Torching in Hawai`i

Me to group mom text: “Want to go torching with the kids tonight?”

Mom friend #1: “What the heck is torching?”

Mom friend #2: “I just Googled it.”

Mom friend #3: “I asked the friend I am with right now and she thinks it’s like night time fishing.”

Me: “It’s when we take a torch and just light a bunch of things on fire!”

Mom friend #1: Laughing emoji

This is sort of the reaction I get when I ask other kids’ parents if they want to go torching. I myself had no idea what this was when my husband first asked, but back in the old days in Hawai`i, men would carry fire torches as their light to see at night, and walk the shallow reefs to hunt for fish.

We now do this with head lamps, nets and buckets, to catch and release and explore with kiddos when the tide is low.

Some of the fun things kids find are:

• Reef Fish (`ala`ihi, `upapalu, manini, `aha, ballyhoo)

• Crab

• Shrimp

• Sea slugs

• Sea cucumber

• Eels

• Taco/Octopus

It’s a lot of fun, it’s free, and the kids (and adults) love it!

erin’s tips (ok let’s be real, this is Chris’s tips since Erin is an amateur and Chris has been doing this for years and years! :p)

• Know the tide. You must go when it’s low.

• Go in a group.

• Wear strong head lamps and bring extra batteries.

• Bring nets.

• Bring a boogie board with a cut out hole for a bucket so you can float your catch along rather than carry it.

• Wear mesh swim shoes or old sneakers.