Many young fishermen have come through the door of Lihue Fishing Supply on Kaua‘i and learned how to tie a fly, select the best equipment to snag the desired fish and “talk story” about the best local fishing spots. For over seventy-five years, even before Hawai‘i statehood, the store has been raising up local fishermen. It all began with Shiro and Kimi Kanemaru. Their grandson, Michael Nakamura, shared the story of how the business made the transition from Ideal Dry Cleaners to fishing supply. It all started with his grandfather, who decided to sell lures from the business. He began with a television tray (anyone remember those?) and spread out enough lures to fill one tray. Michael describes how one tray became two, and two became three until the dry cleaners were fully netted in fishing supplies and put the cleaners out to sea.

Michael’s mother, Jean Nakamura, has been running the store for the past thirty-five years. Always by her side was Aunty Masie Chow, who is now 96 and retired after COVID-19, although everyone has been trying to convince her to return. The personalities of these truly remarkable women shaped the store. Michael describes Mom and Aunty Masie as “loaded with intellectual property regarding fishing waters of Kaua‘i.” If they do not collaborate on a book, they should be “sales reps for the major manufacturers like Shimano, Penn, Maruto, Yamashita, Okuma and the famous Izuo Brothers,” makers of the first fishing equipment sold in the store.

I spoke with Dr. Molly Lutcavage, a tuna researcher and Director of the Large Pelagics Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts. She spends part of the year on Kaua‘i because of her interest in researching and tagging Pacific ‘ahi, also known as yellowfin tuna. Molly has always appreciated the insights and experience of fishermen that they glean from being on the water and realized early on that they possessed close knowledge about fish stocks that were more observant than data collected by aerial flights. Molly recounted how Jean, whom she calls the “doyenne of fishing gear,” helped her establish relationships with fishermen on Kaua‘i. Jean was also an inspiration to her— “quite influential”—with a wealth of knowledge about local fishing and a great rapport with her customers. The doyenne was “regal, smart and beautiful”—someone like a fish out of water as a business entrepreneur in the last century and, back then, in the male-dominant fishing world. Certainly, the two formidable women hit it off, as Molly is a bit of an unusual “fish” as she describes her fascination with “looking at guts and gonads” as part of her research.

Saltwater fishing on Kaua‘i is popular from the shoreline or from boats that troll lines or drop baits over six hundred feet. According to Michael, the lines are rigged with colorful lures, “as few as one or as many as seven.” They also have colorful names like Dirty Monkey or The General. The store originally accommodated shoreline fishing but has evolved to supply boats and freshwater fishing. Kaua‘i supports several lakes, although freshwater fish were not indigenous to the island and had to be introduced. When the world’s largest peacock bass was caught on Kaua‘i, fishermen began to branch out into new sports fishing. Fishermen across North America also came to the island to test their skills. Freshwater fishing supplies now constitute about six to eight percent of Lihue Fishing Supply’s business.

As for saltwater, local fishermen are always happy to see September roll around as it is the start of moi season. When Hawai‘i was a kingdom, only ali‘i (royalty) could eat moi (Pacific Threadfin). They were also farmed in fishponds so the ali‘i would have a good supply. According to Michael, “Moi is best caught during the full moon.” Most moi fishing is accomplished with medium-weight long rods, ten to fourteen feet long, from the shoreline. Their favorite habitat is sandy bottom reef crevices. Brysen Lucero, a young local fisherman who likes to hang out at the store, caught a nice moi. He shared his secret with us: come to find out, they like shrimp as most of us do!

Michael mentions another fish, the jack or trevally, that attracts a lot of attention, one that Molly calls a “beloved fish” of Kaua‘i. When the fish weighs less than ten pounds, it is called a pāpio. Imagine the generations of keiki-fishermen who started out by catching their first pāpio. When the fish reaches a weight of ten pounds and over, it becomes an ulua. Catching a fifty-pound ulua, Michael describes it as a “rite of passage.” The ultimate prize is a one-hundred-pound ulua, which happens once or twice a year. When that happens, “it makes the fish magazine cover.” Typically, it is a picture in which the fish is as tall as the fisherman, and in Michael’s words, you see “just eyeballs peeking over the tail.” The sport is in the power-to-weight ratio. The Ulua is also mighty in terms of stealing the lures.

I asked Michael about the best-eating fish on Kaua‘i. After thinking about it, he decided to reveal the local secret. The fish called nabeta (a deep-water parrotfish) is by far the most desired by locals. If a local catch gets posted on Instagram, it sells off in fifteen minutes. He describes the fish as “flaky,” one that “holds flavor very well,” is the silken “tofu of fish” and, of course, so ‘ono (delicious). It is hard to catch because it has a parrot beak that helps free itself by cutting the line. The fish’s smallish mouth makes it hard to sink a hook inside of it. The depth at which the nabeta is caught, between forty and two hundred feet, adds another element of difficulty and a sense of victory when caught.

Molly yielded some insights on the fish stocks in Hawai‘i. Whereas some data showed that fish stocks were reducing, fishermen kept reporting they were seeing more than the numbers reported. As it turned out, the fishermen knew best in some cases. For example, regulations had set aside some restricted areas for fishing for ulua, some of which have now been partially lifted. It is good news for the fish stock and a sign of “successful fisheries management and conservation practices by the fishermen,” according to Molly. Considering the ancient practices of Hawaiian fishermen to take only what is needed and not waste, continuing to practice sustainability is in keeping with tradition.

Mark Oyama, a well-respected fisherman on the island, catches most fish for his family’s restaurant Mark’s Place, famous for delicious plate lunches. He will be bottom fishing this fall and winter, going after onaga, ehu, ‘ōpakapaka and seabass. He tells how he drops a line with around six to eight hooks on it, fishing at depths from four hundred to nine hundred feet. He also hopes to bring in the pelagic fish that swim in the open sea—tunas, ono and marlin. Mark’s favorite fish is gindai (Japanese for “gold snapper” and known in Hawai‘i as ‘ukikiki). He describes it as “very soft and sweet.” The preferred cooking methods for bottom fish are steaming or sautéing. If Mark gets an ‘ahi (yellowfin tuna), he will use various methods, from grilling, searing and sautéing to eating it raw. If he is lucky enough to get one of the larger akus (skipjack tunas), locally called otaru, he has a prize fit for sashimi (raw sliced fish) or the local favorite, poke (raw cubed fish). Now, back to that island-secret nabeto. Mark confirms it is a “fisherman’s fish,” meaning if a fisherman catches it, he is sure to keep it. It is possible to sample some of Mark’s bounty by going to Mark’s Place, where you can immerse yourself in all kinds of local flavors, especially line-caught fish. You can be sure he is out in his boat if he is not in the kitchen.

Lihue Fishing Supply; 2985 Kalena Street, Lihue; (808) 245-4930; lihuefishingsupply.com

Mark’s Place; Puhi Industrial Park, 1610 Haleukana Street, Lihue; (808) 245-2522 & (808) 245-2722; marksplacekauai.com