Spinning Tally

I got up on Sunday morning and prepared to get some errands done (laundry, haircut, groceries, gas for the truck and dropping off some recycling) before going fishing. The tide was still draining out by the time I got to the flats. I rigged up both the spinning rod and an 8wt fly rod. I figured this being my only real day off, I might as well bring everything. I ended up catching four bluefin trevallys - it's hard to see them on the flats, I think even more so than the bonefish - so all of these were caught on the spinning rod (with cut squid for bait). I also caught one of these moana (red goatfish). And the surprise of the day was this fish. I think it is a species of wrasse, but I'm going to have to look it up. I lost a couple of rigs to the reef and then made a deliberate switch to the flyrod. Next post -

Speaking of Finishing...

After class today (I'm taking an energy efficiency series of classes), I went to Charlie's house to... work on the paddle. I got the shaft sanded down into the oval shape I was looking for. I also got the shaft and blade glued up. Hopefully it is straight, or there's going to be a lot more sanding than I was anticipating. Next is fine tuning the blade rails (light sanding), fairing in the top of the blade with the bottom of the shaft, preparing the handle, laminating carbon/glass onto the backside of the blade, part of the front, parts of the lower shaft and wherever looks like it would benefit from the carbon fiber. Lastly would be a coat of polyurethane on the unepoxied sections of the paddle/handle and then let it all cure for a day or so (or until the weather gets a little less windy).

Charlie's Paddles Progressing to the Pau

I think these were from last Sunday... it's all starting to blur together... too much making paddles... I need to finish my paddle so I can start surfing again and get my days straight.

Cool Paddle and Holder

This is my first mobile post - let's see how the mechanics flow...

I first saw this paddle at a coffee shop at Ala Moana Shopping Center on one of my business trips out here a few years back.  Now that I am learning to make paddles, I felt compelled to come back and take a closer look.

Very nice craftsmanship!

Another Day, Another Couple of Papio

Spending time at this flat and constantly looking out over the horizon, time starts to slow down. And catching the same type of fish, using the same technique further accentuates the long continuum. Then a jet airliner flies directly over head and brings you back to the modern world. I ended up catching two papios. Hopefully not the same two I've been catching...

More Work into the Paddles

I picked up some balsa sheets from the local craft store out here (Ben Franklin - no more Michaels or JoAnns for me, unless I move back to the Mainland). After deliberating for a while, an optimum solution for gluing up the sheets was made. And I also decided to use fiberglass in between the layers to keep the overall weight down, but beef up the overall strength to the paddle face. The end product will have four layers of glass separated by three layers of thin balsa. Charlie is embellishing his second canoe paddle with some wood burning. Should be pretty cool.

He'eia State Park and the Fish Pond

I spent Saturday morning volunteering at the fish pond at He'eia. This time we parked up at the State Park. Lots of chickens and cats hanging around. This cat in particular looked pretty relaxed (and had that look that says "what are you looking at bozo"). 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!

Friday Afternoon on the Flats

After work, I drove out to the flats to catch the sunset (and hopefully some fish). It was super windy so I did not break out the fly rods. This little guy prevented the skunk. Next way to end the week.

Certified Self Help Framer - Again

I just completed the self help framer class at Hickam Arts and Crafts Center. Now I can get all the gyotaku framed without leaving body parts behind at the local frame shops. This practice piece was a postcard we picked up at New Smyrna Outfitters in Florida. I am looking forward to getting a bunch of the gyotakus finished over the next several months.

Amy's Paddle Almost Pau

We spent a good chunk of Saturday walking through the steps to make sure the handle got on well. Now Charlie has to finish sand and coat with polyurethane spar and the paddle is pau!

Real Good Day for Numbers

Lots of action out on the Hickam Flats - and I finally caved and fished with bait (cut squid). I caught seven papio - fun little guys, nothing to get an elevated heart rate over (although a bigger fish did test my knot tying skills and took off with a good sized piece of squid and a new lip ring). What do we have here???? Do you see the 'long' piece of the rock hanging out? That's no rock... small moray eel. First of two "Moana" that I caught today Another moray eel. Here is the second Moana. These guys are decent fighters. And the first Weke I have caught out here. This species in particular is said to cause the person that eats it to have hallucinations. I ate one back in DG not knowing the issue (and didn't have any nightmares), but this one was heavier (and I didn't feel like having uncontrolled hallucinations - or hallucinations in general) and I was in C&R mode today. It didn't like the fact that it got caught and was quite the flopper. So the lesson learned today - use bait and catch fish (stop being a lure snob).

Attention to Detail

I tried fishing North Beach, but I should have brought out the plastic sand crab jigs I have... the wave action was considerable and it made whipping with my "Hickam" setup almost useless. So I figured I should study what was washed up in the high water mark. I was hoping to find several sand crab shells (I did find a few which means they are around), but I was able to find these as well My favorites are the tiny sea urchin casings (there are three in the bunch, maybe four).

Papio Beats a Skunk

Short fishing session before hitting Charlie's to work on the paddle and hand planes. I didn't see any signs of fish. The wind was up from the NE and the water was a bit more turbid than it has been recently. After 40 minutes of nothing, I moved to the quaywall. On the first cast I hooked into this little guy, which makes it better than a skunking!