ULUA AND OMILU--FISH TALES FROM KAUAI

Our guest blogger today is my brother, Charlie, all the way from the island of Kauai.  This is his very first attempt at blogging, and I think he did a standup job.  Way to go, Charlie!

(Photo courtesy of Charlie A.)

Joe, the picture says 40+.  Actual weight  is 41.5 lb. white ulua caught at Kahalani Beach, Wailua, Kauai.


The next picture with Ryan and Kai is of a 8.25# bluefin trevally.  Hawaiians call it omilu (papio, under 10#).  Aliomanu Beach, Anahola, Kauai.  Both fish were caught with tako (octopus) arm.

(Photo courtesy of Charlie A.) 

That's my nephew, Kai (brother Gerald's son), on the left, and my son, Ryan, on the right.)

I have a story about this fishing trip.  It started out being a picture perfect day.  My sister-in-law and my niece and nephew were visiting from the state of Washington.  Brother Gerald planned an outing down at the beach.  Mom and I, along with Gerald's family, chose Aliomanu as our destination. 

I can remember this day like it was yesterday. 

I rigged up my brand new Kelstar blank ulua pole with an extended 4/0 Penn reel.  Only a month of training on how to cast a conventional reel added some pressure when casting in front of the whole family.  If you're familiar with conventional reels, if you don't cast it correctly, you can mess up the line badly in the spool (it's called a bird's nest).  What happens is that the line comes out of the spool too fast and it bunches up, making all kinds of knots in the spool (a headache to untangle), and instead of getting a cast of 20 yards or more,  you end up with  5 feet or less. 

As I made my cast, I looked back, and everyone was watching as I made one of the biggest bird's nests of my life.  The lead and tako arm landed less than 10 feet in front of me.  It was one of the most embarrassing moments of fishing I have ever experienced. 

So, there I was, standing on the rocks trying so desperately to untangle my huge bird's nest so I can make up for that horrible cast. 

When I untangled the last knot,  the line was so bad it broke. 

As I was looking into the water where the bait landed, I saw this fluorescent blue.  I looked again and I couldn't believe my eyes--the omilu papio was eating the tako arm! 

Quickly, I made a blood knot.  As soon as I had completed the knot, the fish took off!  I was in disbelief, screaming for Gerald to get the gaff. 

As the fish made a run towards the shore, Gerald gaffed it and the rest was history.

Wow!  And the fascinating thing about this fish tale is that it's true.  The bird's nest catch was Charlie's first success at fishing for papio.  The top photo is a reflection of how much progress he eventually made, and continues to make, fishing for giant trevally, or ULUA (ooh-LOO-ah).  Thanks, Charlie!  Looking forward to future posts from you.