Hawaii Fly Fishing with Rick Lee – Bonefish, Maui, Triggerfish, Christmas Island and Saltwater Gear

 

I had a great chat with Rick Lee to talk about Hawaii Fly Fishing with a focus on bonefish.  Rick breaks down some great tips if you are heading to Hawaii with a focus on Maui today.  We talk about casting tips for the wind, how to strip retrieve and how you can put together a DIY trip of your own. We also cover the best flies and why dumbbell eyes are key, where bonefish live 80% of the time and how you can maximize the time while you are out there.  We dig into the best places to find bones including specific areas where flats are available.

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Show Notes with Rick Lee

Here’s a photo of a Triggerfish which has a cool looking face.

The bluefin trevally and the goat fish are two other species you can find in Maui.

Peter Morse was on the podcast here to talk about the diversity of Australian fishing.

Rick notes RIO and AirFlo as the goto lines he uses.

The AirFlo bonefish line is discussed here.

Rick describes what an Atol is and how it relates to the Hawaiin islands and the lava portion has been eroded over time.

Call Pete at SSFlies out of Maine.   Enrico Puglisi Flies is another good resource on flies.

Go with a 2X strong hooks.  Ahrex and Kona along with Gamagatsu

Hareline is a great resource for fly tying materials.

Nervous Waters is a local shop you can check out if you are heading to Hawaii.

Stick with the Crazy charlie in dark brown or olive or orange.  Lead eyes are a must.   Terry Duffield came up with the Spam and Eggs along with Puglisi.

I noted the Landon Mayer episode and the foam noodle tip for holding your rigs.

FishChristmasIsland.com is another good resource for that area.

You can reach Rick at Bonefish Hawaii here.

Top Tips for Hawaii Fly Fishing:

-Use a dry floating tropical line -Find Knee deep to thigh deep water -Shoot for low tides in the am to avoid wind -There are good flats near Kihei -There are good flats between Lahaina and -Kaanapoli. -Use 15lb flourocarbon tippet -Use flies with larger dumbbell eyes so you can get down quicker. -Look for sandy channels between breakers -Don’t walk fast and avoid making noise and crunching corral. I-f on dark bottom, use dark fly and if on light bottom use light flies. -Make sure to have a deceiver pattern in your box if blind casting -Mornings are better because you have the sun and wind at your back. -Remember to strip set, no trout set. -Make sure to bring good footwear shoes or boots to protect your feet. -Rubber legs

Resources Noted in the Show

We talked about two great areas to find bonefish including near Kihei and over between Lahaina and Kaanopoli (See maps below).

Red dot marks location at Lahaina

Good flats here between Lahaina and Kaanapoli.

Red dot marks location at Kihei

Videos Noted in the Show

A Christmas Island Video

Bonefish on fly fishing in Christmas Is. /Sony FX-1000 from Masanori Sarai on Vimeo.

Conclusion with Rick Lee

Rick Lee breaks down a ton of tips for fishing Hawaii with a focus on Maui.  He also walks us along the rest of the hawaiin islands and christmas island.  Rick shares some great tips on places to start, flies to use, techniques and how to find your first bonefish in hawaii.

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