Ever since my son, Chris Wright, appeared on the Animal Planets reality fishing show, "Top Hooker", he has been getting calls from mainland TV fishing show asking him to take them fishing.
Recently we had the pleasure of fishing with Carlton Wing, from Little Rock, AR, host of American Fly Guides which airs on the World Fishing Network.
I wish the mainland folks could visit us in the spring when the big peacock bass are spawning, or in the summer and fall when the schooling fish provide non stop action. But it's alway during the snow covered winter months when mainland TV shows are seeking warm climates that they visit us here in Hawaii.
Peacock bass like warm water and sunshine. When water temperatures drop below 78 degrees the tropical fish shut down and go into hibernation. Yes, they still have to eat, but not in the wild surface action where 4 or 5 fish are fighting over your lures like in the summer. A week before we were scheduled to fish, a cold front came through dumping rain, changing wind directions, and dropping the water temperature down to 62 degrees. I had a bad feeling that we would be lucky to catch a few small ones… if anything at all.
Doing the filming for the show were Ben Wong, Let's Go Fishing, and ……. from Kauai. After the "launching the boat" and talking about "what are we going to do today" shots, we headed out to the area Chris figured the fish were going to be found. Chris had done some scouting the day before and had an idea where the fish might be... but he too was concerned about the cold water temperature.
The action could best be described as "very slow". Carlton and Chris selected 5wt fly rods to launch small gold streamer flys against the shoreline. The gold flash-a-boo pulsated in the water as they used long fast strips to retrieve the line, then cast again to within inches of the shore. Peacock bass cruise the shoreline looking for small fish to ambush… these little baitfish hang close to the shallow shoreline, hiding in grass and downed trees to keep from being dinner for the larger predator fish. You just have to keep moving till you locate the fish , or the bite suddenly turns on as though someone flipped a switch.
Occasionally the boredom was broken when one of the "baitfish", in this case the 5-bar general, made savage attacks on the little flys. It was a good sign… where there is bait, the peacock bass should not be far away. It also gave Carlton a chance to see what the peacock bass feed on and explain how alien species of fish get established when people dump their unwanted aquariums into streams and lakes.
As the water temperature crept higher with the heat of the day, we started catching some small peacock bass… the 5 to 6 inch size. (What I call fish under 10 pounds) Then Carlton tied into a nice 2 pound peacock. Things were looking up.
When fishing for the TV camera, you take your time. Let the fish run. Give the camera guys time to move around so the light is better. Allow the camera boat to move in. Reposition the anglers boat so the sun is not behind them. Don't lift the fish out of the water till we are able to get the underwater camera ready… now lead the fish past the underwater camera again. OK, grab the fish by the lip and wait for me to move to your other side. Did you guys get that shot. No? OK put the fish back in the water and lift it out again. Now talk about how pretty the fish is…. turn it sideways to the camera. LOL Fishing for the camera is not anything like fishing when no camera is around. LOL But if you want a good TV show, you have to slow down and take your time to make sure the camera crew has plenty of time to get all those good shots. Ben and ….. really know what they are doing and it's a pleasure working with them.
Chris figured with the climbing water temperature the peacock bass would be moving into their regular hunting grounds. He positioned the boat and told Carlton to cast accoss the point just ahead. The fly landed with a splat and… BAM, instant hookup. A nice 1 ½ pound peacock went airborne.
Chris hit the electric trawling motor turning the boat to allow the camera boat a better shot and also get the anglers away from the point where the fish were staged. After getting video of landing the fish and underwater shots of Carlton releasing the fish, Chris re-positioned the bass boat and both anglers cast their flys to the point…. Double hookup. Now we're cooking.
I don't know how a person can fish and using their foot, control the boat with an electric trawling motor at the same time. I can't. Chris can. In the next half hour Chris and Carlton hooked fish after fish from that point. Nothing big, all about 1 to 1 ½ pounds… but more than enough to make a fun filled fly fishing show catching exotic peacock bass in beautiful sunny Hawaii. Those snowbound mainland guys are going to be so jealous.
