Wahiawa, Hawaii, September
14, 2011
After spending a few days
chasing bonefish on the flats I was invited by Stan Wright
to fish with him and SteveL at Lake Wilson. How could I
refuse?
Lake Wilson is a 400-acre irrigation reservoir known
locally as Lake Wilson. Sugar and pineapple companies used
the water to keep their crops happy but with the demise of
both industries the reservoir is now used primarily for
flood control. Today, Dole Foods owns the lake but its
fisheries is managed by the Hawaii Department of Land and
Natural Resources.
SteveL and I met Stan at the boat launch area and soon we
were motoring off towards the North Fork of the lake. Stan
fishes here often and knows the water and fish holding
areas well. But what makes fishing difficult is the
instability of the lake's water level. With fluctuations
measured in feet per day, what was once dry land could be
underwater in a matter of days. Or fish that have found a
good holding area could find their home has disappeared
along with the water. We found ourselves fishing in the
rising water category.
Stan put us on the fish but they were finicky eaters
because the higher water probably put them off the bite.
Since the water was high, many of the fish were hiding in
and under the thick grass that was formerly on dry land.
SteveL and I hooked a few but you had to place the fly
right into the thickest part of the grass and when you got
a bite the fish would dive under the garbage and break off.
We also spotted breaking fish that
were beating up on the baitfish schools in deeper
water. SteveL and I used sink-tip lines to get the
flies deep. I caught a few Peacock Bass and a
Largemouth Bass using a Gummy Minnow stripped fast after giving the fly a
long count before beginning a fast strip back to the
boat. It was a fly that the fish seemed to like and I
used it until it came apart after a particularly vicious
hit by a Red Devil cichlid.
After breaking for lunch and downing a Zippy's Zip Pac we were back in the hunt for fish.
With fishing slow, Stan had me try his
Tenkara rod. These are the newest thing to hit
the fly fishing world and it take a bit of practice to
get the cast right. It's sort of like using a spey
rod--a Tenkara rod is just as long as some spey or
switch rods but much lighter in build. But like casting
a spey rod, you shouldn't overpower the cast when using
a Tenkara rod. The rod is a long wand and it has a soft
tip to protect light tippets. A gentle, slow movement of
the rod from 11o'clock to 1o'clock is more than enough
to propel the fly forward.
We fished throughout the afternoon and we caught a few, but
fishing was tough. After playing tag with a bunch bass
busting baitfish we called it a day.
EQUIPMENT:
I used a fast action 5 weight
rod with floating line. SteveL used a variety of setups but
the primary Peacock Bass rod was also a 5 weight rod rigged
with a sink tip. Stan used the Tenkara rod and switched to
a Sage Bluegill rod later in the day.
DIRECTIONS:
Take the H-1 freeway going
west then the H-2 freeway, Exit 8A going north to Mililani.
Take Exit 8, Wahiawa and get into the right lane. After
crossing over a bridge turn right at the stop light onto
Avocado Street. About 50 yard from this point turn right
then enter Wahiawa Freshwater Park. You will see restrooms
on your right and just past the restrooms turn right and go
downhill to a parking area and boat ramp.