Honolulu, Hawaii, December,
2008
A report from
SteveL
SteveT
is on his yearly winter visit to the islands and on my tip,
he spent the last three days fishing Area X and has been
doing quite well.
However on Saturday we fished together on a falling tide
which plunged from one foot at noon to zero in the evening.
It was not a prime weather day; overcast with an occasional
drizzle and blustery winds. I’m glad I put on a raincoat.
It got a little chilly standing in that wind for five hours
but the fishing here was great! The storm that rolled
through the state for most of last week must have left
these fish hungry.
So here’s the count so far:
Thursday--seven
hookups with six landed,
Friday--six
hookups and five landed
Saturday
(between the two of us)--ten
hookups and seven landed. The largest two fish were about
six-pounds, with most in the others in the two to three
pound range.
SteveT was using his Monic clear line and a short 6 foot leader.
I was using my regular WF-10-F tan line with 12-feet of
leader. We’ve been upping our leaders to 20 and 25 pound
test. I’ve lost the majority of my fish to broken
leaders of lesser poundage.
SteveT’s fish (photo above) gave him a fight. As he was
fighting it he complained that his arm ached after fighting
all these fish for the last three days. I just couldn’t
bring myself to feel sorry for him.
More
fish stories: A couple
of weeks ago I went out with EricW in the same area and he
latched into a big fish only to have it snap his fly line!
Apparently the line coiled around his reel seat as the fish
made its run and cut the line.
It’s been incredible action. Wish you were here!
EQUIPMENT:
We use 7 to 10-weight rods
rigged with floating line and flies from size 2 to 8. You
must be able to cast in high wind because it can really
blow on the flats. Trade winds can gust from 15-20 mph with
some gusts approaching 30 mph. You've got to have the
proper equipment and the technical know-how to lay that
line out there in high wind.