The Launching of YakHawaii.com
Aloha and welcome to YakHawaii.com. We have now been online since our first article debuted October 16, 2009. Starting an online journal for kayak fishing requires content to post and that means catching fish, fishing with friends and having something to write about with videos and photos. This is a hobby and not meant to be a professional site with a full staff behind it. Hopefully in the next couple of months, I will have other kayak anglers contribute their success stories with knowledge of the sport for those seeking more information on extreme Hawaii kayak fishing.
There will be more sections added in the near future in addition to the core already in place. It's been a learning curve to understand the layout of Joomla 1.5, a free open source code and the foundation program for this website. I knew nothing about Joomla and its extensions before I started this project 60 days ago. All I know is this is something that I have been wanting to do for sometime now. To some degree, Joomla is simple once you get the hang of it with some organization. I wish I was a fast typist and a more creative writer to go along with it, but I'm a fast learner with an old school mentality!
The great thing about Joomla is that it does not cost anything for the program. It only requires a hosting company that supports Joomla and a domain name like YakHawaii.com . Learning to shoot videos on the water, positioning the camera angles, editing the videos with sound will only get better as time goes on. This is a work-in-progress and in the beginning stages of development... but I believe that if I remain healty at the age of 52 and I am able to keep paddling (pedaling on my kayak), I will do my best to keep an online journal of my kayak fishing experiences in the coming years.
If anyone should have any questions about what I am using to make this happen, feel free to contact me with your comments or questions. Aloha and Mahalo!
Paul Belmudes
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Mistakes and Redemption in Keauhou
Focus on Securing your Catch or You are Going to Lose It!
Nothing could be more frustrating than to bring a fish on board or near the boat only to lose the catch because of stupid mistakes. Well this happened Wednesday morning to Aloha Dan and myself in Keauhou. The conditions were perfect with light variables winds due to a high pressure system west of the islands. With Mauna Loa and Hualalai Volcanoes and the cascading morning sun as our backdrop, it was a beautiful Big Island morning in the blue Pacific Ocean. The ocean activity was at its best with "malolo" (flying fish) everywhere. They were not spooked by us... but by lurking pelagic's chasing them out of the water... always a good sign for kayak anglers.
Aloha Dan lead the way as he set out first on his Hobie Adventure Island. Reggie followed on his Ocean Kayak Prowler 13 and I followed on my Hobie Revolution. At about 25 fathoms, we dropped our opelu overboard and began to troll. Aloha Dan was the first to hook-up within the first 20 minutes with a mahi-mahi. I watched his battle with the mahi-mahi and listened to him shout with joy on his hook-up. I am not sure how old Dan is, but I thinks he is in his 70's in age. This guy has no fear and is always a 'hoot' to fish with! He has done some incredible navigation on his Hobie AI. But unfortunately for Aloha Dan, the analytical side of him came to play... he brought the fish on-board and started to fuss about the trailer hook being down the mahi-mahi's throat. Then as I was getting my camera out to take a photo of Dan and his catch, Dan accidently lost control of his mahi-mahi and the fish slipped overboard only to do circle dance to the bottom of the ocean floor for the bottom dwellers. What a disappointment for Aloha Dan. I wish I had that blooper on video!
As I put my camera back in the dry bag, my reel started to sound off with a "bizzzzzz." It was a mahi-mahi on my line. The battle lasted less than 10 minutes and I worried about getting the video for this website more than the fish on board. To my amazement, the mahi-mahi was not dumb as it wrapped the line around my Hobie Mirage Drive (pedal system) and made it's last attempt to break free in which it did. What a dumb and careless mistake of not tiring out the fish and letting it go though its color change. It took me about 45 minutes to shake off my loss and error, but redemption was looming around the corner.
As Reggie and I moved south, we were commenting on all the "malolo" flying around. Reggie then notified me that he took an "ono" strike and half his bait was slashed. He hurriedly set-up a new rig of opelu to his line and "bam" he was hooked up again. Then moments later, my reel started to scream with another mahi-mahi on the other end of the line. This time I made sure to manage my hook-up and not worry about the video so much and I brought the mahi-mahi on board. Both Reggie and I claimed victory and we called it a great day for fishing and headed back into Keauhou Bay where we launched. As for Aloha Dan... he stayed a little longer, but to no avail... he came home empty. Aloha!
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Yee-Haw South Point...
"Ono" Kine Grinz Tonight!
Finally the chance to fish South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii with my friend Reggie Pare' who lives close to our launching destination. Conditions could not be better for kayak fishing with light variable winds of around 5 to 10 miles per hour. For the last four years when I had the opportunity to fish with Reggie, he had always traveled north to fish with us in Keauhou. It took me two and one-half hours to get there from my home in Waikoloa Village.
South Point is just past Hawaii Ocean View Estates as you head down Highway 11 and is the southerly most tip of the United States of America. This was my second time to make it to this area in five years. I always thought of this area as very desolated, but to my surprise as you pass thru it, it reminds me of the rolling hills of Ireland. South Point, "the point" is known for very turbulent converging winds & currents offshore. Great for fishing on calm days and probably one of the worlds best if conditions are right. Now I can say, "I have been as far south as I could be in the USA."
I arrived at Reggies house at 7 a.m. and we headed to our launch destination. It's always a little nerve racking to launch from somewhere new without knowing the surroundings. Lucky for me, I was with Reggie and he covered the safety of the launch, currents, where to fish and where to ditch or get back if conditions change in a second. Reggie pointed out that he only has the opportunity to fish South Point no more than several times a year because of the violent trade winds and strong currents that keep you from returning back to the launch east of the point.
With volcanic smog (VOG) overhead produced by the Big Islands volcano Kilauea, clarity of the beautiful Hawaiian backdrop was not its best. The swell was not-so-bad coming north-east and Reggie went out first as I followed. We proceeded to head east towards the point and passed two local yak anglers already on the water. Nothing was happening for the first two hours, not even a nibble as our opelu (mackerel scad) remained untouched as we were trolling. There were no sight of birds as we canvassed our surroundings. Reggie sweared that this was not the typical action he was use to in South Point. In the past when he fished the area, it did not take long to hook-up a pelagic or two. The concern we had was that if we did catch a fish, it would be wise to get it on the kayak quickly to avoid tiger sharks who are are notorius for biting off the back end of your struggling fish as you bring it on board in this location.
Finally the birds arrived like dive bombers and we hurriedly paddled to the general area. Just before we got to the pile, Reggies reel started to scream. I proceeded to keep trolling and focused on getting a hook-up for myself. Reggie thought he lost his hook-up as line went dead for a moment... but his experience told him that the fish was coming towards him and he reeled his line in faster and found tension again (signs of an ono). I immediately grabbed my video camera from my bag to capture his battle. You can see how strong the fish was as it gave Reggie a Hawaiian sleigh ride. I continued to keep my distance but continued to troll and video taped the action. I fish with a Hobie Revolution that allows me to keep my hands free to video. To my amazement, Reggie wasted no time and brought the 35 pound ono (wahoo) to the surface. With a quick spear to the head, Reggie hoisted the ono onto his kayak and headed out of the bloody area looking for shark followers. Once I saw that Reggie was safe with no sharks following, I continued to troll hoping it would be my turn.
Then I got the call over the VHF radio that a tiger shark was following him. Reggie dropped his shark shield into the water and told me he was heading back in. Knowing that Reggie was going to share his catch with me for my dinner that night, I decided to call it a day. And since we were 2 miles from our launch area, I would troll back in for safety reasons.
All said and done... at the end of the morning after being out on the water with Reggie for three hours, it was great to learn what South Point has to offer for future trips... weather permitting.
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