Trout fishing at the Puu Lua Reservoir in Kokee has been on Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair Dawn Chang’s bucket list. On Saturday, the opening day of the annual trout fishing season, Chang marked it off.
Following a century of tradition on the Garden Island, the annual fishing season drew fishers of all ages to Puu Lua Reservoir to catch rainbow trout. According to the DLNR release, the reservoir had earlier been stocked with 22,000 trout, the largest number ever. The season that runs for the next four months.
“Growing up in Hawaii, you always heard about the Kokee fishing season, and I have really come to appreciate how important this is to the people of Kauai,” Chang said. “Trout fishing demonstrates to me the collaboration between the DLNR which provides the fish, and the community which views trout fishing as a generational continuum.”
With instruction from Garrick Tatsuda of the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), Chang learned to bait the hook and cast out into the water. A few missed tries and snags later, Chang eventually filled her daily bag limit of seven fish in less than an hour.
“I couldn’t be prouder of her,” Tatsuda said. “When she started, I had to show her some things, but she picked it up like a pro.”
Fishers lined up well before 6 a.m. to be first on shore, and first with lines in the water. Stories of grandparents bringing their grandchildren out floated in the gentle breezes, just like their grandparents did in past years. There were also young families fishing with keiki as young as 1 or 2 years old.
According to the DLNR, small fish are brought in from California and then raised at the DAR Anuenue Fisheries Research Center on Oahu. When the fish reach the proper size, they are flown to Kauai and stocked at Puu Lua where Tatsuda feeds them until they reach catch-able size in time for the opening of the season.
“Come fishes, come fishes,” Chang said with a big smile on her face following each catch. “Providing sustainable recreational opportunities is one of DLNR’s mission, and is part and parcel of the overall mission to preserve and protect Hawaii’s cultural and natural resources.”
According to DAR, since trout are not native to the island ecosystem, they’re sterilized when they are young at Anuenue to prevent reproducing should they escape into any waterways. The trout fishing season does not provide catch and release opportunities so everything caught is kept by the angler.
With a $5 permit — free for kupuna — anglers of all ages can catch as many as seven fish each day during the season. Tatsuda said that following this weekend and next weekend, the number of people trying their hand at catching trout will steadily diminish as will the number of fish available.
“I come from a long line of fishers, but I always thought it was kind of boring,” Chang said. “But this has been really exciting. I’m really enjoying myself and seeing all the keiki lining the shoreline with their folks.”
Source: The Garden Island
Be First to Comment