It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon in paradise with nothing but time on my hands and plenty of sunshine. It was one of those hot westside days where the sun can be felt early in the morning, gaining in intensity as the day progressed, urging me to seek relief in the cool fragrant winds of Kokee State Park.
I called around Waimea to see where they sold fishing licenses as I’ve been meaning to get up to Pu‘u Lua Reservoir. Trout season opened for anglers on June 15, and has already produced a seasonal high rainbow trout of 4 pounds 3 ounce rainbow, caught on June 23, according to the Division of Natural Land Resources Division of Acquatic Resources.
Hearing the whispers of recent seasonal high catches calling my name, I went to Umi’s Store in Waimea and talked briefly about the trout in the state park and what they like to bite on.
Having caught trout on worms and flies for the majority of my youth and adult life, I was shocked when the clerk at Umi’s Store told me, “they do not bit on worms,” and are caught most frequently on salmon eggs. So I added a small bottle of salmon eggs, which beckoned me back to unsuccessful trout fishing trips in the past and I headed up the canyon towards the area where trout have been stocked since June of 1920 when they were experimentally introduced from Montana and Utah into six streams in the Puu Ka Pele region.
Just in case, I packed a shovel if the need arose to dig for any worms if the salmon eggs didn’t do the trick.
When I pulled out onto the dirt road and headed down the initial incline, I was waved down by a woman who looked to be in a bind as she was standing in the middle of the one-lane road with a look of need.
“We’re stuck down there,” she told me with a tone of despair.
Having learned the hard way several times and getting stuck myself, I pulled the shovel out and took the back mats out of my truck and meandered down the road to where a minivan was stuck in the deep muddy ruts. The minivan was high centered and not a vehicle designed to make it through the muddy passage to Pu‘u Lua.
After a brief struggle, we freed the minivan from its bogs and the road was once again cleared, leaving me free to head to the reservoir and see about the rainbow trout.
Parking above the reservoir, I was blessed with the place nearly all to myself. There was only one group of people who had set up a day camp near the waterfall that rests at the head of the fishery. They were jumping all around and the picture of the record, which was just caught on June 23, gave me all the incentive to get my pole in the water.
At first, they continued to jump all around my pole until I took the bobber off and started to cast and reel from the bank. It took about 30 minutes before I got my first hit and landed an impressive rainbow that was nowhere near the record but was more than enough to feed two.
My goal was to fill the cooler with three rainbow and in two hours, that goal was met with ease and comfort as the rain began to fall, giving me the cue I needed to head back up the muddy trail to the highway and down the canyon back to the late afternoon heat of westside.
Once again I found a cluster of non-offroad vehicles stuck in the mud (four-wheel drive is almost essential on that road) and offered my support as I eventually made it back to the highway and headed home. I cooked the trout in the western fashion of stuffing them inside and out with butter, lemon, garlic, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper (they were delectable, but don’t take my word for it).
According to the Division of Natual Land Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, 20,370 fish have been harvested in the season thus far with 2,081 fisherman sign-ins being registered at the check-in stations. The trout season lasts until September 30th with daily fishing times from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. No camping or fires are allowed at the reservoir and a valid State of Hawaii freshwater fishing permit is required to catch some of the 40,000 young trout that were stocked in the fisheries this year. Catch and release is prohibited and along with the launch or use of floatable objects. Dogs are also prohibited near the banks of the reservoir.
The daily bag limit is 12 rainbow trout per licensed fisherman, up from 10 in 2018.
The use of a four-wheel-drive vehicle is strongly recommended to drive to all the fisheries in the region.
