Aquahunters at Yokohama Beach by Isaac Brumaghim

As I jumped out of bed early Saturday morning I realized I was going to be late for the fishing session with the brothers in law Jacob Mapa and Mike Ichiyama. I called up Jacob  "Ho, Jake I leaving now!" I lied. "Me too Ike, I had to get my Jersey, just in case its a cold one." He replied. So I knew that Mike was going to be waiting for us at the beach. Mike is usually always set and ready when its time to fish. Sure enough he was waiting with poles, yak, and the look of hunger on his face. "Sorry guys, I dozed off" I said. Mike wasn’t hearing it, he wanted to get out already. Jake and I set up quickly so to not have Mike wait any longer. "Ok lets go guys" I announced. The wind was very light but there was a heavy overcast above us, there would be some rain sooner or later I thought. As we set out I told Jake "Show me something today Jakey!", "Yeah Jake!" Mike agreed. Jake was fishing his new Ocean Kayak for the second time and was set on landing something. Well 10 minutes into the paddle Jake was hooked to a mahimahi and battling. He radioed Mike who yelled to me that Jake was hooked up. We raced over to see Jake well in control of his fish. As he maneuvered the mahi closer to his kayak I took out my camera a snapped a few photos. The mahi danced on the surface but could not loosen the double hook rig Jake has assembled. But without his gaff on hand he looked puzzled as to how he going to land the cow. As Mike took photos of Jake I paddled over just as Jake hauled her up on to his lap, hooks flying everywhere. "Watch those hooks Jake" I said knowing that a piercing could end the whole day for us. As Jake carefully separated himself from any chance of getting hooked I pulled out a glove and unhooked his prized catch for him. I opened his back hatch and shoved his mahi in. "Shes secured captain" I reported. "Awright!" Jake celebrated! Jake and I journeyed further down the coast as Mike radioed to say he was going to bottom fish for a while. The wind picked up and a light drizzle fell upon us as the day went on. At one point what looked like fog had settle on us and Mike and the coast line could not be seen. As we got closer to the point I took a strike and pulled in an uku on opelu as I passed along a school of jumping nehu. Jake and I fished the reef at the point for an hour and I took another strike as I passed thru another school of  nehu. I fought up another nice sized uku.

As the wind picked up to over 20 miles an hour Jake and I decided to paddle in. We fought gust of at least 30 miles and a few more rain clouds as the coast would disappear and reappear again and again. When we finally hit the beach an hour or so later. Some beach goers came around to check out our catches. "You guys were paddling in this mess?" one lady asked. She had no idea Mike was still way out fishing away. At this point though Mike had waited out the bad weather and the rain left along with the strong gusts. It had now turned into a excellent day. Mike radioed in to say he was going to troll around a little longer. As Jake and I made a few friends on the beach, we could see Mike directly out from us, a dot in the ocean. Mike radioed in "Hanapaa, mahimahi!"  Mikes persistence had paid off. I got a chance to see Mike boat his fish with my binoculars. Jake and I were glad to see that  everyone was coming in with fish today. As we packed our things and waited for Mikes landing I looked to see what was his delay. "Jake I think Mike is hooked again, his boat is sideways."  Jake jumped on the radio to find out. "First ono!" was Mikes reply. Wow an mahi and an ono! Having filled his boat Mike reeled in his poles so to not take another strike. "Im coming in guys." he notified.

On shore Mike weighed his 17 lb. mahi and his 24 lb. ono. He had waited a long time to catch an ono and add it to his already impressive collection of yak fish. And Jake was pleased to have a 15 lb. mahi to add to his growing collection.

As the Aqua Hunters progress as fishermen we learn something new every time out on the water. Early mahi strikes and late mahi strikes occur. The mahi and ono sometimes hang around one another also. Trolling through bait balls give you strike opportunities too. This year we have paid much more attention to the tides and it has shown. One constant that has worked well for all of us has been the use of fresh bait either akule or opelu. I have a feeling that an 100 lb. Ahi or Ulua, and that elusive billfish is within our grasp. As we continue to venture offshore stay tuned for THAT report, soon I hope......aloha Ike