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07/27/10

fly fishing hawaii:

generation next.

 

the last blog i spent a couple of days fishing on the lake with the next generation of fishermen.  i fly fished one day with my buddy’s sons ben and casey.  then yesterday i went out with my nephews.  whenever fishing with gen. nexters, it is critical to fish at their level and challenge them while still maintaining a level of fun that will leave them wanting to do it again.  ben and casey are two very good fly casters but have limited actual fishing experience.  we got dealt a tough day on the lake so instead of just blind casting the edges for that one or two cooperating peacocks, which these two guys are more than capable of doing.  we spent most of the time trying to sight fish red devils which, on this day, were tough to get (lots of scared devils).  <that proved to be perfect for the boys skill (and fun) level as we found enough fish to challenge their casting skills as well as their fly presentation skills.  they had to take inventory of many different situations and design casts to get the fly where they needed to (right on the red devils head).  the good thing is that red devils are a fish that you don’t have to come up with the right shot, right away.  also because the devils were so unaggressive on that day (as devils sometimes get), the boys had to really focus on the fish and learn to react to the subtle visual takes (yes, stan they were able to see the gill flare).  although they didn’t land any red devils, the boys made a bunch of great casts that they probably never made before or even thought of making before.  they also learned about the ways of the tough devil as well as practiced knowing exactly where the fly is and what it is doing.  they even turned a few heads (what happens when you are a little slow on the gill flare and set the hook just as the red devil is spitting the fly out).  overall they took away much more fly fishing skills from the experience than they would have if we had just pounded for peacocks and at their level they knew it.  the next time they are up there, if the devils are even a little more aggressive... watch out it’s going to be a slaughterhouse.

 

the next trip out was very different.  i took my nephews bennet and dennen.  although they have been out on the lake a number of times, they are still in the infancy of their fishing careers.  a fun day for these guys is all about spam musubis, driving the boat and getting some fish on board.  we managed to do all of that and improve their fishing skills.  the difference between this time out and the other times i have been on the water with them was that bennet tied all the hooks and swivels to the line and i left dennen to fish pretty much on his own.  we also used much lighter line than on previous trips.  the boys lack of experience fighting fish led to a number of fish broken off in the wood or grass and i just let them go because they are at the point where they have caught enough fish that i knew losing fish would not break their hearts.  instead these experiences led them to focus more on how they were fighting the fish a step above just cranking the handle.  i also, for the first time with them, took out a fly rod and just casted it a little bit.  i didn’t make them watch me (although they did), make them try it, or explain to them anymore than they asked about.  while they were eating i just picked up the rod, went to the front of the boat and started casting, just to expose them to it.

 

anyway, i guess the point is that it is important to spend time with the future of our sport.  just as important is to realize that kids can have fun doing anything, you just gotta recognize their level of enthusiasm for it and do it in a way that keeps it on that “fun side” of things to do.  inevitably they will all progress at their own pace as long as they want to do it... and it will all work out in the end.

 

benny with an errant bleug (bluegill) caught while trying to get a red devil.

 

casey with his first bass, one of the smallest known to man.

 

stan was out that day getting his tenkara on... you can teach an old dog new tricks (sometimes).  caution: objects in this picture may appear larger than they really are.

 

mr. craig sako jumped in stans boat and laid the sage smallmouth bass rod wood to a couple of nice peacocks.  (see caution on previous picture).

 

dennen with his peacock and a little cat.

 

at nine years old bennet already knows a thing or two about good times.

 

clay. 

 

 

 

 

07/19/10

bonefishing hawaii:

hawaii has big bonefish?

 

well actually it does, just not in this blog posting.  in an attempt to always call it as it is, i have to say the few times i’ve been out since the last blog post absolutely sucked donkey d_ _ _.  i officially retract that statement from the last blog about the summer kicking into high gear.  that may have jinxed the whole thing... you know what they say about big plans.  don’t get me wrong, i have heard a couple of reports of good fishing this past week from assorted guides and customers but overall it seems the "good fishing" is pretty sporatic.  there is an element of all or nothing this summer.  you gotta roll the dice and be at the right place at the right time.  i fished hickam, hi kai, and ke’ehi since the last blog.  after fishing hard, i got a weke (goatfish) at hi kai.  a microbone at hickam, and a rat at ke’ehi (thanks to parker yost's bonefish nymphing technique).  the lack of fish at ke'ehi yesterday may have been a result of the earthquake... who knows.  i didn't feel it but maybe the fish did.  the next time i get into a bunch of fish i will keep a tight lid on the whole “summers here” propaganda... i’ll just stick to my one rule of bonefishing in hawaii that in fifteen some odd years has never been disproven even once and that is that you’ll never know unless you go.  ain’t it the truth... ain’t it the truth... high five.

 

sean fished kbay and reported that the action was short and sweet just after dark.  menpachi papio (bigeye trevally) twilight style.

 

kenny b. caught a microbone at hickam. he also caught this na'e na'e (orange band surgeon fish).  a herbivore by nature it's a pretty rare catch on the fly.

 

<the sage 890-4 tcx was a little overkill for this hickam micronicbone, but the rod is absolute heaven to cast.

 

a tiny fly, a barren flat, a 7wt. sage z-axis, and a minor earthquake... all the ingredients of good times.

 

clay. 

 

 

 

07/07/10

fly fishing hawaii and beyond:

summer fun from all around...the check ins.

 

first of all i just realized that i was jumping ahead in time a bit with the date on that last blog. so we’re all square now and today is hopefully the seventh of july.  lots of pics from friends checking in.  brother jose of the nwff crew checked in from the ak.   he’s been catching some nice fish while still having time to come up with kiddy number three, a daughter born on july first.  congrats go out to jose and amanda.

 

over in cali, my buddies down at the trinity fly shop just wrapped up another shad camp session.   herb reported that all went well despite a somewhat strange summer (sound familiar?).  check out the pics below... shad camp trinity fly shop style... definitely good times.

 

back on the home front, my good friend from oregon harold and his sons casey boy and benny are in town and busy pounding with the nwff crew.  deano and e.t. went out with them to hickam on friday.  deano said it was a good day and they all got fish.<

< 

our bud and simms rep john sherman was also in town recently and had a pretty epic trip to hawaii.  he fished a couple of days on molokai with capt. clay ching and, in addition to some bones, got a white ulua (giant trevally) on his bonefish setup.  way to go mang!  that’s like the holy grail of fly fishing in hawaii.<  so far, to my knowledge, there have only been a few g.t.’s that have been hooked and landed on a fly here and john’s may just be the biggest yet.  after that, he and sean spent this past friday out on kbay and john annihilated that place too.  according to sean, there were more bones out there that day than there has been in a long time.  john ended up getting three out of five, and went one for two with fish in the ten pound region.  in addition to being a great guy and a flat out ridiculous fly fisherman, john's apparently got the mega fish juj as well (one of the deadliest combinations known to mankind).

 

yesterday i went out to hi kai with harold, casey boy, and benny.  i horsed around with my sage 7126 tcx.  the “death star” as it is nick named is sage’s latest contribution to the world of two handed fly fishing and an absolute cannon.  like all the rods in the tcx series (the 8wt. is my favorite single hand bonefish rod) the rod is amazingly light and super "fast with feel" just like i like it.  i rigged it up with a 480gr. airflo compact scandi (the 510 also works great) and just let the big dog eat... and eat it did.  the death star went to work and, as advertised, pulled about a half dozen rats from the other side of the galaxy.  e.t., harold, casey boy, and benny all got “boned” as well.  as usual another great day with great friends on the water was booked.  the summer seems to be kicking into high gear boys and girls.  the tides for the next few days are big and fast so get your licks in while you can.

 

jose checked in with some fly fishing ak style and a slightly larger family.

 

 

the trinity fly shop shad camp 2010.  these guys definitely know what it is all about.

 

 

hickam friday morning.

 

benny "the wombat"... don't let this little kid fool you, he and his brother casey can cast a flyrod better than most guys i see out here.

 

deano doing his two handed thang.

 

 

john's impressive molokai g.t.

 

and some nice bones at kbay to boot.

 

the "death star", hawaii bonefish, and, as always, good times.

 

<clay.

 

 

 

 

07/02/10

fly fishing and not so fly fishing hawaii:

catch of note.

 

not much going on since the last blog.  fishing has been steady but not exceptional averaging about none to three bonefish and a number of small papios (juvenille trevally) coming up around the island.  i personally have not been out much since the last blog busy with life and whatnot.  anyway, “pops” (the kbay master), always keeping a vigilant eye on what’s what in kbay, went out on a routine reconnaissance  mission for a couple of hours and reported back with a ten pound omilu (bluefin trevally) and twenty plus pound ulua (giant trevally) caught on light tackle and topwater plugs.  a pretty good day on any tackle, at least here on oahu.  greg had been waiting patiently for his first ulua of the season and he got two on the same day.  hopefully this is a sign of the summer bite going into high gear... maybe.  but, like i always say, you’ll never know unless you go... and good luck.

 

"pops" checks in with these brutes... not bad my mang, not bad.

 

deedee girl stopped by the shop this week... she knows where the "good stuff" is at.

 

yesterday, i squeezed this omilu (bluefin trevally) out of a tough day.  a pound or two lighter than greg's but what can i say, sometimes like that... good times.

 

clay.


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