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LIKE spawning salmon returning to their birth place, every year a group of Hawaiian anglers go back to their favorite Alaska fishing spot in search of the silver salmon, a fish valued for its spunk and wily ways.
'Hawaiian Bandits' make off
with the silvers every year
on Kodiak IslandBy Janine Tully
Special to the Star-BulletinFor Kodiak folks, the return of the "Hawaiian Bandits," as the group is called, is a sign that the silver salmon run is in full gear. The fish swarm to the shoreline before frantically swimming upstream to spawn, bloat and rot.
Every fall, the men meet at Pasagshak, a remote valley in Kodiak Island where buffalos and horses roam freely. Long ago, a cattleman brought in buffalos to breed with his cattle in hopes of producing a stronger stock that could fend off the Kodiak bears that attacked them. The bears are still a menace and the buffalos have proliferated.The island's wildlife and pristine wilderness, with its craggy mountains and coastline notched with fjords and bays, keep luring Gordon Kanemaru back.
"This year fishing was kind of slow," says Kanemaru, a Wahiawa dentist who with his dentist father, Masao, has been traveling to Kodiak Island for about 15 years. "The fish were big, about 18 to 19 pounds, but there weren't many.
"Catching fish is fun, but it's the beauty of the place and the camaraderie of the group, that counts," says Kanemaru, playing host at the group's fishing lodge last month. "It's like the last frontier."Called Emerald Island because of its greenery, Kodiak Island sits like a jewel in the Gulf of Alaska. Smaller than the Big Island, at 3,588 square miles, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States, with a population of about 14,000. Half of its residents are in the city of Kodiak and the rest dwell in hamlets. The island also boasts the third largest fishing industry in the country, harboring nearly 1,000 vessels.
For the nine men who now comprise the Hawaiian Bandits, the Kodiak trip has become an annual pilgrimage, one that began 30 years ago and spans two generations. They vacation in two-week "shifts."
It all started when a Hawaii resident, Ron Oda, working at Chiniak's satellite tracking station there, came down with a cold severe enough to make him return to Hawaii and see his doctor, the late Bill Wilkinson. An avid fisherman, Wilkinson listened to Oda's fishing tales with interest. When he heard fish weren't biting in New England, where he had planned to go, he decided to visit Oda. The trip would change his fishing plans forever."I sit here appreciating the quiet and stillness of this beautiful countryside," he wrote in the campsite's journal. "It's lot of fun having a fish at the end of your line, but if you are lucky enough to have a silver, the thrill is hard to explain."
Word of the beauty of the place and abundance of the fish soon spread among Wilkinson's friends, who began joining him in his fishing trips.
By the mid-'70s, stories about the Hawaiians coming to "steal the fish" circulated within the community, leading townfolks to jokingly name the group the Hawaiian Bandits. The men chuckle about the name, which is carved on a wooden sign hanging in front of the lodge that reads:
"Hawaiian Bandits Hideout
Trespassers will be Prosecuted
Patrolled by Menehune Guard Service"Underscoring the group's identity is a Hawaiian flag flapping on the roof. At one time, a flag bearing a menehune with a mask and clutching a large fish flew below the the Hawaiian flag, but it's no longer there.
Of the original group, only a handful still travel to Kodiak. These include local chef and restaurateur Michel Martin, Masao Kanemaru and Norman Brand, an accountant.
Setting up camp
Life is much easier now than when the group first set up camp in Pasagshak 30 years ago. At that time, a small generator provided the electricity, and water was hauled from an icy stream nearby. The men lived in two campers, which they would pick up in Anchorage, put on a ferry to Kodiak and drive 40 miles to Pasagshak on a dirt road.As the group grew, the men saw the need to set roots in the area. They purchased four-and-a-half acres of land, moved a mobile home to the site and began adding rooms to it, turning it into a comfortable fishing lodge with all the modern necessities.
In an effort to keep their retreat free of outside distractions, television, radio and cell phones are not allowed, nor are wives and girlfriends welcomed to stay overnight. "They can visit us, but they can't stay," says Gordon Kanemaru, laughing.
At one time, Martin created gourmet meals for the group. Now the 93-year-old chef is happy to just make the salad and the dressing. "I'm too old to cook fancy meals," he said in his unmistakable French accent, while sitting next to a wood-burning stove.
Wilderness gourmets
Good food and wine, however, remain a tradition in Pasagshak. "Dinners are an event, here," says Gordon Kanemura as he marinates some salmon fillets. "We come to eat, drink, and fish."Recently, he has become head cook at the lodge, grilling, broiling or poaching salmon to perfection. "You don't want to overcook fish," he notes with culinary expertise. "If you want the skin crispy you leave that a little longer."
The men clean and pack the fish in vacuum-sealed plastic bags and store it in a large freezer. The prized cargo is then air-freighted to Hawaii.
This year, Gordon Kanemaru caught the most silvers, 22 in all. Legally, you can only catch two silvers a day, but there are days when fish won't bite.
"Normally, fish going to spawn won't eat anymore; it's like they've given up," he explained. "But silvers are strong and feisty and they still want to bite."
Knowledge of Kodiak's abundant fishing has drawn Hawaiian anglers to the island, particularly in the early summer when King and Sockeye salmon are in season. But for the Hawaiian Bandits, nothing beats the silver salmon (also known as coho) runs at summer's end.
"Hawaiians that come at this time are aware of the nature of the land; they understand the ocean," says Gordon Kanemaru. "They know they have to get dirty and gut fish, but it's worth it."
Janine Tully is a freelance writer who
just spent a month on Kodiak Island.
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