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luke
Juan Ricci catches an ulua while kiteboarding in Maui.
Bored during last year’s particularly flat summer, Maui-based strapless rider Juan Ricci decided to do a little fishing. But he wasn’t content to hit the usual fishing holes. Instead, he tied a hand line to his kiteboard and headed out to sea. Today, he’s hauling in so many fish he and his friends will never have to pay for sushi again. In this kiteboarding how to, find out how to catch fish with your kiteboarding kite lines.
You’re kiteboarding, so I assume you’re not out there with a big fishing pole.
No, instead I built my own rigging with a kite line from an old bar. Fishing line only holds 20 to 25 pounds, but kite lines can handle up to 600 pounds. I tie the line to a kite leash, which I then attach to the leash plug in my surfboard. I use all kinds of different lures, depending on what I’m fishing for. The board I ride is the 6-foot 1-inch Liquid Force I use in waves with my 8- or 10-meter Havoc.
Are you just trolling around in the surf?
I go way out, about two miles offshore. It’s incredible out there. I’ve seen huge whales pass right under me, along with big manta rays, sea turtles and all kinds of fish.
If you’re flying the kite, how do you know when you get a bite?
You know you’ve got something when your speed suddenly drops to nothing. It can throw you off balance and pull hard when you hook into something big.
What if something really big grabs it?
That’s why I attach the line to a kite leash with a quick release, so I can quickly get rid of it if I have to. My biggest catch was a 13-pound ulua, but I think I can pull in a 20-pounder.
Do you kite back in with the fish on the line?
I kite until the fish gets tired enough to easily reel in. That usually takes 30 minutes, but that big ulua fought for over an hour. Then I pull it on the board and haul ass back in. I keep it on the line lying on the board. It’s not safe to pull a dead fish around; there are some big sharks out there.
I bet the fish tastes good after all that work.
Nothing beats getting together with my friends for the freshest sashimi with ice-cold beers right on the beach.
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It would be good to see some pics of the line setup he uses to catch the fish
Yeah. I'd like to see some pics of the line setup, too. Is he using some sort of ledger rig?
Be cool to see that quick release, too.
I cannot see any heroism in pulling a fish for more than an hour behind a kiteboard. At the same time
you are afraid of a shark when pulling an exhausted fish around. You would have been a good campguard in the nazi time. You beter start regatta sailing