Aloha KFM reader's from the Hawaiian Island's - "The Big Isle goes Offs"

In the early morning hours cold air fell from the summits of mauna kea and surrounded the campground. The kae'awi coals were still burning a bright red as I lay restless on my sleeping cot. All night my mind had been racing at the possibilities. I was slightly worried about the high surf warning issued for Oahu and the combination of a super high tide. I could see and hear the crashing surf and at times it neared my bed. This was the last big island Yak Attack and I was excited about getting hooked into some decent fish. With kona being the blue marlin capital of the world you cant help think this could be the day. Up in the sky orion chased the scorpion into the sea. Soon there would be movement in the camp as other anglers would arise to the challenge.

     At exactly the precise moment shiloh's alarm went off. Up the hill truck lights slowly rambled down the 4-wheel drive road. It did not take long the group of seven anglers to assemble. As a whole we were well prepared for the 2 day kayak fishing tournament. anglers looked over their yaks,  a pot of water was placed on the coals, and soon cup of noodle warmed the insides of anxious anglers. When the first rays of dawn broke we could see that the small lava crack in the ocean was manageable. There was plenty of time between sets to negotiate a safe passage to the really deep water that was just off shore. Unable to control my excitement I was the first to hit the narrow passage barely 5 feet wide. As I scooted past large lava boulders and out past the surf I was greeted with an all time morning. The conditions were flawless there was no wind and the sea was lake like.

     I had a game plan going into this tournament. I was entered in the pro division and fishing for 1000$ dollars. This format allowed me to weigh two fish for the two day tournament. Only one pelagic and one inshore fish could be scored for a combined weight. My goal was to try to get an inshore fish on first. The big ulua, (giant trevally) that lurk the hawaiian waters could potentially put up a winning fish. There has been many times that these ulua have outweighed the pelagic's and this was my best shot at putting some points on the board. Not more than 100 yards off shore I approached the 40 fathom line. First I got my long trolling  line in the water rigged with an unweighted mackerel scad and put that out back about 150 feet. Then i rigged my first bottom bait a 4oz weighted mackerel scad. I sank the opelu down 250 feet to the bottom and reeled it up 5 feet then relaxed to enjoy the marvelous view of the mauna kea summit. Shortly after I took a small strike and reeled in an 5 lbs. hellar barracuda. These are good eating so I kept this for the boys. Securing my tasty kaku my other pole starts to dance the drag sounds and I hook into another fish. After a brief fight I pull in the very good eating grey snapper (8 lbs.) who had a bigger follower. The uku are the black sheep of the snapper family. The top grade sashimi meet of the uku is often overshadowed by the demand for red snappers and therefore uku become abundant in hawaiian waters. I put another good eater in the bag but still needed something bigger if i was to do well in this tournament. I decided to head north up the coast and try some new grounds.

     I paddle for abut 45 minutes along the kae'awi riddles lava cliffs. I notice a charter boat in the area. the boat circles for a while then stop. shortly after i here some chat on the VHF radio seems like a boater has located the opleu koa, a big ball of mackerel scad. I continue to paddle toward the boat that i see and wonder is this the captain on the radio. A few minutes later I here the more chatter the captain say "I am hovering over a large ball but cant hook up so I am going to head north". The boat in from of my kayak fires the engine and heads off north. I new this was the boat on the radio that had a big pile of opelu under it. I frantically paddle towards that location and get there in minutes. I scramble to get another bait ready and the send another one to the bottom. I don't know about you guys but I get bored bottom fishing quickly. I prefer to paddle and troll bait versus sit around. sometime while bottom fishing i find it best to do something instead of holding the pole and waiting for a strike. This time I put the pole in the holder and called fellow hobie team mate micah to see how he was doing. The trick worked mid conversation my pole starts to really scream. I secure my cell phone and prepare to get busy. I new I had a tournament fish on. This was a impressive fight. lots of strong runs against a tight drag. Violent head shakes got me thinking is this a shark? Finally i got the fish up and saw color. I had a large amber jack on the end of my line. This kahala had some weight behind it and could put me in contention. I fished a while longer but the bite seamed to have slowed I headed back to shore to ice up the big boy. On the beach the kahala weighed in 30 lbs. a good score but I still needed to secure a pelagic fish. The CKT team all did well and fish were caught. The big island boys also put fish in the cooler to. It was a good morning run but after some refueling everyone was ready to give it another shot with an afternoon fish.

     The afternoon proved to be a good time to get out. The kona breeze had whipped up the surface and there was one last high tide bump. Shiloh after less than 15 minutes of paddling had a mahi and was back on the beach in about 45 minutes. Randy got a solid fish and scored a big bull mahi. I paddled closer to take a look and slam. I hooked into a cow mahi. the cow jumped repetitively ripping line out of my penn ssm 950. Mahi are so fun to catch. I secured my first pelagic fish for the tournament and it felt good. The sun was getting low and the group headed back to camp. Day 1 was in the books and I had two species to weigh for the pro division.

     That night at camp fresh uku was ate raw as well as some small kahala made into poke. Cuda went on the grill as well as more uku and we all ate like kings. Day 2 came quickly after a much better sleep. The fishing had slowed a little but some of the angler did manage to upgrade there fish. I could not catch anything bigger but did catch and release some smaller amber jack. I also scored a first for me a stripped bonita that was saved for fresh island poke. I quit early on the second day. I headed in happy with a solid score. I was first on the beach and was able to enjoy the campground solo and marvell in the beauty of it all. What an awesome trip. I cant say enough about the big island locals who showed us there honey hole. It truly was an honor to fish with Clint, Randy and Donald. They showed us show much aloha and hospitality it was hard to say good bye.

     The locals generosity paid off at the scales. The whole CKT team placed 6th of higher. Clint and Randy also got on the board. I was 2 pounds away from winning the pro division and the 10004 dollars. oh so close. After the weigh in we all headed up to Jesse house for the big cut fest. The ohana came by (family and friends) to congratulate us on our success. Everyone was so stoked. Fish was given away to everyone and there was plenty to go around. I cant say enough about how fun these big island tournament's are. You have got to come out and see for yourself. This marks the end of Team Coastal Kayak Tours tournament season. What an incredible year it has been. Below is the official score card for the Fall Yak Attack 2008.

     Happy holiday to you and your ohana. May your home always be filled with fish. ALOHA

In the Inshore species:

• 1st was Adam Hodgson (Big Island) who landed a 35.8 lb Ulua
• 2nd place went to Evan Obra bringing in a 28.8 lb Ulua
• 3rd place was Matt Reed with a 27.6 Ulua
• 4th place went to Danielle Moyal with a 19.8 lb Uku
• 5th place went to Jesse Shim with a 19 lb Ulua
• 6th place went to Shiloh Oliberos who caught a 15 lb Ulua
• 7th place was Michael Barad with a 13.4 lb Kagami
• 8th went to Randy Elarco with a 10.6 lb Ulua
• Tied for 9th place was Andy Cho with a 10.2 lb Kahala and brother Steven Cho with a matching 10.2 lb Kahala
• 11th went to Matt Chisolm with with a 9.8 lb Kaku
• 12th went to Karl Johnson with a 9.4 lb Ulua
• 13th was Todd Andrews with a 9 lb Kahala
• 14th was Darical bowman with a 7.6 lb Kagami

Results In the offshore Category:

• The Top Offshore Catch was made by Andy Cho with a 38.2 lb Ahi. He generously dontated his winning prize (and top position) to the next place finsher.
• 1st went to Cyril Buking (Big Island) who landed a 31.4 lb Ono
• 2nd place went to Matt Reed bringing in a 31.2 lb Ono
• 3rd place was Robert Madrigal with a 27.4 lb Mahi Mahi
• 4th place went to Randy Elarco with a 25 lb Mahi Mahi
• 5th place went to Steven Cho with a 22.8 lb
• 6th place to Shiloh Oliberos with a 19.8 lb Mahi Mahi

Results In the Pro Division:

• Andy Cho (Big Island) took 1st with his 38.2 lb Ahi and 10.2 lb Kahala for a combined total of 53.2 lbs
• 2nd place went to Boogie Elgas bringing in a 16.8 lb Mahi and 29.2 lb Kahala for a combined total of 50.6 lbs
• 3rd place was Steven Cho with a 22.8 lb Ahi and 10.2 lb Kahala for a combined total of 36.3 lbs
• 4th place was Adam Hodgson with his 35.8 lb Ulua
• 5th place was Tim Bauer with a 30.2 lb Ulua
• 6th place was Micah Pigralet with a 7.4 lb Mahi Mahi and 12.8 lb Kahala for a combined total of 22.2 lbs
• 7th place was Danielle Moyal with her 19.8 lb Uku
• 8th place was Cindy Heusser with her 14.4 lb Rainbow Runner
• 9th went to Todd Andrewswith a 9 lb Kahala

Until next month aloha and a hui ho.

David Elgas
aka: Boogie-D
web: www.coastalkayaktours.com
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snail: 59-444 makana rd. Haleiwa, HI 96712
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