# Ulua fishing in Hawaii



## Samurai

I haven't posted in a long time as I've been busy coaching my son's baseball team.I haven't been able to fish as much as I would like to but I have been visiting P&S every so often.A few P&Sers have allways been intrigued by the Hawaii fishing sytle and I've recently found a video that represents what we do well.This is a good representation of "Ulua Fishing" in Hawaii.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eurGtYPEbbw
Here's the link.


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## sprtsracer

All I have to say is, "WOW"! Great video.


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## RuddeDogg

Great video.......makes me homesick............


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## beachcaster

Samurai Im in Honolulu working and watched some guys fishing from the beach and they had bells on their rods. I talked to one and he said to get the one from walmart. I think the bell would be great for night fishing back home. I havent been yet to walmart but what do you think about the best bell or place to get one while Im here? Im not sure if they have them in the states.:fishing:


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## Shooter

Now if you come home with "BELLS" I aint gonna tell ya what you will be called but get up with me when ya get home and I will hook ya up with something that will not get ya called names


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## kingfisherman23

Awesome video! Yet another subsection of our sport that requires a special kind of gear and techniques. Looks like I have another thing to add to my bucket list! 

I also really like that gaff. It looks like it would work really well for gaffing kings off our piers.

Evan


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## Samurai

beachcaster said:


> Samurai Im in Honolulu working and watched some guys fishing from the beach and they had bells on their rods. I talked to one and he said to get the one from walmart. I think the bell would be great for night fishing back home. I havent been yet to walmart but what do you think about the best bell or place to get one while Im here? Im not sure if they have them in the states.:fishing:


The Walmart ones will do the job but if you plan on getting serious about Ulua Fishing,I'd go to a local fishing store.Most people use ones that are made by local welders and sold at stores or by word of mouth.Since you're in Honolulu,I'd go check out Brian's Fishing Supply on King Street.He'll be able to find you one for your needs as well as the holder to be wrapped on your pole.

Have you been out fishing/casting since you've been here?How'd you do?

Aloha!!


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## Samurai

kingfisherman23 said:


> Awesome video! Yet another subsection of our sport that requires a special kind of gear and techniques. Looks like I have another thing to add to my bucket list!
> 
> I also really like that gaff. It looks like it would work really well for gaffing kings off our piers.
> 
> Evan


I started a thread with pictures awhile back about our gear in Hawaii.It shows different "sliding gaffs" that I use.I think the title was"Hawaiian Style" or something to that effect.

Alot of people couldn't believe we cast #80 test from shore.If you look at the lava in the video,you'll see why.Under the water,it looks simular to on land and #15 test would not last long rubbing against those rocks.

I know RuddeDogg has island roots.He may be one of the few that can understand the "Pidgin English" spoken.


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## narfpoit

hey man great to hear from you again. That is an awesome video. How big did that fish end up being? I hope I get to make it out there and try that one day.


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## kingfisherman23

This is really cool. I missed the "Hawaiian Style" post from )^, but I just went back and read it.

If I ever get down to the islands I'm going to look you guys up. Forget fishing, I'd be happy just to watch it happening. And I know for sure nothing I have is built for this kind of work! 

Evan

Edit: Someone on another board posted this link, it certainly looks like the kind of rod you guys would use. 13', wire coil guides and rated for 9-12 oz:

Shimano Tallus Ulua


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## Hudak

Ya, I don't see this fat man standing that close to the edge with something trying to pull me over. One good gust of wind and I look like a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade disappearing in the horizon.... I will wait for a rail. LMAO

Robert


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## Samurai

I tried to describe Ulua Fishing as best as I could but the video does alot better job than I did.I'm not sure how big the fish ended up being but judging from what I could see,it's #80 plus.They mentioned on the video"close #100" and I wouldn't doubt if it were.

If any one of you came to visit the islands,I don't think you'll be able to sit by and just watch.Once that pole takes off and you hear the bell and the ratchet scream for mercy,the fisherman in you is going to want to go to battle.As many years as I've been doing this,I never get tired of hearing a big strike.

Yes the Shimano Tallus is something that some use down here.There are a few companies that make production ready to go rods.Most of the veteran casters use custom made rods though.

Robert,what you mentioned is sadly part of the reality of our sport that we love.There has been many Ulua Fisherman that have passed while pursuing their dream of landing "Da Big One".


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## Shooter

How much weight are yall useing to cast with and what type and size reels do ya use... Next, what is the reason for the bells?

PS: King, if your like this old fat man, all we have to go is sit down on the rocks and I dont know to much that could drag us off (sad to say)


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## Samurai

http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?t=24262&highlight=hawaiian+style

This thread gives a brief description of what we do.The bells are to alert the angler of a strike.Keep in mind that some of the best times to fish for Uluas are at night and at dawn.Alcohol is involved alot of times so the bells help wake the angler up.The big stikes from my experience rarely ring the bell much but just peel line at an alarming rate.I've seen the sideplate/drags literally have smoke coming off of them at times.

We usually throw 9-12 oz lead weights.Mainlines are between #60-#100 test on average.Reel sizes are about a 4/0 size reel.The popular reels are Newell 500 and 600 series,Penn 4/0 and 6/0,Shimano Torium 50s,etc...


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## ematsuda

Not everyone in Hawaii fishes this way although "slide baiting" is very popular. 

Many of us baitcast from beaches to fetch Ulua/GT's too. Baitcasting rigs consist of mainline -> 3/0 swivel -> SS wire/Braided wire/Heavy Mono approx. 200# rub line of approx. 4-5' -> 3/0 swivel -> 80 -100# mono leader approx. 12" -> size 28 -32 circle hook. The lead line is tied to the bottom swivel in the same ring as the heavy mono. I've landed many Ulua among other fishes this way from popular beaches around the island of Oahu. This style is very much like how people baitcast in the surf in the Mainland with a few minor differences here or there. The typical rod and reel setup for this type of fishing is a Jigmaster sized reel with 30-50# mono coupled with a 13' - 14' rod. My baitcasting setup is a 14' Outcast Ozone rod and Trinidad 30 with 30# or 40# mono (I have 2 spools for each reel with different size mono depending on terrain).


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## Shooter

That sounds a lot like some of our Med. size shark set ups here on the East coast which sadly a lot of times turns into hugh butter fly ray catchn.

At night we will use small lights attached to the poles and always have the clickers turned on and I have seen a clicker wake the dead,,, I keep saying I am going to invent an alarm clock that sounds like a reel clicker, cause ya aint never seen a man wake so fast from a dead sleep and be on top of a rod 

Maybe one day I will get the chance to come visit and fish with yall and if ya twist my arm, might even have a :beer:


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## ematsuda

Shooter said:


> That sounds a lot like some of our Med. size shark set ups here on the East coast which sadly a lot of times turns into hugh butter fly ray catchn.
> 
> At night we will use small lights attached to the poles and always have the clickers turned on and I have seen a clicker wake the dead,,, I keep saying I am going to invent an alarm clock that sounds like a reel clicker, cause ya aint never seen a man wake so fast from a dead sleep and be on top of a rod
> 
> Maybe one day I will get the chance to come visit and fish with yall and if ya twist my arm, might even have a :beer:


Yes, unfortuanately we do catch many sharks and batfish here too. We use a SS bell as mentioned above. The bell has a thick SS wire welded to it and attaches to the rod by wrapping a small tube much like wrapping an eye to the rod. We just insert the wire of the bell into that wrapped on tube. Some bells are very loud. It has to be since it has to compete with the sound of the surf. A bell is almost a must have because you don't want to be staring at the rod the whole night. We cast our poles out and mess around paying no attention to the rods until it's time to check the bait or the bell go off. I've been meaning to post pix of this but haven't gotten around to it yet.


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## Don B

Samurai,
Good to see you posting again. Thanks for sharing. 

Beachcaster,
Most tackle shops will have a variety of bells available. The larger bells generate a lower tone that can be heard longer distances and their sound is able to be more easily heard through the sound of the surf. Plus, the tackle shops can provide help and guidance.

If the chance arises, ask to see a gata-gata. Their constructio is similar to the old bicycle horns that had a plunger to depress. The plunger is replaced with a pulley drive. They announce a strike that pulls out line. Heres a recent link:

http://www.ulua-fishing.com/hff/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7697

And a link that has some of the local tackle shops:

http://www.donstacklehawaii.com/link/retail.htm

kingfisherman23,

The coil guides you refer to are often called helical or Hilo guides. Although they can survive abuse, they are easy to grove due to line wear. The subsequent problem is that groved guides will cut your line. Also, the more powerful ulua rods will have up to a size 17 tip (17/64" tube size). Casting 9 to 12 ounces is not indicative of the rods true power.

Don


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## beachcaster

Shooter: Now you see what I meant about the bell for the fishing rod. I figured it was something you had not heard of to think I was " funny " fishing with bells on my rod haha. When I get to the Brian Fishing store Im also going to check their longcasting reels. I need one for my 13', maybe they will be cheaper; but here in Hawaii I doubt it.:fishing:


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## Samurai

ematsuda,

The reason baitcasting was not discussed much in that thread is that most of the board members are quit familiar with throwing bait.They call it 8nbait and in my opinion do it as well if not better than we do it here.I am from Oahu so I do my fair share of baitcasting as well as slide baiting.All of the members that have PMd me have all asked about "Slide Baiting".I have even went to the point of sending a few of the members some slide bait rigs on my own dime just for them to try.Some wanted to try it from piers and other for sharks.

Don B,

That's interesting that you feel the larger/low pitch bells can be heard from a farther distance.My baitcasting bells are made of copper nickel and let off a very high pitch noise which I feel are better from a sand beach which generally have the poles stretched out a further distance.My slide-bait bells are larger and of lower pitch Both will wake me up from a deep sleep but I feel the high pitch bells penetrate the wind better.JMO.

Happy Thanksgiving to all P&Sers!!!


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## Shooter

I am all about "When in Rome" go with what works and I was just picking on Beachcaster and yall can pick on him while he is over there  I just want to see him bring the bell to the beach


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## RuddeDogg

Man I got to get back home...................


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## beachcaster

I knew you were joking shooter, I wont mind being joked for wearing bells when they ring out from mr drum snagging my line in the dark.:beer::fishing:


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## Samurai

I knew an ol' timer that would wire lights to his rods with a clip to his line.When something pulled line out of his reel,the clip would pull upwards with the line and activate the switch which then turned on the light.I saw a LED version somwhere online,might have been Cabelas.People have allways tried to come up with ingenious "do dads" to improve on how we fish but the bell is probally the most widely used.I've have fished spots that the camp is 50-75 yards away from the poles and the bells are still able to be heard from that distance.I'll try to remember to leave mine at the hotel if I ever make it out to "The Point" and try my hand at some drum fishing.Some of you can't wait to come to Hawaii,I can't wait to fish the East Coast Blitz.

The "Gata-gata" that Don B mentioned is another method used by some.It is very loud when activated.A local fisherman "Old Man Sato" made the original ones way back.I happen to be good freinds with his grandson.


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## ematsuda

Samurai said:


> ematsuda,
> 
> The reason baitcasting was not discussed much in that thread is that most of the board members are quit familiar with throwing bait.They call it 8nbait and in my opinion do it as well if not better than we do it here.I am from Oahu so I do my fair share of baitcasting as well as slide baiting.All of the members that have PMd me have all asked about "Slide Baiting".I have even went to the point of sending a few of the members some slide bait rigs on my own dime just for them to try.Some wanted to try it from piers and other for sharks.


Sorry dude, that wasn't mentioned in your post. No offense but perhaps a more descriptive title such as "Slide baiting for Ulua in Hawaii" would've been better if you wanted to keep the topic on sliding ONLY.


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## beachcaster

Well I got my bell from Brians Fishing store, thanks Samuri, he was a nice helpful person on the best way to use the bell. I actually got two of them. The reels were reasonable also but I can wait till I get back to the states next weekend............striper time then.:fishing:


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## Stickbom!

Guys we use bells as bite indicators when fishing from the beach here in my part of the planet but I was wondering how those bells you guys use look like. Would someone kindly post a photo?


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## ematsuda

beachcaster said:


> Well I got my bell from Brians Fishing store, thanks Samuri, he was a nice helpful person on the best way to use the bell. I actually got two of them. The reels were reasonable also but I can wait till I get back to the states next weekend............striper time then.:fishing:


I'm glad you're pleased with your purchase. Yes, Brian is always willing to help and that's why many of us go to him for advice.


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## Don B

Stickbom! said:


> Guys we use bells as bite indicators when fishing from the beach here in my part of the planet but I was wondering how those bells you guys use look like. Would someone kindly post a photo?


Here's a link to a common style:

http://www.tokunagastore.com/Menu/UluaFishingGear.htm

Don


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## Hudak

That kinda explains why the hella from Hawaii was excited about buying my Torium 50. Shooter, I stand corrected, I imagine we can sit down and keep from gettn' pulled over, at least until we have to move side to side! LMAO! This sounds like something that I could get into. I use a slide rig on the end of piers for just about anything. If I am every that side of the world, I am definitely going to have to contact some of you guys so I can at least watch and help with some of that alcohol. 

Robert


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## Stickbom!

Don B said:


> Here's a link to a common style:
> 
> http://www.tokunagastore.com/Menu/UluaFishingGear.htm
> 
> Don



Thanks Don! Those bells look pretty huge! We have simple clip on ones here. Will snap a couple of photos and post it here once I get a chance.


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## ematsuda

Stickbom! said:


> Thanks Don! Those bells look pretty huge! We have simple clip on ones here. Will snap a couple of photos and post it here once I get a chance.


We have small clip on ones also but those are mainly used for small rods where there's not much shaking of the rod from wind and waves. They are very difficult to hear if your camp site is far from the poles and there's a lot of surf. My "loud" bells are 6" wide and they are quite heavy because they're made of thick SS. These are perfect if we tend to stay overnight and drift off into sleep. It'll wake you when the fish bite. My normal bells are only 4 1/2" wide, not as thick SS and are lighter but softer.


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