This day of overcast skies, slight fog, 15kt wind and 5-6 foot seas had all the stars aligned for good fishing conditions on Penguin Bank. Todd picked me up at 5am again and we launched at Hawaii Kai. As I’ve seen the day before, Hawaii Kai marina was surrounded by shallow reefs. Motoring inside the deep cut channel in the dark required every bit of caution. We made it to deeper water and started climbing the southeast swells at 8-9kts. At times, we had to slow the boat or speed up and avoid being caught in the trough of the swells.
About 7 miles south of Hawaii Kai, Todd decided to send out the spread so we can troll our way to the Bank. I took over the wheel and had a hard time keeping the boat straight. The swells easily pushed the boat over to the starboard side. We finally got the lines out and Todd took the helm again. Within 5 minutes of trolling, Todd said “Let’s head back…this isn’t fun.” I agreed. It was getting rougher out there. So we turned the boat around and decided to troll back to port.
About 10 minutes later, the boat suddenly made a sharp turn. I thought Todd saw some signs of fish activity and he was headed to fish. However, the boat swung 270 degrees around and Todd said “We lost steering” 8O
Oh boy. I saw that the lines were about to run under the boat and into the prop, so I yelled “Put the boat in neutral! NEUTRAL!” Todd shut the engine in time to prevent spinning 120lb mono into the prop. Todd thought that the helm was low on steering fluid, so he took out a new bottle to top the helm up. However, the fluid overflowed immediately, so the helm was not dry.
Todd went to the back of the boat and had me turning the wheel to see if the motor turned in sync…which it didn’t. So there was a part broken connecting the inboard-outboard part of the motor. Todd checked the engine hatch and sure enough, there was a disconnect somewhere. Todd also saw a hole in the hull that was not there before, indicating a part had fallen out.
Todd called out for assistance to nearby boats. However, there were no boats within range on this Wednesday morning. We continued to call for help a few more times and received no answer. At that point, we saw a Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead so we called on the VHF for the Coast Guard helicopter. We heard their communication, but they did not hear our call for assistance. We tried hailing the Coast Guards a few times and we were only receiving, but not transmitting.
Todd and I both had cell phones full charged. We made a 911 call and got lucky that we were still within cell phone range. We got to the Coast Guard, described our predicament, and gave them our GPS coordinates. They collected our cell phone numbers so they could call us back after making a few broadcasts. We put on our life jackets and Todd instructed me on the use of the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Relay Beacons). Basically, the EPIRB has two electrodes on the outside of the case. When the two electrodes on the EPIRB are exposed to sufficient saltwater, the beacon automatically begins transmission. We heard the Coast Guard made their broadcast for assistance every 10 minutes or so with our coordinates, but there were no response from any boats in the area. Maritime law states that it is illegal to refuse assistance. So I guess we were the only boat bobbing like a cork out there.
Finally, the Coast Guard called to inform that they are sending a cutter out to assist us. Todd and I prepared the ropes and the deck to facilitate boarding and towing. We waited for about 45min slowing drifting to Indonesia before I saw a white dot through the fog. The dot grew larger and larger and soon Todd and I breathed a sign of relief as the USCG Kittywake came to assist.
They deployed a Grizzly jet drive inflatable to board our boat. One of the CG checked the engine hatch for use and confirmed that we required a tow in. In addition, we also found out our engine hatch was half flooded. So not only were we drifting to Asia, we were also sinking from a slow leak.
The Grizzly went back to the mothership to retrieve the towing rope. While we ran the bilge pump, the CG crew diligently attached the tow rope to our boat cleats and we were underway. Our 7 mile tow took about 1.5 hours. Since Hawaii Kai marina was too shallow for the Kittywake, the Grizzly was once again deployed to tow us the rest of the way. Close to dock, the Grizzly acted as a tug boat to position our boat for mooring. Every part of the rescue operation was top notch and I have utmost respect for the USCG. At the end, we were just glad to be back on solid ground…and I just had to kiss the ground once we got back. 
After the ordeal, I decided to spend the day away from water as far as possible
I spent the afternoon catching up on sleep.
I was woken up by my friend Jason at about 3pm.We had plans to fish early morning the next day, but Jason suggested we fish through the night into the early morning to get the most out of my stay, and to fish the incoming tides later that night. I’ve always wanted to fish all night and sleep on the beach…so it was an easy decision, and the ordeal a few hours ago did not deter me from fishing on a beach.
At 10pm, Jason picked me up and off we went. We stopped for some snacks and I picked up new batteries for my headlamp. We met Edwin at our access point and in no time, we were set up on the beach.
Our method of fishing is called “dunking”. Basically, long surf rods between 10 to 15 feet long and reels filled with 25 to 50lb lines are used to heave out 5-6oz weight. We used bottom fishing rigs with 3-way swivels, 40+lb leaders and circle hooks. Casts were usually 100 yards distance…but of course my casts were 50 yard at best
The fish we were targeting included papio/ulua (trevally), o’io (bonefish) and other larger reef fish, plus puhi (moray eels) that we could use for bait.
With lines cast out, Jason and Edwin settled into their lawn chairs while I “whipped” around for small game for about 45min. Without any small game action, I put down the light rod and settled into my lawn chair as well. We saw distance lightning far offshore, but rain was not predicted.
I soon fell asleep at about 12am. Suddenly, I was woken up to commotion. Jason and Edwin were bringing in their lines. I can hear rain drops falling and some lightning in the area. We quickly broke camp and called of the trip. Jason drove me home at 3am and we made alternate plans to try dunking again. I guess I just had a bad day of fishing.
April 24, 2009 – Local fishing stores
Friday was a family day. I had brunch with my grandma in the morning. In the afternoon, Jason got off work at 3pm. There wasn’t enough time to fish since he had an evening event, so we went to visit a couple of tackle shops, Roy’s and Hanapa’a. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I had no pictures to show. Roy’s shop had a smaller space, but very well equipped for all forms of Hawaiian fishing, from whipping to dunking, from trolling to slide baiting. I bought a pair of tabis (footware similar to dive booties), some curly tails and a tuna lure that I hope to use the next time in Todd’s boat. Hanapa’a had a larger space and there was a second floor catered to skin divers/spear fisherman. We focused on the ground floor filled with all sorts of rod, reels and lures. I bought a bell to use on my dunking rod.
April 25, 2009 – A poet and a fishing natural
My cousin Anita invited me to attend her award ceremony for the Dr. Martin Luther King International Peace Poem Contest. The reception was held at Ala Moana Park. Since it was on a Saturday, I suggested that we should go fishing after the ceremony. My cousin had a lot of fun fishing during my last visit, and she has only fished once during the two years in between my last visit.
The ceremony started at 11:30pm. We arrived early and walked the beach until the event started. The mayor of Honolulu was invited to give a motivational speech.
The Teacher of the Year was honoured, as well as the top three student poets on Oahu. After that, the top two student poets from the participating class in various Oahu elementary schools were awarded, and they were given the choice to rehearse the poem to the audience. My cousin placed second in her class. Before the ceremony, she was hesitant to read her poem in front of the audience. However, when her name was called, she read her beautiful poem with confidence.
I was not allowed to publish the poem here though
The ceremony took 2.5 hours. After the ceremony, we had a quick lunch at Ala Moana Mall, and prepared for our afternoon of fishing.
At the Ala Moana park, there were several brackish ponds connected by very shallow canals. We saw tilapia and mullet in the canal and decided to see if we can hook any of them using bread. We chummed the school of fish toward us with bread, then threw out an baited hook with no bait to imitate a piece of floating bread. The fish must have been heavily pressured. They could bit the bread around the hook!
But I got lucky with a black-throat tilapia and added a new species to the list 
I tried to get my cousin to hook up on a tilapia, but she was slow on setting the hook. Eventually, the fish learned the drill and refused to bite any bread. They even left the chum alone. So, we packed it in and headed for the ocean side.
We arrived at a familiar spot at the Kewalo Basin. We’ve had great luck here in the past catching small reef fish on shrimp bait. We repeated the same drill today. I attached a light steelhead float to my cousin’s 8lb test, spliced 3 feet of 6lb fluorocarbon and attached a #16 scud hook to the end. With a couple of BB size split shots, the rig was read to fish. It was great to see my cousin remembered how to cast a spinning rod/reel. But the fish were not very cooperative. We were really scratching for a bite!
After 30mins, my cousin’s float finally went down hard. She fought the little reef fish expertly and brought up a saddled wrasse (male).
The tide was filling in and the fish activity increased. My cousin soon found a sweet spot where she was getting bit constantly. Fish were relating to this one coral head. Hooking them was another matter though
I was watching the float and telling her when to set the hook since she was reacting much slower than I was (I just had more experience on light biting fish). I also rebaited her hooks as often as they were sent back into the water in our 2 hour session, we caught 4 saddled wrasse, 1 rainbow wrasse, 1 elegant coris and 1 Hawaiian gregory. My cousin had a 12” rainbow wrasse snapped her line as she was lifting the fish up the breakwall, but of course, it was the big one that got away. I was happy to see my cousin learning how to find fish (finding habitat) and she fought her biggest fish to date (the 12” rainbow wrasse). With my cousin’s help, I added 3 new species today
Elegant Coris (female)
Rainbow Wrasse (female)
Hawaiian Gregory
April 26, 2009 – Transplants and beach bums
My friend Evan and I had planned today for a bit of kayak fishing. However, the wind was not very cooperative and we were a little short on time, so we changed plans. There is a small pond on the campus of Univeristy of Hawaii that has a population of cichlid (In Troy McClure’s voice: a family of fish including such famous members like the oscars and the peacock bass). Among the various cichlids in the pond, the Jaguar Guapote has a particular allure. This South American cichlid is both aggressive and beautiful. It also goes by the name Rainbow Bass.
Evan and I met up at the university. Neither of us knew the exact location of this pond, but we had a rough idea thanks to GoogleMap.
It actually wasn’t all that hard to find, and we were soon rigged up – Evan with his 8-wt fly rod, floating line and small nymph patterns, and myself with a medium/light spinning rod, 8lb mainline a small splitshot and a 1.5” twister tail. It took us a while to figure out the fish, but once we found the pattern, the red devils and banded jewel cichlids came easy.
Red Devil (7”)
Banded Jewel Cichlid (7”)
The only cichlid other common cichlid that we could see but could not get to bite was the convict cichlid. Evan finally figured them out. All we had to do was use bread. Catching them was very easy after
Convict Cichlid (9”)
We even caught small banded jewel cichild and fished them under the float for the jaguar guapote…but we didn’t get a hit.
Evan and I saw some 10-20lb koi in the pond and he tried for a while to get one to hit, but it was no go. We spent about 2 hours there going bendo regularly until it was time to leave. On our way back to Evan’s car, we spoke to a UH student who said he’s caught those koi before and they were a lot of fun (think 20lb carp
). He had also caught those jaguar guapote before using mosquito fish or guppies. I wanted another try at the pond, but alas, I’ll have to wait until my next Oahu visit. That’s okay, I added two new species on my list today
I went back to my grandma’s for lunch, and a brief rest later, Jason picked me up to do some dunking again. We headed to the Westside of Oahu to fish the incoming tide. I’ve fished here before and it was a very nice beach. We didn’t catch anything the last two times, but Jason’s friend pulled up a 11lb white ulua (giant trevally) from the spot a few days ago.
We got set up and chucked out our baits. It was a nice Oahu sunset and we were expecting a strike any moment. Once the rods were set up, Jason taught me to cast the 12’ rod and the Jigmaster on the beach. Birdnests were frequent since my thumb had yet to adjust to the new reel. In addition, the long rod generated much more torque with a 5oz weight, and the casts flew out with forces I’ve not experienced before.
After the casting session, I tossed out my bait too. Jason went to get some sushi rolls at about 7:30pm and he said “If any of bells ring, just go for it and bring in the fish.” I was really hoping he’s right about the bells going off. He came back, we had some sushi, and we waited until 8:30pm until it was time to pack up. The fishing was awesome with a great friend and a good fishing teacher. I just need to put in enough time to learn to cast far before any fish could be caught.
I love being a beach bum
