DTFC EP# 83: Unexpected Expectations #hawaii #kayak #fishing #whales #tuna #barracuda #howto

In this video, I take a morning trip to the Westside of Oahu to try my luck at some pelagic. I did not expect much just because the weather and the bite times were not optimal. But my wife was allowing me to go. So, I reached out to a few buddies and prepared for an early morning launch. While at the launch the wind was a bit higher than I expected but were still manageable. We did not take much time to get our rigs together and launch. We went out to where we have marked some Akule and Halalu in the past just to get a jump on the bait and get things rolling in the right direction. Once we found them, it took a minute to find out the right color combination that they wanted but eventually we figured it out. Got the first one in the boat, and shortly after had 6. But the wind was pushing us all over and we had to fight it a bit to stay on top of the school. As the sun rose, the Akule bit stopped, as it always does. So, I began to head south in hopes of finding the Opelu schools. But to my surprise, about 20 yards from me a pair of Humpback Whales, decided to tag along. The first couple spouts caught me off guard, but what really got my attention was when they started showing off. Jumping and slapping the water with their fins. I was way too close for comfort. I was close enough to smell their breath and feel the percussion of them impacting the water. I decided to give them more space and just take in all the views. Once they were far enough, I continued my pursuit of the Opleu. It did not take long for me to locate the school but just with the Akule, getting them to bite was another story. I dropped down 5 time and only caught 5. But that was more than most on this day. I did not travel far before putting a bait in. I figured that the bait was moving for a reason. For the next few hours nothing happened, other than the occasional Aha bite. But then I came over some marks about 120ft down. As those marks disappeared off my finder my rod started to scream as line peeled off and then it stopped just as quick. Then I saw my rod load up and then I grabbed the rod out the rod holder and the fight was on. I was a bit concerned because not only was this my last Akule, but the trailer hook I used was not tied the best. I babied the fish during the fight. Took my time to get it in. I was hoping for an Uku since it is one of my favorites and got excited to see a bluish color under the kayak. But as it got closer, I saw the flashes of silver and the bullet like shape. A kawa kawa or wavy back tuna. Not bad at all. I boated the fish and placed it in the bag shortly after. On my way in I was able to catch a moana and put it out. I did not really expect to catch anything on it, but I was wrong and should have known better. My light set up started to kiss the water and the reel started to peel offline. The fight was on, I hooked up in about 80 feet of water and thought for sure I scored an Uku. Not the case, I brought a 4-pound Barracuda to the boat. Unhooked it and released it to fight another day. All in all, not a bad day. - Capt. Greg Brown Please feel free to contact me: [email protected] www.instagram.com/gbrown_90 Facebook: Capt. Gregory Brown