Back in 2002, my wife and I took a trip to Oahu, Hawaii, on one dang good deal that saved us some money to use while we were there. Being the fisherman I was, I studied the ports and where to go and ended up dolphin fishing on a boat named the ‘Tubasa’ captained by a Hawaiian skipper and a Japanese mate out of the Kowala Boat Basin .
I got to dock before daybreak and the skipper got underway a short time later. It was right outside of the port that we hit some really deep water. It was as clear and blue as any I have ever seen off my home port in Morehead City, North Carolina. Unlike North Carolina there was very little structure on which we could fish. But, the captain found some buoys and broke out spinning gear in the 12-lb class.
I was wondering if this was dolphin gear and thought to myself that we don’t fish with gear like this for dolphin at home. Then the captain himself came down on deck tied on a large redhead jig, one I call a doll fly. He cast out behind the boat near one of the buoys and soon we were catching yellowfin and skipjack tuna in the five-pound range for bait!
His plan was to catch a blue marlin using a live tuna for bait. He was as optimistic a skipper as any I had ever seen. We broke out some great big game reels with bent rods and I was soon sitting on a great boat with two of the nicest fishermen you could ever fish with!
As we slowly trolled, a frigate bird could be seen in the distance and the captain more or less called battle stations! We got close to the bird that was now making circles over the water. It wasn't long before my rod was singing. After a really good fight a 35 to 40 pound dolphin came to the gaff and was immediately iced down. There were a few fish that broke off, which generated some sailor language from the crew that made me feel right at home, and relaxed!
I caught another 35 to 40 lb dolphin, which the captain said average size! I was curious to find out what he thought a good one was. A short time later he set up a five-pound yellowfin with a live bait harness rig and put it behind the boat using a large rubber band on another rod like an outrigger. He let the tuna out and told me to watch the line and that if the rubber band broke I should holler.
It was around lunchtime because the crew broke out their sesame snacks, sushi, and sandwiches, which they passed around. The mate lay out on the large fish cooler as I watched the rubber band and ate lunch. A short time later I looked up and saw that the rubber band had broken and line was going out like nobody’s business. I hollered up to the captain and told him that the rubber bands had broken and that a fish was on.
At that point the skipper 'politely' awakened the mate and the fight was on! I thought I had a really huge fish because the large rod was bent and the fish was taking line without stopping! I fought that fish for the longest time to get it to the boat to see the biggest dolphin I ever saw! That fish was a fighter that did not want to give up, and by the time it was gaffed I was spent. I have the entire fight on video. :-)
The captain said that this was the largest dolphin of the season for them. We trolled the rest of the day for marlin without luck.
That skipper and mate were the best I’ve ever fished with. We did not come in until well after dark! At the scales I had two dolphin in the 40-lb class plus the big one that was almost 55-lbs. What a monster! As for me, I was thrilled! The whole experience was simply the greatest for me. It put in me the desire for even more saltwater fishing. It’s funny how sometimes the thing you really want to do the most is just out of reach to some of us, yet to others, like this captain and crew, it’s just their job. How ironic!!
