With the long holiday weekend I thought we would get a lot of fishing in. Xmas was out of the question but Boxing day and Sunday were definite possibilities.
Boxing day morning we head out fully outfitted for a days popping. John, Rosie, my mother and myself.
As we leave the protected river mouth and head up the coast to some new grounds I am exploring I notice the ground swell and slight wind from the Southeast. Even with that we can cruise at 24 knots and we are at the grounds in 20 minutes.
John gets out the first catch and hooks up right away. Unfortunately his 30lb outfit is no match for his finned adversary. He gets reefed and all is lost. It takes a while before we see more fish but it was worth the wait. As I cast out and start to retrieve my popper a school of small fish start fighting over my popper. I just leave it in the water and let them fight over it. To bad none of them were big enough to bite the hooks. Good fun watching though.
John is driving the boat so I can fish a bit.
As we approach a point I can tell it is fishy. I cast my popper out and am rewarded with a massive explosion and a solid hook up. After a good clean fight I boat the first fish for the day.
If you look closely at the water in the photo you will notice it is starting to get rough out. The wind starts to blow up to 30 knots and rain squalls can be seen coming out way.
By this time Rosie has had enough of this rough kind of fishing and beds down for a nap.
The weather is winning and we decide to head back but I must have one more cast. I let it fly to a point in the reef and as I watch, two massive shapes appear from the depths and one of them explodes on to my popper. The splash is so big that even Rosie wakes from her slumber. As my line pulls tight the fish is swimming towards me and I am unable to set the hooks. My popper floats to the surface and I call it quits.
I finally got back out on the water. It has been a month since I have been fishing. This of course is due to weather and a short vacation, that did not involve fishing but did involve a lot of eating and drinking. That's another story.
Rosie was under the weather so it was myself, my mom and a good friend Russell for the day.
Well we survived cyclone Mick. The power just came back on last night. Kudos to the Fiji Electric Authority for wanting to make money. There is a little trickle of water. Enough that I do not have to bath with swimming pool water. No real damage to the house or our lives. But I will say Mother Natures way of trimming the yard is a little brutal. Not what I would have done, but with a little chainsaw work and a lot of raking we'll have it right.
My boat faired much better than the yard. I moved it up the river and into the mangroves where she spent the night calm and quiet.
Here is a couple more images of the storm and when I get Rosie's video together I will post that.
The storm lasted 9 hours before we got to the eye. Then a 2 hour break and the wind picked up again. Lucky for us the back side was not as strong and only lasted another 2 hours.
The town of Navua is 10km from us, and it was completely flooded. The flood reached almost 6 km from the river. 4 people lost their lives and most farmers lost their livelihood.
That was the first for the season and there is a total of 8 predicted for this season.
The fun is just beginning.
Thank you all for you kind words and thoughts. It is always nice to know people are supporting you in you life struggles.
The winds they are a blowin'. It is starting to feel a lot like Christmas. After all it is cyclone season and we should expect nothing less than a few of them to pass by. Unfortunately this one is passing right through.
Special Weather Bulletin Number SIX for Fiji ON TROPICAL CYCLONE MICK ISSUED FROM RSMC NADI at 1:14am on Monday the 14th of December 2009
TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING. A TROPICAL CYCLONE GALE WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR VANUA LEVU, TAVEUNI, VITI LEVU, YASAWA AND MAMANUCA, LOMAIVITI GROUP AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS. A TROPICAL CYCLONE ALERT REMAINS IN FORCE FOR THE REST OF FIJI. A STRONG WIND WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR ROTUMA.
TROPICAL CYCLONE MICK [995HPA] CENTRE CAT 1 WAS LOCATED NEAR 15 DECIMAL 5 SOUTH 176 DECIMAL 1 EAST OR ABOUT 290 KM NORTH-NORTHWEST OF NADI OR ABOUT 360 KM WEST-NORTHWEST OF LABASA AT 12 AM THIS MORNING.
THE CYCLONE IS INTENSIFYING. CLOSE TO ITS CENTRE THE CYCLONE IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE AVERAGE WINDS UP TO 65 TO 75 KM/HR WITH MOMENTARY GUSTS TO 90 KM/HR. THE CYCLONE IS CURRENTLY MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 20 KM/HR. ON THIS FORECAST TRACK THE CYCLONE CENTRE IS EXPECTED TO LIE ABOUT 140 KM TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST OF NADI OR ABOUT 260 KM WEST OF LABASA AT 12 PM TODAY AND ABOUT 40 KM TO THE NORTHEAST OF NADI OR ABOUT 205 KM WEST-SOUTHWEST OF LABASA AT 12AM TOMORROW.
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS WILL BEGIN A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE CENTRE PASSES OVERHEAD OR NEARBY. FOR VANUA LEVU, TAVEUNI, VITI LEVU, YASAWA AND MAMANUCA, LOMAIVITI GROUP AND NEARBY SMALLER ISLANDS: STRONG WINDS INCREASING TO DAMAGING GALE FORCE WITH AVERAGE SPEEDS OF 65 TO 75 KM/HR WITH GUSTS TO 90 KM/HR FROM TODAY.
FOR THE REST OF FIJI: STRONG WINDS INCREASING TO DAMAGING GALE FORCE WITH AVERAGE SPEEDS OF 65 KM/HR WITH GUSTS TO 85 KM/HR FROM TOMORROW NIGHT AND INTO TUESDAY. FURTHER PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS. FLOODING INCLUDING SEA FLOODING OF LOW LYING COASTAL AREAS.
FOR ROTUMA: NORTHERLY WINDS 35 TO 55 KM/HR WITH GUSTS TO 80 KM/HR. FURTHER RAIN, HEAVY AT TIMES AND SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS.
ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH SEAS. HEAVY NORTHWEST SWELL. The following information is provided especially for the mariners: EXPECT WINDS OF 35 TO 40 KNOTS WITHIN 150 MILES OF CENTRE. HIGH SEAS. DAMAGING HEAVY NORTHWEST SWELLS. POOR VISIBILITY IN HEAVY RAIN AND SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS.
THE NEXT SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN FOR FIJI WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 5.30 AM TODAY.
A fellow angler and blogger is having a great giveaway at his blog, Flowing Waters. He is giving away a Bass package that includes some really great tackle. Swing by Wolfy's blog and and give him a shout out. He always has great posts and a great writing style.
We got out again on Sunday, and after a week of calm weather I figured it would be blowing like hell. I was not disappointed. It was heavily overcast with a gusty 15-20 So'Easter blowing.
So much for calm weather.
We took out a couple of friends, Donavon and Sarah. They live about 20 minutes from us and frequent the tackle shop. Donavon was in the midst of the fishing learning curve and was eager to catch a GT.
Unfortunately as soon as we reached the reef Sarah fell victim to one of the worst possible noncontagious sicknesses, seasickness.
Since Rosie and I both used to get really seasick, we felt her pain and nausea. But, credit must be given to Sarah, she never once asked to go home. Once she had emptied her stomach she lied down in front of the console she was at least less uncomfortable and stayed there for the remainder of the trip.
All was quiet for the first couple of hours. a lot of chatter and some serious instruction for Donavon was all the action. Of course when it is time to break the drought Rosie is the sure fire gun for that.
With skill and speed she knocks over the first GT for the day.
Lucky for me she decides to take a break soon after and allows me to use her rod for a few casts out on the bow. As she settles into driving the boat and Donavon is at the back having a snack, I proceed to get a few casts in. As luck and timing would have it I hook into a nice one and after a short but intense fight Rosie lifts my GT into the boat.
Now, at this point Donavon is re-energized and all fired up to catch a fish. We have spent the better part of 4 hours honing his skills and shortening the learning curve. He is ready and is on the bow armed with my rod and reel and a River2Sea dumbbell popper. Casting like a mad man with determination seldom seen by humans. All of this is about to be rewarded in one massive explosion as the sea opens up and his popper disappears. Donavon is on and it is a nice fish. Line is melting off of the reel and for an instant there is a panicked look in his eyes. As he settles into the fight, panic turn to thrill and back to determination. After a good 5 minute fight his fish is boat side and I lift it in for him. He then sits on the rail to compose himself while Rosie and I go to work on the GT. Once the fish is cared for I give it to Donavon and they both get their picture taken.
At this point Paul's arms are getting tired from casting a 50lb rod and a big River2Sea dumbell popper. So he gives me a try while he drives the boat. I soon hook up to a nice GT and boat it for a quick photo session.
This is just a quick notice to all of my blogging friends. For some reason my ISP will not allow me to view your blogs or any blogs for that matter. I can use a proxy server but it does not let me comment. So, I am visiting but you will not see me comment until this is figured out. Sorry for this but I will start commenting as soon as I can.
The other day I received a link to a site that gives you the best fishing days according to moon phase and tidal predictions. It said Sunday the 25th of October would be no good for fishing. Being my only day off to fish I decided it did not matter I was still going out. Sometimes you have to buck the trends.
The wind is blowing like hell (25-30) and the tide is starting to fall.
With Captain Charlie at the wheel and Rosie at the stern and myself on the bow, we start the routine of casting and retrieving.
It is not long before I hook up to the first fish. It gives a good accounting of itself and soon is in the boat for it's picture.
I then proceeded to get rocked by another big Bass. Although I managed to get my lure back it won its freedom.
Things go quiet for a little bit then I hook up on something different. This time on top of the reef. I see the flash of white and then my line pulls tight. As the beast shoots through the water I am still wondering what it is. Then it exits it's water home to show off its aerial prowess. Low and behold it is a Greater Barracuda. A big one at that. After a spectacular display out of the water Rosie leaders it into the boat for a nice photo session.
Well, after a bit of a forced break from fishing we finally got out on the water. It was a beauty of a day, blowing like hell but still gorgeous. We got a bit of a late start but still made it on the water by 9 am.
I decided to fish a spot that we had not fished. Charlie was at the helm Rosie at the stern and myself up on the bow. With the wind blowing a good 20-25 knots the bow was a bit tricky but manageable.
With in 10 minutes I had the first fish on board. A nice Emperor. Standing on the bow you get a great view into the water. This Emperor was fighting 3 other fish for my lure and won. This was a sign of things to come.
Now at this point Rosie is none to happy. She has yet to get a strike, but that is about to change. Suddenly the water around her lure explodes and she is onto a really nice fish. It is fighting like a GT but when it comes to the surface surprise surprise, it's a big pig of a Red Bass.
Now here is a lesson about keeping your eyes on the prize.
I see what I think is a large turtle and cast my popper to the left of it by maybe 30 meters. As I look back to Charlie and Rosie and yell for them to see the turtle, Charlie yells back at me and my rod loads up and is almost pulled from my hands. By the time I compose my self maybe 50 meters of line is already gone and my line goes slack. I reel my popper back in and ask Charlie what the hell was that and he say he has no idea. He thought it was a turtle also until it toreout after my lure. Here is a picture of my lure when I got it back.
Notice the front split ring and hook are gone and the rear hook is opened up. We still do not know what it was.
Oh well back to fishing and Rosie catches a nice Job fish. For those that have never caught a Job fish, the fight a bit like a trevally, hard and dirty.
You can tell by the way she is holding it that fatigue is setting in on her. After so many fish she was getting tired, but not slowing down.
I want a break and am getting hungry so I give my rod to Charlie to have a bit of a fish. What happens next is what fishing dreams are made of.
Charlie hollers out that there is a big GT on his lure. As his rod loads up and 50 lb braid melts away he is hooting and yelling for joy. Then from behind me I her Rosie yell GT and then hear here drag start to scream in protest to the speed at which line is being taken. We have a double hook up on big GT's. Rosie makes her way to the front of the boat with Charlie and I start filming.
So here is the low down on what has happened with my charter business. Here in Fiji it is only proper to go and ask permission to fish in a villages waters. As you saw in earlier posts I did this with a couple of villages already and all was fine. In fact on even asked me if I would help look after their waters, I said yes of course. So after many attempts to meet with the chief of Na Waisomo, Raviravi and Lalati, one person by the title Tui Raviravi, he agrees and gives me about 2 hours to get out to Beqa island where he is. We arrive there and present our Yanqona. We explain our intentions about running a guiding opeation and how it will be catch and release and so forth. Tui Raviravi then sits back and says, lets get right down to business, we want $5,000.00 dollars upfront and for you to write a letter of intent. After I pull my jaw up off the floor I tell him that is a lot of money and I need to think about it. Truth being, there was nothing to think about. No way! $5,000.00 for what? Why? What are you going to do for me? Well the answer to those questions is a resounding, Nothing. So Tui Raviravi and his entourage says they will let me think about it for a week and then call me for another meeting. They never call and I decided I will hold off on the charters for awhile. Too bad, but I will focus on my tackle shop and fish for myself and friends.
Now onto a fishy subject. We got out on the water the other day and it was a beauty of a day. Rosie wanted to go and do some bait fishing with her aunt Adi and sister Lou. So off we go, out to the reefs to drop anchor and bait. Now for those that know me, they know I hate bait fishing, mainly because I suck at it and I seem to catch the fishes house a lot. This day proved to be no different. My first fish was a cracker of a fish.
Luckily the day was awesome and we were having fun.
We caught all sorts of fish. From small to really small.
Lucky for us this trip was planned and executed with no surprises. Josh, Ryan, and Jimmy had come into the shop and wanted to go fishing. They said for me to pick the day with the best weather. Which is always iffy at best.
I decided Monday the 24th was the day and spent Sunday getting ready.
We met at the boat at 7:30 am and were on the water in no time. I had a game plan all worked out and was feeling pretty confident. All of that was about to change.
As we headed out to the first spot the weather started to decline rapidly. The sky turned dark and the wind picked up. On top of that not even a bite. By the second spot I was sure it was going to rain and still no bites.
I worked the grounds hard for these guys but to no avail.
Luckily it never rained on us but the bite was not happening. We decided to try spot number three. We even trolled on our way over to it and didn't get a bite.
Before we got to the third spot the weather cleared and the wind died. It was going to be a nice day after all.
We arrive to the third location and it looked fishy enough as it always does. By now the guys are using a lot lighter tackle. After what seemed like an eternity, Josh catches a small Coral Trout. He follows that up with a fish I have yet to ID. If you know what it is let me know.
Now it is Ryan's turn. He gets into a nice Emperor. This is followed by a Black Trevally that gives a good accounting of it's self. And I might add he deserved it. He never gave up and it paid.
