Oama and Halalu Tips & Tricks

[@katieG1234]

Thanks Jamie. Definitely timing in casting and of course throwing straight lol. I stayed on the end until I had confidence in casting straight when elbow to elbow at Waimea.

[@001brish]

For the oama hook I bend the barb with a plier so it's smooth. Easy to take off the oama and doesn't hurt it as much for live bait.

[@Recordhunter808]

Never thought of that! I use barbless on my bigger ulua hooks but that's really smart.

[@UmaNotaSo]

I also smash the barb not only for oama but whipping too. Easier to remove when you catch that two legged "fish" holding the pole.

[@EarlOshiro]

Thanks for always sharing your knowledge with us and for the good tips. Any tips on the best bait for oama and does the tide matter when fishing for oama? Thank you!

[@Recordhunter808]

Personally, my favorite oama bait is the meat found in the legs of shrimp. I feel like it's the perfect size for the hook. I like using the head on shrimp because I can slowly break the head and let all that guts dissolve in the water and spread the smell. A lot of people also like to use aku belly or eggs, but it's not easy to get. I prefer a lower tide primarily because it's easier to see the oama and I'm not the tallest person. If the tide is shifting either up or down, I feel like the sand/sediment is moving so the oama are likely to be feeding. Places like Waimea Bay seem to bite the best as the sun rises and sets. I hope this helps!

[@EarlOshiro]

Now that I have learned a lot more about catching oama I might be more successful in catching them than I have been in the past. Thanks for explaining how to catch them.

[@zcnsb]

Haven't seen much oama on Oahu yet

[@Recordhunter808]

They're slowly coming in but it's definitely late this year. Even the halalu are taking their time to school up near shore

[@vincentamella5682]

what lbs line for oama

[@Recordhunter808]

I use 2lb test

[@HenryMartha-t7q]

Mitchell Port

[@granta3044]

Is it smart teling everybody how to catch fish, especially on oahu, where there are relatively no fish compared to other islands?

[@Recordhunter808]

My belief is only when people have a vested interest in fishing will they ever have a passion about conservation and making sure future generations have the opportunity to catch fish.

[@granta3044]

@@Recordhunter808 my opinion is that haoles(foreigners) dont think about the big picture. Locals already made the fish dissappear once. We changed. Nowadays nobody cares about the environment and on an island it will vanish. Its happened on other islands. It can happen here.

[@granta3044]

@@Recordhunter808 ask your grandpa how fishing used to be on oahu. Its way way different now.