Hawaiibassfishing Forum

Aloha All,

I was out fishing Wailua Bay off Haliewa last week and ran into some exciting papio action. I was off shore about 1/4 mile or so I guess and around dusk I saw a fish surface so I tied on a top water Pop R. On my second cast I had a HUGE explosion on my bait about 20 feet from my kayak that about made me jump out of my shorts. It missed and I tried and tried to get another hit but no luck. I switched over to my largest Zara Spook and on my first cast I landed a nice 5 pound papio. Good fight on light tackle. This was a smaller fish than the first one so I'd love to see the size of the first one because it just smashed out of the water like something I've never seen before. Man, there's nothing like top water action to get the blood pumpin'. Does anyone know if the big ulua smash top water baits like that

Good fishin'

You better believe they hit a topwater. That's how the PILI Lure got started... trying to come up with a topwater lure tough enough to not be destroyed every time an ulua hit it. Those MW lures stand up really well to... and they all catch fish.

Stan

Does the ulua smash topwater lures? Watch the "Hunt for Big Fish" on versus. Larry Dahlberg will fishing top water lures for GTs in the Seychelles islands. 4/25 @ 5:30 am, 4/26@4:30am, and 4/28@5:30am. I am not to sure of the time the show airs. Most of Hawaii's saltwater gamefish will hit a top water lure under the right conditions (the bonefish is one of the few that don't).

A good follow-up trick to try if your topwater is missed is to immediately throw some sort of sinking lure (Like a MW plug) where you got the initial strike. This requires a second rod rigged and ready to go, but if you do not have another rod there is one more thing to try. As soon as the fish misses stop moving the lure. Just let it sit there for 30sec-1min, and then give it just a little bit of action like it has been crippled by the initial attack. Often this will make the predator fish turn around and attack the lure hard enough that it gets hit. Hope this helps.

Aloha Fellas,

Hey mahalo for all the info on the ulua and such. BSP: Throwing a sinking lure after a missed strike is what we used to do in Texas/Oklahoma for stripers and hybrids. You're right, it does work. You know when the first one smashed the lure it scared the crap out of me so bad I almost jerked the lure into the kayak so stopping it where I got the strike would not have worked in that case! LOL...But that is great info to remember. I also messed up by not counting for 1-2 seconds before the hook set after the splash. That technique greatly improved my bass hook-ups so I assume the same goes for salt water action. Stan, can you elaborate on the PILI and MW lures? I'm not familiar with them.

Mahalo and good fishing.

The PILI Lure is a foam core resin lure designed for ulua fishing. The key is a wire that connects the hooks so if the ulua smashes the lure all the hooks are connected. (You know on some lures the hooks are attached using a screw that can pull loose if you use strong line.) It's a floating surface lure that casts well and can be fished fast.
http://www.pililures.com/


The Mark White lures are ceramic. They are also worked fast along the surface, or just under the surface. They have a treble hook with feathers and flash-a-boo attached. Through wire construction. They do sink to the bottom if you get a backlash. LOL This lure catches fish and you can cast it a mile.
http://www.fishinglureshawaii.com/

I have used, and still do use both these lures and I highly recommend both.

Aloha,
Stan

Black Pili Lure... note scratches and bent hook.


MW Lure

Mahalo Stan for the good info on the ulua lures. They look like some of the Kaku lures WalMart and KMart sell. By the way, I've never heard of backlash!?!

Kaku lures are also in my tackle box and I have caught all kinds of fish on them too.

Stan

Glad to be of help, and I use that follow up trick for bass.

OO7:BASSINASSASSIN wrote:Does the ulua smash topwater lures? Watch the "Hunt for Big Fish" on versus. Larry Dahlberg will fishing top water lures for GTs in the Seychelles islands. 4/25 @ 5:30 am, 4/26@4:30am, and 4/28@5:30am. I am not to sure of the time the show airs. Most of Hawaii's saltwater gamefish will hit a top water lure under the right conditions (the bonefish is one of the few that don't).

Hey 007, I caught the episode of Hunt for Big Fish. WOW! What a great place to fish. I'd give my left....uhhh....big toe to fish there! I can't imagine catching one of the GTs he caught on a fly rod. Wow, what a fight. I'm ready to go fishin'!

Same here! After watching that I am pumped to go.

007,
I'm with ya brah, only my honey-do list is rather long at the moment. I only wished the fishing was that good and consistent around Oahu's shoreline. That would be the bomb but then again, if that were the case I'm sure there would be a ton more anglers along the shoreline than what there is now. Hey that reminds me, is there some sort of program/hatchery to help replenish the saltwater fish on any of the islands? If not, you would think there would be due to the numer of fishermen and how there has been such a significant decrease in the in-shore & reef fish populations over the years. I've heard the shore fishing is so much better around the less populated islands. You ever fish off any of the other islands in the Hawaiian chain?

hey FF, the state does have stock enhancement programs but I think they are in the experimental stage right now. Hawaii is about 20 years behind the mainland when it comes fisheries management.

The shoreline fishing is better on the outer islands and I have fished on Molokai, Kauai, and the Big Island a couple of times. I cann't afford to go off island. I actually have better results here on Oahu, probably because I know the grounds better. Even the LM bass fishing is better on the outer islands (Kauai).