[Mems]

Aloha, took Chris Bradley out for a day at A-bay. He is owner of the StoneFly shop in Butte. He got into the yellow spot papio, and got a wide variety of other fish like weke, goat fish and even a nice Lai, queen fish. The picture got messed up when I rotated it, so you will have to believe me that he caught a big lai.

It was fun fishing with Chris, his first inshore saltwater fishing experience. He got the retrieve down for papio and goat fish. A larger 10lb omilu kept circling us and Chris hooked it a couple of times, but did not let him run and the hooked straightened out and then popped the 12lb leader.

He did get most of the yellow spot school.

Chris even got a nice butterfly, tough guys to catch, mouth is so small.
After lunch we went out and he did some blind casting in between the snorkelers and hooked a nice fish on a bunny gotcha. The fish took him into his backing and then popped the 12lb tippet. We never saw it, but based on how it ran it was probably a nice bonefish. Those are the ones that keep you up at night. Chris was a great guy and an awesome caster and I hope to return the favor and do a float on the big hole with him next summer. He said the smoke has been bad this summer. Hope it cools off for you guys, Mems.

 

[PhilR]

Great report. Glad to see he got into some fish. Looks like a fun day.

 

[FerrousTortoise]

Great report, that is a fun place to fish. The variety of fish you can catch at any given time is something I miss about the Big Island. @Mems as a local you have to call it by it's full name

 

[Richard E]

Curious, how big a lai is a "nice fish"

 

[Mems]

Queen fish was about 20 inches and did a bunch of jumps. Ironically, Chris had just asked me if any of the fish require special consideration before you release them. I said yes, the lai, queenfish will sting you. They have three spines on the dorsal and three on the anal fin that sting like hell. Then he goes and hooks one. I was careful and did not get hit when releasing the fish. Sorry the picture got lost. Mems.

 

[Richard E]

Queen fish was about 20 inches and did a bunch of jumps. Ironically, Chris had just asked me if any of the fish require special consideration before you release them. I said yes, the lai, queenfish will sting you. They have three spines on the dorsal and three on the anal fin that sting like hell. Then he goes and hooks one. I was careful and did not get hit when releasing the fish. Sorry the picture got lost. Mems.

I've seen pics of queenies caught Diwn Under; they look like cool fish, and I understand, like magi magi, that they are great fly fishing fish - aggressive, good fighters, and acrobatic.

Definitely in my bucket list.

 

[Thrasybulus]

Doublespotted Queenfish are one thing, but a Talang Queenfish is quite another.