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Flies and Tactics for Papio in HI?

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7K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  Mems 
#1 ·
I have to confess - I've packed along the fly rod for two trips to HI in the past six years and to say I've been humbled would be an understatement. "Humiliated" would be more apt. On a trip to Waikoloa six years ago I managed to bring in a handful of trumpetfish, and on a trip to Kauai last year I managed to bring in....nothing. I didn't have much time to fish outside of the early AM, but when I did fish I fished hard - so it's not like I wasn't trying.

I did tons of Googling, WFF-thread scouring, Google-map searching, etc. I also did lots of envious scrolling through Mingo's TRs. My memory is a bit hazy, but I feel like I tried everything. I stripped streamers through channels in the coral and out beyond ledges, threw poppers by structure, fished sandy bottoms between coral heads with crazy-charlie and crab patterns, dead-drifted scuds under indicators, did the hopper-dropper thing with poppers and small shrimp or scud patterns, etc, etc, etc. Just about all of this was between the earliest stages of first-light and a 90 minutes thereafter. I figured connecting with a bonefish was pretty well off the menu, but I thought that if I played my cards right I could at least expect to connect with at least one papio.

What I never did was ask for tips/tactics since I figured I'd done all of the homework necessary to realize my humble objectives. Now that it looks like I'll be heading back to Waikoloa in June, hope is triumphing over experience and I'm planning to hit the beach every AM. This time, several months beforehand, I'll come right out and ask - what can I do to increase my odds of hooking a papio or two? Many thanks in advance to anyone who can provide some insight.

-Jay
 
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#2 ·
I managed a couple of small papio on Kauai last summer, but it wasn't easy fishing by any means. Wish I had brought more chartreuse and white clousers to match the baby goatfish (oama) that were everywhere in the shallows. Not sure if there's an oama "hatch" in Waikoloa in June but small yellowish-green baitfish seemed to be the ticket when I was on Kauai. I'm bringing a tying kit on my next trip!
 
#3 ·
Go faster.

You can’t out strip a jack. They can move like lightning when they want something. So think about the fast strip you'd use for coho and then double it.

As far as flies and colors go, I don’t think it matters a whole lot. Black is a good choice, chartreuse and white and blue and white have both worked for me also. No need for a weighted fly like a Clouser, if you pull it that fast it won’t have any action anyway.

N.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I've caught a grand total of one Papio on the big island, so I'm far from an expert. But Nervous Waters flyshop has some good patterns on their website. I tied up a box based on Clayton's suggestions. He's got a good pattern for imitating the goat fish. Basically it's a yellow and white clouser type pattern.

http://www.nervouswaterhawaii.com/default.asp?id=144

Though the one fish I got was not on that pattern... it was on an unweighted green and white baitfish pattern called the flash fly:

http://www.nervouswaterhawaii.com/default.asp?nc=5269&id=145

I used an 8wt rod and clear intermediate Outbound Short. I eventually snagged the line on the lava rocks and turned it into a 6wt Outbound Super Short . That made it tough to cast the remainder of the trip.

Attached is a photo of my fly box showing the flies I was using.

Andy
 

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#5 ·

Short tutorial on Papio. They are everywhere in Hawaii. There are lots of small ones, I call them potato chips. There are larger ones and can grow to impressive sizes. Over 10lbs they become Ulua, GT. But a true GT is a Giant Trevally, Caranax ignoblius., white papio. They are the pitbulls of the reef and eat constantly. They are very aggressive and readily take a fly. The key is the retrieve. You have to strip fast. I use the rod tip to increase fly speed and many times the fly is hit on the pause. They will eat anywhere in the water column, but I find most success in the middle of the water column. It is amazing what they will eat and how big a fly they will try and inhale. We have 6 different species here in Hawaii and they all fight a little differently and look different as well.
Flies, you can use my oama fly during the summer months. Yellow/white clouser with barbells on the chin, favorite forage of papio. Needle fish flies work, as do small bait fish. Small clousers in a variety of colors are also effective. Here on the big island all black is a winner. Foxee minnows work well also. Gummy minnows can also be very effective, they look like nehu, small sardines in the shallows.
Trevally work with other species of fish and they hunt together. In those instances small shrimp can be very effective, but you need and erratic retrieve, not the slow bonefish retrieve. Once you get the papio retrieve down you should be able to catch them all day long. Good luck, keep trying and you should be able to crack the code, Mems.
 
#15 ·

Yellow/white clouser with barbells on the chin, favorite forage of papio. Needle fish flies work, as do small bait fish. Small clousers in a variety of colors are also effective. Here on the big island all black is a winner. Foxee minnows work well also. Gummy minnows can also be very effective, they look like nehu, small sardines in the shallows. QUOTE]

Gummy minnows are awesome, but don't last long. In addition to the yellow/white clousers, tough to beat a tan/white clouser as a do-all pattern.
 
#8 ·
Used it tried it. All i got were trumpet fish. Maui is tough for sure. Hardest part is I can see them in the morning from the deck as they swim around the reef just out front of the condos. But I keep trying. I think our part of the beach has to much going on, swimming snorkeling paddle boarding etc.
 
#9 ·
I have found the fishing is tough on the all the islands. If it was easy, HI would be a destination spot and it's just not.

Go into it with reasonable expectations. When I go, I pack light and expect a skunking or two. My wife can sit in a shady spot on the beach and read a book for 5 hours. I need to get up and explore a bit. I bring along a fly rod and sometimes catch fish and sometimes not. Not kidding when I say this is all I throw in the pack when I head to HI. Pretty basic but it keeps me busy and enjoying myself during a lazy day on a secluded beach....

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#11 ·
I have found the fishing is tough on the all the islands. If it was easy, HI would be a destination spot and it's just not.

Go into it with reasonable expectations. When I go, I pack light and expect a skunking or two. My wife can sit in a shady spot on the beach and read a book for 5 hours. I need to get up and explore a bit. I bring along a fly rod and sometimes catch fish and sometimes not. Not kidding when I say this is all I throw in the pack when I head to HI. Pretty basic but it keeps me busy and enjoying myself during a lazy day on a secluded beach....

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Having finally been there, I can't argue with your minimalist approach. At least for beach fishing. Thought I was going light leaving a tying kit behind (wished I had it too). Even with an offshore trip planned I still went overkill. Somehow I managed to pack 5 fly rods in 13 - 7 wts, 4 fly reels, a spin outfit, spare fly lines, 3 fly boxes, a small gear tackle box, stripping apron, fishing tools, and several spools of leader. All in the same large suitcase I shared with my wife. If I were taking a casual trip, and just doing some beach fishing, think I could pare down to 3 rods... maaaybe 2, but would definitely take a travel kit for tying. Those reef fish are damn picky!
 
#10 ·
-If nothing else it lends a nice rhythm to the days, eh? I can't see myself being motivated to get up in time to catch the sunrise for anything else.

-One thing that I've never done before is spend much time casting into areas where there's much in the way of surf action. Pretty much all of the waters I've been fishing have been pretty damned placid. Is that a key mistake I've been making or does the amount of wave action present not make much difference?
 
#12 ·
Expectations, none ! At least not anymore. And I don’t take much neither. Rod/reel couple boxes of fly’s and a few other tools.
As for waves, I am really tired of them at least as far as fishing goes. They make it tough to spot fish and just stand and cast.
 
#13 ·
That is a very minimalist set of gear to take! I carry a little more stuff. Two spools, one with a floating line, one with a shooting head, and I find that a folding stripping basket is invaluable for fishing from rocks. Still just one fly rod and one box of flies though.

It is also good to keep expectations very low. The nearshore around all of the islands I have been to is completely thrashed.
 
#23 ·
You don't need to do a two hand strip, you won't have tension to set on them, then you have to clear line. I like a fast strip and use my rod tip for acceleration. If you go to pick up the fly and re-cast, that is the speed you need to move the fly. So yeah it is fast and erratic gets them fired up. Don't give them a chance to see the hook. If they want something they will get it. It is like toying with a cat, tease them, piss them off. Don't drop the fly or retrieve, baitfish don't die from a heart attack, they get eaten. Mems.
 
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