In the riddle, the writer mentions Neue and Hapuu, two kai lu hee, or octopus fishing spots, that are on the sea cliffs in North Kohala, and gives us the name of four species of leho, or cowrie, that were used in the lures: [leho] pauhu, [leho] okala, [leho] uala, and lehoula. Hawaiian fishermen believed that certain varieties of cowrie worked better for different times of day and for different depths, so they kept more than one shell with their fishing gear. Traditional lures consisted of an elliptical stone sinker about three inches long, a hook made of bone, and a cowrie shell, which were all lashed to a wood stick six to nine inches long. Lu hee fishermen tied a line to a lure, lowered it near an octopus, and jerked it up and down. Octopus love cowries (they eat the animals inside the shells), so they would grab the entire lure, including the shell. When a fisherman pulled the lure up, he would catch the octopus on the hook and haul it into his canoe. Oahu resident Robert “Tako Bob” Chang is a modern day lu hee fisherman, but instead of fishing from sea cliffs or an outrigger canoe, he fishes from a wide motorized surfboard that’s 13 feet long. When he reaches his grounds, he puts on a mask and snorkel and swims alongside his board, scouting for tako (octopus). When he spots one, he grabs his fishing rod and lowers his lure with the line in his reel. “I drop the lure about three feet away from the tako,” Bob said, “because I don’t want him to grab it and pull it back in his hole.” This selective style of fishing is effective. “In October 1988,”
Robert “Tako Bob” Chang
Al Farm
Bob continued, “I had my best catch, 42 tako for 83 pounds, which is
“Both of us are on the same side of the boat,” Ron explained, “and
That gives the octopus on the bottom enough time to see the
about two pounds per tako.”
we’re holding a handline with a tako lure that’s dragging across
cowrie and jump on it. When the guy on the boat feels the
the bottom. Our grounds have flat, rock bottoms, and they’re
weight of the octopus, he pulls it onboard. “Dragging shell is
about 60 to 120 feet deep.”
for the old guys,” Ron laughed. “It’s relaxing, no pressure, and
Bob doesn’t believe it’s necessary to have an actual cowrie shell on the lure to attract an octopus. “I used one in the beginning,” he said,
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LAWAI‘A MAGAZINE
Ron’s tako rigs looks more like the traditional Hawaiian lures. They
very low fuel consumption. Our CPUE, our catch per unit effort,
have a cowrie shell that’s attached to a lead weight with three to five
is really low. After five or six hours, we’re lucky if we catch
tako think it’s some kind of sea shell and they jump right on it.” Bob’s
hooks and two stiff wires about the length of chop sticks that extend
eight tako. But we do bankers’ hours, maybe from 10 am to 3
grounds average 45 to 80 feet deep.
out from the weight. “When the rig is dragging,” Ron said,” only the
or 4 pm actual fishing, and then we’re home early and not all
Ron Tam, also an Oahu resident, is another modern day lu hee
two wires, the legs, are touching the bottom. That reduces the chance
wiped out.”
fishermen, but he uses a different style of fishing for octopus called
of the hooks getting stuck. I also attach a short piece of leader cable
“drag shell.” Instead of trying to spot tako from the surface, Ron and his partner, Al Farm, sit in their boat and let it drift over their grounds.
RON TAM
lure. It’s a golf ball size lead weight painted white with a star hook. The
SACHI CLARK
NORTON CHAN/WAIKIKI AQUARIUM
“but in 1982 when I started fishing from a surfboard, I made my own
to the tako rig, which takes abrasion from rocks better than the line.” The drag shell lures only move as fast as the boat is drifting.
Bottom line, it’s still great to see our senior fishermen enjoying themselves on the water and practicing a traditional Hawaiian fishing skill.
ISSUE FIFTEEN 2014
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