The Tail of "Two Fishes"

It's been several months since I've made the move from the Hobie Revolution to the Hobie Oasis. The initial thought and the reason behind my kayak purchase to a heavier tandem fishing vessel was for storage space on top (not in the hull) when hooking-up a large fish in Hawaii as a solo kayak angler. I truly loved my Revo... the speed, the way it turned corners and the ability to work a rod around it... but what it truly lacked was the capacity to store a large fish. Even outfitting it did not do the trick of transporting a large ono. If I was a lake fisherman cathing bass or small fish, the Revo would have suited me fine just dropping the fish in the front hatch. Hawaii fish are of a different story... they are BIG! Rapidly we are seeing a large sector of Hawaii fishing anglers making the move to the Hobie kayak and the Mirage Drive system. Even my fishing partner Chris said that he is now sold on the Hobie after five years on the Ocean Kayak Prowler 15.

I remember trying to keep up with him while fishing on the water when I had a different brand. Then I purchased my Revo and I was passing him up as he tired from all the paddling. Pedaling does make sense for the older (age) kayaker as our legs are much stronger then are arms. Less stress on the upper body and the ability to have your hands free is a plus! So if you could afford the best product, do consider the Hobie brand as the only choice for kayak fishing. But if you are on a budget, look for a good used one instead of making the mistakes of selecting a brand that will not give you what you want just because of the dollar cost. Just give the Hobie Mirage Drive a try before you buy. Sorry to make this so commercial in placement for the Hobie product, but it's the hull truth.

Now back to subject of the article... "I'a Palua - Two Fishes." Being challenged to maximize the potential of the Hobie Oasis, I asked my fishing buddy Chris to join me in attempting to make tandem kayak fishing popular on YakHawaii. There are some great tandem anglers here in Hawaii like the Uyeda Brothers who live in Oahu. We model their innovatons and adapt ours to make a better fishing craft.  Not only have we proven in the past as individual anglers that we can land decent fish, but we must prove that we can get along together on a kayak for eight hours or longer during an outing. Actually entertaining is the proper terminology. It's hard enough to have a conversation with a man for longer than 15 minutes unless you have an expressive person in front of you who wants to talk about themselves. We are neither expressive... well Chris is to some degree... I am analytical if you have not figured it out yet... so we have adapted right into our fishing style as fishing buddies into truly decent fishing partners that entertain ourselves for hours on end. It's a blast!  And with a fishing partner... I now have a fishing storage problem again until further testing proves we can carry a fifty plus pounder back to shore. So far... all our large fish have been catch-and-release.

We have learned to maneuver together as a team, dropping lines to bottom fish, trolling the outriggers for the pelagic (even though we have not gotten one yet on one of our three outings as "I'a Palua - Two Fishes"), turning, furling and communicating for hours at a time. I've grown as an angler with what Chris has taught me even though he's not directly teaching me... I'm like a sponge watching his moves as he drops bait, trolls, fights the fish, watches the current, puts the boat in the right position to avoid tangles and the list goes on. 

I'a Palua... our team name. It means "two fishes," a name given to us by Kumu Keala Ching, a great hula teacher of our children, adults and elders on the Big Island of Hawaii. The name fits us well as we are "two fishes" hunting the waters of Hawaii on kayak in pursuit of hooking-up and landing or catch and releasing two fish a day in the Aquahunters Makahiki tournament (www.aquahunters.com). I always throw in a plug for Issac, the founder of Aquahunters. Do join their website and learn from the best in Hawaii. They are not going to give you the book of Hawaii Kayak Fishing 101 and make it easy for you to be a pro... you must search and respect the information and learn the safety of our sport before you begin and they have it all on their website. Another great website to learn from in Hawaii is the Hawaii Kayak Sailing Club at www.hawaiikayaksailingclub.com.  Great info there on kayak sailing from Hobie to other products. In fact, I need to update the YakHawaii website links to updated information on kayak fishing and sailing. You can help by submitting your links as well to our site.

On Tuesday of April 12th, Chris and I managed to pedal 13 miles that day in Kawaihae in pursuit of pelagic so we could try out the new outrigger system that I installed on the Oasis to give a bigger spread on a tandem kayak with four rods out. So far, we have not been lucky enough to get action on the end of the lines to test them out. Seems to us that the bite is not happening on the surface, so we have resulted to bottom fishing to gain points in the 2011 Makahiki tournament that will last 8 months. I have learned from my experience last year in the Makahiki that if you do not get strikes on top, you must go to the bottom to remain a contender in the tournament. Surface fish will eventually land... but in the mean time, let's get in some action. The newest video is pretty much self explanatory of the day we had out there. I know that you will enjoy day three of our adventure as a tandem team. Aloha.{mos_fb_discuss:5}