Nuuanu Reservoir will be open for fishing for one day next month, the Board of Water Supply has announced.
The board wants anglers to help remove fish from the reservoir in advance of an improvement project slated for mid-2015. The project will increase flood-control capacity and improve the drainage system that releases water from the reservoir.
Only 120 permits will be issued for entry into reservoir No. 4 on Dec. 13, the board said. Sixty people will be assigned to each of two fishing periods: 7 to 11 a.m. and noon to 4 p.m.
Applications for entry cards are available until Monday at the board’s Land Division office, 630 S. Beretania St., Engineering Building, Room 204. Blank applications will not be mailed out. The deadline for submitting applications is 4 p.m. Nov. 28.
The application includes a postcard that requires postage.
A random drawing will be used to assign each angler a fishing time.
Interested participants must also get a state freshwater game fishing license, available online at Hawaii www.ehawaii. gov/dlnr/fish/exe/fresh_main_page.cgi.
The cost of the license is $3 for children under 16, $5 for residents and $25 for nonresidents. It’s free for people 65 and up.
Anglers age 8 or younger are not required to be licensed, but they must be accompanied by a licensed or unlicensed supervising adult.
The bag limit is two channel catfish per licensed individual. Any channel catfish 16 inches long or larger must be kept by the person fishing and will be counted toward the bag limit.
For more information, call Michael Matsuo of the Land Division at 748-5951.
Nuuanu Reservoir No. 4, once a popular seasonal spot for families, has been closed to the public since December 2009.
The closure stemmed from state budget cuts that shut down hatchery operations at the Anuenue Fisheries Research Center at Sand Island, which was responsible for restocking catfish at Nuuanu Reservoir and trout at Kokee State Park on Kauai.
During the site’s final fishing season, some 3,700 people visited the reservoir, catching more than 1,600 catfish.
