Lake Wilson

[Tony8378]

I am heading to Oahu next week, will be there for two months. I was hoping to get some bass fishing in(I live in Alaska right now,no bass up here.). I have read on the Internet that Lake Wilson holds some good fish and a lake/pond on the army base. Can I bank fish at the lake and catch any fish? I think I can rent a kayak from the MWR on the AF base but I don't know if it's needed. Also I have never fished for peacock bass before, I was going to bring my medium weight rod, with some largemouth bass lures( I have heard they only eat fish so plastic worms are out of the question). Am I on the right path, would you guys fish from shore or rent a kayak.

Thanks for everyone's help

Tony

[Ca_Bass]

Depending on the lake levels will make fishing from shore easy or very difficult. I moved from Hawaii 2 months ago but last I heard the water level was up which means difficult. Whether the water is up or down, I'd go with the kayak the lake isn't all that big but it's big enough, and if you're anything like me I like to cover water to find the best spots and they change on a daily basis. A medium spinning rod say 6 to 6 and 1/2 ft would be good loaded with 8lb would probably be the most versatile for wilson. You're correct about the plastic worms for the peacocks, they don't like em much. Have caught a few on em but only when I was burning it back to the boat to cast again. The largemouth love em. I wouldn't focus on the largemouth since you will only be there for two months and not many people get a chance to catch Peacocks AKA Tucanare or Tucs. Good lures for tucs are soft and hard jerkbaits, topwaters, smaller scale spinnerbaits(silver skirts with silver willow blades I think are best at wilson if the water isn't too muddy), 1/8th oz kastmaster are always a good choice, crankbaits...pretty much most bass lures. One key thing is to down size, the shad that lake wilson has are pretty small, usually not bigger than 3 inches, and the tucs for the most part prefer smaller baits. Not to say you can't catch em on the bigger baits but you will definitely catch more if you down size..that is why I also recommended 8lb line as it will help cast the smaller lures. Best line combo for a spinning reel at wilson IMO is to put about 10 yards 6lb mono on a spinning reel then use 10lb braid and then tie a 4ft or so leader of flourocarbon, splicing braid to mono/flouro is easier if the line diameter is similar. The braid really helps cast the smaller lures but if you don't put some mono on as backing it will often slip on a spinning reel. You can also rent a kayak from Schofield or Kunia which are both MUCH closer to the lake than the AF base is. Hope this helps.

[Tony8378]

Thanks so much for the information, I am quite excited to go fishing there. Something I was thinking about while reading your post is I am bot sure how I can get a kayak to the lake. I will have a rental car while I am there but I have never tried to tie a kayak to the top of a car. Is this even doable, or will I be fishing from the shore while I am there? Does the local sportings good store carry any good lures or should I buy some up here and bring them with me?

Thanks again, and when I am in town I will buy you a beer for your troubles.

Tony

[roadwarriorsvt]

Go to the "Lures & Flys" page on this site. That will give you a great head start on what works on the lake. Lures that mimic shad seem to be successful here.

[Ca_Bass]

No problem,

A few towels and ratchet straps and you should be able to get the kayak to the lake...definately rent from schofield or kunia since you won't be going faster than 30mph to the lake and I think it's no more than 2 miles...about 17miles from hickam to lake wilson. Not sure if you can get a rental with the kayak rack thingies. Definitely stock up on lures before you get to hawaii as the fresh water lure selection is not so great. Any walmart on the mainland will have a better supply of freshwater gear than a tackle shop in hawaii. No need for the beer I'm in texas now. Oh and don't forget to stop by a sports authority or walmart to pick up a freshwater fishing permit and a park permit...the park permit is free and the fishing license is like $5.50 for military. Also get a lifejacket from the MWR as it's required to have and although unlikely you might run into "game warden".

[Tony8378]

Guys thanks again for all your help, my final problem is none of my rods fit into my luggage. Should I buy a cheap one down there or get a cheap one here. I am sure things would be more expensive then there but I live in Alaska, so I am assuming things are not that far off as price goes.

Thoughts???

[Ca_Bass]

Ever think about picking up a rod tube or making one from PVC pipe? If you want to pick up a rod up in hawaii Roys tackle in waipahu is about 10 or 15 mins from hickam. They have a pretty good selection of freshwater spinning rods and a few casting rods as well. They also carry shimano spinning and casting reels at REALLY good prices, haven't seen them priced better anywhere else including ebay. And they beat Bass pro and cabellas prices by about 30 bucks on most items. I don't think they have to pay for shipping on shimano products, if they do it's very little, so they are able to give you really good prices. I bought a $350 shimano core for $279 at roys! They will hook you up!

[Ca_Bass]

Oh, if you are only bringing one or 2 rods you can probabbly carry it on the plane with you. I've done it a few times..even with 1 piece rods. Definitely doable with a 2 piece.

[( 808) bass hunter]

Roy's is @ Aiea to be exact!!! (by cutter ford Aiea in the harbor view court) not waipahu!!! n when you go look for sandy she'll be happy to help you with what your lookin for!!! as far as lures go your better of buyin them from basspro cabelas or tacklewarehouse!!! but honlestly, here in hawaii LIVE BAIT will mostly out fish artificial bait( step into the dark side!!! USE LIVE BAIT!!! all you need is a 6-61/2 ft ugly stic (combo$34.95) if your lucky it comes already spooled w/line, med 8#ande mono w/ 8-15# flouro line(J-line) n a Sz 10 ah hook w/a 2-3 inch baby tilapa or a 5 bar chiclid!!! locate the fish throw the bait in bam!!! hook up!!!honestly you dont even need a expensive set up to catch big fish!!! hope this helps!!! tight lines!!! my braddah!!!

[WesQuik]

Where can one get live bait? I be on the island in sept. And look forward to fishing lake Wilson.

[MichiganMan]

Tony, give me a call when you get into town and I'll take you out on my little jon boat. It's not much to look at, but it puts me on the fish. I live on Hickam, so that will make it pretty simple if you are staying on base.

Ryan
808-223-8905