Hawai'i Fishing Fanatic

Moloka'i Flats Fishing

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!). It’s been awhile and I was hoping that I could get started on my blog soon after Governor Abercrombie’s campaign ended last year and I got back into the swing of things. Yet, life held a bunch of surprises that I hadn’t planned on and hence the delay in posting on my favorite blog.

Well, a lot has changed in one year and I am now working at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. I won’t go into detail but I love what I’m doing under the leadership of current DHHL Chairman/Director ‘Alapaki Nahale-a. A heavy load of kuleana for sure at this juncture in my life!

Anyway, I was going over a few notes from my previous attempt at posting and I came across these links that might help my fellow fly fishermen who try to even the odds at every chance out in the water:

Stream Time Blog (Flyfishing in the Reel World) – A couple of posts with a few tips on flyfishing the Kona Coast of the Big Island. A nice read, as there is not much out there about fly fishing on the Big Island.

Mike’s Catch Report Blog – Nice blog with great pictures of flyfishing on O’ahu. Lots of slideshows! Mike travels to places that I hold dear to my heart. Including the Salmon River in Pulaski, New York and many of the noted historical streams in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic states. Man! Do I miss the action out there but I don’t miss the cold this time of the year.

DIY Flatsfishing Blog – Getting a guide at a pristine destination will cost you big bucks! I’ll be the first to admit that local knowledge will definitely get you in the better part of the “catch” factor but especially in these hard times, every buck counts. So this site is a refreshing look at how you can start on doing-it-yourself and stretching your dollars a bit. The link is to the Hawai’i post and you get just enough information in finding a spot to fish on your own.

USA on the Fly - A link to links for Hawaii Flyfishing sites. A little lean but a good site to get your bonefish juices going!

Fly Fusion Magazine (North America’s Fly Fishing Authority) – I’m a sucker for flashy, catchy fishing photography. This site’s not Hawai’i-related but has I couldn’t pass it up during my search for Hawai’i flyfishing sites.

Bonefish Kaua’i – Okay, so this is like, the only island that you can catch trout in a stream, catch bass/peacock bass in the river/dams and go down to the flats to fish for ‘o’io (bonefish)!  Kind of like the Hawaiian Grand Slam with a Twist! There aren’t a lot of guides on Kaua’i and this is one of the rare ones on the internet.

Hope you folks like my first post for 2012 and I’ll continue to write when I have time. Got my writing slippahs back on, so I’m ready!

Hanapa’a! (Fish On!)

Not sure when but I’ll be updating shortly as I find more time to pursue my blogging interests.

Photo courtesy of Honolulu StarAdvertiser

Reminder: Memorial Services this afternoon for Harry Toshio Kojima, local fishing celebrity and longtime host of Let’s Go Fishing (1981-1998) and Hari’s Kitchen, who passed away on June 8th.

Honolulu StarAdvertiser Info: Visitation 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday July 16 2011 at Mililani Mortuary Mauka Chapel, Waipio, Funeral Service 5:30 p.m. Aloha Attire.

I never thought in my lifetime that I would ever see this happen but the endangered green sea turtle may be delisted and handed over to the state to manage.

According to a Hawaii News Now story, the turtle’s possible delistment is forthcoming :

The Hawaiian Green Turtle, or Honu, has recovered so well since being classified as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act in 1978 that its federal protection may be removed.

“The number of nesting females has multiplied several times over. I think there are at least five or six times more nesting females now than there were 40 years ago,” said Lance Smith, Endangered Species Manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Honolulu.

This bodes well for the recovery of the Hawaiian green honu and the Endangered Species Act that made it possible. Now, we have to look at the proper management of the species under state control in the future.

I was on the Hawaii Fishing Forum again to check out the latest news and results for the S. Tokunaga Store Ulua Challenge this past weekend. Wow! there were some really nice fish! Too bad though! No hundred-pounders this year. Had some really big ‘omilu though this time around!

The final tournament (unofficial) results are as follows from, omer110, on the Hawaii Fishing Forum:

Largest Ulua (Giant Trevally) category:
1. Jason A – 75.2
2. Kalani K – 71.6
3. Bernie L – 68.3
4. Chad M – 62.5
5. Tyson M – 61.5
6. Laron K – 57.8
7. Bruce B – 50.7
8. John B – 49.6
9. John A – 49.1
10. Josh A – 48.8

Largest ‘Omilu (Jack Crevalle) category:
1. Kahana I – 21.4
2. Gerald L – 20.7
3. Shyann V – 18.4
4. Eddie C – 18.3
5. Dane R – 17.6
6. Skee S – 17.4
7. Rudolph L – 17.1
8. Kyle R – 16.5
9. Frederick F – 16.4
10. Brandon Z – 16.1

Mahalo to omer110 for the update! and congratulations to all the winners this year!

You can also check out recent pictures from the tournament on the S. Tokunaga Store Facebook page. Mahalo to major sponsors, Izuo Bros., Shimano and Kaenon Polarized!

I wasn’t able to make it again this year due to previous commitments, but there’s always next year!!!

Photo courtesy of Honolulu StarAdvertiser

Breaking News: Local fishing celebrity and longtime host of Let’s Go Fishing (1981-1998) and Hari’s Kitchen, Hari Kojima, passed away this morning. KHON2 has the latest news on his untimely passing.

Just got this tweet from @SlickDeals and had to let you folks know! $30 for the new Shimano Zircos reel and a rod to boot from Cabela’s! Heard good things about this reel but not sure its durability in saltwater environment. Check it out! Might be good for akule, moi or menpachi.

I’m still writing my post on the new DLNR director, William Aila, but I’m hoping to get it done this weekend.

In the meantime, enjoy the start of summer and I’ll be in touch!

Aloha,
Aweau

My friend, Willy “Ulua Man” Elisaga, and I, had our own little tsunami scare during the GT Masters Cup 2010 Ulua Fishing tournament last February and with it canceling our chances of winning the tournament. LOL! That being said, I’m kind of a nut for safety, an off-shoot of my Boy Scout days, and have since (with great urgency from my wife) decided to make sure that if anything happened, I would always have a “tsunami” checklist of what to do and where to go. I’ve gone over the checklist over and over, so much so, that I have a mental checklist in my head. Thus, when the recent tsunami event transpired (mahalo to my boss, Crystal Kua, for texting me), I knew right away, that I had to immediately contact family members, get gas filled for at least one vehicle, get groceries (to last at least 1 week), ice, batteries, and replenish any emergency supplies I may have been short  on (i.e., it’s always good to prepare every 3 months and by putting it in your personal calendar as a reminder).

GT Masters Cup 2010 Competitor Shirt

Every once in a while I comb the internet for new information and try to glean the best information I can to stay prepared. I recently found a bunch of great resource sites, tailored somewhat to Hawai’i and the Pacific Region, but nonetheless useful for any emergency plan:

I used a lot of information from John Garcia’s (@JohnGarcia), “Hawai’i Tsunami Info,” site during the immediate tsunami advisory and received timely information to update the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (@DHHL) social networks. This helped many DHHL homesteaders and others in remote areas to receive information right away when mobile statewide communications were down during those crucial early morning hours. John was also able to put the #HITsunami hashtag twitter feed on the site. It worked awesome! This, while he was away attending a media event (South by Southwest #SXSW) in Austin, TX. You did good, John! Mahalo nui loa!

Governor Abercrombie’s, Office of the Governor, Emergency Information Site.

Hawaii State Civil Defense (changed their web site link and no redirect, but this is the good one)

Pacific Disaster Center

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

Hawaii Tsunami Map Viewer (Tsunami Evacuation Zone Map. Input address form and it gives you a map of your immediate address area)

NOAA Tsunami FAQ

Tsunami Travel Times

NOAA National Data Buoy Center (Tsunami Buoy Information)

Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawai’i

Ham Radio Hawaii Disaster Page (When all else fails, ham radio is the last means of communication during a disaster. I have to join up with a local ham radio group soon!)

Lifehacker is one of my favorite places to get information on just about anything to do with life. So its comes as no surprise that they have come out with a great article, “How to Prepare for and Survive a Disaster” by Lifehacker editor-in-chief, Adam Pash, in the recent aftermath of Japan’s largest recorded earthquake in its history.

Nonstop Honolulu‘s article by Melissa Chang (@Melissa808), “Amazing Ways We Exchange Crisis Information,” is a nice reflection of what we learned the last few days since the Hawai’i tsunami event. Mishaps and things that we found out along the way.

This short guide does not take anything away from the well-meaning checklists and tips by our federal, state, municipal emergency management and disaster assistance agencies. This also includes, our local media outlets that did an outstanding job of covering the tsunami warning. Can’t say enough for their very unselfish coverage. Furthermore, cooperation within the social media networks was astounding. Wow! is all I can say!

Hope this article can offer a little something to those thinking about other ways to prepare for a disaster. If I find more resources I will let you know as soon as I can. Please check out the links and see if you can use these resources in your own preparations to raise your chances of survival.

Malama Pono (Take Care)

Jose Wejebe is right up there as being one of my favorite fishing show hosts from way back when. I learned a lot about saltwater flyfishing from watching him in early fishing shows with Flip Pallot & Sandy Moret (another bunch of favorites), later his own television show on ESPN, Spanish Fly, and attending seminars featuring him and Lefty Kreh (My hero! and a whole different story by himself) at flyfishing shows when I was on the East Coast. Great fun-loving person and innovative fisherman!

Check out his Facebook page and become a fan, to see what’s going on in the dynamic fishing world of Jose Wejebe!