Soon the source of the sound becomes clear: rain shredding the trees and underbrush and now marching heavily across the glassy surface like a frothing carpet being unrolled. The deluge lasts about an hour but fails to break the drought or interrupt the fishing, which is often better in a storm, although today all it achieves is to get the anglers soaking wet.
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Even on a slow fishing day, Wahiawa's potential is apparent.
"It's a matter, sad to say, of when the sugar company goes out of business," Araki says, "they're drawing so much water for irrigation."
Only a token of the pineapple industry remains in Hawaii, and the sugar cane industry is losing ground to foreign producers with cheaper labor.
Meanwhile, the Waialua Sugar Co. operation on Oahu draws water from Wahiawa as it's needed. The reservoir is fed by streams at the end of each arm, but sometimes it's not enough.
Glenn Higashi of the Department of Land and Natural Resources said the state agency has an agreement with Waialua about minimum water levels, and the sugar company is not indifferent to those who dump refuse in it, but he says: "The problem is enforcement."
Higashi also claims that despite the environment, the fish are edible--or, at least, "The Health Department has not said it's \o7 not \f7 edible," Higashi says.
"I've eaten fish out of the reservoir. It has a muddy taste. I'd (prefer) freshwater fish from the mainland."
The Hawaii Freshwater Fishing Club would like to introduce Florida largemouth bass to Wahiawa but, with only 50 members, resources are limited.
"The state doesn't have any money," Marugame said. "The club is going to try to raise some money to do it."
"There's great potential for the lake," Araki says. "The bass fishing could rival California's."
And bass fishermen would truly be in paradise.
\o7 Information on freshwater fishing in Hawaii is available by calling Howard Araki at (808) 621-2811.\f7
