We all caught fish - snapper, flagtail, a puffer and my lizardfish-mangrove seed combo! There were a few papio caught, but I didn't see any kaku. And with the wall repaired, the crowd was able to spread out along the entire length - and made for easier fishing. We'll be back!!! I'll make a separate post with pictures from La's camera shortly.
Last Saturday I went to the Community Volunteer Day. We moved rocks, more rocks and some rocks. Then we got to start placing rocks. Way harder than it looks. Lots of constructive criticism - hopefully next time I can do a better job... Nonetheless, I couldn't stay for the after work session kalua pig - had to get to work.
Today was the last of this year's Holo holo (predator eradication days). I got two papio to hand, lost a third and had a kaku staring at me the whole laughing at my lures.
The catching slowed down towards noon so I started packing up. But not before taking a closer look at what all is really in the pond when the water is up.
Crabs of all sorts and a species of shrimp (opa'e).
I really enjoy helping out at the He'eia Fish Pond!
They still need to finish repairs to the last gate (makaha), but they are pretty close.
The water was super low, so the fishing was tough. The first fish I caught was a lizardfish in the low water outside the wall.
I did manage to get one kaku inside the wall. This is technically what the fish pond crew wanted done, but with the water levels so low, there weren't many fish to target.
I did go wading outside the wall on the flat next to the second makaha - I hooked into several papio, but they were all just under the DLNR 10" minimum. That's ok - I'm in a catch and release phase anyways.
A long day spent under the sun, but a great opportunity to fish a place normally off limits. Great way to help out the fish pond (normally I cut down mangrove trees by hand...)
And this time, I was reminded what chicken manure smells like - it's been awhile.
Got to cut down a bunch of mangrove trees again. This really is a great way to calm my racing mind - physically demanding (cutting roots with hand cutters) and mentally challenging (because to have to pick the spots to cut or you can strain some muscles).
These koa canoes were being worked on up at the top of the bluff - really gorgeous wood work.
If you want some satisfaction, go find a community service project that could use some help and that will challenge you and go volunteer your time. And maybe you can get so looks of annoyance from some chillin' cats!
If you have been following this blog, you'll note that I have been intrigued by Polynesian and Hawaiian culture for a long time. Celestial navigation, fishing techniques and watercraft are but a few of the focus areas I have delved into over time. But yesterday I got to help restore an 800 year old structure.
So I actually didn't get to place rock - I got to take down a bunch of mangrove trees that were brought in the collect sediment that washed downstream from the Heeia River. The mangroves over time colonized and took out the fish pond.
There is a non-profit organization working to restore the fish pond and use it as a teaching lab and eventually as a sustainable fish farm.
I used to docent at the Waikiki Aquarium the last time I lived out here and they had a model of how the fish ponds worked and the features the Hawaiians built into them. There used to be so many of these farms that having fish to eat was not hard. It is going to be awesome seeing the last pieces go back into place and watching the place come back alive!
