Got Lucky

[lawaia]

We haven't been trolling much the last few years due to work and other commitments and when the stars did align and we were able to get out, most of the time it was not prime time for the locally preferred ahi (yellowfin tuna) so we were just catching mahimahi here or ono (wahoo) there with an occasional aku (skipjack) thrown in, nothing particularly worthy of a post.  When we did manage to get a stray out-of-season ahi on a line it seemed that our gaffs were magic wands with the ability to turn steel hooks to rubber ones because we'd get the fish up to leader but the hook would let go before we could gaff the fish.

Heading into the Labor Day weekend we heard that the large aku (when they get over 20 lbs we call them otaru) were in the area of a FAD off the east side of the island so with the winds light and the seas relatively calm, we headed out there.  Sure enough, a few miles beyond the FAD, we found a huge flock of birds working and saw fish splashes beneath them but several passes yielded nothing; it was not a WFO bite.  We downsized our lures and that did the trick as a corner reel started sounding off as a fish took line out.  Alas, in our excitement at the first strike of the day, we went too hard at that fish and ripped the hook out of its mouth.  We got back into the birds and took another strike on our center and, with newfound patience, got that big aku in the boat.  The birds began to break up and sit down occasionally but we managed another hookup while weaving among the rafts of birds and got that otaru too.  We got a another otaru when the birds bunched up and worked again but after that they started to sit more than fly so we decided to head further out in the hope of finding a more active pile.

Not long after that my buddy saw a big splash, like the kind porpoises make when they leap out of the water and spin then plop back into the water, so we headed in that direction.  As we neared the area, we saw neither porpoise nor birds so began to think he might have seen a solitary marlin attacking a fish at the surface but then the port outrigger let go with a KABOOM and the reel started howling in protest as line peeled out of it!  This was no otaru!  As we cleared the other lines we kept an eye astern but saw nothing jumping so began to think that what we had on the line was not a marlin.  We both hoped it was an ahi but you know how it is to not want to say it out loud for fear of jinxing it.  So, we worked that fish in relative silence but as the minutes ticked by and it stayed down deep our hopes continued to build.  When we finally saw color, we knew we had an ahi on but that kicked off a whole new wave of concern: would the hook hold this time, would something break, would we mess up in the endgame?  Thankfully the hook did its job, the tackle held up, and we came through with a vintage A-game performance and got that ahi in the boat!  Anyone nearby probably heard us yelling in celebration.

We shared all that fish with many family and friends and got lots of smiles and hugs in return.  That's what it's all about!  Tight lines to all, go catch a big one.

Courtland

[thorhammer]

Great work! BTW, any trip, much less fish, is worth a post... remember us landlocked folk!!!!

[Steve-O]

I heard you over here in Utah!

Congrats on the catches and success at getting your gaffs "re-booted" back into their intended purpose - sticking fish.

Thanks for sharing the report.

Aloha, Steve-o

[STRIPER LOU]

That's certainly a reason to smile! Nice work gentlemen. Nothing like a good day of fishing.

.............Lou

[Donnyboat]

That would make anyone smile, thanks for posting Men, nice days work, cheers Don.

[Shark Hunter]

Awesome!

[Maxed Out]

 Did I mention I'm up for adoption ??    

 Ted

[alantani]

congratulations!

[Tightlines667]

Nice work!

John

[swill88]

Great post! Thanks. What's an FAD?

Steve

[Dominick]

Great job.  Dominick

[thorhammer]

Great post! Thanks. What's an FAD?

Steve

fish attracting device

[lawaia]

Thanks Guys!  We haven't stopped smiling and won't until all the sashimi is gone, then the poke, then the seared ahi and whatever other way the admiral can think of to prepare the fish.

Great post! Thanks. What's an FAD?

Steve

A FAD is the best thing the State has ever done with some of our tax money!  Being something done by the "gubmint" it has to have an acronym for a fancy name:  FAD = Fish Aggregation Device.  It's basically a buoy anchored to the bottom in water anywhere from about 300 fathoms to 1400 fathoms deep.  Being out in the middle of nowhere, the buoys serve to attract and hold fish like we've all seen an adrift cargo net or kelp paddy do.  These buoys generally attract and hold smaller fish but we all know big fish eat little fish and that's what our otaru and ahi were up to; we found lots of 5" fish and squid in their stomachs (hence our need to downsize our lures to 'match the hatch' and why the bite was slow - they were full!).

Aloha and may you all have tight lines and screaming reels!

[bhale1]

Wow... Great job!
Now for us landlocked folks,..... I now know a FAD is a " fish attracting device", but what is it??? An artificial reef, or bouy,?? Just curious.
Brett

Oops...nevermind...answered above as I was typing..duh

[Bryan Young]

Hanapa'a!!!  Hanapa'a!!!

That is a good day indeeds.

I tell my wife I love fishing because patience and persistence pays off and it definitely did for you. Congratulations.