EASY, AFFORDABLE HAWAIIAN FISHING
locals about fishing. Many Hawaiians fish. If you offer to share your catch, locals you meet at the water will almost always help. Hawaiian tradition requires both kindness to strangers and prohibits wasted fish. So If they caught more than they could eat, the old Hawaiians either shared or stashed the surplus in shoreline fishponds until needed. Some of these ponds still exist and many still offer good fishing.
Avoiding "Ouches"
While saltwater fish can pull the scales off their smaller freshwater relatives, most aren't difficult to catch if you note a few mild hazards. To start, never go barefoot! Always wear reef runners or tennis shoes because coral cuts take forever to heal. So do "fish cuts." Some tropical fish snap dagger dentures. Some have jaws strong enough to crunch coral. White sand is, after all, dead coral that's "circulated" through reef fish. Some species protect themselves with sharp gills or spines. Surgeonfish sport lovely little scalpels at the small of the tail. Some octopi bite; that's fair. The old Hawaiians used to kill them by biting too..
So either tote a pair of long-nose pliers or hook remover, or seek a local's help with hook removal. If Mr. fish swallowed the hook, quickly cut the hook snell off, leave it in the fish and let the fish go. The hook soon rusts out.
Do realize that a few species, such as bonefish, aren't edible, and no fish improves if left in the sun. Conserve your catch in a cooler filled with ice next to the POG.
Note: an inexpensive color guide to saltwater fish helps you sort your catch -- Mine came from an Ala Moana Shopping Center discount book store -- and locals' advice at the wharf or beach will best match your catch to cooking method.
Wharf Winners
Start with any wharf in Hawaii -- if it's not posted -- to enjoy a variety of colorful tiddlers and, at times, fish so large you'd need a cargo net to haul them in. Since many saltwater tropicals are vegetarians, bait with bits of bread or bananas or try shellfish or small bits of shrimp or squid. A couple of size 6 or smaller hooks, a sinker and you're in business along pilings. Swing a rig back under the pier as some fish like to laze away in the shade. Watch for dark schools of baitfish off shore. Don't pass up piers with party boats where fishing's allowed. When mates clean out the bait tanks
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