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09/30/12

fly fishing hawaii:

doing the best with what we've got.

 

from what i’ve seen since the last blog, fall fishing 2012 is going to be really good to those who fish it.  i’ve been suffering a bit of trip hangover myself.  the transition from the vibrant fishery of oregon so full of possibilities for the obsessed, gear junkie, fly fisher back to our little fly fishery in the pacific has not been easy.  daily calls from my buds “keeping me posted” on the fishing up there has not helped either.  especially since the steelies decided to move and get active right about the time my ass hit the seat on the plane headed for home.  the story of my life.

 

i now understand the lack of will to fish our waters for weeks that some of the boyz experience upon returning from a christmas island trip.  it is very hard to go from fishing the vast waters of a healthy (or at least much healthier) ecosystem to the small, disrespected, uncared for, and literally raped waters of our island.  fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, i just cannot go that long without casting a fly at something.  that leaves me doing what i’ve learned to do best... playing the hand that i’m dealt.

 

don’t get me wrong, sight fishing for bonefish is one of the ultimate experiences in our sport and oahu is not a half bad place to take a crack at it (yet).  the stalking of fish in shallow water, presenting the fly, seeing the eat (or the rejection) and that ridiculous initial run is like nothing else in the sport of fly fishing.

 

therein lies the problem.

 

to a guy who loves all fly fishing like myself, every fly fishing experience is like nothing else in the sport of fly fishing.  i have seen that whole sight fished bonefish scenario play out thousands of times in every crease and crack in the reefs around the island.  i have spent well over half of my (illustrious?) nineteen year fly fishing career sight fishing these critters and in the first year of the tagging project i tagged over three hundred fish.  being crazy about fly fishing in general and not so much just about bonefishing in particular, the other “like no other” experiences of fly fishing begin to look a lot more appealing. the old grass is always greener... scenario.

 

to date the only consistent fly fishing opportunities on the island remain chasing bones on the shallow reefs around the island, the lake, and some streams that hold smallmouth bass.  in the state that the overall fishery is in on our island, many would not even consider it consistent.  over the years, i have tried figuring out many other opportunities but have either failed miserably or have had limited success.  not enough to pass my personal litmus test which is to be able to tell someone with confidence “let’s go fly fish for...”

 

what’s a boy in love supposed to do?

 

these days, i spend most of my time on the home waters fishing the same fish just in different ways.  i no longer try to answer the question how do i catch these fish or how do i catch more fish.  rather i try to answer the question how else can i catch these things.  much of my fishing is done at times and tides that are not the “popular” or “good” ones.  you’ll still find me at the same spots.  let’s face it, there are only so many places to fly fish on this island, none of which are secret.  more often than not, though, i’ll be the guy fishing the less popular parts of the flat or reef.  the places that for whatever reason (wind direction, depth, casting obstructions, no fish) are tougher to fish.  i am also constantly fishing different gear (mostly two handed rods these days if you haven’t noticed) and have all but given up fishing reels with drags and have gone old school and fish the simple click pawl reel with rim control.  do i catch more fish doing these somewhat crazy things?  sometimes, sometimes not.

 

the other day i hooked and landed one bonefish in a somewhat unloved area while doug hooked twelve in the “popular” spot.  then on the lake with craig we encountered sporadic peacocks and bass busting shad, but couldn’t quite get on them with the little four weight fiberglass rods we were fishing.  not exactly the best for the super long fast casts needed to get on the sporatic bust.  but what keeps things interesting for me around here these days is not about catching more of the same fish that i have caught all my life.  it is all about fishing outside of the herd using fly gear that, if we stuck to the normal protocol of the fishery we are in, we would never get a chance to even try.  doing the best with what we’ve got and keeping an insane fly fisher sane in a limited fishery.  that is the goal.  does it work... the verdict is still out on that one.  there is one thing that i am definitely good at though and that is having fun... so i may just have a fighting chance.  i’ll see you on the water.

 

 

check out the video "deadly desert tale" that my friend thuy put together using video and pics taken from our recent steelhead experience.

 

 

used the mieser s2h11657sw-4 switch rod, abel switch reel, and beulah elixir switch 375gr. to tie into this weke (goatfish) and bone in an area that no one seems to like to fish.

 

a couple of days later, got a little omilu (bluefin trevally) and more bones on the sage 6126-4 z axis, abel spey reel, and airflo rage 390 grain.  if you want to catch other things besides bones on our reefs, bombing is the way to go.  a little trevally like this can go a long way.  i'm always super stoked to get one on the fly.

 

then it was the scott f2 fiberglass rod (another one of craig's brand new rods that i had the honor of getting the stink off for him), abel tr1, and a couple of hours of fun red devilin' on the lake.

 

craig used an older scott fiberglass 4wt. and sage click reel.  despite some rust from too much working and not enough fishing, craig was able to get his devilin' on.  although it took a few, shall we say, mishaps to get "rusty" back on track.

 

same fish, different ways, different gear, differerent days.  loose the herd... keep the love.  good times.

 

 

clay.


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