Posted by Tony Duenas on April 03, 2004 at 16:55:45:

well it was sunday and we called for a cab to pick us up at 5:30 in the morning outside our hotel, which was the Waikiki beach tower, and they said ok. We went to sleep at around 10:00 after the whole family and a friend took some Bonine. I got up at 5:00 and got all the stuff ready for the crew, all the girls, which was my mom, older and younger sister, and older sisters best friend, were all newbies and this was there first fishing trip out in the ocean. Well it was 5:20 and my dad and I got everybody up to start heading downstairs. We were down at the lobby at exactly 5:30 and no car, "lets wait 5 minutes". 5:35 and still no car, "lets wait another 5 minutes". 5:40 and still no car, okey now its time to call the cab place. They said it should have been there already, its 5:50 and still no cab. A limo comes in and we ask if it is for us, they say no, its a totally different company, but the cab driver called in a cab and it was there in less than 60 seconds, we all jumped in and told the cab driver to take us to the Kewalo Basin and we got there at 5:57 and in the boat right at 6:00. talked with the captain and gave him the card to pay the balance of the charter, which was 300.00 and and the whole charter for a full day was 600.00, that was a good deal i think. Well after a quick safety brief from the captain and telling us his fishing plan to go after some mahi-mahi's we were off. All the other boats were still in the harbor, including the Magic, monkey biz 1 and 2, and the Kono were still in the slip waiting for their passengers. Right when we passed the first bouy we got hooked on a fish, it was a 20 pound mahi-mahi. That got me all pumped up. the weather was nice, a little windy with white caps, but nothing our 40 foot Sampan couldnt handle. we trolled and looked for birds and saw a HUGE nest of birds working the water about 2 miles away, we trolled on the left side of them and hooked on to another fish, i got it in and now it was my dads turn. He got hooked when i brought my fish in. He brought it in and it was another quality Mahi Mahi. We did a second turn around and after that fish the bit turned off. We moved again and trolled looking for fish, didnt see and birds for about 4 hours. It was 12:00 and we saw some birds in the distance circling something. we passed the bird and saw a mahi mahi pass our right side. 15 seconds later "Hana Paa", or "Hook Up" in Hawain. Now it was my sisters friends turn for a fish, she had the vest on and everything. took her about 15 minutes to get that fish in, and i helped het with the rod, kinda taught her how to bring it in. halfway through her fish another hook up, my dad jumped on it and fought it while it was on the holder the fastest he could without losing it, so it wouldnt get tangled on the other fish on. Well finally she got it in with sore arms and hurting hands. She was so happy, her first Deep Sea fishing trip and she caught a Mahi-Mahi, something that took me 5 years to do! Well we moved again and found one loner bird working the top, trolled through it and saw an Ono pass us and bite the far left rigger but didnt hook, again on the same lure gut again didnt hook and than it was off. trolled until about 2:00-2:10 and saw some more birds. trolled passed them and the captain saw a fish on the side and told me "hurry,put on the vest kid". So i did and waited for the hook up, the fish did and the first mate got it, i sat in the chair and he put the rod on the gimbal and he said "you know what to do, go gettum!". As soon as i put my left hand on the rod and right on the handle the fish took off, im guessing some 50 yards. it stopped and from there it was on. well same as the other fish but alot harder of a fight. Brought the fish about 15-25 feet awat from the boat and jumped, god that was an amazing sight, it jumped about 4 feet from the water, and i know this sounds corny, but looked straight into my eyes, hit the water and ran off again. another 50 yards and 15 minutes into the fight i shift the Tiagra to low gear and start bringing him in. got it 10 feet from the boat, jumped a small last burst or strength jump, and the first mate grabbed the leader and gaff and hooked him and brought him on board straight into the fish box. there was a faint silence between all the fisherman just, in aww. Than we all yelled in joy and everybody was happy and the first mate and the captain both shook my hand. I went into the galley and had a pepsi and rest my sore right hand, but i didnt tell anyone that. It was 2:30 i think and we were an hour and a half from home and my sis wanted to be back by 4:00 so we started heading in. On the way in my dad hooked up to a small dodo and brought him in, last fish of the day. with the fish on ice, everybody sleeping ,besides me, and captain and first mate, a fish box full of fish and bloody hands, i say we had a great day. we were all still looking for signs of fish but no birds, we heard radio chatter about fish and we asked for the numbers, 40 miles away, we said no thanks. We was the harbor and trolled passed the first bouy hoping for a fish to pop up again. Nope. Well we brought the lines in and cruised into the harbor. The captain but the boat in the slip and put tail wraps on all the fish for pictures. We put all the fish up for pictures and everybody walked on to the dock. To put all their stuff away. We took pictures and talked about fish diposition. The captain said take what you'll use and ill keep and give away the rest. we kept 3 fish, in felets the total weight i estimate was about 25-35 pounds minus the ice. It was a great day. 7 dodos in all and we kept the 3 smallest ones, cause they taste the best. Just like catfish. Smaller ones taste the best, bigger ones tastes too strong. well theres my report. Capt'n Bill and deckhand were exceptional. Well worth the price. 6 20 pound Mahi-mahi's and one 55 pound Bull Mahi-Mahi, what a day!

Singing reels,

Tony D.