(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?).
