Fish Tales on Maui

2011-03-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Fishing Report from December 15th through January 15th 2012

The whales and fish have shown up in good numbers the past few weeks. The surface trolling boats are getting into Striped Marlin, Mahi Mahi, Wahoo and even a few Yellowfin tuna. We've had some of our most productive days with the live bait fishing than we've had in months. Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Grey Snapper, Giant Trevally, Blue Finned Trevally, Shark and Amberjacks. Love those action packed days!

Captain Tad

2010-06-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Luckey Strike II with their 596 lb. Blue Marlin caught on a four hour trip last summer.

2009-07-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yellow Fin Tuna!

2007-03-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

These "footballs" get well over 200 lbs. This one was caught on the last day of 2002 and made for some great shasimi for the new year.

This big Yellowfin was caught trolling lures while fishing the North Shore of Molokai. We don't see these big tuna's like we did 20 years ago.

FISH WITH TEETH!

2006-03-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

This is a 60 lb Barracuda that could use some dental work! We tagged and released the fish to scare someone else another day.

A 40 lb. Wahoo has a mouth full of razor blade teeth that can cut through 200 lb. test CABLE leader. We are VERY careful when landing one off these fish.

This 122 lb. Ulua could eat just about anything it wanted! This fish was caught on a live "Opelu" fishing near a deep underwater cave where they like to hide out during the day .

THE POWER OF BAIT!

2005-03-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

This is the "Snicker's Bar"of the Hawaiian Islands! We catch these Mackerel and use them for bait both on the surface and down deep. Using light spinning gear with five flies on each rig you can have a real ball just catching bait. (when in season)

A beautiful "Hawiian Salmon" or "Rainbow Runner" caught on a live bait down deep.These are great eating and fun to catch on light gear.

Another Amberjack on live bait. During the winter months we catch a lot of these fighters that we tag and release. These fish can get up over 100 lbs.!

Barracuda "Kaku"

2004-08-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

"KAKU"
(Barracuda)
This "Kaku" belongs to Lauren Leifson and was 58 inches long! We managed to tag and release the fish without loosing any fingers! Hawaiian Barracuda get HUGE and are one of the most impressive looking predators around. They feed on just about anything but love a live "Opleu" most of all.

Striped Marlin And Blue Marlin!

2003-07-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

STRIPED MARLIN!
Winter months are our best for"Striped Marlin" . These smaller Marlin put up a great fight and are often found in schools where you can get multiple hook ups. This is a large "Striper" that we tagged and released last winter.

Here's a Blue Marlin these boys caught off the pier! (All fishermen are liars except for me and my crew..........and I'm not so sure about my crew!) This fish was really caught on a lure off Lanai on July 8th 2003...on the "Luckey Strike II".

It's called "WAHOO!" when you get it in the boat and "ONO" when you get too close to those teeth! Anyway you spell it they are a great fish to catch especially while slow trolling with bait and light gear.

Wahoo, Gray Snapper and Mahi Mahi!

2003-07-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

One of the fastest fish in the ocean, these Wahoo (or "Ono" in Hawaiian) can hit a lure at 15 mph or more! More common in the summer months are the smaller 15 to 30 lb. models. In the winter we get the big one's over 60 pounds but they are harder to find.

A real cute angler with a very fat Gray Snapper caught on a live "Opelu" on the downrigger.

A 40 lb. "Bull" Mahi Mahi caught on a live "Opelu" can give you a great battle on light tackle!

Surface fish and some BIG bottom fish!

2003-06-28T02:56:00.000-07:00

This is one GIANT TREVALLY! This incredible fish was caught on a live bait on our downrigger by a 10 year old girl on June 28th 2003. With some help from our crew she was able to get the fish to the boat in 45 minutes. This is our second largest "Ulua" in 30 years!

Mahi Mahi come in all sizes all year long. A beautiful game fish and one of the finest eating of all! They are also known as "Dolphin Fish", or Dorado. 10 year old Kelly had a great time with this 25 lb.Bull" (male) Mahi Mahi.

"G.T"!!
(Giant Trevally)

This one of the most sought after game fish for all our local fishermen. Big, strong, and hard fighting, they can really pull some line and give you a battle. They feed mostly at night but have a hard time passing up a little Mackerel desert during the day!

Giant Trevally!

2002-11-23T02:21:00.000-08:00

On November 20th,2001 Martha Hutton and her husband Mark went out for an evening of fishing for Giant Trevally or "Ulua" (Hawaiian name). Our son Tyler had just caught the Junior I.G.F.A. record the week earlier. On our last drift before heading in she hooked up and landed this beautiful 75lb. monster. There's nothing better than "Lady Luck"!

On November 23rd,2002 almost exactly one year later Mark and Martha decided to try again. On Mark's first drop after sunset he hooked up and landed this incedible 92lb. Ulua! Now the battle is on for the biggest Ulua of 2003!

Hawaiian Game Fish All Year Round!

2002-04-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

You don't have to be an experienced fisherman to have some fun! Little Kattie hooked up and handled the equipment like a pro. Even taking some time out for a photo opp.

Kattie and Austin with a good looking, hard fighting Gray Snapper. These fish are caught with live or rigged bait. Drifting or using a downrigger gets the bait right off the bottom where they prowl the legdges and drop offs.

A great morning of fishing topped off with Austin's 30lb. Amberjack that we tagged and released to fight another day.

Blue Marlin

2002-03-13T02:11:00.000-08:00

This Blue Marlin was caught off the North Shore of Molokai while fishing for giant Yellowfin Tuna. We hooked the fish at 9:00 am and wanted to tag and release it and go catch some tuna. After 22 times to leader the fish finally made a long 200 yard run straight down and the leader got wrapped around it’s tail. Dragging it backwards killed the fish and any chance of releasing it. We finally got the fish on board at 5:00 pm. Total fighting time……………8 hours! We were 5 hours late getting back to the harbor, hence the dark background.

This big Blue Marlin was caught on the south side of Lanai. After two hours the fish wasn't moving and the line was straight up and down indicating that the fish was deceased! Trying to hand line the fish up we found that it was ANCHORED to the bottom in 850 ft. It had gotten snagged on the bottom terrain. Not wanting to dive down and take a look we circled in different directions for over an hour and the fish came loose and we muscled it up to the boat.