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06/29/13

fly fishing and not so fly fishing hawaii:

gotta luv the gear.

 

one of the best things i like about fishing bonefish here in hawaii is that they can be caught with just about any kind of fly gear you want.  good news for a gear junkie that loves to cast anything and everything fly, but is stuck here on this island for most his natural life.  in the last twenty some odd years, i have caught bonefish on everything from three weights to twelve weights.  graphite, fiberglass, boron, bamboo, and anything else i could get my hands on.  if you  follow this blog you probably already know that.  to me that is what makes all of this so much fun.  i know a lot of peeps who are all about the catch and not too much into the gear and fishing different gear.  for them the standard eight weight single hand rod is still by far the most useful and for good reason.  the eight can handle any bonefish situation that can be encountered here or anywhere around the world.  most eights have enough power to yoy in even the largest of bones in all but the gnarliest of reefs.  it can easily handle any wind the gods can throw around out there, yet they are also light enough to not overpower the micros and rats.  not surprisingly, i have more single hand eight weights in my “collection” of rods than any other size or style of rod.  i do so enjoy using different rods, though, and always try to find the perfect rod for any given situation whether it be bombing or sight fishing.  that’s not entirely true.  i actually try to find the perfect situation for the rod i want to use.  i’m just a bit different that way, but it’s just because i love to cast fly rods.  there’s just something about the fly cast, you know, that makes it almost better than catching fish.

 

anyway i had so much fun fishing the sage 6126-4 one spey rod last week wednesday that i had some residual jonesing to fish its slightly bigger brother the sage 7136-4 one spey rod.  i got this rod for steelheading but the runs of steelhead in hawaii have not be so good lately (or ever) so i have to just play the hand i’m dealt and chase bones with it if i want to fish it more than once a year.  so i stuck the ole able spey reel on it, lined it with a 480 grain rio steelhead scandi head, and went out on sunday to give it a chuck.  the super moon made for some super low and super high tides with not much in between so i knew i would only have time for a quickie.  i got out and bombed for about an hour before the tide raged in.  scratched the itch to cast the rod and got a lucky bite as well.  no steelhead, but still a great day in my book.

 

on wednesday, i fished a six weight g loomis classic glx with an abel tr3 (yes an abel tr3) and a scientific anglers mastery textured saltwater line.  a fantastic line by the way and maybe better than my all time favorite bonefish line the scientific anglers mastery bonefish line.  i got the 6wt glx a while back: one, because it is the original g loomis glx rod, the best casting rod ever made and two, to cast bigger flies and sinking lines on the lake.  i had a four piece 6wt. glx some years ago but i broke it on a tuc in the lake and they sent me a streamdance glx to replace it.  it was no classic glx.  i got this one to replace the one i broke years ago. i never got around to using it so i decided to take it out bonefishing to break it in and get the stink off and the juj flowing.  i just can’t let any rod within "the family" go unfished or unbit.  by wednesday the tides mellowed out a bit and the six weight got a good workout.  castng and hooking fish with this set up was super fun.  i got a few bones, a weke (goatfish) and a whitey (trevally) that was camera shy and flopped out of my hand before i could get a picture of it.  if a fish is caught and no one is there to see it... is it really caught?  i guess it’s one of those things that is just between you and the fish.  i like that.  in the end it was just another great summer day in the ocean.  i like that too!

 

the next day thursday i guess it would be, i joined doug and masa (the sushi chef at kabuki restaurant) for some afternoon spin fishing.  the fishing was okay, not super good, but we got into some action.  for whatever reason, the magic spinning rod... well... didn’t have the magic.  by the time it was getting dark both doug and masa had caught a number of fish.  our super hero, on the other hand, had only hooked one awa a’ua (ladyfish) that shook the hook, one big shark that the magic rod had absolutely no chance against, and what we think was a turtle.  either that or a sting ray.  again, absolutely no chance for the magic spinning rod.  nothing landed and two lures lost.  but if there is one thing i know, it is that sometimes like that.  you can't always catch fish, all you can do is try.  the magic rod did finally get going late in the evening and i managed to eek out two whiteys but that was way overshadowed by doug who caught two whiteys at once on both hooks of the same lure.  that was a first for him.  masa was super fun to fish with and he also caught more fish than he ever had before so it was all good.  following the fishing we were treated to some great grinds courtesy of masa.  after that meal, stick a fork in me i was done.

 

aside from a few showers, the weather has been absolutely fantastic out there and fishing has been its usual hawaiian summer goodness.  if you’re not getting out on the water now, you are missing the whole point of living in hawaii.  i’ll see you out there!

 

sage 7136-4 one spey rod... bent!

 

super moon bombing bonefish quickie.  itch scratched... for now.

 

 

g loomis classic glx 6wt, abel tr3 reel, summer day in hawaii.  all absolutely gorgeous.

 

somewhere over the rainbow.

 

bones like this are wickedly fun on a six weight.

 

goats too!

 

 

the magic spinner had a bit of trouble getting going, but doug's spinner was business as usual.

 

chef masa and awa a'ua.

 

masa's omilu (bluefin trevally).

 

a couple of whiteys (trevally) for the magic rod in the twilights last gleaming.

 

i always say no better way to end a fishing day than with a double.  i didn't mean  that kind of double, but it'll certainly do.

 

luv the fishing, luv the gear, but most of all luv the gooood times.

 

clay.

 

 

 

 


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