Playing tour guide and tourist with visiting family

My brother Arick and his wife Stephanie came to visit us here in Fiji. Of course we wanted to get them out on the water for a fish. Unfortunately the weather gods were not very cooperative.

We did manage to get in some quality beach time.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

As well as a river kayaking trip with Rivers Fiji that involved a kava ceremony with a village headman

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

and then a few hours on the river.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

We also managed to do Zip Fiji. A series of cables strung through the jungle that you get to zip around on. Great fun.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

We did get out to do a bit of fishing. I have to say the odds were stacked against us. With four cyclones that developed inside of two weeks within the region, we had massive swell, wind and unpredictable weather. We still managed some fish and of course we all had a great time.

First fish in the boat was a Longtom or the Fijian name is Saku.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

Next up was Arick and here he is showing us how it is done on a Bass, Fijian name, Bati.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

Then Stephanie decides she wants to have a go with the 50lb rod, and of course you know what happened. First cast, first pop, a fish on and landed. A nice Emperor to boot. Fijian name, Dakunivudi.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

Then it is Rosie's turn to show us all how it is done.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

We had a very good time with Arick and Stephanie and I think they had a good time with us. We hope they decide to come back again. Hopefully the fishing will be better.

Tight lines

Yuki and friends fishing for GT's

Yuki, from the Japanese Embassy here in Fiji, has been coming into the shop for some time and always wanting to go fishing with me. This last Sunday was his day.

We meet at around 7:30 am for a full day fishing. After a few introductions to his friends Kazu and Jose we are off to fish.

I knew the tide would be right around mid day and the moon was not in the greatest phase so the morning would be spent hunting for GT's and then we would get into them a bit later.

Yuki is a seasoned pro at fishing. His gear was all top of the line and he could handle everything that was thrown at him.

From Yuki and friends

The water was crystal clear and the sea was calm.

From Yuki and friends

The first fish in the boat was a very green and very pissed Barracuda that no one wanted to handle.

From Yuki and friends

Next up was a Bluefin Trevally.

From Yuki and friends

Now it is Jose's turn to catch a fish. He was using his own gear and landed a little Bluefin also.

From Yuki and friends

By now the tide is coming right and we have found a few bommies that looked promising. On one of Yuki's first casts out he is taken for a ride and left holding a stripped lure. It was a massive GT that did not want to be caught.

From Yuki and friends

Yuki then got onto a nice GT who did not give him as much trouble.

From Yuki and friends

Next we had a double hook up with Yuki battling a cracker of a fish and Kazu having his own war.

From Yuki and friends

Kazu's fish was being attacked by a shark and by the time we got it to the boat the damage was done.

From Yuki and friends

After the bite slowed we changed locations. Looking for any stragglers that might be lurking about. Eventually we found another and this one gave Yuki a real hard fight. He prevailed in the end and got his picture taken one more time.

From Yuki and friends

We had a great time with these guys and got onto some nice fish. Yuki is a top notch angler and Jose and Kazu are definitely up and coming.

From Yuki and friends

I have a feeling we shall fish together again. Until then,

Tight lines and screaming drags

Trolling and all it's cracked up to be.

As usual the weather plays a big part in our fishing lives and this trip is no different. The day before it was sunny and dead calm, albeit a bit hot but calm none the less. Of course I could not get out on that lovely day. So when we finally get out the weather changes and not really for the better.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

The decision was made to do a bit of trolling to get some food fish. Now I must be clear here, I hate trolling, unless of course the bite is red hot, which happens about never for me.

So a trolling we go. A nice spread of lures out the back and a steady burn of fuel.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

Time to settle in for the long haul.

Of course when you troll with friends you have the chance to break up the monotony with goofy antics and lots of laughs.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

During one of our laugh sessions the short corner goes off and we are suddenly thrust into fishing mode. As Nick grabs the rod and sets the hook we quickly realize he is onto something we all dread to catch, Garbage!!!!

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

And Thai garbage at that. At least it broke up the morning.

After what seems like forever we finally we find the birds.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

And when you find the birds many times you will find the fish. This time that is exactly what happened.

First up was Cordula and her first Mahi Mahi and probably her first fish bigger than a trout.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Kordula

Then it was Joe's turn and he also landed a nice Mahi Mahi.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

Now it is Becky's turn and of course with her outfit she had to land something different, so it's a Wahoo for her.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

Next up it is Nicks turn and he is very fired up for a nice Yellowfin. Not long after we get the spread set again the long corner goes off and Nick skull drags a small Rainbow Runner to the boat. Not quite the 50kg Yellowfin but a beauty of a fish and nice eating.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

It is afternoon by now and we have all had enough trolling so we decide to head in to the reefs for a popping session.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

Nick lands the first one on popper and it is a nice Red Bass.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

Followed by four more of them. A few of them were quite big and gave head shakes like a GT.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

Rosie decides she has to get into the action and fires off a few casts. As is usual with her she is soon onto a nice GT and this fellow has some serious attitude. It runs her around the boat and gives a good accounting of itself. Even when boat side it is still putting up a fight. When it is brought onboard it gnashes it's teeth at us. Easy there fella your going back in.

From Fishing with Nick, Becky Joe, Cordula

As you can tell in the photos, the weather came around and we had a good day out. Not to mention we put some fish in the freezer.

Tight lines

Window of opportunity

The wind has finally lessened and the weather is a little calmer. It seems like forever since I have been out on the water but really only about two weeks.

Friends just in from America, Katie, and some from Australia, Nick and Becky. So the weather is good and we must fish.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Believe it or not this is a really calm day compared to what we have been experiencing.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Nick being artistically lit by the flash.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Becky relaxing on the way to the reefs.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Katie getting into the action.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Becky getting into the action.

It was not long before the fish were on the chew. Once the tides are right it seems everything comes together all at the same time. There is this window that opens up and if you are there and fishing you will catch fish. Only problem is when the window closes that's it, the bite shuts down and anything after that is pure chance and a lot of work.

I try to fish that window by being about 1 1/2 hours before right through to 1 1/2 hours after. Seems to work and here is some proof that I am not just blowing chop.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Nice Bass, too bad they are poison.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Not really sure what this is. If you know let me know.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

A nice GT and rather long.

From Nick, Becky, Katie

Katie with a nice GT caught on 30lb. She has now discovered that they can pull and put up a real fight.

These are not trout, they are bad ass fish that will give you a work out.

The total for the day was 7 fish in the boat in 4 1/2 hours. All of them caught in that little window when everything is just right.

By the time we called it a day the wind had started up and so had the seas. Everyone settled down for the trip back with stories to tell and sore muscles.

Tight lines

Giant Trevally on Boxing day

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.

From boxing 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.

From boxing day

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.

From boxing day

On our way back the weather just keeps getting worse so we duck inside the reef and slowly pound our way home.

Weather aside we still got a fish but not quite what I was hoping for.

It is now Sunday and the weather is atrocious, blowing 25-30 with no end in sight.

Tight lines and windy days.

Giant trevally with Russell

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.

First up was Russell with a really nice Sea Bass

From fishing with Russell

Next on the menu was a GT for my good friend

From fishing with Russell

Ok, that is enough for him, now it is my turn.

From fishing with Russell

Now that I am happy I turn the show back over to Russell for a final Bass

From fishing with Russell

Here is some video porn for you fishing maniacs.

The weather in general was beautiful, bright sun and warm. Unfortunately it was bowing 20+knots and the water was a bit cloudy.

We had a few drops and a couple other bites but all in all a good day.

Tight line