Hawaiian Bottomfish

[lawaia]

Managed to sneak out between Hurricanes Ignacio and Jimena to do some deep bottomfishing near the island of Molokai after crossing the channel from Oahu.  Guess the fish on the bottom of the ocean weren't bothered by what was happening above the surface; they bit pretty well and so we had lots to eat and share with relatives and friends.  A nice mixed catch, with the majority of the catch being the targeted opakapaka - pink snapper, pristipomoides filamentosus - a very delectable, tasty fish.  We also caught and released three nice sized kahala - amberjack - and a sting ray of some sort.  All in all a fun rewarding trip.

[Rancanfish]

Wow, what a bounty!

[Tightlines667]

Nice catch!  Molokai mo betta.
Great mixed bag there.  Looks like you got some nice Ehu, some Gindai, a Snake Mackeral, an Ulua, a Menpache, an Armorhead, and even a Lustrous Pomfret (family Bromidae).  Glad you didn'T keep any of the Kahala, and that you didn'T release any of those invasive striped fish.  What are those pearl ghoatfish with the big eyes?  I know I have seen those before.

Looks like you had a great trip, and will certainly have some good eats.

Thanks for sharing!

[conchydong]

Very nice variety. I would guess that you covered a multitude of depths. In Florida the Pomfret are very deep, usually 1000'+.

[Aiala]

The best fish I ever tasted was blackened opakapaka, December 1987 in a little seafood shack on Kauai across from the famed Cocoa Palms Hotel, (both of which were wrecked by Hurricane Iniki.)

The memory lingers on...! 

~A~

[lawaia]

Wow, what a bounty!

Thanks; we considered ourselves lucky because the bite is not always this good.

Nice catch!  Molokai mo betta.
Great mixed bag there.  Looks like you got some nice Ehu, some Gindai, a Snake Mackeral, an Ulua, a Menpache, an Armorhead, and even a Lustrous Pomfret (family Bromidae).  Glad you didn'T keep any of the Kahala, and that you didn'T release any of those invasive striped fish.  What are those pearl ghoatfish with the big eyes?  I know I have seen those before.

Looks like you had a great trip, and will certainly have some good eats.

Thanks for sharing!

Yes, John, it was a mixed bag catch; can't select what will bite, LOL!  Mostly opakapaka, some ehu (red snapper - Etelis carbunculus), a couple of gindai (Brigham's snapper – Pristipomoides zonatus), a monchong (pomfret – Taractichthys steindachneri), an hogo (scorpionfish – Pontinus microcephalus), an ulua (trevally – Caranx ignobilis), a golden kalikali, a menpachi, a snake mackerel (kept for bait), and the pesky ta'ape.  The two moi lookalikes are Berndt's beardfish (Polymixia berndti); kept them to give to UH's ichthyologists.  Have you ever eaten hogo?  The meat is like lobster!  The kahala have too many worms so we usually let them go.

Very nice variety. I would guess that you covered a multitude of depths. In Florida the Pomfret are very deep, usually 1000'+.

You're right about the pomfret being found in deep water; we were drifting off a ledge into water over a 1000 feet deep and somewhere along that drop off is where it bit.  Put up a good fight all the way to the surface too.

The best fish I ever tasted was blackened opakapaka, December 1987 in a little seafood shack on Kauai across from the famed Cocoa Palms Hotel, (both of which were wrecked by Hurricane Iniki.)

The memory lingers on...!  

~A~

Great memory, Aiala.  They still haven't rebuilt the Coco Palms but demolition prior to rebuilding is slated to start soon.

[Aiala]

Great memory, Aiala.  They still haven't rebuilt the Coco Palms but demolition prior to rebuilding is slated to start soon.

Yes, I've been following the saga for all these years. If and when the hotel re-opens, assuming I'm still able, I will make a pilgrimage. I wonder if Larry Rivera will re-stage his show? He must be quite old by now, but that fellow is durable... and such a hoot!   

~A~

[Tightlines667]

... golden kalikali,...the two moi lookalikes are Berndt's beardfish (Polymixia berndti); kept them to give to UH's ichthyologists.....

Interesting.  I may have to send this photo over to our (NMFS/PIFSC) resident ichthyologist...Dr. Bruce Mundy...if you don'T mind?  Good work bringing those back for UH's collection.  I am sure they will appreciate it.

Have you ever eaten hogo?  The meat is like lobster.

No, I havn'T tried it yet, but I will certainly do so next time I have the chance. 

As far as the Pomfret go, they are an interesting group composed of several different families, and many species.  The most common species found here in the North Pacific are the Sickle Pomfret (Most commonly caught commercially and marketed as 'Monchong'), the Dagger (these guys always have worms), the Rough (usually have worms), Lustrous, and the Brama.  The remaining species fall into 2 groups... the Bromidae (all are small and have a characteristic ridge of scales along the belly), and the Fanfishes (3 primary species which have large fan like fins).  There is alot of misinformation out there regarding this group.  Our program has helped fish base and others with a number of photos and specimens to help dispelled some of the myths.  They primarily inhabit deep waters at or below the meso layer, but will follow their favorite food, squid, nearer the surface at night.  Ocassionally, we find species here in HI that were previously thought to live somewhere else (such as Japan).  That is the cool thing about fishing deep here in Hawaii, you never know what is going to come up on the line.

[Ron Jones]

Good day on the water.
Someday, I will hook up with someone who can show me why I can't catch anything on this cursed island. Enjoy your dinner.
Ron

[lawaia]

Yes, I've been following the saga for all these years. If and when the hotel re-opens, assuming I'm still able, I will make a pilgrimage. I wonder if Larry Rivera will re-stage his show? He must be quite old by now, but that fellow is durable... and such a hoot!   
~A~

Aiala - Don't know how closely you follow it but this article says the Coco Palms is planned to be up and running in 2017.  Hope you'll be able to make it back then!  As for Larry, this article about him says he was 83 in 2013, so he'll be 87 when they reopen the Coco Palms in 2017.  Sounds like he intends to be there then!

... golden kalikali,...the two moi lookalikes are Berndt’s beardfish (Polymixia berndti); kept them to give to UH’s ichthyologists.....

Interesting.  I may have to send this photo over to our (NMFS/PIFSC) resident ichthyologist...Dr. Bruce Mundy...if you don'T mind?  Good work bringing those back for UH's collection.  I am sure they will appreciate it.

As far as the Pomfret go, they are an interesting group composed of several different families, and many species.  The most common species found here in the North Pacific are the Sickle Pomfret (Most commonly caught commercially and marketed as 'Monchong'), the Dagger (these guys always have worms), the Rough (usually have worms), Lustrous, and the Brama.  The remaining species fall into 2 groups... the Bromidae (all are small and have a characteristic ridge of scales along the belly), and the Fanfishes (3 primary species which have large fan like fins).  There is alot of misinformation out there regarding this group.  Our program has helped fish base and others with a number of photos and specimens to help dispelled some of the myths.  They primarily inhabit deep waters at or below the meso layer, but will follow their favorite food, squid, nearer the surface at night.  Ocassionally, we find species here in HI that were previously thought to live somewhere else (such as Japan).  That is the cool thing about fishing deep here in Hawaii, you never know what is going to come up on the line.

As far as the golden kalikali/kalekale and beardfish, neither is uncommon and both are well known to the UH folks and Dr. John Randall.  The golden kalikali is apparently also known as a golden rover - Erythrocles scintillans - and the only reason the UH folks were interested in the beardfish is because my specimens are in prime condition and well preserved.  Dr. Randall describes both in his "Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands".  If you think my photo would be of interest to Dr. Mundy, then go ahead and send it to him.  What I wish you folks at PIFSC would realize is that there is a ton of fish out there and that the fishery is nowhere near its ABC except in the eyes of the analysts who are using the bad data from the fishers' own misunderstanding of CPUE to arrive at an artificial ACL.

I'm no ichthyologist so with regard to the pomfret, all I know is a monchong is a monchong and it's great eating.  It is a bycatch to us and doesn't command a high price at the auction block so on the rare occasion we get one, we keep and eat it.  I think it's not more valuable because restaurants don't get much filet out of it due to its large head and compressed body, but we eat all of it so none of that matters to us.

There are a lot of strange/new creatures and many unknowns deep down there and that goes to illustrate my point about the misguided ACL.

Peace and aloha.

Good day on the water.
Someday, I will hook up with someone who can show me why I can't catch anything on this cursed island. Enjoy your dinner.
Ron

Ron - Therein lies your problem...you have to get OFF the island to catch fish...LOL!  But yes, joking aside, if you're fishing from Oahu's shores the pickings are slim and you have to know the secret spots.  If you don't have a boat but can spare some change, then charter the Magic out of Kewalo or the Live Bait out of Waianae for pelagics, or Kuuloa Kai out of Haleiwa for FAD fish, or go to Molokai to fish with Capt. Clay of Hallelujah Hou Fishing for some guaranteed big bonefish catch and release or shallow reef fishing for keepers.

[Aiala]

Aiala - Don't know how closely you follow it but this article says the Coco Palms is planned to be up and running in 2017.  Hope you'll be able to make it back then!  As for Larry, this article about him says he was 83 in 2013, so he'll be 87 when they reopen the Coco Palms in 2017. Sounds like he intends to be there then!

Great articles, thanks! Well, the minute they start accepting reservations, I am there. I hope Larry hangs in... seeing him again would be a delightful full circle for me.

And this article http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/2015/03/architect-talks-about-kauais-coco-palms-resort.html says that they are planning to re-open the Seashell Restaurant across from the resort in January 2016... so I may get to taste that opakapaka once again!   

~A~

[lawaia]

Great articles, thanks! Well, the minute they start accepting reservations, I am there. I hope Larry hangs in... seeing him again would be a delightful full circle for me.

And this article http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/2015/03/architect-talks-about-kauais-coco-palms-resort.html says that they are planning to re-open the Seashell Restaurant across from the resort in January 2016... so I may get to taste that opakapaka once again!   

~A~

I hope you'll be on Kauai in 2017, Aiala!  It's a favorite island, where my wife and I spent our honeymoon waaay back in 1971.  Aloha!

[smnaguwa]

Thanks for the pix, information and dialogue. Went to Penguin Bank for bottom fishing before I moved to the mainland. Great fun. What kind of gear did you use? Hope to move back some day and go bottom fishing for those delicious fish.

[lawaia]

Thanks for the pix, information and dialogue. Went to Penguin Bank for bottom fishing before I moved to the mainland. Great fun. What kind of gear did you use? Hope to move back some day and go bottom fishing for those delicious fish.

Hi Stan,

We're relative novices at bottomfishing the Bank, only getting to do it 3 or 4 times a year because of weather and other pursuits.  It's taken us until this year to have learned enough to make the kind of catches pictured at top.  We still use the locally made Henry Ching reels we started out with.  They're simple but rugged and effective and they don't co$t as much as an elec-tra-mate or other more sophisticated or commercial type reels, so there's not as much to invest when first starting into the deep bottom fishery.

You're right that it's great fun and it sure is easier on the old body than chasing ahi all day.  It's somehow very satisfying to hold the line in one's hand and feel the bite, then set the hook.  And it's exciting to watch and feel the "bounce" as the fish comes up and the adrenaline rush when the fish hit the surface is only topped by that when a reel is screaming with a big pelagic on.  And those bottomfish are sooo tasty!

I hope you do get back some day and can fish the Bank.  You can take the man out of the islands but you can't take the islands out of the man.

Tightlines, aloha,
lawaia

[Tightlines667]

Thanks for the pix, information and dialogue. Went to Penguin Bank for bottom fishing before I moved to the mainland. Great fun. What kind of gear did you use? Hope to move back some day and go bottom fishing for those delicious fish.

Hi Stan,

We're relative novices at bottomfishing the Bank, only getting to do it 3 or 4 times a year because of weather and other pursuits.  It's taken us until this year to have learned enough to make the kind of catches pictured at top.  We still use the locally made Henry Ching reels we started out with.  They're simple but rugged and effective and they don't co$t as much as an elec-tra-mate or other more sophisticated or commercial type reels, so there's not as much to invest when first starting into the deep bottom fishery.

You're right that it's great fun and it sure is easier on the old body than chasing ahi all day.  It's somehow very satisfying to hold the line in one's hand and feel the bite, then set the hook.  And it's exciting to watch and feel the "bounce" as the fish comes up and the adrenaline rush when the fish hit the surface is only topped by that when a reel is screaming with a big pelagic on.  And those bottomfish are sooo tasty!

I hope you do get back some day and can fish the Bank.  You can take the man out of the islands but you can't take the islands out of the man.

Tightlines, aloha,
lawaia

Nice summary.  There is nothing at all wrong with those Henry Chings.  I spent an entire year basically at sea on commercial boats deep dropping the NWHI.  We were using pinch pullers, and different types of hydrylic gear primarily.  I learned alot from these old timers and learned to love catching these fish.  Handlining Uku, and Ulua in shallower water (<40fa.), was alot of fun because you are more actively involved.  

Before I came to HI (in 1999) I had never had the pleasure of catching alot of the Pelagics 'Hawaiian style'.  I have alot of people here to thank for introducing me to a number of new effective 'mouse traps' and fishing tools.  Greensticking, Dangling, Ika Shibi, Ahi Palu, running handlines, deep drop fishing, pole and line tuna fishing, and this says nothing for all the different rigging styles, and lures available.  The local styles mostly favor getting lbs on the boat, while maintaining the best quality product.  
I grew up with much more of a IGFA, light-line, sports fishing oriented background.  I think one can learn alot by fishing in different regions, and being exposed to different styles.  I might even be as bold as to state that you can learn alot about fish from pursuing them commercially as well.  Anyways I am grateful for all I have learned from the various fishermen, and days on the water...and I guess your post reminded me of this.