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05/31/10

bonefishing hawaii:

the loomis glx stinger and the end of may as we know it.

 

nwff crew member craig and i just picked up the g. loomis stinger 12’ 6” 450gr. and went out with a bunch of other peeps to hi kai the other day to give it a swing.  the rod felt very light in hand much like its shorter brethren the roaring river switch.  just like the roaring river switch the stingers cast like a dream.  these rods brought back the original “glxness” (i call it fast with feel), something that i personally felt got lost in the crosscurrents and subsequent versions of loomis fly rods since the original glx fly rod came on the scene oh so many years ago.  take it from this novice two hand caster, the stinger, and the roaring river switch rods for that matter, are very forgiving rods that are a cinch to cast.  the rodw matched with a airflo scandi compact 450gr. is the cat’s meow.  it is capable of launching all the line you’ll ever need to and then some with the greatest of ease.  the finish on the rods are great and the cork is as good as it gets these days.  the rods have rec recoil guides (which i am a huge fan of) that are made of a noncorroding shape memory metal. so far it has actually proven to be non corroding even in our harsh salt environment, unlike many other “saltwater safe” products that i have put through the ringer in our waters.  it also has a cool looking cut out style reel seat that deserves mentioning.

 

as i always say, there is good and bad to everything and the stinger is no different.  the knocks on this rod are very few and minor.  the rod i got was missing some of the plugs in the male section of the blank (easily fixed with silicone and something that gets forgot every once in a while by all manufacturers) and the rod comes with a snuggie of a sock that looks like its for a fifteen foot 9 or 10wt. rod... like i said minor.  the 450gr stinger, although not incapable, doesn’t have quite the boosting power that i like for the big boys or in places with gnarly gear eating reef.  that’s true (to me) of all seven weights across the board both single and double hand and just means that i'll probably have to get the 500gr stinger too, ouch.  the loomis stinger glx is great fun for smaller bones, small trevally and the less sketch reefs like hi kai and should work well on the rivers of the nw for steelies, but i don’t know much about that... yet.  it'll cast far all day with ease (i was the last guy out of the water on the day we took them out for a spin).  definitely, one of my favorite rods in the ole quiver and one that will be seeing a lot of action.

 

the little omilu (bluefin trevally) has been a constant companion of mine this summer.  this guy got the "stink" off my new stinger... thanks buddy.

 

craigy and the first bonefish of his stinger.

 

it's memorial day so shout outs go to all the peeps who served or are serving in the military (amanda, asa, deano, duff, earl, jose, kenny b., matt, stan, to name a few) and especially all those who gave their lives for the cause.  it's because of all of these people that i can live the life of clay... and get away with it.  good times.

 

clay.

 

 

 

05/25/10

fly fishing hawaii:

the week in photo.

 

not much on my mind... just more summertime pounding by all.  the pics from this past week and the captions should pretty much tell the story.  enjoy.

 

a sneak peak into deano's "skunkworks" papio (small trevally) box.

 

deano got a whitey (trevally) yesterday at k bay with a fly from "the box" and his beulah 12'7" 7/8 spey rod.

 

kirk got a awa a'ua (lady fish) while sean scrounged up a whitey with a crease fly and sage smallmouth rod.

 

 

nwff guide e.t. spent his day off at hickam.  the hawaii bonefish whisperer doing his thang.

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kenny b broke the handle off his old sage reel but still managed to land a bone and a pa'opa'o (golden trevally), at hickam the other day, using the counter balance as a handle.  when you're hot, you're hot... classic.

 

after a year and a half of pretty much not catching anything (except a paki'i or hawaiian flounder), kenny b began getting bit about a month ago and has since gone balistic.  so for those of you new to hawaii fly fishing, it can be tough, just keep on pounding... you'll never know unless you go.

 

rookie of the year kenny b and his beulah 7/8 switch rod are the hottest thing out on the water these days.

 

as for me, this is all i have to offer for this blog... what can i say.  sometimes like that... but always good times.

 

clay.

 

 

 

05/20/10

fly fishing hawaii:

what the crew has been up to.

 

as promised, i checked out the lake a couple of times since the last blog.  the first time was with the kirksta and it turned out to be a very interesting day as will be demonstrated in the pics below.  we found a number of peacocks on beds but for the most part just left them alone and fished for “eaters”.  there were quite a few non spawners but mostly small ones in the six to twelve inch range.  they were willing to hit a small popper so despite their smallish size it was quite fun.  we also got some small bleugs (bluegill) and it was good to see those guys again.  the second time i took out my bud j rod from alaska.  j rod hadn’t fished the lake before or caught peacocks.  i put him on some spawning fish and let him have at it.  we found a good mix of fish, some that had been hooked by others before us as well as some “fresh” ones.  the water level is higher than it’s been in a long time and appeared to have gotten higher between the two times i fished it (good for launching the boat but not so good for fishing from shore).  in addition to the bedded fish we saw a number of fish just starting to pair up (house hunters), so the number of fish on beds may be increasing.  there’s a lot of little guys willing to eat (for those not into hooking the spawners).  all in all definately worth checking out.

 

meanwhile in the other bigger lake, the salt has been holding up pretty well.  bonefish are where they ought to be and the crew has been doing their thang with the bones.  not the ridicubite but not the shutdown either.  just normal solid summertime bonefishing.

 

the papio (small trevally) fishing has temporarily thinned out a little, but there are still some around for the hardcore papio chasers.  we’re still in the beginning but it looks like it’s going to be a great summmer (knock on wood).

 

a blury "pops" switched up this bonefish at ke'ehi.

 

bonefish eye... pops peers over the horizon at the catch.

 

e.t. wearing his favorite g-string visor.

 

another ke'ehi bone ready for release.  nice blue fin tips.

 

j rod and his first peacock bass...

 

but certainly not his last.

 

 

underwater tuc shots.

 

hooked up again.

 

nice...

 

and what's a day on the lake without devils.  here's j rod's first.

 

 

this is not someones backyard pond folks, this is the lake and being the fishermen that we are...

 

 

kirk and i had to take a closer look... don't get excited, we didn't catch it on a fly (though we tried hard to).  we caught it using techniques that shall remain classified.

 

later kirksta got this papio at k bay with his odd looking fly rod.

 

brother daryl checked in with this nohu (scorpion fish).

 

and this wicked picture of a hickam bone ready for release.

 

the nwff crew is out in force and you should be too... good times.

 

clay.

 

 

 

05/12/10

fly fishing hawaii:

summertime and the livin’s easy.

 

well sports fans it’s finally here, the time we’ve all been waiting for... summer.  well, not official summer but the first of some summertime weather, long days, sun, and fun around here.  the nwff crew thoughts are going from how and where to catch fish to what should we go catch.  fish are everywhere and active.  the papio bite is getting pretty consistent (by oahu standards).  catching bonefish is about as easy as it gets (jay and e.t. of the nwff crew have both reported ten plus fish days and four to six fish days have been common among the crew) and there has been fish pretty much island wide.  word on the street is that the lake is also fishing well too (next on the list of things for me to check out)... so many things to chuck a fly at, so little time.  winter has a way of quickly sneaking up on us. although it’s still mid may, don’t put off fishing for later enjoy every minute on the water that you can right now.  fish like there’s no tomorrow because when you get right down to it... there isn’t.

 

went out with greg "pop's" a couple of times for papio (small trevally).  we caught a bunch... well a bunch and a half to be exact.  the tax man cometh.

 

eug. jigged up this nice whitey that day without paying tax... that's tax evasion brother. deeds gives it her lick of approval.

 

kenny b. added a couple more "micros" to his grand total.

 

spey brethren deano checked in with a nice papio.  he also said he lost a good one he estimates at ten to twelve pounds.

 

meanwhile i've been winning (and losing) a few battles with fish myself.

 

sean got his summer game in gear and combined a <sage smallmouth rod and crease fly to get this guy at twilights last gleaming.

 

and he made a friend in the process.  he said this turtle kept him company.

 

just practicing with my two handed rod.  swinging it at anything i can whenever and whereever the nwff crew happens to be.

 

what do you get when a crusty old goat bonefish dude becomes a bright eyed bushy tailed novice spey addict... some good times.

 

clay.

 

 

 

05/05/10

bonefishing hawaii:

farewell jose...until the next time.

 

so jose just returned to the great state of alaska.  although he pounded hard everyday with assorted nwff crew characters (craig, e.t., pops, sean, and me), the fish gods were not on his side.  bad tides and weather plagued this trip.  being a veteran of the hawaii bonefish scene, jose took it in stride and just kept on pounding.  he fished the early morning tails at 5 a.m. straight through to the raging tide “needle in a haystack” bombing sessions at sunset.  in total this past week jose managed to hook nine fish and somehow or another managed to lose all of them... maybe it was rust (six years is way too long to stay away from the home waters bro).  he got the big bolos at hi kai on sunday leaving only monday to escape having to make “the walk of shame”, as he calls it, back to alaska.  on monday he hooked two more tailing fish in the morning at hickam (a skill that jose is well known for in hawaii bonefishing lore) but those came unbuttoned as well.  the “last chance saloon” so to speak, came later that day with sean at k bay...  wouldn’t you know it, brother jose pulled through at the buzzer.

 

e.t. just doing what an e.t. does.

 

kenny b. got his fourth bonefish and lost two more this week. (deano, i think we've created a monster!)

 

the goat (weke or goatfish) made his appearance again continuing my streak of goats that i've been on lately.

 

brother jose and the buzzer beater.

 

hey amanda, can jose come out and play next year?

 

as for me, my attention is turning toward the papio (trevally under ten pounds) that i've heard have been showing up and maybe the lake (which i have also heard is coming around).  stay tuned true believers for the next good times.

 

clay.


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"Nervous Water Fly Fishers- your guide to fly fishing in Hawaii"