We went...but Eddie didn't GO

Outdoor adventures come in many shapes and sizes...thursday was definitely an adventure...it was the day in 2011 when the "Eddie" almost went. In case you're not familiar with the "Eddie", it's perhaps the most famous of all big wave surfing contests in the world. Location: Waimea Bay, North Shore, O'ahu. Reason: In memory of Eddie Aikau, local lifeguard, waterman and big wave surfer.

In order for the Eddie to "Go", the waves have to be a minimum of 20ft Hawaiian scale (30 to 40 ft faces). Although Thursday was big, it wasn't quite big enough and the sets that were big enough were too few and far between to hold the contest. So, the Eddie did not go afterall. But we were there in case it did.

To get a better idea of what the Eddie is all about check out this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVuGzTkNPI

During an event like this one, North Shore traffic is insane. The Kamehameha Hwy is a two lane road that runs along the coast and people park on the shoulders for miles on either side of Waimea Bay. We parked a mile or two away and rode our bikes. Way better than walking.

Our buddy Arjay went too. He picked us up at 4:15am so we could get there and get a good spot on the beach.

We got a spot right under the Quicksilver announcers stand.

We sat on the beach and watched the moon set and the sun rise. Got rained on a little too but it was worth it. Even though the contest didn't run we still got to see some awesome big wave surfing. There must have been like 70 guys in the water charging some giant waves.

Click on the thumbnails on the right side of the page to see the videos we shot.

Pig Hunting - Hawaiian Style

Regina and I saw these guys yesterday who'd just come back from pig hunting. Local guys here in Hawaii hunt wild pigs with dogs (mostly pit-bulls and a few other varieties). The dogs catch the pig and hold it while a guy slips in and stabs it in the heart. It's pretty hard core. It's also funny to see the guys kindof parade around in their truck showing off the fruit of their efforts.

Closing Weekend - Pheasant Season 2010-11

This is closing weekend for bird hunting season in Hawaii. Mike and his dog Jake, my friend Justin and I hunted all day yesterday (Saturday). Being that it was the last weekend of the season, no birds were released and the remaining native birds were scattered and thin.

We hunted hard all day and only flushed two birds. Mike shot a gray Francolin that we never could find even with Jake's help. Jake also pointed a hen pheasant that we flat missed. Click on the "Our Big Miss" video link on the right to see the video.




Mike taking a break with Jake.

Justin was a trooper! This was his first hunting trip. He hiked hard with us all day and videod/took pictures. At the end of the day he said "It's a lot harder than I thought it would be!" I'll second that...we hiked hard and the sun was really hot!

Erckel's and Black Francolin like to live in rough terrain like steep slopes and rocky edges of meadows.

Look close in the picture above. On the hilltop you'll see Mike and Jake on the left and Justin on the right.

At times I'm really focused on finding birds....at times I get really distracted by the scenery.

Another great day of hunting. It's a bummer to come home empty handed...but remember, an empty handed hunter has no birds to clean when he gets home! Sometimes that's a bigger blessing than you'd think, especially when you get in late and you're exhausted.

Pheasant Hunt - Jan 8 2010

The week before we headed to New Mexico for the holidays I submitted my paperwork to get a Hawaii Hunter's Safety exemption number. In Hawaii, everyone, regardless of age, is required to have passed a hunter's safety course before buying a hunting license. I had to prove I'd passed a course in NM. The night we got back to the island my paperwork with my exemption number was sitting in the mailbox like a late Christmas present. I bought my license online that very night.



Mike and I went hunting Saturday the 8th. Department of Land and Nat. Resources (DLNR) had released more pheasant that week so we knew hunting would be good.

With all the rain the grass just keeps getting taller each week. It's over 6 feet in some places. Having a good dog is essential to finding birds (alive or dead).

We hunted for about 12 hours that day. We got three birds before noon up in the high meadows on top of the ridges. In the afternoon we hunted some more difficult terrain off the edges of the ridges where the birds scatter to. The hillsides, like the one above, are steep, rocky and hard walking.

There were some nice shady places to take a break. And the view was awesome!

Here's one of the rooster's I shot. Notice the band on it's leg. DLNR bands all the birds they release. I was excited to collect my first bands. Bands are a trophy for waterfowlers because they are somewhat rare to get. All the birds we harvested were banded, so it's not that rare, but they're still exciting to get.

Here's another rooster I shot. Never would have found it without Mike's dog Jake.

We harvested 4 rooster pheasant and 2 hen pheasant. Didn't get any francolin. I did get to hear the call of an Erckel's Francolin for the first time. It's like a cackling laugh as if they're watching you from the next ridge mocking you.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DAY:

• First thing that morning we had half a dozen pheasant flush and missed every single one. Humbling way to start out!



• A rooster flushed right in front of me after all our misses. I lined that one out and put him down hard. My first bird in Hawaii!



• We hunted along the cliff edges and the birds kept flying over the cliffs. Mike shot a rooster that flew over the cliff. Too steep to go get it. Bummer.



• After lunch, Jake flushed a rooster up the hill behind me. It flew overhead and I knocked it down.



• We shot one bird that took us over 20 minutes to find, even with the dog, because the grass was so tall and thick. You can't see your boots when you're walking through it!



• Near the end of the day we walked through some grass that was two feet overhead. I realized I couldn't hear Jake's bell (he wears a bell on his collar so we can keep track of where he is in deep grass). I found him nearby and realized he'd been on point. There was a rooster deep in that grass. We finally got him to fly. He came out flying straight up and then turned sideways. We both shot it.



• The grand finale' was a hen that Mike shot. It was almost dark and we were headed back up to the jeep. Jake pointed and Mike flushed a hen. He made about a 30 yard shot on it to end the day and make our limit.
  
  

Annual Bishop Family Quail Hunt - 2010

My new brother-in-law Jon, buddy Stephen, brother-in-law Rich, and nephew Tristan. We do an all-day quail hunt each year either at Christmas or New Year's when we're at the Bishop's house for the holidays. It's become our tradition in the past few years. We hunt hard all day and enjoy catching up after not seeing each other for months. We clean all the birds, Regina and her mom fry them up and we all feast. Regina's dad Mike looks forward to the quail feast each year.


Southern New Mexico has a pretty healthy population of Gambel's quail and a covey of Blues (Scaled Quail) here and there.

My nephew Tristan passed hunter's safety this past year and this was his first quail hunt. He carried Aunt GiGi's 20ga single shot and did great.

The quail were thin this year. We only killed 6 Gambel's and a few Mourning Dove. It's kindof disappointing to see so few birds, but having some poor years makes you really appreciate the years when the quail are thick. Below is a memory from the archives. About three years ago the quail flourished. One covey in particular that normally has 8 to 15 birds had 50 birds in it! I callled everyone I knew trying to get some friends to come over and enjoy it with me. Finally, last minute, my friend Todd and his dad Jack were able to come. We hunted for 2 hours, ran out of shells and came home with 31 quail. Definitely went down in history in our books as our best day ever.

Hawaii Pheasant Hunting Video

Here are some hi-lights from my pheasant hunting trip in Hawaii (Dec. 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyOF4yuOgF4

Hawaii Pheasant Hunt - Dec. 2010

Ever since I moved to Hawaii, I've been hoping for an opportunity to go hunting...especially bird hunting. This weekend, my opportunity finally came. I made a new friend at work named Mike who is also an avid bird hunter. He invited me to go along with him this past Saturday.


This is "Jake," an 8 year old German Shorthair Pointer, and Mike's hunting partner. He's got one heck of a nose. He probably doesn't move like he did when he was younger, but he hunted hard. He always stayed close and locked down like a statue on numerous points throughout the morning.

Here's the road leading into the hunting area.

The hunting area is high up on the ridges in the mountains. Alot of the ridges are flat topped like plateaus and covered with waist high grass.

There are ocean views all around.

The mountains are steep and one side of the meadows we hunted were cliffs that drop off the edge down to the shoreline below. It was quite a sight.

There are several different game birds to hunt: Ring neck pheasant, Erkel's Francolin, Gray Francolin and quail. We didn't get into any francolin, but boy did we find the pheasant. We probably saw at least 20. Didn't see any quail either.

I don't have a license yet so Mike did all the shooting. I carried a camera and shot video of the hunt.

Mike shot a hen early on. When we were looking for it, Jake locked up in a hard point. We stomped around for almost 4 minutes and never flushed anything. It was tempting to give up but Jake wouldn't break point. I've seen this scenario enough times to know that you've gotta trust your dog. His nose won't lie to him. I've seen dogs point a spot where a bird had previously been, but they usually won't stay committed to that spot for very long. They creep on the point after you've stomped around a bit and once they figure out nothing is there they'll go on. Not this time though. Jake locked up hard and I watched him creep and lock down, creep and lock down...he was zeroing in on a bird. I was pretty sure we had a bird that was refusing to fly. Finally Jake dove in and caught a live Rooster Pheasant!! It was an amazing thing to see. That bird was buried deep in the grass and couldn't fly if he'd wanted to. If it weren't for Jake we would've walked right by that bird. The rooster I'm holding above is the one Jake caught.

Here's the rooster Mike shot to make his limit of 3 birds. It was flying right over the edge of the cliff when Mike shot him. He landed right on a ledge. 5 feet more and he'd have flown right over the edge and we would've lost it.

Most of the birds are release birds and they have numbered bands on their legs.

I was glad to finally get to take the jeep up in the hills hunting.

Old Jake was tuckered out by the end of the morning. He hunted hard. What a day. We had a great time. It was one of the most unique hunts I've ever been on. It was sortof a dream come true to get to hunt in hawaii. The pictures and video I shot were as rewarding as having shot birds myself.