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04/01/11

fly fishing and not so fly fishing hawaii:

back to the lake.

 

so here we are in april and it’s getting to that time of year where it’s tough to decide what to fish for.  the bonefishing should be getting good and the lake is definitely turning on.  if the papio (trevally) start showing up, there won’t be enough days in a week.  i spent a couple of afternoons out on the lake since the last blog.  the first time was with my two nephews.  i haven’t fished with them in a while so i was stoked that they wanted to go.  we got some bass, red devils, and a couple of cats but no peacocks.  i spent a little bit of time looking for spawning fish but the spawn appears to be just about over.  there’s probably still a few around but i think the bulk of it is done.  the catch of this day turned out to be a twenty plus foot tree branch that my nephew hooked in deep water.  i was able to pull it up to the boat and land it on an ultralight spinner and four pound line.  the boys were more excited about that branch than they were about any of the fish we caught... kids, you gotta lov’em.  they just know how to have fun.  i gotta say though, it was quite a branch.

 

as we were motoring back to the ramp in the evening, we ran into a couple of schools of fish busting shad.  i was able to “run and gun” a couple more bass but we had to leave so i left the busting fish for another day, which, as it turned out, just happened to be a few days later with the kirksta.  that day the fish weren’t crazy busting but there was enough to keep us bust crazy chasers happy.  we caught a mix of bass and peacocks.  we got some doubles and a number of them on poppers which is always fun.  if the fish keep busting the shad up there in wahiawa, i may be spending a lot of april up there.  when fishing the lake, (especially when there are schooling fish around) i usually bring three fly rods one rigged with a floating line, one with an intermediate line, and one with a full sinking line or a sinking shooting head (this last time out i didn’t bring a full sinker).  as those who have fished the schooling bass and peacocks on the lake know, it can sometimes be a tricky thing and you gotta be prepared to get them anyway you can.  sure sometimes they are busting shad everywhere and just crazy (what i call starry eyed) and they’ll jump on anything you throw at them, but they can also be very picky or sporatic (what i call the tough bust... the kind that really gets me going) and it takes patience and some figuring out to get on them.  the busting we experienced on this day was not the easiest, but there was some “starry eyedness” mixed in... i guess you could say it was just right.

 

clay’s lake rigs:

floating rig:

rod: sage smallmouth bass rod. (the best popper chucking rod made)

reel: galvan t-5

backing: power pro 50lb. white with a single bimini loop looped to the fly line.

fly line: sage smallmouth bass line.

leader: hand tied with (approximately) 1ft. .023 mono with a perfection loop looped to the fly line, 1ft. .021 mono,  6in. .019 mono, 6in. .017 mono, 2ft. .013 mono all joined with blood knots.

fly: small banger

 

 

intermediate rig:

rod: g loomis nrx 5wt.

reel: abel creek 2

backing: power pro 50lb. white with a single bimini loop looped to the fly line.

fly line: rio aqualux 5wt.

leader: hand tied with (approximately) 2ft. .023 mono with a perfection loop looped to the fly line, 1ft. .021 mono,  1ft. .019 mono, 1ft. .017 mono, 1ft. .013 mono, 2ft. .011 mono all joined with blood knots.

fly: grey and white peacock clouser and dark shad.

 

  

 

sean checked in with a lai (queenfish) he caught while chucking a crease fly in k bay.

 

remember when we used to go over the  middle concrete cross bar at the tressel to fish a way down south?

 

anyone lose a white crew cab truck... i just may know where it is.

 

the fb and his cat.

 

largemouth boy and largemouth bass.

 

dnb and his largemouth... note the cap.

 

the devil inside.

 

hmm... i do believe that is one fine creamsicle.

 

the pure red devil.

 

dnb's cat.

 

the branch of the day!  that's gotta be some kind of record.

 

later, it was back on the lake with the kirksta.

 

kirk with the first peacock of the day.

 

lake wilson, now featuring lots of largemouths!  bass rod and bass.

 

doubling up on busting peacocks.  it doesn't get better than that on lake wilson.

 

the kirkstafarian and i have spent many a bust together up in wahiawa.  if you want to get in on the lake actiion, you gotta check out www.hawaiibassfishing.com and get on the water with chris wright.  all our fish were caught pounding his favorite spots... just kidding chris.

 

okay so i did go bonefishing too... caught four of these little rats at hickam today with the deathstar.  skagit style.  in the end, there is only one april fool... good times.

 

clay.


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