Got Ahi'd!

[Ken]

Yep! Got a yellowfin tuna! On May 15th, I went trolling with a friend I met on a Hawaii fishing forum and he took me trolling. It was my first time trolling here in Hawaii.



All morning, we saw lots of spinner dolphins and birds...but they were not chasing after bait.



Near the end of our fishing session, we were on our way in and saw birds and dolphins both working in the same area. It looked too good to bypass so we headed over. As soon as our lures reached the area, BOOM! Outrigger pole went and the reel was screaming!

I fought the fish for half the time until my arms were tired...then my friend Todd took over and I took care of the boat control.

Finally we had it to the gaff and it took both of us to get it in on the second attempt.





We put the fish on a scale and it registered 120lb even. Any yellowfin tuna over 100lb is called an "ahi". Those smaller than 100lb is called a "shibi".

You have to keep the fish on ice for a night before filleting (to firm up the flesh a bit).

The next day (May 16th), we went trolling again and found a few skipjack tuna. I had one skipjack tuna grabbed by something big but the hooks didn't stick. Oh well. We also had an outrigger pole hit...but it was probably a marlin just playing (smacking) with the lure.



Today, I just wasted time around the Ala Wai canal. I meant to find some small barracuda and trevally...but it was low tide when I was fishing. There were only tilapia around and the two barracuda I saw were super spooky. Just when I was about to leave, the tide is rising and well, there were more barracuda but I couldn't get any to bite. The only blessing was getting a 3" tilapia on Gulp Maggots to keep my skunkless streak going strong Next time, I'm going to catch some tilapia and send them out for the barracuda...they are only keyed in on those little fish and not interested in anything else.

If anyone can shed some light on getting those 'cudas to hit, it would be appreciated. I tried everything from Zara Spooks (the smaller ones), Kastmasters, poppers, You-Zuri Pins Minnows, inline spinners, 1" lipless crankbaits and even soft plastic twitchbait. The only one that appeared to work was the soft plastic twitchbait. I had one small barracuda slowly rose to look at it...and a 2lb papio that circled the lure but not take it

Yes, there are fish bigger than me out there...and I want to find them

Hope you liked the pics!

[bsp]

Ken,
You are having my identical experience with the Ala-Wai cudas! The only thing that I got my only hit on (and keep in mind I lost all of other lures except for thses two) was the smallest size, chartreuse with clear belly Sea-Spit and Sputter by Matzuo. I bought it at the honolulu Sports Authority and it was the smallest size they had. I may have gotten the name wrong and if I did it will be Called the jolly roger. The one I used had a large cupped face, a distinct head bulge, a narrow neck area, and a large body. It is a sinking plug and I would cast it past the cuda, let it sink down to its level, then retrieve the past the cudas face. I had to make multiple casts to the cuda I caught because it would follow the lure for a time and then stop in a new place. Eventually it got so angry that it just trashed the plug and bit through my 25lb flouro leader in an instant. Let me know if you have anymore questions?

[Ken]

Thanks bsp. I'll see if I can find any. A friend of mine said he'll go with me and hope to get me into a fish...so we'll see what happens!

[bsp]

Good Luck and be sure to post some pics. I am sending you a PM of where I found my largest cuda. Incidentally it was the same one I hooked and lost. It is about 2.5-3ft long.

[Dave Hennessey]

To a catch a cuda -

Extreme persistence, stubborness.

Out at the ala wai I would go for a couple hours, stand in the exact same spot, and throw every single thing I had at them. They hit eventually, and when you found what was working you could get 3-4 in a short period of time. I found that exactly two baits worked - yo zuri shallow swimmers (bright colors) and white/silver zara spooks. Seriously, that was it. They wouldn't look at anything else.

I just got back from the florida keys and had a similar experience. I dont know if it has something to do with time of year or the tropical water or what, but the fish just wouldn't hit. Its frustrating having 100 pound tarpon swimming around your boat and not being able to hook one. Im as patient as they come, and I think sometimes the fish ain't hungry.

Fishing here in new england is different. The fish eat! and are very agressive. Ill post some pics when I get em, but I invite anyone who is in the area to drop me a line. I've caught a LOT of different gamefish, and nothing rips like a big bluefish. we get em right from shore too.

Ken that fish is sweet. Good job.