dockboy
08-30-2008, 05:51 PM
Got back from the Garden Isle on the 3rd. I've been to and fished Maui and Hawaii but this island beats them all. We stayed in a rental house up on the Northern Coast near Hanalei. This was my first time I brought light tackle with me. Fished the surf near the coves and rocks frequently. Not a ton of success but lots of fun. Caught some good sized trumphet fish with a small Krocodile, though my many ventures to get an omliu or papio never resulted in a solid hookup. I hooked into something around the coral reels at Tunnels Beach that never stopped. It snapped fresh 8lb. on a properly set drag like it was funny string.
Anyways, on our second to last day there we booked a charter out of Lihue. The captain was a Santa Barbara native, so it was pretty cool to talk our local stuff with him. Nothing much was happening around the bouys used for bttifish attraction on the islands. Tried some bait drifting without success. We then setup on the troll again. About an hour later, a strike on the outer starboard rod and fish on! A decent sized marlin with a nice opening jump. Fought him for a solid 30 minutes before color, and another 15-20 mins after that. Ended up being around 150lbs or so. Unfournately, he hit the lure with a double setup, and both points penetrated the left eye socket. He would have ended up shark lunch before long with a bleeding and blind eye, so we kept him. On the way back to the harbor we had what was probably his mate come up and bill whack the same setup, but we couldn't entice her to hit.
But fishing wasn't the best of this trip. It was awesome to have a great and very friendly captain also. But if you go to Kauai, there is so much to enjoy. Did lots of hiking, and if you like to snorkel, this is the place. Almost no people compared to Oahu and Maui, and very friendly locals. All in all, awesome vacation. :Smile:
Anyways, on our second to last day there we booked a charter out of Lihue. The captain was a Santa Barbara native, so it was pretty cool to talk our local stuff with him. Nothing much was happening around the bouys used for bttifish attraction on the islands. Tried some bait drifting without success. We then setup on the troll again. About an hour later, a strike on the outer starboard rod and fish on! A decent sized marlin with a nice opening jump. Fought him for a solid 30 minutes before color, and another 15-20 mins after that. Ended up being around 150lbs or so. Unfournately, he hit the lure with a double setup, and both points penetrated the left eye socket. He would have ended up shark lunch before long with a bleeding and blind eye, so we kept him. On the way back to the harbor we had what was probably his mate come up and bill whack the same setup, but we couldn't entice her to hit.
But fishing wasn't the best of this trip. It was awesome to have a great and very friendly captain also. But if you go to Kauai, there is so much to enjoy. Did lots of hiking, and if you like to snorkel, this is the place. Almost no people compared to Oahu and Maui, and very friendly locals. All in all, awesome vacation. :Smile: