Fishing Tales

In case my leisurely summer was not relaxing enough, I had to go home for 10 days to spend time with my Hawaii Ohana. As much as I love going on adventures with Finn, it was a nice change to spend time with people that can respond verbally to my questions and thoughts! 
There are many things I love about going home.
There are the obvious things like spending time with my parents and sister. 

Mom and Jaisy @ Pololu

Dad after a day of fishing

And the not so obvious things like sitting on our lanai with a glass of white wine and watching the river run as the day comes to an end.

But right up there on the list is fishing!! It is my most favorite sporting adventure of all time and we just never know what each day will bring. Before arriving in Hawaii, my dad and I will begin preparing for our fishing adventures. Emails are exchanged about days we can go out on the Kakalina, photos of lures are sent to me via text and email and our calendars are marked in red with hopes of reeling in one of the big ladies of the deep. This trip however was going to be different. In the four days we planned to fish, my dad had notified me (early on) that I would be 'crew' for two of the four trips. I wasn't too excited about this news, as being part of the crew means doing everything but bringing in the fish, but I was still happy knowing I would be on the boat.
On Wednesday, August 1st we took out my fathers friend Sandy, and his son Zach for a day on the Kakalina. Zach had been fishing with my father a few years ago when he reeled in a large Ono, but today he was hoping for a Marlin. Zach was born with a degenerative disease that slowly causes him to lose both his sense of hearing and sight. At the age of nineteen Zach is now completely deaf, using a cochlear implant to hear and his vision is beginning to fade. Needless to say, my father really wanted to catch Zach a Marlin!

As the sun rose behind Mauna Kea and Hualalai, we set our lures and had all five rods running in hopes of catching either a Marlin or the ever elusive Ahi. After about an hour on the water the short corner went off, but within minutes the fish had shaken the hook loose and left us scrambling around the deck to reset the lines. A few hours later the stinger went off and I was convinced we were hooked up with an Ahi. The stinger rod was set up with 50# test, a bird and a smaller Ahi lure; not what you want to catch a Marlin on! Well, I was wrong and Zach was stoked! We got him strapped into the chair and he began the long and delicate act of fighting his first Blue Marlin. While Zach fought the oh so stubborn Marlin, I guided his chair and tried to prepare him for the possible loss of this fish, looking back on it, I think I was trying to mentally prepare myself as well. The chances of landing a 300+ lb Marlin on 50# test with a somewhat inexperienced angler seemed pretty unlikely, but we were hopeful!

Zach fighting his marlin

One hour into the delicate act of coaxing the fish towards the boat and respectfully waiting as it got scared and ran away, we finally exhausted her and were able to bring her along side the Kakalina. She was a beautiful fish and after tagging her and releasing her of our lure, Zach was able to gently stroke her rubbery skin before watching her dive into the depths. It was a truly magical moment and one that I hope never to forget.

 Here is a video that Zach's father took. Sometimes videos are better than words :)