Red Sea Boat Trips!

I've been dreaming for awhile about the perfect boat. I've researched all types of boats and asked so many questions that I might be able to become a boat salesman by now. I've owned a boat before so I knew a little but needed to figure out exactly what would work for me. Looking at every boat that comes out on craigslist, newspaper, on-line boat sites has been quite educational. This past week my dream has started to become reality.

From design to emptying my pockets I got on a plane and the next step was to start building my dream boat.

Workmanship is key and like assembling a quality instrument having a team from "Force Marine" who take pride in their work is invaluable. Measure, cut, fiberglass, to make everything fit perfectly.

I'm looking forward to taking all my friends and family around on more Red Sea boat trips and of course catching LOTS of fish! This is a progress shot of the hull with a poor but happy customer. ha ha! Still got lots more work to do but its a start to a dream come true!

Rough water diving

Today Brent Ching (right) rented a boat for his birthday so joined him and his friends. The weather was windy, cold, dirty water, and big swells so that was my excuse for selecting to be the deck hand for the day. Luckily the boat was 39 ft long but still some of the boys got seasick. Rowen (left) also speared this nice kumu which will be getting steamed tonight.

Deroy Lavatai also showed us how to catch "Tako" Octopus and shared his secret recipe as well for making popcorn tako! It was great meeting new divers and look forward to having them on a Red Sea Ocean Adventure some day.

Hawaii Reef Action

Another beautiful day in paradise. Did some work in the morning knowing the ocean conditions were primo so made a few calls and my friend Travis Masutani just so happen to get off work early so we boarded the Red Sea Yak and went for a afternoon swim. Our target was reef fish so we focused on anything red in color.

I saw a school of nice 10 lb omilus but they happened to see me first and swam away. After a couple of hours we had enough fish for the week and called it a day. Thanks Trav for a fun day on the water. Can't wait for tomorrows dinner!

Good to be the king?

Last night we got to celebrate Brent Chings birthday at his favorite restaurant, Burger King. I think he wanted to be the "King" for the day so we honored his holiness. Brent has finally got his new dive hood so no more limu growing off his head from his ripped up hood.

Rumors are true? GW on westside! The King of the ocean makes a unique appearance to a couple of local fisherman. I wish I had my camera to get some underwater video but this raw and uncut video (local style) is just as good. Click here

Weekend dive

Weather this weekend was looking good for a dive so got a invite to go for a quick dive. Finished up the work at 1:00 am and woke up at 6:00 am to meet the boys down at the pier. Capt. Dell, First mate Greg, Brent, Danny, and Nathan were also on board todays dive. The 8-12 ft northwest swell was wrapping around the east side so it made for some challenging diving but with a big 22 ft twin vee boat who cares.

The boys still managed to get some fish for the week. Mix bag of reef action was perfect for everyone. The top catch today was a huge..

Moana Kali (blue goat fish) which Nathan speared. It probably was close 3 1/2 pounds and I'm sure he will be enjoying it this week. Great job Nathan!

We couldn't eat on the boat because it was rocking and rather than throwing up on board we came in for lunch and the musubi's brent brought was ono. It's so neat to meet others who share the same passion for diving and I look forward to more dives together with these guys. Hopefully they can join us on a future Red Sea Trip! Thanks again Brent for inviting me!

Love my job

Windy weather, who cares...no waves no problem...go dive today! Go-Naminori CEO, Kirby Fukunaga sent the text message to attend the business meeting. We put on our uniforms (Dove Wetsuits) and game on! Highlight of our meeting was finding another ulua house where a couple omilus were at home. I saw the couple pacing back and forth inside their cave so slowly peaked inside their front door and waited. This one came around again and I was able to stone it with my 90 cm. riffe euro. I noticed there was two so I left it in the hole to keep the second one around.

Kirby went down immediately after and plugged the 2nd one right in the gill plate. He had a good holding shot and luckily both came up and got in the boat. These were perfect size for our upcoming thanksgiving parties, but may not last till thurs. if we start eating them tonight.

Captain James Oshiro was there to put on the spot, pick us up, and kept an eye on us the whole time. Thanks James, u da man! We pulled up to a private beach, cleaned fish, and called it a day! Thanks Kirby for a great day and for the pictures. I love my job!

Watch HSDTV Maui Divers

Tuesday November 1st, 8:30 pm. Channel 1016 or 16 premiers the new Hawaii Skin Diver Television episode featuring a Maui dive. Captain David Miyake, Lance and Raymond Otsubo take Wayde Hayashi, Kimi Apiki, Kimi Werner, and Lauren Bartlett on a fun weekend dive! It was a great day and good times we had filming with them all.

World Class paddler Lauren Bartlett (left) and National spearfishing champion Kimi Werner (right) were on the hunt for the prized Kumus. We tried to play around with the head camera so it gave a different angle to see from and test out Lance Ohara's new pole spear . You can also watch it online via www.oc16.tv. Just turn on your computer and watch it streaming live. We hope you enjoy the show!

Maui Divah

Last year I was invited to go do some filming with one of Maui's finest divers, Lance Otsubo and his friends. We tested out some new equipment and was able to land a few nice kumus. These fish are one of the finest fish to steam "chinese style". Well if you wanna see Lance in action stay tuned for the next episode of Hawaii Skin Diver Television where we are featuring a Maui show.

Weather update: Winds has backed down quite a bit and small/moderate surf prevails around the island. Lots to do today so gotta run! Have a great day:)

3-C's of Diving

Today the surf was small all over the island so plan was to go dive! Go-Naminori charter boat was gased up and gearing to go. Kirby has been working on his new toy for a while and wet paint and all we went out anyways. Our objective today was the 3-C's of diving. Water was a little dirty but we still managed to 1) CATCH a few fish for dinner.

Kumus, Jo's, Uhus, and Koles was on the stringer and it was nice to get in some diving again.

Check out this little diver guy, Maika with a nice catch! Strike da pose! I made him scale and gut the fish afterwards so he can learn how to 2) CLEAN fish. Next we got to work on how to 3) COOK his fish! Thanks Kirby/James for a fun day on the water!

I See Red

Well what do I do after two weeks of diving? Go dive some more! Headed out to one of our "secret spots" and did a few drops to target our favorite reef fish! Mu, Uku, and Goatfish!

We were powered with "Kona Red" antioxidant superjuice so after a while all we saw was red. Red Sea Trip drinking Kona Red diving for Red Goatfish. Love it! Steamed fish tonight:)

Dream Boat?

After selling my boat, I felt like a fish without water so had to make do and figure out a plan. The next best thing was to borrow a kayak! Yes we can launch from anywhere, get exercise, and get some fish! This is two man kayak so hit me up when you guys are free to dive. Well I'm ready to go dive but just so darn busy. I have just enough time to sit in this kayak take a picture then go back to work. Hopefully some day soon I will be able to own my dream boat to take all my friends and family diving/fishing!

Boatless in Hawaii

Sleepless in Seattle? No...Boatless in Hawaii! Well I took a step of faith and my boat is gone, yup gone! Can't sleep, can't think, can't boat dive on demand...It was a hard decision to make being this boat has brought in so many fish for my family, friends, and the TV Show!

I remember this day like it was yesterday as Travis speared this Gimungus Uku around 26 lbs. I've had such great times on this boat fishing, diving, filming and appreciate all the people who helped wash, clean, and care for all these years. I've learned alot about boats and how much it costs to own and maintain a boat. It's all worth it and I can't wait to see what's happens next! In the meantime, call me up and we can go shoredive:)

Tiger shark circles divers

A ten foot tiger shark circled two divers in Hapuna a few days ago and the story has been making the news. News reporter from KGMB, Tim Sakahara called me up for my opinion on the sighting so I shared a few words. It was little weird as I am usually behind the camera. Click here for more: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/15145692/shark-specialist-talks-about-close-encounter

Big GT

Divers in Hawaii are Awesome divers! They have great hunting skills and know where to find certain types of fish. One of the prized catches is a big Ulua or giant trevally and here Kauai boy Jon Barretto shows us how its done. Check out our next episode of Hawaii Skin Diver and see some insane Ulua action! Premiers Aug. 2nd at 8:30 pm on channel 16 or 1016 (HD version). Thanks for watching!

Memorial Day Ono

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend! My friend Erick Itoman had a day off and hasn't had a chance to dive in a long time so we headed out to the blue once again in search of Wahoo. Saw some of the boys on the kayaks diving as well since it was a nice day. The current was mild so it seems the fish was not around but then two wahoo came by. Erick was down hunting as I watched him from above, then as he surfaced I saw them come in. They were not hungry so had to chase them down but luckily one turned and I got a shot off. Erick later gave it a back up shot so we at least got one for today. I wanted to test out a new underwater camera I got so grabbed a shot as well. Thanks Erick for a great dive!

Aku Wanted

Yesterday was the day to dive! Forecast was for light and variable winds so headed to the supa-market again. I asked my family what they wanted to eat and they all said "Aku". Aku? No Kole? Ok den, Aku was are target and off we went...Captain James Oshiro behind the wheel and Kekoa Mau watching my back.

James sent out the lines and kabam! screaming the lines as the aku was on! Kekoa and James took turns and we had one big hit on my Gaji lure that came off as the guys were playing tag team reel in. After boating enough we went dive on the reef for some variety.

Kekoa got a nice catch and I also had a few pieces for the table. Got a bbq coming up so will be put to good use.

Thanks guys for a great day on the water and see you at the bbq! Forecast calls for some surf on the northshore the next few days as the tradewinds build. Southshores should be picking up also next week so wax up! I can't wait to try my new board by Jason Kashiwai! Hint hint...

Sunshine finally!

Wednesday finally stopped raining and sun started shining so we decided to head out to the market. Most of the island was raining and created dirty water scenarios so we headed to the North shore which seemed the cleanest water. Kirby Fukunaga and James Oshiro joined me for a fun day of diving.

On the way to our spot we were greeted by a pod of dolphins, about 100 dolphins just cruising and enjoying life. They followed us for a while then we departed to go dive. Tried for Ono's but instead came across Ukus. Had a few big ones in the 15 lb range come in but they were smart. You don't have much time to spear a hungry uku as they may come in for a few bites of chum then disappear. I had one come up and he got greedy so I let him have it.

Kirby later got a good shot off on a Awa and Uhu which was perfect for an upcoming bbq. Thanks guys for another great day on the ocean!

Lucky we live Hawaii

Happy May Day Everyone! Wow days are flying by so fast but at least sun is staying out longer! Freezer was empty so had to go to the market this weekend and stock up for dinner. First drop was to target Onos but it was a little slow coming so told my dive partner Keith Yamane to head up. He starts hooting through his snorkel Ono! I look and focus and see him dropping down and the fish came in. It swam in slow and noticed it was a great barracuda. Keith shoots and rolls it over, cold stoned! We try again but no Onos except a hungry shark so decide to check out another secret spot.

The current is picking up and we start chuming, flashing, and next thing you know we see a couple mahis swimming. One of them curiously comes too close to my speargun and Pow! I leave it in the water as the other one comes in to bid his partner farewell but Keith is there and they both go to fish heaven. We end up with 3 mahi and another 4th is still swimming around but we had enough so headed in for some Kole action on the reef.

After lunch we filled up our cooler and ready to head in as the thunderstorms were approaching in a distance. Mahalo to Capt. Cat for putting us on the spots and Keith for another great day on the ocean! Lucky we live Hawaii!

Mixed Bag

I put on my meterologist hat and been watching the weather like a hawk. I checked my sources and decided to head out to one of my secret spots for a dive. Dive partners Kekoa and Owen boarded the Red Sea Boat and we were off! Got a mix bag of reef fish so we decided to try the blue water for a quick dive and...

after about 30 minutes this mahi came bolting in for my flashers. I quickly lined up as the mahi darted left and right trying to get a shot. I had a hard time getting the shot I wanted so fired and it went high but held on by the skin of the fish. I motioned to Kekoa to back me up as the fish headed up to the surface. Kekoa nailed it with his 100 cm Omer and we called it a day. Thanks guys for joining me on another Red Sea Ocean Adventure.

Next trip is La Paz, Mexico so get your gear together and climb on board that trip and hopefully you will get a chance for some pelagics, marlin, and maybe a rooster fish too! June 12-18th. Email me for any questions.

Kole Hunt

Today was one of those days that even our meterologist could not predict. I debated where to dive for hours then made the call to stay nearshore. Then I as went to sleep last night the rains came down hard for hours and the water was sure to be dirty. Well we made it out bright and early. Kirby Fukunaga and Keith Yamane joined me for day of diving. The morning inside the bay was sheet glass but outside was a totally different story. 10-20 mph onshore slop!

Our first drops were slow on the pelagics but this curious Kahala came in for a bite on our palu and Keith put a good shot into it. It weighed in over 20 lbs. We worked the ono ledge for a while then decided to head in for some reef action.

Kirby wanted to test out his new guns for our upcoming trip and put a few on his stringer for tonights dinner. We were lucky to find some clean water and get some fish.

My agenda was to target "kole". I had the onos for small kine fry fish and pulled my 3 prong and t-bar and went old school diving while the boys played with their spearguns. A nice menpachi was hiding in a hole and luckily stayed there for me to spear.

After lunch we decided to head in and call it day as we had enough for our family and friends! Well gotta run and clean fish now so everyone have a safe and enjoyable presidents day holiday!