishing out here was a goatfish.
So here I am starting from scratch with a different type of fishing and what do I catch - a goatfish!
The little guy is a different species from the other ones I've been catching.
SO -
I noticed that I was casting better (keeping my elbow in and paying more attention to the stop and starts) - I think the new line also had something to do with it. That is actually more data that adds to my theory that fly fishing is the equivalent of golf in the fishing world - you can buy more and more equipment and psychologically you think you are getting better.
Spinning gear is more like the "redneck shooting in the woods" type of fun as opposed to an "afternoon on the fairways". Both have their benefits.
To illustrate that point, the three other guys I was fishing with decided to pack up from the Donkey Gate area since they weren't getting any hits. We headed for the O'Club Beach. As usual, it was pretty windy so I used the Ugly Stik with a bubble float and a red squid lure I chopped up from a sabiki rig. I had a few small hits where the fish "spit" the hook - I knew the Bonefish were patrolling, and then I got a good hit! After a great fight, I pulled up a 15" Bonefish!
Spinning gear - you can't miss (just like a 12 gauge shotgun in the backwoods)!!!
FUN DAY CATCHING!!!
I ended up with five papio, two wrasse, a huge sergeant major, one goatfish and a hawkfish - super fun day (all of the fish were C&R - so they had fun too).
Oh - and Charlie caught a Popeye'd Ghost Crab
I got frustrated getting turned down on the fly so I exchanged setups and used the lightweight spinning gear. The Makata strips I normally use weren't getting much action so I switched it out for a 1/20 ounce Kastmaster spoon - after three hours of casting the fly and spin stuff, I finally got some hits.
First up was this goatfish - that unfortunately died while I was trying to remove the small treble hook (I need to switch this hook out for a small circle I think, but I need to experiment to get the same action out of the lure - treble hooks are great when catching fish for meat, but not so good if fishing catch and release). These fish are usually brutally attacked by trevally and other predatory fish - I think giving this goatfish the ability to go belly up quick is nature's way of being kind to this species (which usually ends up getting eaten). My rule is if you kill it, you eat it so this guy (which is the legal 7" length) went home with me.
I also caught a few papios and this queenfish (Lai). The lai was actually the first one I've caught at Hickam, and the biggest one to date. All the other ones I've caught were at Kaneohe.
And I had a mystery fish that I think was my first bonefish (o'io) out here in Hawaii. The fish took the kastmaster and didn't stop - it pulled tons of line out against the drag (oh that was nice!!!) and did not head shake like some other fish I've caught. I got it close enough to see it had a bonefish profile, but it came off the hook. That was good enough for me!!! I'll put up a post shortly on the Kastmaster mod to shed the treble.
After quite a bit of time, I saw a few bonefish, some smaller goatfish and a small school of papio. But it was this guy that took the fly! Obake weke (the Dreaded Nightmare Goatfish - said to give you hallucinations if you eat the head or it guts)!
This fish had some fight in it! At first I thought it was another paipo, but the tugs were different. When I got it close, I then thought it might be a small bonefish, but when it got tired and I got it to the surface, I saw it was a decent sized goatfish. On the fly, any fish is a great fish! I have to remember that the New Moon and spring low tide produced these fish.
