Reef diving the Kona Coast

  • I flew out to go see some family on the Big Island with hopes of landing some big fish and relaxing after a stressfull semester at school. On the first dive my brother and I went out and I tested my Pathos 130 open pro for the first time. We went out to a spot that has been good to us in the past and we managed three tako and I almost had a 4th but I needed more air. When I got back to the surface I could no longer find the octopus as the current was pushing us around.




    I tried a few recipes but the kimchi tako poke seems to be the winner everytime. My brother taught me to boil the tako 20 -30 minutes in a light beer then peel off skin. chop into fine slices add kimchi, lemon, sesame oil, salt, and siracha to taste. YUM!


    We then went to another spot the next day before the massive swell hit and got 5 Uhu for the family to feast on. (forgot to take pictures but here is one that I fried up)


    At the same spot we had a cool encounter with a 5 to 6 foot black tip reef shark. He swam up from the reef in about 50 feet of water and checked us out and then looked at the fish on the float but wasn't interested and swam off into the deeper water. Such beautiful creatures. We also had a couple 15 pound Omilu's come in to check us out while I was reloading. My brother took a shot but missed. Oh well next time.


    We then got invited on a friends boat to troll for some larger pelagics and had a nice swordfish come unbuttoned but we managed a nice family meal after this Mahimahi hit the lures while trolling back to the harbor.



    After the swells died down my brother and my great buddy and I head back out to see if we could get into some more fish and managed a few more tako, uhu, yellow eyed kole and a nenue between the three of us.



    While we where cleaning the fish a couple puhi (eels) came sniffing in the tide pools. We fed them Uhu heads and whatever guts we had on hand. It was cool to watch these eels slither over the rocks and hide just to grab the left overs. You always have to be on the look out cause many have been bitten by eels when cleaning fish in tide pools and not paying attention.




    A few days later my brother, buddy, his girlfriend, and I went diving at a new spot. The water was a little choppy and before I knew it I could no longer see my brothers bouy. I started to head in hoping he had done the same but couldn't find him. Had a chance on a nice moana kali and omilu but passed it up to fnd my brother. Fortunately when we got up on the rocks I found him in the other direction. He had gone looking for me in the opposite way. I jumped back after seeing he was OK to catch up to him but I didn't get any fish. He managed a nice nenue.


    Then on my last dive I had some chances on a massive Mu and a small Kahala but they didn't pan out. However I did manage a scallop and an another Uhu.








    On a side note while cleaning the three takos we had caught they started to do a weird light show and we managed to get it on camera. I thought this was pretty cool.



    Well I hope you all had a great New Year and an amazing Christmas. Hope to go out diving again real soon now that I am back in So Cal.


  • Nice! Seemed like a pretty successful trip. Those mu have their PhD's in avoiding divers. The light show that the tako do is fascinating. Most guys that catch them for bait (for ulua) try to keep them alive and it just suffocates and starts to "blink" colors. They sell for more money if they are kept alive and are called "blinkies".

  • Nice! Seemed like a pretty successful trip. Those mu have their PhD's in avoiding divers. The light show that the tako do is fascinating. Most guys that catch them for bait (for ulua) try to keep them alive and it just suffocates and starts to "blink" colors. They sell for more money if they are kept alive and are called "blinkies".


    I have a pole for slide baiting and I was thinking about wetting a line but I figured I would rather eat tako then ulua. Less chance of cigatera. But if I had a chance at papio or omilu I would take it, as those are tasty. I never heard of live tako being sold. I was glad to hear that scuba spearfishing is now illegal in Hawaii as we found a bunch of remnants of the commercial guys and their illegal moorings and tons of shafts stuck in the reef.

  • Nice tako. Did you eat the Kole or the neuneu (spelling?)* If so how was it?


    The kole taste great and with a pole spear are easy pickings. I had my 130 so I was trying to not shoot any of the smaller reef fish as they tend to stay in the rocks. However, kole, mempachi, aweoweo, manini all are delicious. The nenue is also good pan fried. I served mine with sesame fried baby bok choy and a little soy sauce on the side it was awesome!

  • Nenue is da bomb for poke!... Old school kine...Sesame oil, shoyu, Maui onion, Hawaiian salt, Hawaiian chili peppah, limu...soak em and chill em then grind em! Cheeho! Onolicious.


    BI best hunting evah!


    Aloha
    Makoa

  • Makoa,


    The Nenue is the one fish here that I have seen many people not take because of flavor, but they are very plentiful. I'll take one this weekend and give poke a try- thanks for the recipe!

  • Makoa,


    The Nenue is the one fish here that I have seen many people not take because of flavor, but they are very plentiful. I'll take one this weekend and give poke a try- thanks for the recipe!


    We have them here in Belize too. My son shot one by accident when the shaft went through a snapper and hit a nenue. We ate it. The meat was grey coloured but good. But still, even though we see them in schools, I never shoot them. :crazy: I like to see them though. Usually an indicator that you're where other fish are too.

  • I love poke. When my daughter picks me up at the airport in Honolulu (and that will be in about two weeks), it's straight to Foodland to buy ahi poke. I'll have to give the nenue a try here. Da locals know da kine brah….:D

  • Hank, go to "fresh catch" on waialae ave. or "Ono seafood" in kapahulu. THAT is the best poke I've had so far.

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