I need some Aloha...

Doug, ET, & friends from Nervouswaters, Hawaii. Aloha oukou! Check out more at: http://www.nervouswaterhawaii.com/

I'll be in Hawaii again this year from June through early August, try to make it out there. Eventually, I will go there and not come back, you can join me then too.

Also, check out one link below to one of my favorite Hawaiian signers/ song. This songs takes me back to Hawaii : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

Hawaiian Bonefish - Oio.

I had some work meetings in Hawaii this past week, so I took the opportunity and fished with Doug Lum from Nervous Waters in Oahu. I love fishing in Hawaii because it offers such close access to great fishing, great food, great sunsets, and of course great people. We met at the usual spot and started late in the morning as the tide were still high. Doug is a retired millionaire (although he won’t admit it), who fishes between Hawaii and Alaska. He is born and raised in Hawaii and has been fishing here all his life. He’s the one of the very few Hawaiian I know who doesn’t surf, because even as a kid, he preferred fishing over surfing. He’s a super relaxed Sinatra fan… an awesome person to fish with.

Combination of high winds & spotty/ thick clouds made sight fishing fairly challenging. Still we spotted a few good fish to cast to. We focused on sight fishing during the morning, and went for the deeper waters to blind cast in the afternoon. I had a tough time getting used to casting in such high winds, and the fly whacked my head a few times - fortunately it didn’t stick there. Doug tagged the fish that were caught, working with the Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources. HDLNR are finally starting more detailed research on bonefish, or Oio as they are called in Hawaii. The tag will help measure growth & distances travelled, among other things. Catching big bonefish is something to do in Oahu but nothing beats looking up from fishing to see a beautiful Hawaiian rainbow or sunset. It’s at those moments when I thank the Man upstairs.

I stayed in a pretty fancy house up near the North Shore and our friend Mike made his famous pizza omelets each morning. As I was getting ready to leave at the airport, I looked at my stinging fingers. It’s good knowing that I fished hard till my fingers bled… which is the way it should always be. Then, as I fell asleep on the place, I thought - perhaps I should wear a proper strip guard next time. Aloha.

Something big, something small, & something different

With my time running out with our stay in Hawaii and being tied up with work plus family activity, I went out on a “midnight shark hunt” on one of the party boat charters. It was exactly what I’ve come to expect on the charter boats, an odd ball group of people, all pretty horny to catch some big game sharks. We were fishing with 400pound line, with hooks that are bigger than the forceps that we use to release fish in fly fishing. Using steak sized bait (tuna & barracuda) I did manage to hook up with couple of nice sized sharks (although second one foul hooked). I reeled, then the ship mate handled & released the fish (cutting the hook right in the middle - the hook will corrode and fall out eventually). It was fun, but something I don't need to do for a while. Sitting out on the boat, I thought about Charles & his boat...and how I wanted to be on that boat. The other day, while chasing Oio (bone fish) without much success, I did hook a small fish which looked like a mullet of some sort. Whatever the catch, I am thankful for being out on the waters, a sure medicine for the soul.

Trumpet but no Bone.

Today is the day I am to leave on my business trip to Seoul & Beijing, back into the hustle and bustle of city. I’ve been busy with work and with family for the past few days and haven’t been able to make it out to fish, which is a little insane considering that there are many fish to be caught in Hawaii. I broke away from the regular cycle of things to get in a little fishing time this morning. I fished the reef that I know, and upon arrival was greeted by the awesome Hawaiian skies and even a big rainbow. I fished for an hour without any bites or sighting of bone fish, but I felt a tug and the line started to strip out and turn around me. It felt too light to be a bone fish so I didn’t know what to expect, still it pulled out some line from the drag set reel. A trumpet fish, the first I have ever caught. I was a little bit freaked out because it was bigger than I imagine of a trumpet fish. I strolled the waters a little more then I saw another angler at distance. It was Ed! E.T. from Nervous Waters, on his day off- fishing for his own pleasure. We shared a smoke, talked a bit and he started to point out the bone fish all around us. It’s funny, just being with Ed, I was able to spot groups of bone fish that I wasn’t able to spot before. They were big, 5-7 pounders swimming in groups of 2-5, cruising at fast speeds. It was time for me to leave to go pick up the kids from school, but the fact that I saw so many fish around me was very promising. Ed and I will go out to fish many times in the month of July, as soon as I return back here end of this month. As I said good bye and walked off, I heard Ed yell to me … he had a fish on and his rod was jerking back and forth with the fish jetting away from Ed. Ed had a big smile and he yelled – see you back soon. Although I did not hook up with a bone fish, it was good day to be out.

Getting into the routine

Arrived in Oahu and busy settling the family in for the summer. Got out this morning for a couple of hour to re check the old fishing spots near Honolulu, threw a line to get accustomed to the wind. Spotted a few bone fish too distant to reach with my poor cast, didn’t hook up with any. I was mostly checking out the situation this morning and wasn’t trying – still, found a smaller fish at the end of the line in the shallows. Getting into the routine...

for the family…

I have to spend a month and half in Hawaii this summer so that my kids can attend the summer school there... it will be tough to be relocated like that for so long…but I’ll do it for the family. Yes I had something to do with the school selection, but it was based purely on academic merits alone.

If you plan on visiting, bring a line basket. Just in case.

Aloha! Oio (bone fish)

A large portion of my family was getting together in Hawaii for my father in laws 70th birthday, and I could not pass on this chance to sneak away for a day (or two) to try my luck with meeting some Oio in the Hawaiian flats (Hawaiian word for bonefish: Oio). Many do not know that there are flats in Hawaii, and some are so unbelievably close that it’s wonderful once you discover where they are.

Wasn’t sure where or how to fish Hawaii, but fortunately, I hooked up with the friendly crew at Nervous Water Flyfishers (www.nervouswaterhawaii.com) and they pretty much provided all the information I needed. If you intend on fly fishing for bonefish in Hawaii, I strongly recommend setting up for a guided service with Nervous Waters, and to visit the shop for some locally relevant gear & flies. (believe me, I took a lot of flies I had bought and tied, but to my surprise the bonefish here seemed to be attracted to a very particular color & pattern). I stopped by the Nervous Water shop a day before my guided trip, and met with the owner Sean to hear about flyfishing in Hawaii, as well as get some help picking up a few of those Hawaiian patterns. Sean was both friendly and informative, and I look forward to seeing him again during my next trip out to Hawaii.

The day started with my guide Ed Tiamai, picking me up at the hotel about 7:30am, then we headed over to the flats meeting up with Nao Toyama, a super hardcore bonefish angler from Japan. Nao’s been flyfishing since he was eight, and he’s also an expert in Kyudo, Japanese Traditional Archery. I could tell he was hardcore about fishing as soon as I met him, and when he geared up ninja style to fish, there was a sense of seriousness in the air. Ed’s been fishing all his life in Hawaii and really does know the waters like the back of his hands. Ed’s been fishing big game Tuna, Marlin, and that sort but picked up fly fishing several years ago. Ed fishes hard and perhaps because of this, he proved to be an excellent guide. We went to two different spots throughout the day, and he taught me to cast in heavy Hawaiian winds to spotting bonefish in different settings/ times. It wasn’t easy casting accurately with the heavy winds, and even according to Ed he considered the winds that day a 8,9 out of 10max. It was pretty cool walking and spotting fish with Ed, and talking about different things in our lives.

Once in a while, Nao will show up from the waters to show us the picture of the barracuda he just caught, or to let us know about the bonefish that got away. Bonefish get spooked easy, but with the winds and noise on the water surface, I was hoping to get the fly close enough for the bonefish to notice. The morning passed on without much luck for me, and although I was finally starting to see all the fish Ed was spotting for me, I had trouble getting the fly accurately in front of it. We moved to a slightly more sheltered spot after lunch, and here is where I first met my first bone fish. I’ve fished different species of fish for some years now, but when the first bonefish took my fly, I understood exactly why people consider this one of the top sporting fish. Ed told me to not “cup the reel” in concern about running out of backing, and I experienced why people do that. The strike was somewhat blunt, but when bonefish started to run, it ran hard and long. Even with the firm drag, it took out all of the fly line and I was into the backing after the 3rd run. That sweet sound of the reel cranking… I brought the fish in and was surprised at the size. From the fight, I thought it would have been slightly larger. It was about a 3.5 pounder, and I was happy to catch my first bonefish ever. After that I had a few takes, but when the fish ran and took the line into the rocks, I lost them. After a few I could tell which ones were the larger fish, with the scream of the reel. All in all, it was a perfect day for me. The next day, Ed broke his 9wt rod on a 8 pounder, and still managed to land the fish. I think it is certain that bonefish will become a regular on the list of fish I seek each year.

The bonefish is the type species of the Albulidae, or bonefishes. It is amphidromous, living in inshore tropical waters, moving onto shallow tidal flats to feed with the incoming tide, and retreating to deeper water as the tide ebbs. Juvenile bonefish may be observed in large shoals of like-sized individuals with large mature fish swimming in smaller groups or in pairs. Bonefish are considered to be among the world's premier game fish and are highly sought after by anglers. Although it is caught for sport its flesh is not considered particularly good to eat.