Fishing/Diving

In addition to shorefishing, tide-pooling and reef walking have been one of my favorite outdoor recreational activities. Tide-pooling can either be done during the day or at night, as some fish and invertebrates are active at different times of the day. However, I find it easier to wrangle the day-time critters at night... since their vision is not adapted to being blinded by high-intensity headlamps while sleeping... and they can't shut their eyes either. lol. With the "super" full moon, comes extreme high and low tides throughout the day. For those of you who do not know, tides are natural...

One of my all-time favorite nocturnal ocean activities is torching... If you can't tell from the first photo in Kahala (courtesy of W. Roldan), torching consists of wading in shallow waters on coastal reefs at night (usually during low tide) to harvest all types of marine-life. During the day, this is commonly called, "reef walking," though it is more common by locals to refer to this as "torching" at night. The captures are usually for consumption purposes, but sometimes can be used as bait for fishing (e.g. Octopus or "Tako," above). Methods of capture usually consist of a 3-prong spear...

Besides being a great fishing spot for larger game, the landscape near Ratchets is probably one of my favorites on the island of Oahu. The shoreline is composed of steep cliffs... ...and there is considerably deep water within casting distance. The one drawback is that Ratchets is difficult to get to, and somewhere you definitely unsafe to go here by oneself. There are several contours on extremely narrow cliff edges, which make it dangerous to pass, especially if you plan to haul fishing gear. Though there are some deteriorating ropes there, climbing down these cliff...

"Makapuu lookout to Alan Davis" is a great hike, or any hike that involves the Kaiwi coastline for that matter. The route we (Reanne Solomon, Larry Tang, Rylan Miyasato, Troy Takara and I) took today is not conventional by any means, though I'm sure some people have connected these trails before. The particular combination of trails starts at Makapuu lookout (same place where you would park for Makapuu Crag to rock climb). Within 20 minutes or so, the trail summits at some pillboxes / bunkers... ... then descends to Makapuu Lighthouse lookout, From there you will travel...

Honokahau Harbor is located along the Kona Coastline on Hawaii Island, about 15 minutes south from the Kona Airport. The harbor is small, but houses many fishing and sailboats, many which can be chartered. It is also located next to a Kaloko-Honokahau National Park, so you can learn more about the cultural/historical perspective of this area of the Kona Coastline. Not sure if the name of this boat has relevance to working with the actual "Kona Kampachi," or the local version of Hamachi or Kahala (yellowtail), which are aquaculturally raised in large offshore pens in Kona. I've heard...

After watching an episode of Hawaii Goes Fishing on "Kayak Fishing," I was quite eager to take my fishing-rigged kayak offshore on the Waianae Coast. If you saw that episode with the "AquaHunters", I'm sure you'd have done the same... Packing ~ 20 frozen Halalu's (juvenile Akule / Big-eye Scad) we caught a few weeks earlier from the summer run at Waianae Boat Harbor, Luke and I thought we would have a decent chance of success in catching some bigger game / pelagic fish. After mounting the kayak on my car, we launched from Waianae Boat Harbor on a sunny Saturday morning. The kayak...

Growing up in Hawaii, one of my favorite activities has been shore fishing... and if I wasn't on the coastline on a Sunday afternoon, I was surely learning tips for hot fishing spots/techiniques by watching episodes of "Fishing Tales with Mike Sakamoto" and "Let's Go Fishing with Harry Kojima." Whether it be whipping, dunking, floater or simple bamboo pole fishing, I love it all. This past weekend, I was invited by fellow avid fisherman, Ricky Yagi to fish overnight at a remote West Oahu fishing spot called "Moi Hole." The name, Moi hole, originates from an inshore area that Moi or Pacific...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Photo Gallery] [Mapped Photos] After a short and sweet victory dance, it was time to get settled in at Campground #2. Taking off our wet shoes and socks, and putting on slippers was of the highest priority (left). Changing out of our sweaty clothes was almost as critical (right). Setting up our hammocks, tents and organizing camp was next. When we backpack and camp in a large group, we usually share tents to cut down on the pack weight.... I was surprised to find that Kaleo, Ryan, Lei and Brian all had single-person tents. I guess when you run the risk of bunking...

A popular fishing spot on the island of Kauai, Ahukini Pier, is also a gorgeous place to take moonrise photos. The moon rises at the makai (ocean) side of the harbor and pier. The coast is covered in large basalt boulders, tide pools and driftwood. Opposite of the ocean, you will notice that there also is a wide pier/walkway which had been modified to benefit fishermen. Several PVC pipes are bolted to the railings at various angles to serve as rod holders, depending on whether the person will cast their line out or drop it below the pier. Wind shelters, benches, and nails...

In the summer months, you may encounter crowds of people lining up shoulder to shoulder on shorelines of embayments, harbors and basins... all over the island, morning til evening. What are these people doing?? Well, it's likely they're fishing for the summer Halalu run. WAIT, THE WHAT?? Halalu are juvenile Akule, or Big Eye Scad. Related fish that you may more commonly recognize would be mackerel or saba, and are in the jack family Carangidae. Adults are usually feed further offshore and in deep water, though the young come inshore to feed by the 100,000s(+) after a long larval stage at sea....