My last 8 Days Offshore Oahu

[Tightlines667]

After some planing, I was able to get my dad and his friend out here for some offshore fishing.  I took last week off of work, and moved my boat to Ko'Olina Marina on the Waenae coast of Oahu in anticipation of some serious fishing.  

Unfortunately, the weather and the fishing, which had been great the week before, deteriorated upon their arrival in town.  We still got 8 full days of fishing,  and managed to land a few fish.  They were able to head home with 40lbs of Ahi, Ono, and Mahi, and I was able to cover all fuel, ice, and bait costs with the remainder of the catch.  The wind allowed me to put everyone to work on the boat for 3 full days as well.  The boat performed wonderfully,  averaging 1.5gal/hr burn rate, and I made my 250 hour minimum annual goal 6 weeks early.  

Off course as soon as they left, the winds played back down, and the fishing has picked up again.  Oh well, that's fishing.

Day 1 - July 01, 2017

We trolled out past the newly deployed BO FAD bouy, ran the 500fa. Ledge to the HH, and the 1000fa. back to Barber's Point.
The area that held big tuna the week before had False Killer Whales instead.  We got a late start, had lines out for 8 hours, and didn't get a single knockdown.

Day 2

We left the harbor early, and were the first boat to the HH bouy.  We worked the inside 500fa. ledge about 25nm out, and ran into some birds back inside the HH but out around the 1200 line.  We picked up a 25lb Mahi around 0800hrs, and at 0845 we picked up a nice Wahoo.  

We picked up another nice Ono along the 1500fa, about 10nm out.




We ran into a group of Shortfin Pilot Whales back towards Barber's.  

I sold the first 2 fish (33lb Ono, 31lb Mahi..gilled &gutted) to my friend's fisheries coop for $4/lb.  The smaller (16lb) Ono was grilled and vacume packed.

Day 3

We got another early start, but since the winds were up, we opted to run in the lee, up to hit the CO bouy off of Kaena Point.  As the grey light started to appear, my dad came up from the cabin to tell me to get some baits in the water.  I threw out 2 heavy 9" chrome jets while running at 13knots.  Within 10minutes of getting the lines set we had an explosive hit on the pink and white jetted bullet, and brought a nice 28lb Ono to gaff.  



We were first to the CO, and found a big pile of birds over Otaru.  We worked these fish downwind for 6 miles with no takers.  We then  took a beating running back uphill in the 20-25knots, and 6-7' 4/5sec period waves.  We worked the CO some more, hit the V, then switched from the Ahi spread to Ono jets and ran the 40fa. curve south from Barber's.  We hit the 2 shallow water Fads, and worked the 500fa back to the harbor.  No more takers.

I heard the troll-caught fish prices were up at the United Fishing Auction Block since they had only been open 1 day in the past 3, and only 15k lbs of fish had been sold.  I dropped my first fish on the block.  Next day I was ecstatic to hear I got $9/lb for this Ono.





Day 4

Winds remained up, and we left late, so we opted to stay close to the lee again.  We ran up the Waenae coast to Kaena Point to target Wahoo on Ballyhoo/Sea Witch combos.  





We trolled the 40fa. curve with a downright, rapala, and 2 surface baits from 0600hrs-0930hrs with no hits.  We ignored a school of small Aku (Skipjack Tuna), and hit the close Fads



before running out to the Waenae Pinnacle.  This hump rises from about 2000fa to 1500fa.
The pinnacle was full of life.  There was a large mixed species aggregation of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins, Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, and many seabirds.  We worked the area for several hours, then headed in.  No knockdown, and back at the dock around 500pm.


We took Wednesday off to work on the boat, and run errands due to high winds.

Day 5

We left the harbor a little late at 0530hrs, and ran to the BO.  I spotted a little baby Mahi take a swipe at a 9" tuna bait at the bouy.  



We worked the 1000fa out near the HH and picked up a little Mahi.  We then the 1500fa. back all the way towards the pinnacle.  Around 1300hrs, my dad decided to switch the Ahi baits for large Marlin lures.  Within 2 minutes of getting the baits set, we took a screaming strike on the biggest/ugliest lure in the long rigger position.  55 minutes later we brought a nice ~150lb Yellowfin Tuna to gaff.  We worked the area for a bit, fished the pinnacle, then ran home.  




The Ahi fetched $7/lb on the block (only troll-caught tuna on the block), and the Mahi was fried for dinner.  

Day 6

We left late, and trolled the SE 1500fa area where we caught a 25lb Ono mid morning.  Back at the dock at 3:30pm.  



Day 7

We left late, trolled straight to the pinnacle, then out to a temperature break 30nm offshore.  We pounded uphill all the way to the CO.  We fished the nearby deep water structure, and I ran into some fuel system issues (gassing due to growth in one tank clogging my primary filter).  We ended up limping 35+ miles back to port and didn't get back until after dark.  No hits at all.

Day 8

We left late, but trolled a good route from the power plant 500 to the 1000 then back up the 1500 to the pinnacle.  We had some fuel system issues 18nm out, and ended up trolling straight back.  No knockdowns.

All in all an enjoyable trip fishing with my dad, despite the bumpy weather, and slower fishing.  

BTW the fuel stuff is sorted.  Turns out I had the wrong size filter in my primary, and the previous owner had a head unit that was not quite the right size for the filter I was sold.  The tanks have been polished, and I have the correct filter units, microns, and a vacume gauge to monitor their status.  Now I need to tra k down and fix a minor oil leak that also developed on the last day.  I suspect the oil pan gasket.  

I am sure my dad, and a few of his fishing buddies will want to come back out again.


John

[wailua boy]

Sounds like fun getting to fish with your Dad/friend and some tasty fish. Good times and good people...

[Shark Hunter]

Great Report John,
Glad you got your Dad on some Fish.

[sdlehr]

Nice report, John. Dad traveled a long way to get those fish.

[Alto Mare]

Excellent report John, on the fishing and on being able to make that boat handle it.
Could you share a little on the gear you used?
That's one heck of a way of making some unforgettable memories with your dad and his friend.
Very nice.

Sal

[Donnyboat]

Thanks John, good report, cant beat fishing with family, good stuff mate, cheers Don.

[Newell Nut]

Glad your dad got to fish with you. He is a nice guy and family on the water with you is just as cool as it gets.

[coastal_dan]

Simply awesome John.  Love the rundown and the pictures.  That fish market is too cool and an awesome thing to see, I still remember the bleach tub we had to walk through at the door, haha  .

[Tightlines667]

Excellent report John, on the fishing and on being able to make that boat handle it.
Could you share a little on the gear you used?
That's one heck of a way of making some unforgettable memories with your dad and his friend.
Very nice.

Sal

Sal,

My favored Ahi spread are to run 5-9" baits with tandem 11/0 front-10/0 trailers fixed 180 deg. with crimped braided wire and heat shrink tubing, rigged with plastic tube chaffing gear on 400lb floro.  The leaders are just long enough for the fish to be at the surface/boat side when the swivel is retrieved to the rod tip.  I run a injected slant malolo head on the second wave/short corner, then a purple pua slant jethead on the long corner, a jetted ice blue bullet on the short rigger, and a tahatsu nonjetted bullet on the long rigger.  I will run a short center jetted bullet on a flat line clip in rough water, or way back center in nice weather.

I have 2 custom built pua Rainshadow Stub80 rods with AFTCO Bigfoot guides, on straight unibutts, 1 6' Fenwick 80 class, and 2 Hawaii Custom Rods 130 class stubbies.  The rods stay strapped into 45deg swivel shotgun holders with adjustable tension washers when trolling and fighting fish.  They can be repositioned as needed. 

I am running 3 12/0 reels with bronze mains, and Adam's inserts with delron washers above/below the stacks.  They are spoiled with 800+yds of straight 100lb OPI mono.  I have 2-14/0s with the same guts as the 12/0s spooled with 800+yds of 130lb mono.

Trolling speed varies depending on the spread and conditions, from 6.5-9knots.

John

[Alto Mare]

Excellent report John, on the fishing and on being able to make that boat handle it.
Could you share a little on the gear you used?
That's one heck of a way of making some unforgettable memories with your dad and his friend.
Very nice.

Sal

Sal,

My favored Ahi spread are to run 5-9" baits with tandem 11/0 front-10/0 trailers fixed 180 deg. with crimped braided wire and heat shrink tubing, rigged with plastic tube chaffing gear on 400lb floro.  The leaders are just long enough for the fish to be at the surface/boat side when the swivel is retrieved to the rod tip.  I run a injected slant malolo head on the second wave/short corner, then a purple pua slant jethead on the long corner, a jetted ice blue bullet on the short rigger, and a tahatsu nonjetted bullet on the long rigger.  I will run a short center jetted bullet on a flat line clip in rough water, or way back center in nice weather.

I have 2 custom built pua Rainshadow Stub80 rods with AFTCO Bigfoot guides, on straight unibutts, 1 6' Fenwick 80 class, and 2 Hawaii Custom Rods 130 class stubbies.  The rods stay strapped into 45deg swivel shotgun holders with adjustable tension washers when trolling and fighting fish.  They can be repositioned as needed. 

I am running 3 12/0 reels with bronze mains, and Adam's inserts with delron washers above/below the stacks.  They are spoiled with 800+yds of straight 100lb OPI mono.  I have 2-14/0s with the same guts as the 12/0s spooled with 800+yds of 130lb mono.

Trolling speed varies depending on the spread and conditions, from 6.5-9knots.

John

Thanks for the detailed explanation John, very interesting. Those big boys, as you found out, will do just fine with bronze gears, I actually believe even better. I bet you didn't break a sweat bringing in the fish.

Great avatar as well ...good job buddy!

[Steve-O]

Great report and pics!

[Dominick]

oh happy days.    Dominick

[conchydong]

 Nice work. Just catching a 150 Yellowfin would make my week with the Wahoo and Dolphin as a bonus.
Heck, I'd be happy with the Skippys that you passed on. Someday, I hope to visit and fish the great state of Hawaii.

Scott

[Tightlines667]

Simply awesome John.  Love the rundown and the pictures.  That fish market is too cool and an awesome thing to see, I still remember the bleach tub we had to walk through at the door, haha  .

Yea.. They wouldn't let me in the first morning because I forgot my Extratuffs..lol.

That Wahoo barely made it off the scale and a buyer for a high end restaurant snatched it up. 

The Ahi went to Nico's Restaurant on the pier, and the other Ono went to a local restaurant via a bigger local seafood purchasing company.

The Wahoo I sold to the coop became ceviche and fish tacos.  The other Wahoo I brought her the previous week became fish of the week.  Buyers can scan the fish package with a phone app and see my story of the catch, and fisherman's bio.  They pay more to know the story behind the fish.

John

[steelfish]

Buyers can scan the fish package with a phone app and see my story of the catch, and fisherman's bio.  They pay more to know the story behind the fish.

John

pretty interesting, first time reading something like this.

awesome trip by the way, on which part/zone are you fishing ?


since you are a Penn International guru, I though you were using some big international reels for those fishes