DTFC EP# 81: Sweatin' Bullets (Catch, Clean, Cook Wahoo) #hobieoutback #kayak #hawaii #fishing

With everything the COVID-19 virus has brought during the week, I thought it would be nice to get away for a bit a head out west. Earlier in the week I read reports of Ono or Wahoo being caught on the South and East sides of the island. The west was a did not have much reported, but it the best conditions. So, after talking with some fishing buddies, I decided to go try out west. This time of year, Opelu or Mackerel Scad, can be difficult to catch. In efforts to increase my odds of catching bait I launched at am to target Halalu or the juvenile Akule (goggle eye). Paddled out until I hit the 100-foot ledge and it did not take any time before I located the school. 5 drops with my home made damashi or bait rig tipped with Completely Hooked Lures produced more than enough Halulu and Akule for the day. We still had about 90 minutes until sunrise, so I continued to fish but headed a little deeper with the intent to catch opelu. As the sun rose and anglers started to appear within sight, a cloud of bait appears on my Garmin fish finder. I drop the same bait rig down and before it could hit the bottom, I pulled up 5 opelu. I let it be known over the radio that I found bait. I drop down and again the same result. As I finished unhooking the fifth opelu, the ball disappeared. Now with an overcrowded homemade bait tank, I started to give away some to other anglers who were not as fortunate. Noticed the difference of freeing up some room right away. As some whales spouted off in the distance, I headed out to the 40-fathom ledge to troll the opelu. The conditions were calm and the water was like glass. I glanced off towards the horizon to look for birds or fish breaking the water, but no such luck. I pushed to the 60-fathom ledge and prepared a “poor man’s down rigger” on one of my rods. As I got ready to deploy it, I came across a bait ball about 150 feet down. I dropped that bait down and knew this was a good chance to get hit. Not even 20 seconds had elapsed, and I saw my rod load up, as if it were in slow motion. Then, my reel started to scream as line ripped off. I turned my camera on, grabbed the rod and set the hook. The fight was on! Just as the initial fight started, the ono changed direction. I had to reel in the slack as fast as I could to keep the line tight. Just as I gained most of my line back from the first run, the Ono bolts again in a different direction. Faster and longer than the first one. I was not sure what this was. I thought it ono from the first run, but the second run felt like a Shibi. I had to spin in the direction of the fish to maintain control. But I had 2 lines out and was in danger of tangling them both up; causing me to lose the fish. This tug a war went on for 20 minutes. Long runs, drag screaming, me trying to maintain control of this fish, all added to the excitement. With some quick thinking, I was able to maneuver through lines, with little effort and maintain control of this fish. Once I got the leader, I saw some flashes of color under my Hobie Outback Kayak. I was able to see the long missile like body of a big Ono. But it was not alone, under it were 2 big murky shadows…. Undoubtedly, they were sharks! This really made my heart pound and mind start to race. As I turned the table on the fight, the sharks continued to circle the Ono all the way up to the kayak. I’m not too sure why they did not attack it but until the Ono was in the boat there was always a chance. Once the Ono was with in gaffing distance. I grabbed my homemade gaff and tried to gaff the ono 3 times with no success. I did not notice that on the first try, the hook straightened! But the fight was long and the Ono was running on empty. I easily pulled him to the kayak and grabbed him by the gills, effectively securing him. As I pulled him across my lap, it looked as if the body of this ono was not going to end. The overall size of this thing was unbelievable. I saw some big ones online, but never in real life. Then I thought, where and I going to put it. My fish bag is 36 inches long, the ono was 63 inches. I called over to my buddy John and he let me use his. Definitely will be bring my 5 foot bag from now on. Pretty awesome day on the water. Now my family and friends have some fish to eat. Until next time, tight lines!