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Hawaii
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Light Kona winds, clouds drifting in and out, water clarity 2 to 3 feet....
and the peacock bass were spawning.
Near Mikimiki Flats, the small shad were leaping from the water to escape the schooling peacock bass. Red Devils lined the shallows. Decisions, decisions.
A schooling size peacock bass.
http://www.postimage.org/aVd5C0r.jpg
It wasn't the wild and sustained bust like we'll see later in the year, but enough action from 1 to 2 pounders to keep us interested.
They love anything gold.
http://www.postimage.org/PqqHjc9.jpg
When the schooling action slowed, we drifted closer to shore picking up a few big red devils. Every so often a peacock bass would dart in from the depths to grab the small red devil flys. We were seeing lots of fish.
Big Male Red Devil. They average from 3/4 to 1 pound in weight.
http://www.postimage.org/aVdv1n9.jpg
Larger spawning fish were our target so we moved along, scanning the shallow water. (A good pair of polarized sunglasses is a must if you want to see the fish.... if you can't see e'm, you can't catch e'm.) It didn't take long. Those big boys don't like anything swimming near their nest. A minnow looking artificial fly anywhere near a spawning pair of peacock bass draws some vicious strikes. The big bump on it's head identifies this 4 pounder as a male. Unlike largemouth, the male fish is always larger than the female.
http://www.postimage.org/aVdJLgi.jpg
Aloha,
Stan
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Great report! I would love to make my way to Hawaii one year. I always think it's interesting seeing the different types of fish from other parts of the world. Amazing!
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Aloha Stan, Nice report and beautiful fishies. Jim
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I had to wear two pair of thermals under my waders on Saturday to fish Henry's Lake in Idaho - man I'm jealous! Great post and superb pics. Thanks!
kelly