Afternoon dive with Eli G.

After not diving with Eli for a looooong time, we finally were able to do another afternoon dive outside of ML.  He took me to the left and the grounds were pretty dead.  I had been to that spot a few times previously and on each account the grounds were also pretty dead.  haha.

We got to the parking lot and started to talk and catch up.  We made our way down to the beach and there was quite a bit of people/tourists staring at the two weird full wetsuited divers with spearguns.
The water was nice but on the murky side.  As we got in Eli swam towards me holding up one busted band.  I laughed and he was like oh well one band is better than none....haha  I could have sworn those were the same bands he used on our last dive and they were really buss up!  We swam around the left side point and saw.....nothing!  The uhus were also scarce! haha

Eli and I took turns taking blind drops and dusting as we were trying to find the elusive Mu pile.  After only seeing bubbles and coral eggs we decided to swim farther left.  We came across a big opelu kala which eli took a shot on but due to the lack of speargun rubbers it dodged he shaft and swam away.
Eli started to reload and I watched as the opelu kala came back and hid under a rock right below us.  I signaled eli to go down as I wanted to give him the sweet taste of redemption.

He drops down and is looking in the totally opposite direction that I signaled to him where the fish was hiding.  He turns to the left and sees it!  It spooks a little and Eli chases it down and gets a nice shot off!  the one bandit Eli strikes again! haha

We keep swimming farther down and I take a drop on an uhu but miss.  We start to head back and work the coast line as the sun is getting lower.  We come across a nice cave and check it but nothing inside....

On the other side however is an abundance of fish.  Uhus, joes and toaus.  Its a perfect picture window to snipe and we take turns dropping down.  The fish would come in but it was hard to line up as the current would rush through and push us in and out of the vagina hole.

Eli finally gets a shot off on a nice whiptail but it rips off.

We head back as its nearing the witching hour.  We come across two more opelu kalas and I keep signaling Eli to spear one.  (My friend wanted a bunch to make fish patties)  Eli finally caves in and takes my gun and drops and gets a good holding shot on a big opelu kala.

The other one is still around and I dive down and take a shot with Elis riffe and get a good holding shot.  The fish both start to go nuts and during the whole ordeal I am trying to stop my uncontrollable laughter.  I forgot to note that just previous to this we saw a white tip shark (5 footer).

Eli looks up and me and pops his head outta the water and yells "Shark frenzy!  Lets get the fuck outta here!!!"  I laugh and am trying to subdue my fish but due to my uncontrollable laughter my mask keeps leaking.  I finally string up my fish and wait for Eli to do the same.

We start to swim and I feel a strong pull on my daisy chain.  I look up and see the water splashing from the shark thrashing as he taxes part of an opelu kala.  I drop the anchor and rush towards the float.  The shark is circling and rushing the fish.  I dive down and try to keep the shark at bay.  I look at Eli and after we both try to keep the shark away from our prizzzzed catch, he grabs the anchor and starts to swim in.

I stay in the back and keep the shark at bay.  It constantly comes back circles and rushes in to get the fish.  It took about another 20 minutes of swimming with the shark constantly at my heels.  The murkiness of the water also didnt help as most times I could not see him coming.

At one time I kept swimming in and he swam right up to me from behind me.  I finally give the shark a nice poke and he goes away.  Such determination!  Eli and I both beach and are laughing.  We carry the fish up to the shower just in time to see the security guard coming.  Eli tells him the story and we carry everything back to the truck.

Another epic dive at ML.  I hope those fish patties come out good because I almost got chomped!

The End.

Midmorning dive 1

Back in action with T.C. hammah hammah!

Hamakua started to look nice as friday strolled in.  I called Tyson with excitement since it was over a month since we last dove.  The air was filled with vog due to Kona winds, but the water looked glassy as ever.  We got in the water around 11am.  What a late start!   We first arrived at obake point around 10 but spend some time watching the water due to some swell intervals.  Our usually in/out was surgy and we decided to hike to the right to a point where we last did a night dive.

The in/out there was much better due to the swell energy being broken up by 2 points ahead.  We jumped in and the water was clear and warm.  79 degrees F.  The tide was dropping and upon swimming out I told Tyson I was in search of some uhus and palanis for my Hilo friends.

Tyson dove down on the first green whiptail and took a shot which connected in the guts.  The magic stick (120SV) was on and ready.  We continued to swim out and the water was surprising really nice with very mild current.  We did some drops at around 60ft and dusted but didnt see any fish of interest.

Upon swimming towards the left, we wanted to check 2 houses for any action.  Tyson spotted a nice kali and took a drop down.  The kali runs away but he follows it to the ledge and shoots a nice omilu....stoned!  Hammah hammah hammah!

I spot a small uku that comes around as Tyson starts to reload and start to palu the uhu guts.  He sticks around and I take a drop and start to dust.  He starts to come in but is a little wary of my presence.  I ascend with no shot and we continue on.

We continue to swim towards the houses and check the first small one.  I peek inside but dont see anything.  We swim out towards the bigger house and I drop on the outside.  I peek in and dont see any jacks but spot a nice toau and kumu.  I try to wait for the kumu but he spooks and I go back up.

I drop back down and shoot the toau.  Swimming the fish back to the float, I see TC Hammah with another toau as well.  We follow the structure in and I tell TC to take a shot at a pualu.  It digs after a miss and we follow the ledge in.  Theres a nice aggregation of fish on the inside and I take a palani.

I drop again to the top of the ledge and see a nice joe start to come in.  I swim after him and shoot....but miss.  Tyson spots a nice kumu and takes a shot but it rips off.  We start to head back and he spots another omilu and connects with the 120SV!

We swim in and get out safely.   We hike back to the ladder and climb up.  Another good dive at Obake point!

The Dark Knight Rises (Jesse P)

After about a year and a half time past, I was excited to get a green light from my old dive partner J.P.!
Being a family man means little time for diving!  Jesse stopped by on Saturday and I told him the reaccount of Jarricks 1st Ulua.  Hearing his story got him amped and we planned a drift dive from Kolekole beach park to Hakalau.  I was excited because I had heard of a nice ulua house and was hoping to find it so that J.P. could get a crack at scoring his first ulua.  Two first uluas in one weekend I thought....now that would be epic!

I woke up excited and started driving to Hakalau.  I reached there and the water looked murky with a bit of swell.  Jesse reached there a little after me and we loaded up in my car and drove to kolekole.
Upon reaching there we saw big swells with surfers.  Not really feeling the green light we decided to just dive out of hakalau and swim right to kolekole.

The right side of the bay was protected the most but there was a little surge.  We suited up and got an early start at around 10am haha!  We reach the right side point and the water finally starts to clear.  There is nice structure but not too much fish.  Jesse takes a few shots but misses.  After all this time he still however is able to hit the depths pretty well.

We swim and swim and swim and no fish!  We come across a few whiptails and I signal Jesse to drop. He drops and swims down and fires at something else.  Coming up im laughing hysterically at his accuracy percentage.  He reports there was a nice kumu down there and tells me the gun lacks power due to the old bands.  I continue to laugh and tell him to try the "mana gun".  My goal of the dive was now to shoot a nice uhu with J.P.s gun, not only for the challenge but to spite him as well.  hahaha.

I come across another whip whos busy feeding and see if I can dive bomb.   I drop 25% and wait.  The uhu continues to feed and does a circle and I go for it.  I get within range and give a few kicks more and pull the trigger of old faithful.  (Omer Cayman Carbon 110cm)  Thud!  Stone shot!  I swim up and look for J.P.  and there is a symphony of bubbles erupting from my mask due to the fact I am laughing up a storm!

We swim some more and I find a nice ledge with a small potential ulua house.  I signal J.P. down and he hits the bottom at 55ft.  He sees some uhus and 2 big joes which he chases and swims through the house.  No fish but he comes up saying "Ho Keenan you pushing my luck today!" haha.  We decide to turn around as its nearly 12:30pm.

I see Jesse bolt and he laters tells me he saw a nice ulua. We continue to swim back and I see JP drop again.  A blue whiptail swims up from the reef and JP is on it.  He connects and another uhu is added to the stringer.  We hit the bay and the water seems to be much clearer and calmer than in the morning.  We both get on shore safely, swap more laughs, stories and rest under a shady tree.

The Dark Knight rises!  Hopefully we can continue to get more dives in!

Jarricks 1st Ulua

After a long hot week of muggy, voggy Hilo weather I was ready to jump into some clean, clear, cool water.  Jarrick Dasalla texted me earlier in the week telling me the water out hamakua was flat with no wind.  He was looking foward to diving Paauilo, where the weekend previously he had lost an Ulua on a big strike.  He wanted to scout more of the underwater structure to form a conclusion of his own of where and how the ulua's pin his pole down far out from the cliff's edge.

I also had told him my ulua story and he was excited and hopefully to just see one.  He met me at my house at 9am and we loaded up and headed out.  We joked about him spearing his first ulua and how he never got to really use the remora reel on his aimrite 120 SV.  We were both surprised when we pulled into the clearing and no fishermen in sight!  We suited up and hiked down to the water.  Jarrick and his friends also did an excellent job of trimming the trail with a pair scissors.

I wanted Jarrick to sample the "mana gun", so I told him to jump in first and try and spear a nenue for palu.  As we both got in the water, the inside was a little surgy and murky but the outside was nice and flat with 0 wind.  Jarrick shot a nice nenue with the "mana gun" and I shot a pualu with his aimrite.

I told him that was enough to start paluing and we swam out to the house.....
Upon reaching there, the current was pulling in the complete opposite direction then it normally does.  Straight inwards towards the landing and back towards Hilo.  The water was also extremely warm at 79F.  We both reached the house and I pointed it out to Jarrick.

"Ho this is deep!" was his reply.  I took a drop down straight to the bottom of the house and peeked inside.  There were two smaller uluas inside swimming in circles and I saw that the cave went all the way through the other side.  My watch read 72ft and I decided to head back up.  Upon ascending a nice 20-25lb ulua comes straight up towards me.  I line up my gun and make a pretend stone shot. (Good mental practice! haha).

As I hit the surface I yell to Jarrick "Did you see that ulua?"  He replies "Ya how come you never shoot?!"  I laugh and reply "All you today!" haha.  We both laugh and keep watching the house below.....

I spot a bigger ulua swimming along the bottom and yell to Jarrick whos a little down current but he didnt see it.  I look back down and cant see it either. :(  I tell Jarrick to stay above the house while I palu the nenue.  I grab the nenue from his back and swim directly up current and start cutting the fish up.  Nothing comes around and I see the smaller uluas in the cave earlier swim along the ledge and out towards the deep.  Thinking they were gone I drop the carcass down till it hits the ledge and drops to the bottom in front of the house.

I talk with Jarrick and tell him I want to try palu further out since it was nice flat and clear.  I grab the palani from the float and swim out till I can't see the bottom.  I start paluing and there is a school of opelu that comes around but nothing else.  I look for Jarrick and see him still above the Ulua house.  I swim to him and he tells me that there is a small ulua swimming around the nenue carcass biting it.

I look down and sure enough a small ulua at the bottom nibbling the little snack I left.  I tell Jarrick that he can make the dive and he should hit the ledge and sneak towards the fish to get a shot off.
He breathes up and goes down.....

He hits the top of the ledge perfect and calmly looks around.  I see him line up on the smaller ulua, then start to track something else.  His gun fires and he starts to head up.  I can't see the fish but can see his reel spinning rapidly.  Upon hitting the surface I grab his arm and tell him to breathe.  He recovers and I tell him his reel is still spinning!  Fish on!  The ulua runs straight into the cave and I tell Jarrick to swim out away from the cave.  His reel is still spinning and he pulls and keeps tension on the line.  He manages to get the ulua out of the cave and starts to pull it up.

I look at him and he signals me to put in the back up shot.  Once the fish was secured we both exchanged high fives and started to buss laugh!  We head in and Jarrick is super stoked.  Ulua weighed in at 19.3lbs using my scale.  Another epic hamakua dive!

81lb Ulua

Haven't written here in a long time.  I will try keep this blog updated more if possible.

Today was the day that I was able to harvest a 81lb ulua.  It started off like any other day.  I was a bit on the tired side from having a long week of work and school, but was itching to hit the water again.
Tyson was excited but was riding 4 wheeler till midnight so I wasnt sure what to expect if we were going earlier the next morning or not.  By 6:30am my eyes were wide open but I stayed in bed.  I was just about to shoot Tyson a text when my phone went off.  "Ho bah. Morning cupcake.  Call me when you up."  We initially planned to hit the 1st horseshoe but I decided to check Pauuilo to see how the water looked.  Upon reaching the cliff I was surprised to see no one there.  It was really windy, with white caps on the outside, but the water looked clear and the in and out didnt look bad.

We both agreed on diving here since the wind looked pretty bad.  We suited up at the truck and started to head down.  Upon, reaching the landing there was trash everywhere!  Looks like a bunch of campers forgot to clean up their opala!  We jumped in and decided to swim left to check a productive ledge where in the past I have seen big kahalas, uhus, nenues, opelus, you name it!  The visibility was excellent and the current was non existent.  I spot two mus who look curious and signal Tyson to take a drop.

He drops and takes a far shot and connects but the mu rips off.  We swim some more and Tyson signals me that the other mu is still around.  I take a drop to 55ft and start throwing some sand.  I look around and see the mu start to come in.  I move my gun a little too fast and the mu spooks leaving me with my still loaded gun as I ascend to the surface.  We continue to swim on and come across the ledge....

I drop my anchor and start to investigate looking on the hilo side.  Tyson spots a pair of omilus down in a deep hole but they dig as soon as he approaches the hole.  We swim back to the ledge and I see tyson diving on something.  There is a unmistakable shape of a big ulua cruising parallel toward the outside of the ledge.  Without breathing up I descend kind of quickly in hopes of cutting the school off.  I kick slower as I approach the bottom of the ledge.  The leader makes it to a big cave while some of the smaller stragglers pass right by me.  I wait and see the smaller uluas make a u-turn in the cave and slowly start to come towards me.  I wait a little longer and see a bigger ulua come out of the cave heading towards me to check me out.

I start to slowly swing my gun in his direction and he veers off a little, so I direct all my attention away from him while still keeping him in sight.  Out of the corner of my eye I can see him coming towards me and I move slowly to point my gun in his direction.  He swims straight up to me and gives me a slightly angled broad side shot.  I take it and hit the fish right behind the left eye.

I can see that my shaft has not penetrated fully through and the fish slowly takes off while stripping line out of my reel.  I start to ascend and am trying not to laugh as I see Tyson swim towards me.  I hit the surface and he yells "Holy shit did it go through?"  I reply "Uh oh" and try to keep a serious face but start to laugh.  The fish is down deep and I can no longer see him, just the yellow spectra which is now getting low on my reel.  I start to follow the general direction of my fish and try to gain back some yardage of spectra on my reel.  The fish keeps pulling and pulling me towards deeper water.  I look up to see tyson sprinting to the far left of me and see that the fish is fighting far from where I am.

The line gets tangled on a coral head but I manage to get it off....only to have it tangle yet again on a deeper coral head. :'(  Tyson dives down and I can see him get within shooting distance and he fires.  The fish fights again and line starts to shoot out of tysons reel.  He is fighting the fish and at this point my shaft comes out but gets tangled around Tyson's shooting line.

The fish starts to come up towards mid water but keeps swimming circles around us.  Tyson yells to me and I tell him to wait and let the fish tire out.  At the same time I am praying that his shaft doesnt come out!  Finally the fish starts to tire out and I dive down to put him to sleep.

We string the ulua up and swim back to our guns.  My line ended up being tangled on a coral head at 80ft.  Once I got that untangled, I was ready to head in. haha.  We dive a little more to the left and tyson hits some uhus but they all rip off.  We decide to call it a day and head in.  Ulua ended up weighing 81lbs according to Tyson scale at Horizon Automotive.  After weighing the fish, the Caitanos convince me to get it printed and I agree.  We drive to Hilo and I get to meet Laron K who ends up printing my fish.   Once the fish was printed we head to kens for a good time.

Pau.

Keauhou dive with Eli

After not being able to shoot a Mu the day before, I was determined to get one. Eli called and said that pine trees was a no go due to a SW swell. We then decided that he was going to check down Keauhou side to see if the water and visibility would be good to dive.

As soon as Eli called back telling me that the water was nice, I started the long drive to Kona town. Reaching there we suited up and jumped in. We swam around the point to the left and worked the coastline.

Most of the reef out there turned out to be barren. We swam along the drop off and didn't see any action. We swam across the harbor and I start scanning the reef and see a nice tako! I drop down and poke him out with my spear. He's in a nice crack but im able to poke him out and grab him.

Swimming back towards shore

Mauna Lani Dive with Josh and Gary

This saturday we decided to do the same dive we did last saturday in hopes of seeing an ulua or shooting some Mu. Josh and Gary showed up at my house and I jumped on with Gary. We drove down to Mauna Lani and saw that there were other divers already in the water to the right of where we were going to jump in.

The water was really murky and we swam to the ulua house, Gary went to check if anyone was home. Seeing that no one was home we decided to try and hunt the infamous Mu pile there. We swam left towards the point and I finally came across a good sized pile. I took a drop behind a coral head and started to throw sand. I see some small ones come in but waited for some of the bigger ones in the back. They refused to come in so we continued on.

Josh then reports that he was able to get a shot off on a nice Mu from the surface due to the murky water and the range of his 125cm. He ends up losing it due to it ripping off. We start to head back and I try to find the ulua house once again in hopes that someone would be home. Just as I get around the G.A. Josh yells to me. He ends up shooting a nice blue whiptail uhu and I give him my knife.

We head in just before dark and wash up. Another good dive at ML!

Pine Trees/ OTEC dive with Eli

Todays adventure took place out on the Kona side. Pine Trees is a well known surf spot I had heard about from my friend Brandon Fair. I met up with Eli at Pine Tree Cafe and we loaded up and drove down to the spot. Upon reaching the beach I was surprised to see so much people! There was tons of people camping, fishing and surfing! We drove to the left till the road ended. Suiting up I saw that there was a bunch of fishing poles and a bit of surge.

We were about to jump in at this one spot when I decided that we should look for a safer in/out due to the surge and not wanting to lose any equipment! We walk aways an find a perfect in/out area behind a point. We jumped in around 3:30pm. The visibility was excellent. As soon as I jumped in I could see 2 big Mus hovering in midwater.

We swam to the right and Eli was able to spear 2 nice rois. I was amazed by the different structure and the sizes and depth of the caves we came across. We swim for about an hour and don't really see much. Finally we come across a fish pile and I see Eli point at a small uku and a pile of big Mus. Eli drops and tries to call the uku in but it refuses.

I end up taking a drop and am able to call the small uku in. He swam in straight at me and just as I squeeze my trigger he pulls a "juke x" and dodges my shaft! After disappearing we decide to head to deeper water in search of some pelagics.

We start chumming the two rois that Eli shot and the next thing I know Eli grabs my arm. I look at him and he points to a 6-7ft black tip shark. Around the same time two small kaimanus come in to investigate the chum. They disappear but the shark doesn't.

The shark keeps circling us coming closer and closer within my speargun. I could see she had a big hook with line stuck in her mouth from the fishermen on shore. The shark would disappear then reappear and show signs of aggression. After almost poking it in the nose a few times as it would come in straight for me she finally goes away. We start to see the edge of the reef again and I see a nice Ulua down deep. I tell Eli and hes like "WHAT? NO WAY!"

We head in just before dark and start to pack up the SUV. After the dive I end up washing my gear at Eli's place and he cuts me some plexiglass! All in all a good way to end the weekend!

Mauna Lani Dive with GaryNKekai

Due to the ironman triathlon this weekend our choices of dive spots were limited. I decided to try our luck at the infamous ulua hole outside of Mauna Lani. After having a successful night dive the night before Gary was ready to dive. Josh was suppose to come along but ended up not going. We arrive at the spot around 3pm. Suiting up I start to think to myself "Its been awhile since I seen an Ulua." We decided to check the house and see if we could hunt some Mus.

Swimming out we find that the reef seemed barren. No uhus, goats, toaus or rois. We swam towards the house and just as I'm about to drop and check it a massive Ulua bolts out! Almost choking on my own bubbles, I yell to Gary to come over. He goes down to check it but the ulua is gone....( This was around 3:30pm)

We come across a cave and Gary drops and shoots a nice alaihi. While hes stringing his fish up, I take a drop. I see a Mu out in the distance but it refuses to come close. I start to see a nice grey shape swim towards me in the distance. At first I'm like awesome a nice big uku! It turns out

the tax man has come in to investigate the commotion. He swims right by me and disappears.

We swim further left and find a enormous Mu pile. There were two schools all 4lbs and up with about 10-15 in each school! Gary and I take turns playing "hide and go seek" but none come within gun range. On one drop I hide and start dusting sand. I peek over and see a small Mu start to come in with the bigger ones out of range. At the end of my breath hold the bigger one finally comes in slowly but surely. I line up and squeeze my trigger. MISS!

On another drop im hiding behind a big coral head and a nice sized one is hanging out just outside of my gun range. I lunge and take a shot and MISS again! haha 0/2! Gary later reports that a Mu was directly behind me! After some good laughs we swim in. Gary was able to shoot a nice alahi and I was able to shoot two nice rocks. Another epic dive at ML!

Dive with Gary N Kekai

After a long work week I was itching to get back into the water. One of my friends Gary who recently moved to Oahu was back on the Big Island for a few weeks. Upon seeing the conditions the day before we talked and planned a dive for the weekend.

I later found out that he was staying in Pauuilo which was perfect to get an early start. We met 7am at Earls to buy some bentos, ice and drinks for lunch. Driving down to the spot we were relieved that no one else was there.

After suiting up and hiking down I jumped in. The water visibility must have been the best I've seen it for a while with the weather perfect and no clouds around. There was a little breeze in the air but the water was on the nice side, although you could tell the north swell was due to arrive the next day. I jump in and take a couple of warm up dives. Even though the water was on the nice side, the current was ripping due to the full moon.

I was excited with these conditions and hoping that we would see some pelagics. While waiting for Gary I see tons of nehu (baitfish) in the water all around me. About 10 seconds later I see this fast torpedo object start coming up and eating the bait fish. It turns out its a nice kawakawa (wavy black tuna). I take a drop but due to the sheer speed of the fish its gone within a blink of an eye.

I look up and hear Gary shouting to me. Hes yelling at me that he lost one of his fins. I quickly swim back to him and take a drop to look on the bottom. Around this same time I look to my right and see a big kali and a huge omilu along with two smaller ones.

Trying to focus on the task at hand, I take another drop and see Gary's fin and retrieve it. He jumps in and we start to palu the area. After nothing comes in we decide to swim out to the left in hope for some onos. After reaching the end of the ledge we start paluing and I let down my flashers. After a good half hour of drifting we see nothing but opelu and bait fish.

We start to head in and decide to work the reef. After shooting an uhu I spot a nice kumu come out of the hole due to the commotion. Gary drops and gets a nice shot on it! We swim further down and reach the infamous toau hole. The current at this point is ripping and it was hard for us to take drops and reach the bottom of the hole. I peek inside and see a couple of big toaus but none present me with a shot. I give Gary the signal to start heading back and we start the long swim back.

We end up swimming about 1.5 hours back against the unfriendly current and finally get outta the water. With some nice fish in the cooler, 2 powerades, and bentos it definitely ended up to be a good dive!

Afternoon Dive with JP!

After not diving for most of the summer with Jesse we were finally able to to plan a dive on a day where the weather and water was cooperative. We decided to do a late afternoon dive since the tide was good and the wind was down. After eating lunch at my place and everything loaded up, we headed out.

Upon arriving at the spot we go to check out the water and the conditions were really nice! Walking back from the cliff we see a green toyota tacoma parked right next to our truck. After meeting and talking stories with this guy he told us he was the one responsible for building those ladders that we climbed down!

We finish suiting up and start to hike down. Upon jumping in and swimming out we see a small Kawakawa attacking the nehu. We decide to swim to the right and keep up a constant pace so that we could reach the point just around feeding time. We stop by the omilu house and I ask JP if he wants to check. He agrees and breathes up for about a minute before going down. He reports seeing no omilus but an omilu carcass with my shaft inside it! (I lost previously on a dive.) We decide to keep swimming towards the point.

Upon reaching the point we start to see some action. I keep on wanting to swim farther into unexplored territory but my watch says its already 5pm and we are at least an hours swim down current from our entry point. I don't see much out in the deep so I head in shallow and see a nice omilu swim right below me. I take a drop and hide behind a rock. I start to dust and peek up and the omilu is right in front of me. I get a good shot in the gill plate and swim back towards my float.

We decide its finally time to head back since it was getting dark. On the journey home I take a drop on a Mu and get a shot off. We drift back to the omilu house and can see the sun setting which gives us just enough light to check the house. Out of the corner of my eye I see a HUGE omilu swimming mid water. I throw my spoon and so does Jesse but fail to entice the beast.

Right around that time I see another omilu/ulua swim into the back part of the cave. By this time its getting really dark so we decide to call it a day. We had to swim around the fishermen's lines and climb out in the dark.

So ends the story of another epic dive with JP!

Kill Roi Day

Today Ammon, Josh and I dove Breakwall.

After picking Ammon up we headed down to the dive spot. The conditions were perfect with no wind and good visibility. We jumped in late morning around 10:15am. We swam out to the same exact ledge where we saw the tiger a couple days before.

Not seeing much I decided to shoot some rois. Using "Ammon's technique" I was able to get a good shot off on one which was the first fish of the day to add on the stringer. I see uhus and try to take drops, but since its late in the morning they refuse to come within range. We continue further and see a big Mu pile with some "makoons".

After trying to take drops on the pile, they also refuse to come in. We swim further out and to the right and I see yet another roi. I take a drop and lay on the bottom waiting for it to come within range. A small moana kali comes in and I take a shot and am able to land it.

Ammon shoots a big roi and we both see a baby fish fall out of its mouth dead. Swimming on further Josh launches a shot at a big kumu but misses and ends up getting his shaft stuck in the reef. After two tries he can't budge the shaft. I go down and after pulling, pushing and turning am finally able to get it free.

We head in and end up with 6 Rois, 1 menpachi, 1 Toau and 1 Kali. After getting out I happily eat my Kalua bowl in front of Ammon. (After he offered me fresh kalua for his bros wedding).

First Tiger Experience

Today....Shark....a BIG one.

Josh and I went diving out on the Kawaihae Breakwall today. He wanted to test out his new shaft that was customized for his 125cm aimrite. I decided to use my 90cm HHead in hopes of shooting some rois and small game. I also got to use my "daisy chain" for the first time.

We jumped in late around 10:15 am. Swimming out to the ledge we see a few uhu here and there but nothing big. We finally get to the ledge and I decide to anchor my float. I see two decent sized joes but they are skiddish. I start to watch Josh stalk a toau when I see a good size Mu outta the corner of my eye...

The Mu looks curious so I take a drop and find a good reef depression to hide in. I make sure my whole body is well concealed and grab a rock an start scratching. I take a quick peek from behind the ledge and to my surprise the Mu is coming towards me! I put my head down and wait a little longer...

The next thing I know the Mu is right above me! I aim and fire my 90cm and the Mu takes off in a flash. He holes up and I try to call Josh over. Swimming towards me Josh takes a drop and just as he reaches the cave the Mu manages to rip off! I follow him from the top and lose him in a deep crack. :'(

We decide to swim back to the float and work the ledge. Upon reaching the float I look towards the surface above the sand and see an small shape approaching from the distance. Not sure what it was it came closer and closer. My first impression was that it was a whale shark due to the massive girth and size. As he finally came into range I realized it was a "makoon" tiger shark! She looked to be about 12-15ft long!

She came in straight at me reaching about 10-15ft. I raised my HHead 90cm realizing that this was the only thing between me and her. She turned broadside and gave us a glimpse of her massive size and stripes! Luckily she wasn't aggressive and vanished in a blink.

Josh looked up at me and his eyes were big like menpachis! "We go in?!" he said. I tried my hardest not to laugh and said "ya lets head in". On the swim back I kept laughing and he kept saying "F*ck I wish the truck was a little closer!" hahaha.

We noticed two other divers and decided to warn them. Josh told them "tiger shark" and before we knew it they swam in faster than we did! Just as we were about to reach the stairs I see a good sized Alaihi and fire. After stringing the red fish up we called it a day. We washed our gear down at the harbor, ate some Earl's bento rolls and stopped at Seafood Bar for a few brewskies laughing and retelling our account of "Unko Tony".

I was happy that we both came back in one piece and have gained even more respect for the ocean and its tenants.

1st day of School=Reds

After graduating from college it felt weird not to be in school when all my friends were starting their first day. The weather and water conditions were pretty nice so Ammon, Josh and I decided to do a dive out on the Hamakua Coast. I had a hard time choosing between my speargun and 3 prong. I finally chose my 3 prong and we decided to all use 3 prongs. We jumped in around 8:30am and swam to the left.

The water was nice and there was no wind. I took a few drops early in the dive and started to check in between the boulders and under the ledges. After finding 2 menpachi holes and picking up some red fish, I swam towards a steep drop off. Reaching the edge, I see 2 small kumus and one good sized one! Armed with only my 3 prong, I knew that I would have to get really close to get a good shot off. I started a quiet descent slowly kicking down towards them. Upon seeing my presence the kumu starts to veer off. I keep swimming down and angle my attention away from him. I hit the bottom and give two soft grunts.

To my surprise I peek over a rock and see the kumu heading straight towards me! I slowly turn my right arm and take a reaction aim and get a good shot off! As I start to ascend im smiling and admiring the beauty of this prized fish! After a couple of cheers and high fives we start to swim further down. We find more menpachi and decide to head back. Ammon also picks up a nice sized kumu, a toau and some menpachi.

All in all today was a good dive!

A Short Dive

Todays dive was a short one. The conditions have been prime with small surf and no wind along the Hamakua coast. Ammon, Kealii, Josh and I decided to do a early morning dive. Ammon and Kealii arrived at my house around 7am and we loaded up and jumped in. We waited for Josh at Earl's Snack Shop. Everyone was itching to get into the water and the wait seemed like forever. We finally met up and drove down to the spot.

Upon hiking down the conditions were perfect. We jumped in and I stuck with Josh while Ammon stayed with Kealii. I followed a ledge out and saw a big blue whiptail peeking out. I took a drop down current, hit the bottom and snuck up towards the ledge. Peeking over I could see the big face of a big blue uhu. I lined up for the shot and squeezed my trigger. I swam up and saw it was a good holding shot. With an uhu on the stringer I could feel my dive mode start to kick in.

We started to swim further and Josh reported not feeling so good. He started to palu the water around us due to feeling sea sick! We signaled to Ammon guys that we were going to head in. Even though it was a short dive it felt good to get in the water again.

Diving with Dad

Today was one of those rare days where the conditions were almost perfect for diving off the beautiful hamakua coast. I was lucky enough that on this same day my dad was off from work. We decided to do a morning dive since there was a slight high tide. All this past week, the winds have been gusty. However today, there was no wind at all.

I decide to test out my bumper buoy rig that my friend Troy had helped me with. I also wanted to test out my flashers which were finally finished after 3 coats of clear casting resin had been applied. I checked my freezer and found two ziplocs of anchovies from the last dive Nick and I went on.

Soon after breakfast my dad and I load up the truck and drive down to one of our favorite spots to dive. Upon reaching our destination, I make quick note that the wind and water was almost perfect. We spotted a truck parked on top and I started to pray that they would let us jump in. We quickly suited up and hiked down.

There were two fishermen there who stayed and fished all night. They were friendly and allowed us to jump in since they were leaving. The water was the nicest I've seen it all summer. We started to swim to the right and stayed right along the ledge looking for some big game. Seeing nothing we decided to head in a ways to work the reef. I come across a nice fish pile with a good size Mu and Joe. I take a drop on the Mu and am just about to level off when the fish spook.

We continue to swim and I see yet another Mu which quickly evades me upon noticing my presence. I decide to head to really shallow water so my dad can pick up some kole. I see this good size omilu swimming slowly and throw a spoon but he bolts and doesn't want anything to do with me. We finally come to the pinnacle and my dad starts shooting koles. I see a Mu in the distance and notice that he is curious. I take a drop and hide behind a big bolder. I flatten my body as much as possible and take a quick peek to see the Mu swimming towards me. I look down and stay as still. The Mu finally swims within gun range and I get a good shot!

Since the water was nice we decide to swim out past the ledge in search of onos. I start to lower my flashers and start to chum. We drift for about an hour and see nothing. Swimming back in we decide to call it a day.

Windy Dive

The winds have been really blowing lately. A quick check on the surf report revealed that it was ok to dive. I called Ammon up the day before and he was still feeling sick with his sinuses bothering him. We ended up going out for a late afternoon dive. The weather was still really windy but it was really hot and sunny. Upon arriving at the spot we walked towards the peak of the cliffs and could hear the wind howling and see fierce whitecaps as far as the eye could see.

However upon further inspection we saw that our in and out area was protected by the point and that it would be ok for us to jump in. We jumped in around 4pm and swam left. I took a few warm up dives to get acclimated to the depth and pressure. We swim further and see a few uhus here and there but they are all really wary. The water is on the murkier side with decent current.

I spot a good size Mu lurking in the distance and take a drop. Upon hitting the bottom, I trying calling to it but he refuses to come in. I start dusting sand and I see a good size Joe out of the corner of my eye. Hes also on the alert and swims away.

After drifting for about an hour, Ammon reports that he sees a nice kumu near a sand patch. He takes two drops and on the 2nd one is able to get a shot off. While hes stringing up his prize, I see a school of kawakawas fly by on the inside in about 15ft of water!

We decide to head back in due to the sun setting. I finally see an approachable red whiptail and take a drop. Upon seeing me dive the uhu swims up from the reef towards me! I squeeze off a good holding shot and the uhu takes off while stripping line from my reel. At the same time Ammon and I spot a huge moana kali in the distance. I decide to help Ammon with the stalk while keeping an extra eye on the gianormous Kali. Not having an interest in us the Kali swims away.

I return to my gun floating mid water and take a drop. I hit the bottom to find that the uhu has pulled my shaft all the way in the back of the little cave. Luckily I see that the small hole opens up on the other side. I return to the surface and reposition myself along side the opposite end and take another drop. I see both the uhu and my shaft and brain the uhu first. Since the line is pulled through the hole, I needed to unclip my shooting line from my gun in order to bring the uhu to the surface. I return to the surface yet again rethinking my strategy to untangle this fish. I finally go down again and see a moray eel trying to steal the uhu. I grab my shaft with my hand and start poking it till it finally swims off. I'm finally able to unclip the line from my gun and swim the fish up. So much work for an uhu!

We end up swimming back with 2 uhus and a kumu. We see two people fishing who cannot believe we are diving due to the wind and water. After sharing some laughs and stories we head up to the truck. Not a bad day of diving.

Mauna Lani

Ammon and I were able to check out one of our spots outside of Mauna Lani after not diving there for what seemed like forever. On this trip I was armed with my favorite gun. An omer 110cm Cayman Carbon with an Omer match 50M reel. Ammon was armed with his 100cm omer cayman.

We swam out looking for the infamous ulua house where in the past my two friends and I were able to get a nice one. Upon swimming along the drop off and not seeing much action, I decided to make some drops and see what would come in. The first drop that I took a small uku came in. Scanning all around me I didn't see anything else. We swam back in and decided to swim right with the current.

We encountered a lot of nice structure. Not seeing any game fish we decided to shoot a few rois. I see a big school of nenues and some uhus. On the way back I also saw a good size kumu but it ran away. :( It was a long dive and we ended up getting a few fish.

1st dive of summer 2010

After being sick for about 2 weeks my friends and I were all itching to dive together after being away from the big island for so long. I was just getting over a massive cold which later turned out to be a bacterial infection. After being prescribed three large doses of antibiotics from Dr. Hopman and a good weeks rest, I finally felt up to getting back in the water.

Today's dive took place at the infamous break wall. My dive partner Ammon accompanied me on this trip, and we were both anxious and excited to dive together again after much time had passed. I was using my trusty 90cm HHead and Ammon was armed with his 100cm omer cayman. I was fast to suit up and quick to jump in.

Upon jumping in my eyes began to slowly adjust to the clarity of the ocean after not seeing it for such a long time. I did a few warm up dives and we started to swim out. We saw a few uhus but I wanted to check the mouth to see if there would be any predatory fish cruising the murky depths.

Reaching the mouth I threw a spoon and took a blind drop. I hit the bottom and looked up to see the spoon continually spiraling down towards me. Two omilus rush in and I get a shot on a small one. We dove for about an hour more and decided to call it day. I knew this would be the start of another epic Big Island summer.