Last Fishing for 2017

I took the kids out to the flats on Saturday December 30th. 

I caught a Nunu (Coronet fish) and a Hinalea (Wrasse).

This year was tough fishing.  I hope 2018 has more hanapa'a for everyone!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Fishing Partner Swap Out

Yesterday was errand day - grocery shopping (on pay day weekend - uggggghhhhh), haircut so I don't look like an unkempt bum, putting gas in the minivan and others. But since we would be out, I figured some fishing and ceramics could be worked into the schedule.

 I was thinking the fishing and haircut would get Marlon's interest, but it was Noe that volunteered to come along.


   

She caught a hinalea!!!


  I was pitching ika strips and this batch seemed to be coming off the hook way to easily during the cast. On one such occasion I was reeling back the rig as quickly as I could and after a little splashing, I pulled this lai to hand. Bare hook!!! Fun fishing trip with a rare fishing partner (not really - she comes out a lot, but Marlon does go fishing more)!

New Fishing Spot on Saturday

We checked out another spot on Saturday. The wind was blowing into us - I should have brought either the 10' St Croix Triumph Surf rod or the 13' Nitro. I think either of those would have given my cast just a little more distance. Lots of cool tide pool life and cowry shells.

 

The fishing was ok - at least I didn't get skunked. Our friends actually got a fish on my bucket list - nice kagami!!!

 

Lastly, I found a clump of ogo among all these other seaweeds - I harvested it to make some poke.

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!!!!

First Day of Fishing in 2017

I took Marlon and Noe to the flats to get some fishing in. Noe hung out at the water line and read some books, while Marlon and I went to the edge of the shelf. I brought the TFO Mangrove out with the Shimano Stradic FK 4000. While setting up the rods in the backyard, I gave the TFO and the Fenwick Steelhead a comparison - the TFO is just slightly softer throughout - just the action I prefer in a saltwater inshore rod! My first fish of the year was this bluefin trevally - nice fight on the TFO Mangrove!!! I caught and released this guy so I will have better luck throughout the year - but if it wasn't for it's first fish status, this guy would have been sashimi ;) Marlon's first fish was a hinalea - he's getting good at rooting these fish out. And he got a second with this hawkfish. At first he thought it was a snag - but after trying to free the hook, the fish came loose. Awesome day of fishing!!!!

Last Day of the Christmas Break

We went fishing in the morning - I caught a papio and a hinalea and let the kids play with them. Noe caught a few hermit crabs for the tank. It was pretty windy and the tide was coming up fast, so we had our fun and left. My phone battery died, but La and I did finally take a short ride on the Ducati and got a Chai Tea Latte (just like the old days when we were dating ;) What a great weekend!!!