gonna be in Kauai next week - should I bring fly gear?

dep

dep

Life of the Party
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I'm sure I'll have time first thing in the morning and on the days the guys golf.
Should I bring a rod? pretty sure I have a 7wt and a tropical line
what kind of flies? do I need a license?
last time I was there, we went to Anini beach and I'm pretty sure I saw bones when I was snorkeling.
I'm staying in the Poi Pu area but I have a car.

any input is greatly appreciated?

thanks-dp
 
dep said:
I'm sure I'll have time first thing in the morning and on the days the guys golf.
Should I bring a rod? pretty sure I have a 7wt and a tropical line
what kind of flies? do I need a license?
last time I was there, we went to Anini beach and I'm pretty sure I saw bones when I was snorkeling.
I'm staying in the Poi Pu area but I have a car.

any input is greatly appreciated?

thanks-dp
Click to expand...
A 7wt is fine…shrimpy patterns for goatfish and reef dwellers, and bones…there are also plenty of black gobies on the rocks near the shoreline, so black or brown buggars for small jacks would work

As far as I know, no license required for salt water fishing (but I would check first)
 
Should you take a rod? Is that a serious question? 😆

@Brute knows.
 
It's been a minute since I've been on Kauai...I spent two weeks backpacking the Na Pali coastline back in the 80's with a 5 lb bag of brown rice and a bundle of dried akule (big eyed scad)...we could easily catch or spear fish at the beaches, and all the streams had prawns...
 
When I was last there 10 years ago, all I did was get up at dawn, walk the beach throwing a small closer and crab flies for all sorts of things....was a blast & by the time I got back to the house around 10, everyone else was just getting up. Worked out perfectly. No license to fish salt then, but double check.
 
I haven't been to Kauai, but have fished for bones on Oahu. The advice here is good. 7-8 wts with a tropical line. I tended to see bones tailing in the first hour of light. Once the sun is over the horizon, the tails would disappear, particularly on pressured beaches. they may still be out there, but sight fishing is tough on foot for me. I've had more luck with brown/tan mantis shrimp patterns than the brighter crazy charlie type of flies they use other places. When do you leave? PM me if you want me to send you a few.

One other thing, the beaches and reefs that you fish may require some navigation to stay on the shallower parts of the reef. Getting out is easy, retracing your steps as the tide is coming in is a bit trickier. You may want to use a GPS tracking app. I use Gaia.

Good luck, and have fun.
 
Of course.
Always take your rod and binos incase you see wildlife you want to zooooom in on..
 
PhilR said:
I haven't been to Kauai, but have fished for bones on Oahu. The advice here is good. 7-8 wts with a tropical line. I tended to see bones tailing in the first hour of light. Once the sun is over the horizon, the tails would disappear, particularly on pressured beaches. they may still be out there, but sight fishing is tough on foot for me. I've had more luck with brown/tan mantis shrimp patterns than the brighter crazy charlie type of flies they use other places. When do you leave? PM me if you want me to send you a few.

One other thing, the beaches and reefs that you fish may require some navigation to stay on the shallower parts of the reef. Getting out is easy, retracing your steps as the tide is coming in is a bit trickier. You may want to use a GPS tracking app. I use Gaia.

Good luck, and have fun.
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I leave Saturday - but thank you for the offer. I'll be scrounging thru my flies I never use to hopefully find what I need.
 
dep said:
I'm sure I'll have time first thing in the morning and on the days the guys golf.
Should I bring a rod? pretty sure I have a 7wt and a tropical li
what kind of flies? do I need a license?
last time I was there, we went to Anini beach and I'm pretty sure I saw bones when I was snorkeling.
I'm staying in the Poi Pu area but I have a car.

any input is greatly appreciated?

thanks-dp
Click to expand...
dep said:
I'm sure I'll have time first thing in the morning and on the days the guys golf.
Should I bring a rod? pretty sure I have a 7wt and a tropical line
what kind of flies? do I need a license?
last time I was there, we went to Anini beach and I'm pretty sure I saw bones when I was snorkeling.
I'm staying in the Poi Pu area but I have a car.

any input is greatly appreciated?

thanks-dp
Click to expand...
Dep
I will be very interested in hearing how you did, what fly's worked best and any lessons learned. I will be staying in Kihei for 2 weeks this coming February. I hope to have some shots at some Bones, GT's or ????. I currently have zero saltwater flies.
 
PhilR said:
I haven't been to Kauai, but have fished for bones on Oahu. The advice here is good. 7-8 wts with a tropical line. I tended to see bones tailing in the first hour of light. Once the sun is over the horizon, the tails would disappear, particularly on pressured beaches. they may still be out there, but sight fishing is tough on foot for me. I've had more luck with brown/tan mantis shrimp patterns than the brighter crazy charlie type of flies they use other places. When do you leave? PM me if you want me to send you a few.

One other thing, the beaches and reefs that you fish may require some navigation to stay on the shallower parts of the reef. Getting out is easy, retracing your steps as the tide is coming in is a bit trickier. You may want to use a GPS tracking app. I use Gaia.

Good luck, and have fun.
Click to expand...
Going to be in Kihei for two weeks in Feb. Would love to hear any intel you can offer.
 
Kauai has a ton of opportunity for shore anglers. A 7 is as light as I would go for bones/trevally (and wind), but if that's what you have, fish it. Small shrimpy stuff works great for the reef fish, larger shrimpy stuff for bones, big baitfish/poppers for the trevally. Almaco jacks (kahala) can be found on the north end near tunnels and anini early in the morning, and bluefin (omilu) and white trevally (ulua) are often seen on the poipu/kekaha side.
Be prepared to see a few bonefish and catch none. They are spooky AF when you find them, and I've watched more than a few be alert to my presence and skedaddle when I was still 100'+ away. I've also had them nose up on my fly from several different angles and refuse after what seems like an hour or two of staring at it.
The "aquarium fish" - all the colorful reefies - are fun as hell to fish for, and much more willing to take a fly. The omilu will also come out of nowhere and smash yer fly then peel line off your reel like a king salmon, which is fun as all get out when you realize the fish is only 15" or so.
Bring boots with good ankle protection, don't wade on the living coral, watch out for the 10 million urchins and the little pacific barracuda, wear tabbis or other grippy wear (if you haven't waded on algae-covered pahoehoe, you don't really know what slippery is), and have fun.
 
I would definitely bring your stuff. I've had a great time fishing in Kauai (with a little catching too) during down time on family vacations. Olive over white clousers for papio worked well.
 
Keep your eyes peeled for sharks… I had an encounter on Anini about 5 years ago with a curious black tip… a little too close for comfort. Brown Mantis in HI… be prepared for shots but they play by a different set of rules. G-Smolt is right about fish spooking 100’+ from you.
 
G_Smolt said:
Kauai has a ton of opportunity for shore anglers. A 7 is as light as I would go for bones/trevally (and wind), but if that's what you have, fish it. Small shrimpy stuff works great for the reef fish, larger shrimpy stuff for bones, big baitfish/poppers for the trevally. Almaco jacks (kahala) can be found on the north end near tunnels and anini early in the morning, and bluefin (omilu) and white trevally (ulua) are often seen on the poipu/kekaha side.
Be prepared to see a few bonefish and catch none. They are spooky AF when you find them, and I've watched more than a few be alert to my presence and skedaddle when I was still 100'+ away. I've also had them nose up on my fly from several different angles and refuse after what seems like an hour or two of staring at it.
The "aquarium fish" - all the colorful reefies - are fun as hell to fish for, and much more willing to take a fly. The omilu will also come out of nowhere and smash yer fly then peel line off your reel like a king salmon, which is fun as all get out when you realize the fish is only 15" or so.
Bring boots with good ankle protection, don't wade on the living coral, watch out for the 10 million urchins and the little pacific barracuda, wear tabbis or other grippy wear (if you haven't waded on algae-covered pahoehoe, you don't really know what slippery is), and have fun.
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appreciate the input on the footwear.
honestly, I have low expectations for this. I'll be by myself, so safety will be first. I figured I'll get some casting in and say I fished the islands.
 
@G_Smolt .advice is spot on. I have caught lots of jacks & goatfish, and a few bonefish at Anini and in front of our condo at Kapaa. Tannish & pink Gotcha worked great.
I’ve seen lots of medium sized GT’s snorkeling & diving over there. If I went there again, I might bring a 10 weight with a big popper in case I got a shot at one of those!

There are huuuge bones in Kauai and Oahu. Have seen them, but not caught the big ones. It’s a fun add in to a wonderful vacation spot 😎
 
I saw some giant bones while snorkeling at Anini mid-day with my 9 year old daughter. She spotted the first one while I was still putting on my mask. It was close to 10#'s and I was able to swim with it for awhile. The few I saw must be used to snorkelers because they didnt spook much as I excitedly tried to swim with them.

The bones all had a small trevally swimming by their side which I thought was interesting.

I also got attacked by a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a which gave me a nice welt.

I left my rod in the car and played with the kids- so no fishing report, but they are there.
 
Jim Allen said:
Dep
I will be very interested in hearing how you did, what fly's worked best and any lessons learned. I will be staying in Kihei for 2 weeks this coming February. I hope to have some shots at some Bones, GT's or ????. I currently have zero saltwater flies.
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Hey Jim, just got back from Kihei myself - tough fishing on this trip with the king tides (best tides are one hour before low to incoming in the morning hours before the trade winds kick up). I had a few shots at bones, broke one off and my buddy landed a dandy. I also caught a few golden bar jacks and blue fin trevally all on the Christmas Island Specials (weighted). This is my go-to fly for bones - it has worked in Maui, Oahu, the Keys, Christmas Island, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. I fish this fly exclusively.
 

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FlyFishDan said:
Hey Jim, just got back from Kihei myself - tough fishing on this trip with the king tides (best tides are one hour before low to incoming in the morning hours before the trade winds kick up). I had a few shots at bones, broke one off and my buddy landed a dandy. I also caught a few golden bar jacks and blue fin trevally all on the Christmas Island Specials (weighted). This is my go-to fly for bones - it has worked in Maui, Oahu, the Keys, Christmas Island, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. I fish this fly exclusively.
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Dan
Thanks for the info. Looking into purchasing some Christmas Island Specials. Any colors work better than others? I am thinking darker colors?
 
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