This time we decided to do a bit of popping for GT's and then a bit of jigging after.
Just Rosie, Wayne and myself on the boat today.
The morning started out a bit gloomy, but the fish don't care, so why should we.
My shoulder has been hurting me so I was sticking with a stick bait instead of a popper. As the photo below says it all, it was working. A nice Grouper.
Wayne gets on the board with the first GT on popper. A nice clean fellow and easy release.
He follows it up with a little one that is feisty as all get out.
Not to be out done, I cast my stick bait to a fishy looking spot and proceed to hook up a nice Spanish Mackerel.
Wayne with a little Barracuda that Rosie has claimed for bait.
Wayne started jigging in 100 meters of water and proceeded to hook up more than 10 Dog Tooth Tuna. Unfortunately the head he is holding represents the only proof of his sweat. The sharks were thick and relentless to the point of us moving on to another spot.
Rosie on the other hand was having a very successful bait fishing trip. She filled the ice box single handedly.
This is a Long Nose Emperor. Caught at over 100 meters and fought all the way to the surface. A very tough customer, but not as tough as Rosie.
We had another great day out, with plenty of fish caught and lost by a variety of methods. Until next time. Tight Lines
On June 2nd and 3rd, there was a GT fishing comp held at VoliVoli Resort on the other side of the island. Our team was Rosie, Brendan, Wayne, and of course yours truly. We are to drive our boat all the way around the island, about 120 miles, Friday. Then fish Saturday and Sunday. Then drive back on Monday. We planned, packed, planned some more, packed some more, planned a bit more, then planned some more until finally the day arrived. Now what could possibly go wrong with all the planning that was done? Well, we left the jetty at 6:00 AM sharp, just as planned, but by the time we left the river we were taking waves over the bow of the boat. That was to be the prelude to the first 2+ hours of our journey. To say it was rough would be an understatement. Luckily once we got to Suva Harbour we would go inside the reef and it would be calmer. As predicted it got much calmer and we made good time to the Rewa River for the next leg of our journey/adventure. The only problem was, it took over 1.5 hours longer than we had anticipated. That put us to far into the falling tide to cross the sand/mud bar in the river mouth. I eventually put the boat on the muck and there we sat, waiting for the tide. Now for those who spend time in the saltwater, they will know that waiting for the tide is a fact of life. Fish prefer certain tides and wont bite on slack tides. Sometimes there is too much current caused by the tide and sometimes not enough. Not to mention "time and tide waits for no man". So there we sat, rigging, talking, eating, and dancing. Waiting for the return of the tide. It took 2.5 hours for the boat to float free again. Good thing we are all friends. The rest of the trip was like clock work. Once we came out of the Rewa River the wind was on our stern and we flew. Although we did not get to fish on our way up we arrived at the resort at 4:00 PM. At that very moment all of our plans went out the door. The problem being, we knew almost everyone there. And when 40+ friends get together at a fishing comp, well we all know what happens. Plans go overboard. We partook in festive activities until all to late hours of the night/morning. We did manage to get up and be on the water quite early considering the night before. Unfortunately the weather for the first day of the comp proved to rough and tumble and on top of that, we did not find fish. We caught a few, but not what we had hoped for. The second night proved even deadlier for our team of merry makers. After all we were Team Xstreem. Xstreem grog, Xstreem tequila, Xstreem beer, Xstreem late night. Yep, Sunday, day 2 of the comp, was a little rough for us as well as the other teams. A late start, rough weather and xstreem hangovers did not fair well for catching fish. Although I must say Rosie did manage to land a nice GT in the morning. That would be our only GT. We were a sorry lot I must say. Oh well, "the best laid schemes (plans) of mice and men often go awry". Boy did they go awry. No time to sulk, there was a party to be had. After all the winning team came from our fishing club, The Twisted Leaders. They were Team Vai Lima, consisting of Russell Baumann, Erik Powell and Ben Duea. They won best Team, Russell won Best male angler and biggest GT. A side note, they did not partake in any of the festivities. They did however fish hard and deserved to win. I think we won most partying and least sleep. On Monday, we were to leave the resort early for the trip home. Yeah right, we left late and missed the tide and did everything in reverse going home. We had a great time. I would do it again in a second. In fact plans are going forward for a first, catch and release only, popping comp. I don't think we will win that one either.
Here is a slide show of the trip with a few high lights.
By the way a Dogtooth Tuna is not really a tuna at all, in fact it is a member of the Scombridea family, in it's own genus, Gymnosarda. More closely related to the Mackerels and bonitos than the tunas.
The game plan is set and the gear is all ready. We load up enough tackle to start another store.
This time our crew consists of, Brendan, Wayne (Fisher X), Loren, who has fished with us before, and of course Rosie. Who, not only does she catch a lot of fish, but she is also on the camera as well as video.
The bait we are fishing for is quite a bit bigger than say a mullet or a gar fish. We are actually trying to catch double lined mackerel, also called Scad Mackerel. It is a great bait for all kinds of fish.
Our first catch on the Sabiki is a Walu (Narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel).
Now anyone who has ever been out on the sea for any period of time will eventually see amazing sights and events. The ocean is vast and there is a lot of animals and weather and sky to look at.
Almost with out thinking when an image presents itself to you and you have a camera you will take a photo.
Now Loren has been watching all of this jigging and has come to the conclusion that we are all mad and are working way to hard to catch fish. He might have a point.
He is fishing with bait using a double hook rig with a sinker on the bottom. A very effective rig for catching food fish, and he proves it here.
Now you would think with all the excitement of catching every kind of fish imaginable we would forget the dog we came looking for.
That can not happen. We are on a mission, to subdue a doggie and bring it onboard. And after hours of jigging, with sore arms and backs. Chaffed under arms and blistered fingers a doggie is finally hooked. There is no doubt what is on the other end of Wayne's line. The fight is unique to the Dogtooth Tuna. Hard runs and tail beats that pulse up the line and through the rod. Never surrendering all the way to the surface. Once it is in the boat and secure, jubilation breaks out among us.
Although not huge or even large but amazingly powerful. The one, the only, Dogtooth Tuna.
A good friend of ours named Loren, who you met in an earlier post, Great day with a mixed bag, asked if we would like to help him pick his new boat up from Suva. This pick-up would involve some fishing as well as getting the boat back to his dock. Who can pass that up?
We set the plan for an early morning departure. It is a 45 minute drive to the boat so we all pile into a taxi before dawn and head out.
There is a chill in the air but as the sun breaks the horizon our bone warm up.
By the time we reach the boat it has been prepped and is ready to go. Just a few last minute pointers for Loren from the builders and we are ready to go.
Loren's boat is a 24ft version of my boat. Very stable and comfortable to ride in if we were to run into any bad weather. That was not to be. It was mill pond flat and a real pleasure to be out on it.
If you have ever entered of left a large busy harbour with completely inadequate markings, then you will relate to theis image. Myself and Loren trying to find our way out of the harbour.
Once clear of the harbour we made a bee line to some reefs that looked really fishy on the charts. I insisted that Loren take a few casts while I get to drive his boat.
With the drift set and the water looking fishy Loren and Rosie proceeded to cast poppers towards the reef. It did not take long before we all saw the strike. Loren's popper was violently taken by a good size fish. After a good fight and a couple of guesses as to what the fish was, we finally see that it is a nice Spanish Mackerel (Walu).
This was not only the first fish on the boat, but it was also Loren's first Spanish Mackerel all on the maiden voyage.
We fished on for a while but nothing else was biting. The weather started to look a little iffy so we decided to head home. The ride was smooth and comfortable and Loren was happy.
When we got up this morning it was cloudy and drizzling, but there was no wind. So after much arse dragging we decided to go and have a fish. By now it is after 10:00 AM.
By 11:00 we are on the water cruising to a spot just a few miles away.
Things start out a bit slow. The tide has already turned and we have while until it is low. Still we fish on.
We were fishing inside the reef. Hitting all the little nooks and crannies. When all of a sudden Paul hooks up to a good size Barracuda. With plenty of jumps and a couple good runs it is brought to the boat for it's obligatory photo session.
By this time the tide is full out and we spot a couple of schools of bait being busted up right next to the reef. This means all three poppers head in that direction.
Then suddenly a finned torpedo launches out of the water and lands mouth first on my lure. As the line goes tight I figure it to be a Wahoo or Spanish Mackerel. After a respectable fight on 30lb Rosie puts the gaff in a nice Spanish Mack.
The morning was calm. The clouds were not angry anymore and the sea was like molten glass. I could see blue sky and a small rainbow. I had a good feeling about this fishing trip, after all the last one ended with me being stung by a Sting Ray so anything would be better.
We set out with the electric trolling motor, just cruising along at a nice leisurely pace, Rosie and I casting poppers casually from side to side. We had a few lookers but no takers.
The water was a tinge of swimming pool blue and so clear you could see forever. We were slowly cruising over a series of coral heads in about 5 meters of water when Rosie looked down and saw a nice 2+ meter Bronze Whaler just lying on the bottom. With the most nonchalant flick of its tail it moved on and we resumed fishing.
We decided to skip our first fishing spot, a series of coral heads and rocks in a fast moving tide channel with a sandy bottom. Instead we went straight to another fishy spot where a small river comes to a little bay, known for holding nice Jacks and Trevally. The water in this bay was a bit murky due to the rain and I was not having any luck with the poppers so I switched to a small dark X-Rap diver with loud rattles.
Rosie persisted with a small dark popper, and a really nice Trevally was the reward. After about a minute the fight ended with the front split ring being pulled straight. She upsized her popper and was back in the water in no time. As we rounded the back of the bay my diver was absolutely smashed. The fight was dirty from the start, hard deep runs with a late run that made the drag scream in pain. Soon the telltale head thumps told me the fight was almost over. When we finally saw color, it proved why the fight was so good. A deep sided 4kg Trevally was netted and in the boat like clock work.
Things then quieted down for awhile. As we moved out of the bay, the water started to become clear again and we were fishing a deep drop off known for really big Trevally. I switched back to a popper and Rosie moved up to a 30lb spinning outfit. She was taking no chances of a bust off this time.
I was still bragging about my fish and not paying attention to my lure or retrieve when a nice little Emperor took my static lure for a run. These fish can fight. They were described to me by a friend as catching a freight train that wants to go home. This little fish proved it ten times over. Nevertheless, my braid proved victorious in the end.
A few minutes later and my popper was taken again by another nice Trevally. The water was so clear we watched the entire fight from take to finish. One of the bonuses of surface fishing.
We fished on a bit further but things got quiet. There was no surface activity and no bites so we decided to make our way back. There was a lot of talking going on when all of a sudden off the back of the boat a huge Spanish mackerel launched itself into the air. We both stood there with our mouths open as this massive fish rocketed more that 5 meters into the air, turned around and shot straight back into the water.
If you have never seen this, let me tell you it is a remarkable sight. A big toothy grin and bold stripes gave away the species as well as the free jump.
Now, being a couple of true anglers Rosie and I immediately fire off a couple of casts. Within seconds the mackerel has launched itself out of the water again only this time it has my lure in it mouth. This is where all the years of experience comes into play, no steel leader and a small spinning reel, and a really big toothy fish, I am cut off before it even pulls tight. Luckily my little popper floats up right next to the boat and I retrieve it easily.
Rosie is undaunted by my ordeal and continues to cast out towards the general area. Within a couple of casts she has a massive strike that turns out to be a really big shark. She is still undaunted and continues to cast out there eventually enticing another massive strike from the shark. Now I think it has turned personal and she casts again followed by a white water explosion and as her line pulls tight and her rod loads up the shark proves that when fishing for toothy creature you need steel leader. With her popper now being worn as shark bling we get back to the business of fishing for obtainable fish. On our way back we fish the little bay we started in. It starts out quiet so I switch to a diver in hopes of another Trevally. Rosie continues with a popper and after a few casts I hear the unmistakable boof of a Mangrove Jack. The fight is dirty by both parties. If you do not turn the Jack quickly you lose. She does it like a textbook fight and before long a beautiful Jack is in the boat.
