The Professional Hobo

Although “fishing for dollars” has a nice ring, we’re not doing it. It’s all we can do to fish for a meal!

Before we arrived in Hawaii, Kelly & I (especially Kelly) had visions of catching seafood every day for dinner by fishing with poles in our own backyard, as well as snorkeling and spear fishing in the nearby tidal pools.
So within a few weeks of arriving, Kelly was the proud owner of a new fishing pole and various gear to get him started. When in the fishing shop in Pahoa, he admitted to the owner that we are new to the island and this style of fishing, and the store owner promptly did everything she could to set him up properly. (Unfortunately subsequent conversations with some local Hawaiians revealed that she has no idea of what she speaks and all the locals refuse to shop there).

We clued in to the idea that our mentor was misguided when, armed with all her gear and advice on how to cast off the cliffs in our area which she “knew very well”, Kelly promptly lost almost all the hooks, bobbers, and weights she sold him! This was especially frustrating for poor Kelly, who had spent the entire previous evening laboriously tying knots with the tricky line to prepare his gear.

So, on day one of fishing, with the promise that we’d be eating fish that night for dinner, Kelly returned empty handed and frustrated.
But Kelly persevered like the trooper that he is, and the next day tried another area with what he thought would be a better point to fish off. It was indeed a better point, but the wind and waves that day were so strong, he was up to his waist in water (standing in a previously completely dry area) before he could get his second cast off!

Off to the fishing store we went again to buy more gear to replace that which was lost on his first two fishing ventures. The financial planner in me started calculating our mounting fishing expenses, wondering if we would ever break even with enough fish to warrant all this gear.

Our next attempt at fishing was at Pohoiki beach area, which isn’t so much a beach but a beautiful bay filled with surfers and boogie boarders and snorkelers, a pier, and a boat ramp (which is the only logical entry point for swimmers). It was here that some local fishermen took pity on Kelly and gave him some solid advice, which included not listening to the lady at the fishing store!
So Kelly resolutely started tying knots again, baiting our improper hooks with our improper bait, and hopefully casting off. Before his second cast, one of the locals looking for some shade said Kelly could use his one bait fish and that he’d surely catch something with it. And with that cast, the fish was off the hook before it even hit the water! (oops…too small a hook I guess…).

Meanwhile, we noticed two snorkelers catching lobster (yes, lobster) simply by diving down and picking them up in the bay. I could see the wheels turning, and it was only a few minutes before Kelly suggested that we buy snorkels/masks/fins to catch our wares instead. And although we had already decided that they would be good purchases for recreational purposes, I was looking to get a little value out of our expensive fishing gear first!

The locals’ last piece of advice to us before giving up was to try dropping the lure into an area around the bay (figuring maybe pier fishing was still a little advanced for us poor white Canadians!), where there are a few deeper holes and fish hang-outs.
At this point Kelly was already brow-beaten and tired, and he didn’t have much hope for catching anything. He made a few casts, and promptly suggested we bail before total and utter humiliation kicks in.

I, on the other hand, saw some potential with this new fishing hole. I had polarized sun glasses, and could see hundreds of fish swimming in and around the rocks. This was the place to be. I grabbed the pole and didn’t even cast – I just dropped the hook into the waters below and jigged a little bit. Kelly, seeing that I was still enthusiastic and saw fish here, picked a snail (known for its tastiness to fish) off a nearby rock and rigged it up for me. Immediately – two fish! One was beautiful and big enough for dinner, and the other was too small and was thrown back.
Although I felt bad that I almost immediately caught a fish while poor Kelly toiled for days with no luck, we were both pleased to have fresh fish for dinner.

A few days later, enheartened and enthusiastic about getting out fishing again, we found a perfect calm day to head back to the point Kelly had discovered on day two. The waves weren’t going to overtake us as they had last time, and Kelly knew that with these snails in hand he had the magic bullet for fishing.
And he was right!
He caught two beautiful fish – one the same size and species as our first catch, and the other about three times the size and apparently a kind of fish that is the prize catch out here. It is called squirrel fish, tastes like lobster, has almost no bones, and this one was big enough for two meals.

So knowing how and where to fish now, we are confident and happy that our fishing investment will be paid off with our yummy bounty. The only problem now is that we are being warned that you should only eat fish once per week or so, due to the mercury content. Although this isn’t the first time I’ve heard talk of mercury in fish, we’ve heard it mentioned a few times by different people around here. We are wondering if this advice is more abundant here because we are surrounded by health-nuts who are extremely (and overly?) vigilant with their diets, or if there are actually increased mercury levels in the water here in particular. We’ll have to look into it. (Any advice around this would be appreciated in the comments). In the meantime, once a week we plan to enjoy an afternoon of baiting, casting, and eating!

Related posts:

1. Fishing (and Whale Watching) at Ballina and Beyond
2. An Introduction to Spearfishing…and Neurological Disease
3. Searching For The Best Fish & Chips – Without Eating Them
4. Mealtime in Hawaii
5. Halloween in Honolulu
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