Louie The Fish

Hawaiian Bonefishing with Coach Duff

Hawaii On The Fly

Aloha Ya'll from sunny Honolulu! 

  I am Louie the Fish, IGFA Certified Captain, bonefish guide and artist/carver ( see www.louiethefish.com).
 

I am writing this to give fly fishers the scoop on coming here to pursue our big bonefish. I guide along with my New Zealand born son Joaquin. We have been guiding over 8 years, a bit less than Ollie Owens at Shoreline Adventures. The real pioneers of this sport are Clay and Sean at the Nervous Water fly shop, Hawaii's only fly shop. There are less than a handful of guides here, some very new, but experience is a really big factor here, plus good networking with other local guides and fly fishers, because areas can go hot or cold overnight. Using a guide for at least a half or full day can greatly improve your chances. We try to give our clients not only good instruction, with emphasis on sight fishing, with the guide right on your shoulder all day spotting bonefish, but also an overview to help them fish here more effectively on their own. The most successful local fly fishers here do best by combining both sightfishing and blind casting, according to
light conditions.

The best way to see what Oahu flats are like is to go to Google and look at a Satellite image. Starting at the northern limit to most of our good fly fishing water, zero in on Kaneohe Bay. You will see a large flat out in the upper middle of the bay, known as the Sand Bar. This can be good sightfishing on a lower tide, has large areas of nearly white sandy bottom, but you will need a boat or Kayak to get out there. There are other smaller flats south of the sand bar, also boat access only, and a large one near the Marine base called  Ross's Flat, (Named after a friend who lives there, and landed an 18 pound bonefish on fly.) This is one great flat that can be accessed by foot. There is a Public Access sign and trail at house 44-381 Kaneohe Bay Drive. This flat can be fished even at higher tides, and is not only good sightfishing, but also good blind casting right out in the middle, if you can cast long. But it, like most flats here, can be fishless at times.

Google down and find either Diamondhead Crater or Kokohead. That long stretch of Oahu's south shore is one long flat, and can be accessed by car at the parks, like Kahala Beach Park, Wailupe Park, Kawaikui Park, Paiko Drive, Bay Street, or along Portlock road. There are always bonefish here somewhere, but areas can have many fish one day and none the next. Local knowledge is a big factor here. And although access is not hard, knowing specific small areas where bonefish habitually come in to feed is learned only by years of fishing here. We have some great sightfishing regular spots we haunt, and certain coral rises we wade out to with our clients, where very often they hook up in just a few blind casts, as the fish are often hanging out there. The whole area is wadable, almost all the way out to the break zone, about 10 miles long. For those like me who enjoy a bit of mindless, relaxing blind casting, this is by far the most effective system. You can hook small or huge bones this way. Basically you wade around in waist deep water looking for shallower spots to stand on , then make long casts, with a slow jerky retrieve, covering lots of water. At the same time, if visibility is good, watch for sight fishing chances. That is the most sensible way to catch them here, and the boys at the fly shop will tell you the same.. Some areas, on a low but rising tide, will have tailing bonefish in very shallow water, so sight fishing is then the best option. This whole area is good for visiting anglers, as you can even get there by bus!

Google a bit further west, and look for Keehi Lagoon, just west of Honolulu Harbour. You will see a large triangle shaped flat called "Triangle Flat", and two more flats just seaward of that, Rat Island flat and Mokuea Island flat, all separated by channels. That is our favorite area to take clients. Easy wading, great sightfishing, and if you dont want the expense of a guide, a very short kayak paddle. We use a very small boat, and keep our rates low, because the ride out there is only about 5 minutes long, and we see no sense in buying a big boat, and then charging a high guide fee. Fishing from boats, Bahama or keys style, doesnt make much sense here, as most boats will hit coral, rocks, bits of steel pipe etc. Wading is by far the best approach to spooky bonefish here, and at times they are tailing in water way too skinny for any type of boat. If you are a DIY fly fisher, and have a rental car, you can rent a kayak, one or two man, at "Go Bananas" in Waikiki, on Kapahulu Ave, for about $40 a day, including all gear, tie downs, foam pads,life jackets etc. You can launch from three places all along San Island Road, just past La Mariana Restaurant, the main Boat Ramp, or the Marine Education center. Buy a cell phone waterproof wallet, and bring your cell phone for safety. You will need an anchor or at least a rope, and keep your eye on your kayak, as there are homeless pirates lurking out there..You can also access the Sand Bar this way, but its a 20-25 minute paddle. We have been guiding this area a long time, so we know how to read the situation, when to move to a new spot, and we know lots of secret spots that only experience or a good guide can reveal. We used to say that Hawaii is not a World Class destination, but after talking to my famous guide friend Sandy Moret in Islamorada, we figured our catch rate is about the same. I know a guy who caught 43 in one day, some ten pounders, blind casting from one coralhead here, and another mate just got 25 in 3 days sightfishing! You just gotta hit it right, tides, moon, clouds, etc all have to be smiling.
 

I am always happy to help out visiting anglers, help you save $$$, and get the most from your Oahu adventure. Call me anytime (not after 11 pm or before 6 am here) on my cell at 808 741 5622, or call Joaquin at 808 291 8131. Our rates are the lowest on island, with discounts for TU member, IGFA members, and discounts on multiple day bookings. Also ask me about our stream fishing for smallmouth bass and peacock bass in our reservoir, or rainbow trout on Kauai. I am the secretary for TU here (see www.tuhi.org) . Those of you on Facebook will find me under Louiethefish DeNolfo, and have a squiz at my big photo albums there, of happy clients with bonefish, my big album of my custom bone carvings, and my trout pics from NZ and elsewhere.

 

Tightlines,

Louie the Fish!  tm