aholehole >>> flagtail >>> (kuhlia sandvicensis)
a schooling reef fish commonly found in shallow reefs, protected harbors, and in the childhood memories of many hawaii fishermen... small aholeholes can be caught using a simple handpole baited rig, while larger aholeholes can be found in the cracks and caves of the reef and speared with a three prong... large mature specimens develop yellow markings on their belly and are actually called ahole, while juveniles are refered to as aholehole... ancient hawaiians used the aholehole for magic to chase away evil spirits and in love magic... it was also called a "sea pig", or "pua'a kai", as it could be used ceremonially as a substitute for a pig...
src: www.wehewehe.org

the story... during 2004 there was a huge aweoweo run... occuring every 30 years or so, the influx of aweoweos can turn the water red with fish... the run started at the beginning of the year, so by the summer the juveniles were reaching "pan-fry" size... uncle Billy, Ryan, Ryo, and myself went out for a couple hours one afternoon to a favorite spot with our three prongs... normally an aweoweo sighting is rare, and you're lucky if you get to see one deep in the back of a cave or under a deep ledge... but this day they were all over the place!!! under, inside, and outside the cracks in the reef... the excitement was contagious as menpachi and aholehole joined in the frenzy, along with a few aggressive puhi (moray eels)... as a challenge, we would see how many fish we could spear on one breath... ~deep breath~... ~swim down~... "aholehole?aweoweo?menpachi?"... ~spear 1~... ~2~... ~3~... ~4~?!... ~ascend and AIR!!!~...a dive full of red and silver...