The next morning Ken surprised me with a McDonald’s item I had been fantasizing about ever since we booked the tickets… TARO PIE!  My deep running love for all that purple flavour goodness in the form of a discount pastry.  Enjoyed with wild chickens in stride, I was home.

I had… a few… 

After the exodus of taro pies we did some sightseeing on Kaena point  and I payed careful attention to the signs that were clearly designed with Michael in mind:

Clearly, Hawaii had prepared for my arrival.  So, I left the albatross alone even though one decided to perch on my head (thanks Ken for the cool picture!)

If you can’t chase ‘em… join ‘em!

Some of the other sights Kaena Point offered:

On the way back we checked out another harbour where Ken managed to catch a yellowstripe goatfish while I fixated on looking for an eel.  Ken had to be home for dinner and I had my own plans to visit a very particular spot in Honolulu.

A few days prior, Elijah had suggested I check out a small city pond in Honolulu to rack up on cichlid species.  With our time on Oahu drawing to a close, it was now or never.  I took an Uber to the locale and arrived with only a smidgen of daylight left.

What followed was several hours of explosive, action-packed freshwater fishing.  After a brief chum of white bread I had fish taking bread off the surface.  The first was a lifer that had previously eluded me in Florida.

Jaguar guapote

I noticed some sizeable and beautiful carp were also taking the bread off the surface.  Using a shrub as cover, I lured some right in front of me!  I watched them take and spit my hook several times before I was finally able to connect.  Topwater carp was definitely not something I’ve been able to figure out back home, so this was a real treat!

After the carp fun I turned my attention back to the cichlids:

Red devil cichlid

Banded jewel cichlid

As I was speaking with a local I hooked and lost a cichlid to a snag.  About an hour later, this guy revealed himself to be the culprit, sporting my old hook and line all up in his grill…

Convict cichlid

I also caught two of these cichlids which, to the best of our knowledge, are most consistent with convict cichlid.

4 new species today!

For our final day on Oahu before departing for the Big Island we opted to once again hit the gem of a pier Wade had showed us.

Ken was looking out for me today and was an important source of encouragement as I tackled some of the trickier targets.  I came across a Moorish idol that was particularly pecky, as most of them don’t have the slightest care for a baited hook.  With much persistence it was mine!

Moorish idol

In the same area, convict tangs were also active.  Ken had performed the magical feet of getting one to bite and suggested I try for one.  Just as a tour boat was getting ready to motor over the spot, I sank the hook into one.  Close call!

Convict cichlid 

… ‘gotta catch ‘em all!

Ken then pointed my attention towards some sailfin tangs.  A bird wrasse came cruising in instead, but I couldn’t complain.

Bird wrasse

I had my revenge on the sailfin tangs too…

Sailfin tang

The day went on and we poked around some docks.  Ken spotted two eels, but we couldn’t get them to cooperate.  I busted out the tenkara rod to try for one of the dark little shapes that were hiding among the rocks.

Starry goby

We ended the day off by revisiting another pier.  I tried soaking a bait on a sandy flat for a goatfish, but just ended up taking a nap instead.

When I woke up I threw some casts around the coral heads and tried not to get snagged.  I was rewarded with my very own white-banded triggerfish.

White-banded triggerfish

And a shy crab…

6 new species today concluded the first leg of our trip.  Next stop Big Island!