Hawaiibassfishing Forum

In the 70's. we used to try these lures for bass:
-Mann's Little George.
-Bomber (deep diving lipped football).
-purple rubber jelly worm with realistic midsection, with double hook.
-small floating silver/black rapala (replace trebles with single hooks).
-Storm's shad.
-white marabou jig.
We used to use cheap light 5-foot spinning gear. (Da kine where da bail made out of single piece of wire!). We would catch a bass once in awhile with the rubber worm or the marabou jig. But the very best thing of all was a live earthworm. Everything bit that; bass, giant tilapias, tucunares, catfish, pungee, bluegills, oscars, wild goldfish, puntat, even whopping crayfish would end up on the worm. Sometimes we would use the little red and white ball floaters - the smallest marble-sized ones. The floater would get pulled under by a 20" tilapia, bluegill or bass in an instant. Sploosh! We would paddle our cheap inflatable boat up the north fork. The crayfish were dark, brick red and looked like small lobsters. We caught bluegills that were as long as the width of a folder paper. We threw 'em back in to see how big they could get. Couple months later we'd go back to the same spot and catch em but they would be heavier. Little did we know we were practicing expert catch-and-release. hope you enjoyed this one from the past.

Thank you for the trip down memory lane. I bet most people here don't even know that there used to be a lot of crayfish and pongee (snakeheads) in the lake. To me, the downfall of the lake was when people introduced cichlids and red devils into the lake. I wish we could turn back time.

I was wondering,,,, when and how were the red devils introduced to the lake?

Red Devils are notoriously ornery. I bought a baby one several years ago in the early 80s. This fish grew quick and killed everything else in the tank. I gave it back to the pet shop about a year later. I could imagine someone else going thru the same scenario but not being able to find it a home so dumping it into the nearest body of water. Back in April of 2000 there were NO Red Devils in Ho'omaluhia but going back 2 years later they already had taken over. First time I recall seeing Red Devils in Lake Wilson was around 1998 on a visit back from Maui. Just saw a few but WOW are they plentiful now. Back in the 70s and 80s Pongee were common and a scourge to bass fishermen chewing up expensive lures. I remember seeing them up to 4 feet in length. I hope they recover.
With the influx of immigrants from SE Asia (where Pongee are prized) I'm wondering if illegal netting has assisted in their demise.

Funny how a nusance fish like the RD can flurish. I just wish a temesis could do the same!