Chum

I went surfing at a place called “Sharks”. It’s a 1 mile paddle out through a channel that drains a river outlet from the North Shore. The placed is named for sharks that are spotted in great numbers.

The surf was big that day, about 8′-10′ (16′ to 20′ wave faces) and no one else out. You need a big board to paddle the mile out and catch the massive waves. I had my 10′ 6″ board.  It was a great session as the water was calm and glassy with huge swells coming in every 10 minutes or so.

During one of the waits between sets of waves, I spotted a white boat about 1 mile away. It seems like that boat is always there whenever I surf “Sharks”. The boat was about as far away as the shore, so I was  equa-distant between both.

The session was great and uneventful in terms of danger. A few days later, the big news in Hawaii was that the boat I was looking at is part of shark tour business (they chum for sharks and put tourists in cages to look at them) was witness to a massive GREAT WHITE SHARK at about 18′ long! In turns out that was the same day and time that I was in position.

I was glad he was interested in their feet dangling in the cage and not mine dangling from my board…

Manana Island Shark Bait

i went for a surf at one of my favorite spots of old, manana island. it’s a one mile paddle offshore to the island itself. the winds were a little onshore so i knew it wouldn’t be that crowded.

i was about a 1/2 mile into the paddle when a police helicopter started buzzing over me, followed by a lifeguard on a jet ski. it was a heavy local guy that I was introduced before to via my streamer world. he said how did i get out here since the beaches were closed. they spotted a 14 foot and a 16 foot tiger shark eating the remains of a guy that jumped off the makapuu cliff the night before – all they found so far was his stomach guts and heart (see news coverage): Police Find Body in Waters…

i replied, “oh, that’s why no one at all is out!”. i asked him if i had to return to shore since i paddled this far and i thought the sharks were well fed. i told him i would be really worried only if there was a large floating carcas that they were feeding off (and the water was clear toward rabbit island, reducing the odds of a mistaken encounter).

he said i didn’t have to leave, but he had to warn me. he offered me a tow on the jet ski (after i told him i would roll the dice and was going to go for a quick surf anyway). i accepted the tow (a rule i usually won’t break, but since he wasn’t a tow-in surfer and i figured the less time paddling in the middle of the channel the better!)

the waves were great and manana island was magical as usual. he came back about an hour later and i was intending to leave about then, however i caught a great wave right in front of him and he was blown away with how good it was and how no one was out (it gets crowded there now a days – too many boats…). he was wishing he had his board.

for the first time i was hoping for more of a crowd – increase my odds of not getting chomped! i did have one chance of company – a monk seal was on the beach and i saw him start waddling down to the water. I figured the sharks would go after him first (he might smell better). unfortunately, he stopped half way and went back to sleep in the sand!

i couldn’t ask him for a ride and leave the great waves (respect issue). i had to get more waves for all those that couldn’t be there. also, i really didn’t want a ride in (aside from the shark issue).

i surfed for another 1/2 hour and then decided to paddle in while i still had some energy. i thought about surfing for another hour with the hope of him coming back again, but I didn’t want to risk it.

i still had some energy left and my strategy was to go for a constant strong paddle in without stopping. i remember seeing a show where the shark would only hit things that were NOT moving. the problem was 1/2 way back, right when the water started getting murky again, i had to pee. there was no way i was going to leave a trail of my scent for the tiger sharks. i of course held it in.

i decided to paddle harder and straight ahead for the shore. as you can tell by the existence of these words, i made it!  i pee’d on the beach, kissed the sand, and walked to my car. terra firma never felt so good!

on the way back, i saw all the news vans, cops, and lifeguards. Another adventure (test?) under my belt (this one not by choice – at least the shark part).

wish you were NOT here for this one!

Monster Ono

(note that this trip was dedicated to a fellow lifelong fisherman from the high school days (desi zenar) that passed away from cancer right before i took to the high seas). weather finally calmed down enough to brave the heavy seas, or at least I thought so. even though the wind was lighter, there was still a 10′ east swell running. my swell blocker (molokai) at 20 miles was only partially in effect.

rocking, rolling and trolling along, got a big hit on the long line. as I started to real it in, the short corner got blasted. two fish on, holding on in the heavy seas. i went for the short line and got a 25 lb ono. gaffed it and let it flop around as I went back to the long line, fought it for a while, but it popped. it was another ono and it bit through the line. while i was putting the ono with the razor sharp teeth in the box, the bimini top attachment broke off. got the fish in the box, but had to take the top down and find my hat for the new conditions.

the line i leave on the ground against the bimini top strap was no longer functional. i had to modify the set up with rope. luckily, i decided to tie in the rod to the boat, because about a half hour later a monster hit on that line. it was tearing line out and heating up the reel. i thought it was a marlin, but no jump. perhaps a spearfish? I had to fight it standing up for a while until i could manuever it to a tangle free area with respect to the other 4 lines.

i got it close to the boat and still thought it was a spearfish when it dove down again. i got it close again and i got out on the back platform and planted the gaff in it’s head (by this time i knew it was a huge ono). once the gaff made contact, the ono went nuts and pulled me straight down and the gaff went underwater up to the handle. the scary part was that this all happened right next to the running motor. I thought the fish, the gaff, or maybe my arm would get chewed by the motor (don’t worry, i would let go of the gaff instead of letting my arm get any closer).

i held on for dear life and finally swung the monster in, however he only made it halfway out of the water and got wedged in front of the motor on the platform. He was going nuts and swinging his horse’s size head. i pushed back and forth and saw the gaff was about to tear loose. i went with one large motion and pulled him in as i fell backward into the boat. it was surreal having us both flopping on the ground with him looking at me snapping those jaws (and teeth).

barely fit in the box. seas started to calm down later in the day, but then it got even rougher to the point where there was some strange deadly currents/waves. exciting day. Ended up with 2 ono, 2 kawakawa, 1 aku, and 1 rainbow runner. the beast weighed about 46 lbs. (it looked and felt bigger, and perhaps my technique of holding it on a house scale is flawed?).