Fisherman eager for lake to reopen
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Jason "Brock" Brockington has bought new lures, ordered new bait and put new fishing lines on his poles — ready to fish for largemouth bass in Lake Wilson.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
And the lake isn't even open yet.
Todd Uemura shows his son, Ryan, 2 1/2 years old, the fish they caught on a tributary of Lake Wilson in Wahiawa. They said they were going to throw the fish back in the water. Ninety-five percent of the noxious weed in the lake has been removed.
"Oh, I can't wait," said the 70-year-old Waikiki fisherman, who hasn't fished in the lake since mid-January. "We are all waiting for the word."
Like Brockington, many other freshwater fishermen on O'ahu eagerly await the opening of O'ahu's premier freshwater fishing spot, which has been closed since January after the alien weed Salvinia molesta spread to cover nearly 95 percent of the 300-acre lake and threatened to cause a massive fish kill.
The state expects to reopen the lake sometime this month after small crews remove as much of the remaining salvinia as possible before summer, when warmer waters speed up the weed's growth.
State officials warn that entering the reservoir before it's opened could aid in spreading the noxious weed.
Already, residents have reported people fishing off banks or using the lake.
"All we can really control is the boat ramp," said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. "The lake is their back yard. We're not going to patrol them ... But that increases the possibility that salvinia could get spread into other areas that might be more difficult for us to monitor."
The Wahiawa Freshwater Recreation Area, which includes picnic areas, was opened for public use on May 24 after being closed for nearly three months.
A multiagency cleanup that cost the state and city more than $1 million and lasted 53 working days ended in April. About 95 percent of the lake has been cleared of the weed, which can produce up to 400 tons of new growth per day.
At the height of extraction efforts, as many as four sites were operating at one time.
The state plans to commit money and manpower to the continuous monitoring and cleanup efforts at Lake Wilson, Ward said.
The lake's closure hurt businesses that depend on the fishermen it attracts.
George Tobita, co-owner of Wahiawa Sporting Goods on California Avenue, saw his business drop once the weed took over the lake.
"Oh, yeah, it hurt," said Tobita, who sells freshwater-specific equipment and bait. "Not as many people (come into the store). No place to fish, no need tackles or bait."
