2009 Paddlers Papio Open

I Forgot Both Cameras. And I overslept.

Those words kept beating me up mentally last Saturday morning. Here's why:


First, I joined the Aquahunters and politely introduced myself by starting out with “Hello, brothers and sisters”. Warm welcomes and good natured ribbing ensued. Who do I roll with? What’s it like fishing in cold water? What are your regs like local? What you mean no live bait? Oh brudda dey suck! Do polepole really do that shark thing? Yep. How big dat fish Zee have his hand in mouth? I think he said it comes out to 183 lbs. Ooooo Datbigfish!!  I take it all in stride.

Not long after, I get an invite from Boogie-D to join them on Aug 15th for their Paddlers Papio Open. North Shore, Hale’iwa Harbor is the launch point.  It’s something just I can’t turn down. Problem is I don’t have a yak and while a rental isn’t the problem, I can get one at several different shops here, transporting it is. Can’t move a yak on a Company rental Mustang drop top, it’s against their rules, and almost impossible to do. I luck out, my boss loans me his Mazda rental. I got wheels!

Boogie comes to my rescue by providing me with a red F’n’D.  It’s waiting for me on the beach when I get there.
I can’t wait, I finally get to beat my travel fishing jinx. The days can’t go fast enough. Gotta get tackle, a rod, crap no bait shops in Waikiki (are there??), pick up some Saltwater Gulp shrimp. Rules say we MUST have a VHF. Ok that works I needed to replace one anyway.  

Of course, night before, I can’t sleep all that well.  I set the alarm for 3:15. It’s an hour north to Hale’iwa across Oahu. Sign in starts at 5:oo am.

OH Crap! I oversleep. Jump up, dress, grab my bags and my rod, rush out the door to the car.  It’s 4:45 am.  Ok calm down, at least you won’t need a headlight to set up your gear and launch/navigate out of the harbor.  Down Kuhio through Waikiki, around the east end of the Al A’Wai canal, blow 2 stoplights. Luckily, no cameras and no cops.  Ok I need to calm down and get my head clear. Ah! Starbucks is open.

On the rest of the drive, I go over all the snippets of conversation I’ve had with Boogie-D, JohnJohn,  and one or two others. Boogie is gonna leave me a yak and some bait on the beach. He’s told me, ‘It’s all nice and shallow in close and if you aren’t all that confident, then stay in near shore. Plenty papio should be there. Make a left when you clear the out wall the harbor, and paddle towards that point you’ll see. The wind will pick up around 10 and you can have a nice easy drift back to the beach” Sweet! Sounds like the lazy man’s way to fish!!  Lorraine from Windward Boats, the local Hobie dealer has been very helpful in hooking me up with alternate places to pick up things I need since she’s in Waialua, and has sold out of most all her stock of PFDs VHFs and other things.  These people have opened their arms to a total stranger and maybe put themselves a bit out on a limb to accommodate me getting my fishing fix.  I’ve never felt so welcome. Thinking a bit more, I remember that Cory Routh is gonna be there. So is Ben Wong and his film crew for Hawai’i Goes Fishing.

Finally into Hale’iwa, and I eventually find Trini sitting right at the white bridge just like I was told she’d be. Sign in pay the fee. She tells me where to find my ride and gives me the briefing.. I’m almost the last to sign in. 46th out of 50 who said they'd be there. . it’s 6:04. DammitJim!! Shoulda went to bed earlier than 1030.

Back down the seawall, I find a space, unload and lock the car, eventually find a red F’nD waiting for me. Everything right where Boogie said it would be. Look around a few minutes and take it in. The water is like sea state 1. Almost flat calm glass. This is good. Finish making everything ready and return the gear bag to the car, make sure everything is out of sight and locked up, then go back to the boat, pull it down the sand to the water. And stand there and wait. And watch.  I see about 9 yaks out in front of me. We’re talking anything between 900 yards off the beach out to, well, they look like colored specks, so let’s say 3 miles.  Wow I got some paddling to do.

Launch and start paddling, turn on the radio and pick up Whipt and Paz announcing fish on or already in the boat. Keep paddling. Make that left turn and see more yaks scattering from that area and heading back northeast. Then I see why. The incoming surf has started building and It looks like the inside of a washing machine 300ft off the point. No way am I gonna head farther into that. I turn right and head more or less straight out from the beach. Look back once more to mark my landmarks one last time, then turn around and dig in for about 20 minutes of paddling. And grit my teeth every time I hear of someone hooked up. U’lua, Mahi, Aha, kawakawa, opeliu, kagami, wow lots of fish but don’t hear anything of papio. I’ve broken a heavy sweat and take a break.. look around.. I’m probably 2 miles more or less out. Good enough. Start fishing. Damn, forgot to check for the bait while rigging up… ok, I got a few jigs and a blue/silver krokodile spoon. Let’s start with that and see if I can make bait the hard way.

30 minutes, no fish love. C’mon Rich you can do better than this.. take stock.. A Ha! I do have bait! There’s a pack of Berkeley Saltwater Gulp shrimp. Take the rigging apart and re-rig with a 3 way swivel, a one ounce dropper weight, and then tie on about a 30 inch leader with a 2/0 circle hook and impale one of these fake shrimp on it, but rig it with the hook point down not up.. I might pay for this later on.

Cast, leave the bail on the Alpha open for a 5 count. Close the bail, wait, wait, I still don’t feel the bottom..deeper than I thought when I looked down and saw bottom in this clear water.  Open the bail, let it out.. there’s the bottom. Close it up… TUGTUG TUG.  Wooo hoo !!  Fish on! I give it a few seconds and I think I set the hook but am also busy trying to contact the powerboat that is running safety and catch verification. Damn, this thing wants to head for Kane’ohe bay.. ok keep pressure, guide it around the front.. hey where’s the fish? I don’t’ feel any..oh ok it’s back… more strong pulls and shakes, then I see color… yellow, brown and blue.. Sees the boat, off it goes again… finally I get it back to the boat again . And lose it. The hook comes undone. And the swells have started picking up.. I’m riding gentle elevators but it’s not all that bad.

Meet Dave, he’s not having much luck either and decides to paddle northeast towards the state park that’s the northern boundary. 6 miles away.  Good luck brother.. I re-bait the hook and recast… hit bottom.. wait.. not much happening and the drift is getting funky, I can’t keep the  damn thing on my right side to save my ass… ok enough, time to move on… as I start to reel up, Ha’naa Pa’a!!  Hookup again.  This feels like the same type fish I hooked last time.. ok take it easy on this one..And lose it after about 2 minutes.  What am I doing wrong?
Re-bait, recast.. Drift. Nothing. Recast. More drift. Still nothing. Repeat.

Ok, time to change location. And revisit my rigging. I cut the sinker and the leader off the 3way, then re-rig the way I had it originally with the sinker at the bottom and the bait /leader combo hanging off the middle leg which will float the bait about a foot off the bottom.  Paddle more or less due north a bit farther out, and let the wind push me farther north.

Finally I get another strike.. this feels again like the same species, it isn’t changing tactics or pulling harder or faster or straighter and I see a flash of yellow and brown.. I’m pretty sure it’s my 3rd of the same species.. Suddenly it stops, then I don’t feel anything at all. Zero resistance. Then a few hard, hard, shakes and a lot of vibration and it’s running again.. and the hook pulls out!! Shit these things have soft mouths!!

By now there’s 3-5 foot chop at about 2 seconds and I’m not liking the face of the water at all. What happened to the gentle 6-9 foot elevators I was happily bobbing on? Ok time to turn around and head in…Reel up, and almost get huli’d by the washing machine.. Yeah that’s it for me.. Paz and alphadog go past my right side headed who knows where on their tandem [ there’s a few of those out here doing very well] I turn towards shore, and HEY! Where’d this fishing line come from?? I call over to the tandem and tell them to hang tight , we’re slightly fouled, which is a surprise to them.  I pull their rig over and past me and we part company..
BTW, I like this boat! It tracks so much easier than my T15 back home.  Sure it’s wetter, and maybe slower in a straight line, but it’s more responsive when turning.

Two cameras sitting on the table right in front of my gear bags, and I forget both of them!!.  These are my thoughts as I paddle towards shore. That and, I didn’t’ realize I went out this far.  Come on, Rich, one more cast and let it trail behind you as you drive back in.. No, it’s too choppy for me to handle a strong fish and paddle at the same time. If I stop I might, more like probably will, swim.  

< more to come, waiting pics from the group here[WR]>

addendum;
here's a link to Coury Rouths blog with pics from the end of tourney festivities.. he ended up not fishing but came to teh awards side of it.

http://ruthlessfishing.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the recount.  From shore I've seen many kayak fisherman in Hawaii, and been jealous.  Any idea what you were hooking?  Mahi-mahi?  Some ulua have yellow on them.  Ulua commonly run toward you, making you think you've lost it.  How were you dressed?

this being hawaii, it's a fishing culture , so literally everyone fishes in one form or another.. last i looked, the Aquahunters have something like 7000 members of which only maybe 20% post in forum.. sound familiar?

nice thng here, you only need a license to fish the few freshwater areas they have in the state. everthing else in the seas is free. there's an attempt right now though by the current governor (Lingle, Dem) to force a fishing license program and a national fisherman registry onto the states most popular sport. what is stopping them right now is that the state constitution prohibits them from doing so, but that administration is on record as saying they won't stop til they get it passed. even if they have to wipe their butts with the state constitution. sound familiar to anyone back there?

we were after papio, which are basically baby ulua. still not sure about the fish i had on. have tried finding a pictorial guide for local game fish, but can't seem to nail that down because everything in the local stores is geared towards divers and snorkelers. which means i havent hit the right store yet.

definitely not a 'ahi or mahi. wasnt even near their territory and was soley rigged for bottom fishing. honestly i would have broken off in the 1st few seconds had one of those taken that Gulp! shrimp. only using 20lb mono throughout the entire rig. i didnt feel i needed to go with anythign bigger becuase i was new to that fishery and had zero intention of going out past my ability to get back in safely.

pics are coming in part II. i have to finsih that in the next day or two and post it. been waiting on permissions from the owners of the pics before i go posting them here.
[WR]

Radical!  Hey what were you wearing that day?




Good post though!! Guess thats why your a "sturgeon"  huh?  (posts)

uhhmmm pfd, light green UV long sleeve t, board shorts & water sandals..water temp is like 79degrees

i also forgot the Dri Grip sunblock. my legs got so burned i had to use Ocean Potion with aloe and lidocaine to relieve the pain..i got lucky, only had one large blister later on in the week but after 4 days that stuff had done a great job of helping me.. right now, still some smudged spots left but mostly peeling

now, ya got me thinking.. i need to post the group pic 1st...

ahhh  I remember being in hawaii when you had to look at your foot to see if it was in the water or not.  

nice thng here, you only need a license to fish the few freshwater areas they have in the state. everthing else in the seas is free. there's an attempt right now though by the current governor (Lingle, Dem) to force a fishing license program and a national fisherman registry onto the states most popular sport. what is stopping them right now is that the state constitution prohibits them from doing so, but that administration is on record as saying they won't stop til they get it passed. even if they have to wipe their butts with the state constitution. sound familiar to anyone back there?

I've shore fished Maui over the last decade, and keep some fishing gear at a friend's place.  Mostly in the winter and early spring.  If you are going back get Jim Rizzutto's 3 "Fishing Hawaii Style" books.  If you want to stay in touch with the fishing scene there check out Hawaii Fishing News, http://www.hawaiifishingnews.com .  It is a bit of vicarious pleasure, particularly through the long, cold, wet PNW winter.

we were after papio, which are basically baby ulua. still not sure about the fish i had on. have tried finding a pictorial guide for local game fish, but can't seem to nail that down because everything in the local stores is geared towards divers and snorkelers. which means i havent hit the right store yet.

Try this: http://www.marinelifephotography.com/
And if you know what you are looking for: http://www.fishbase.org/

Enter "ulua" into the "common name" field of fishbase to see how it works.

thanks for all the links.. one of the locals has taken pity on me and is giving me an online edumacation in local fish. and i have the past 2 issues of HFN here at the hotel. i like thier little rag, it's a fun read.

Linda Lingle is a Republican BTW....

http://hawaii.gov/gov/governor/biography

The first Republican to lead Hawaii in over 40 years...  So, likely a Republican in the sense the Arnold is one in California...

Linda Lingle is a Republican BTW....

http://hawaii.gov/gov/governor/biography

The first Republican to lead Hawaii in over 40 years...  So, likely a Republican in the sense the Arnold is one in California...

Republican does not equal conservative.  Government has grown under both flavors.

http://www.aquahunters.com/

Check it out.  Last Saturday, 84# Ulua.  Must of taken him for a ride!

Linda Lingle is a Republican BTW....

http://hawaii.gov/gov/governor/biography

The first Republican to lead Hawaii in over 40 years...  So, likely a Republican in the sense the Arnold is one in California...

heh locals say either way, she gotta go. 

The push for a State Fishing License and other fishery measures are actually due to Federal Mandates coming down the pipe from NOAA, that require Fishermen in States without Ocean Fishing License to have to get a Federal one instead..

http://www.mvtimes.com/2008/06/19/news/saltwater-fishing-license.php

So, instead of allowing the Federal Government to get the money from the Fisherman, most States are implementing new Licensing Laws themselves and collecting the Revenue generated for their own coffers.

South Carolina mandated Ocean Fishing Licenses starting this year because of this.

yeah, but by attempting to force this down the throats of the Hawaiian fishermen, well pretty much the whole population of the state, it's violating both the state constitution and at least 2 treaties with the native Hawaiians.

what happened to peoples right to self governance and the feds upholding their word of treaty?

NOAA needs to stay out of this one. the people here seem to be doing a lot more, and a lot better, on thier own, than the Feebies ever will.

haha  you gone com back hea talk pidgeon bra?