Sunday, September 12, 2010

"Who caught who" or "Pay back is hell"

I normally do not forward emails, but this one is a cracker. The names have been deleted to protect the innocent and guilty.

You may be forgiven for thinking that any man would look proud after catching a large barracuda as he poses with the fish and his 14 year-old daughter at the marina afterwards.
From barracuda bite
Then you may wonder why his daughter looks less than thrilled.

14 year old was sitting in a boat while her father fished. Suddenly she saw a silver flash in the air. The barracuda had thrown the hook and grabbed her arm.

Father managed to kill the fish with a knife in the head.

But she needed 51 stitches.

And he felt the need to pose for photos before taking her to hospital!


From barracuda bite

From barracuda bite
Tight lines

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Trolling at it's best

After much bad weather and a vacation to Sydney, Australia, I'm back.
The weather has shaped up well for the week and we decided to try to fill the freezer with eating fish. That means trolling, and I really do not like trolling, but it can be the best way to catch wahoo and mahimahi.
So, off we go into the wild blue sea, trolling. I think I will let the video speak for me.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Fiji Fishing Adventures, Fiji's newest gamefishing charter

A good friend of mine, Ben Duea, has just started operating a game fishing charter out of Pacific Harbour, Fiji. His charter business is called Vailima Fishing Adventures and he has just put his website online. He has some great captures already and the photos to prove it. Check it out at http://www.fijifishingadventures.com

If you are looking for a game fishing charter in Fiji then Ben at Vailima Fishing Adventures is the one to call.

Tight lines

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

One in a hundred

We went out for a day trip with Renee, Brianna, Mike, Thomas, Kym and Caroline. Swimming, snorkeling, fishing and lunch was on the menu. We lucked out, I think it was the nicest day all year.
We met at the jetty at about 10am and we were greeted by a large water snake named Fred.
From Day trip with Renee and friends
It is winter here in Fiji so Fred was trying to warm up before his days excursions.
We headed out to a clear and calm morning. Our first stop is what used to be a sand bar until the storms last year flattened it. The water around it is crystal clear with a sandy bottom.
We like our swimming holes with sandy bottoms not ourselves.
From Day trip with Renee and friends
The water here is always this color. In the image you can see where the sand bar used to be. This time last year it was over 20ft high and had drift wood on it as well as picnicers from the resorts. Never the less it is still a great swimming hole.
It also made for a good place to work on ones tan.
Next up was a bit of trolling while we moved to our next destination. The lines were set and the course was laid, now it is time to break up the monotony of trolling with a bit of fun.
First comes out the blue zinc oxide that is used to completely block out the sun and also great fun when goofing around.
From Day trip with Renee and friends
Caroline and Brianna with blue lips.
At first it was just the kids but then it turned into everyone onboard wearing blue lips.
From Day trip with Renee and friends
Thomas and Mike sporting blue lips too.
We trolled for awhile and had a couple of strikes but nothing stayed on.
As time was moving quickly we had to pull in the lines and get to the next spot, as they wanted to try a bit of popping.
We arrived at the popping spot and I set up a drift. Within seconds the first GT was on and Renee was having the fight of her life.
From Day trip with Renee and friends
Notice the lovely blue lips and a nice GT.
Not more that a few minutes and the second GT was hooked up. This time it was Thomas's turn to have the fight of his life.
A nice dark GT and of course blue lips.
Unfortunately time had run out and we had to make a lunch appointment. So the rods were stowed and off we went.
A bit more swimming and some fish tales later we wrapped up an awesome day.
I like to call this day a one in a hundred. For every hundred days on the water one is this good.
Tight lines

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Fishing with the Powalski's

A little late on this post, but here it is non the less.
It was promising to be a cracker of a day. Hardly any clouds and and no wind.
We got the boat loaded and met up with Loren and Dollye at the jetty. They are good friends of ours and own a real estate company called Harbour Property Services, check them out if you want to stay or buy in Fiji.
I gave the safety talk and off we go.
Both Loren and Dollye have fished quite a lot back in Seattle, but Salmon fishing is not the same as popper fishing for tropical pelagics. Loren has done a bit of fishing here with a few different people, but Dollye has not, enter the learning curve.
Unfortunately the learning curve is steep and long. I can teach you how to cast, I can teach you how to pop, but catching fish is something that takes a long time to work out.
Dollye took to it like a pro, casting and popping right away. Loren did not need any assistance.
After 20 or 30 minutes with no bites Loren wants me to cast a bit and tells me to catch a fish. So not being one to shrug of a challenge I cast out a few times and hook a little Trevally.
From Fishing with the Pawloski's
Once the fish is in the boat I tell Loren that I am done for awhile as I want him and Dollye to catch fish.
Now it is Loren's turn to catch a fish. After a couple of missed bites he finally hooks one and gets to feel the pull of the Trevally.
From Fishing with the Pawloski's
Not a big fish but on the light tackle they sure are fun.
Meanwhile Dollye is still casting and popping and starting to work out the formula. She gets a couple of good bites but is not able to set the hooks. Like I said, a long, steep curve.
Back to Loren who is quite fired up at this point and hooks a nice Bluefin Trevally. He has learned to put the hurt on these fish otherwise the fish dictates the fight and you lose.
He has the fish boat side in no time and Rosie leaders it in. Cheers and high fives all around.
From Fishing with the Pawloski's
Unfortunately the wind has whipped up and is now blowing 25knots with a very lumpy sea. This of course makes casting and standing very difficult.
We call it a day and make our way home.
We all had a great time and plan to do it again.

Tight lines

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Updates from the past few weeks

Sorry it has been so long since a post. No real excuse, just lazy and not a lot to report.
The weather has been, well not great to say the least.
Rosie and I took Yuki out for a Sunday fish. With him was Ken and Captain. Captain is an F15 fighter pilot with the Japanese air force.
The weather was atrocious and the fish were in hiding, but we persevered.
A side note, our usual camera is in the shop so we are shooting all the pictures with an Iphone or a GoPro camera. Not the best quality.

Anyways here is a couple of shots of our trip.

Captain making a go of a crappy situation.
Ken showing true form.
From June 6 2010 Rosie, Billy and Callan

Yuki with a small GT.
From June 6 2010 Rosie, Billy and Callan
Not one of our better days but that's fishing, right?

So the next time out it was just Rosie and me. After a short run in some horrid waves and rain squalls with wind gusts up to 30knots, the throttle cable played up and sent us home without a fish.

So this Sunday we decided to try again. The weather was looking lovely and our excitement was high.
Boat loaded, Billy on board with Spam and egg sandwiches, off we go into the wild blue yonder.
Our first stop was a small bay that has produced some nice Coral Trout and Mangrove Jacks. Light tackle was the call for the morning. By that I mean 30lb gear.

The small bay with mangroves and nice little drop offs.
From June 6 2010 Rosie, Billy and Callan
Unfortunately the wind kicked up and it started to white cap, that's 7-10 knots. A little hard to use the light gear.
We moved out of the bay to another area that is known to produce some nice fish. I am still using the 30lb but Rosie has switched to the 50lb. Now you must be wondering what happened to Billy, he has this deal with the fish, He wont eat them and they wont eat him. Therefore he does not fish. Good for me as I can teach him to drive the boat and I get to do a little fishing.

I finally catch a nice Red Bass on the light gear, what fun.
From June 6 2010 Rosie, Billy and Callan

Soon after my bass Rosie hooks up to a nice GT and has it boat side in no time.
From June 6 2010 Rosie, Billy and Callan
After that it goes quiet and the wind has picked up some more. Time for lunch and a bit of fun.
Billy does one for his wife Katie who is out of the country but loves fishing and knows he doesn't.
After lunch we decide to go and have a swim at a sand bar. To our surprise the sand bar was gone, flattened out during the hurricanes this last season. Lucky for us the waters around it are still like a swimming pool.
After our swim we are gonna try a bit of trolling in a proven location. So out go the lures and off we go. Within 20 minutes the ride is too rough and the lures will not stay in the water. We all agree to pull them in and head for home. Easier said then done. It's gotten really rough and the swell has picked up. After almost two hours we finally get back to the dock.
We still had a great day on the water and it sure beats the crap out of being at work.

On a side note I mentioned the GoPro cameras. I have purchased two of them and have started to see what they can do.
From June 6 2010 Rosie, Billy and Callan
Here is a little video and there will be lots more to see.


Tight lines

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Searching for new waters

I had made up my mind that we needed to find some new waters to fish. So I asked Yuki and Ricky is they wanted to go, as well as Rosie and myself. I needed experienced anglers so I would know if there was fish or not.
The morning was a beauty, calm, almost too calm, a bit of sun and gin clear water.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
We found some very fishy looking waters and began fishing.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
It was not long before we had a double kook up to a couple of Red Bass.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
Yuki with a cracker of a Bass.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
Unfortunately the tides and moon were not in our favor. A bit of moving from place to place was called for and hence the warriors were made to wait.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
Finally we get what we came for. A GT, the king of the reef. We knew they were here we just had to work out the formula, and Rosie cracked it first.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
I just love these fish.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
Yuki onto a big Barracuda.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
What happened Yuki? Where's the fish. Oh well, one of the side effects of barbless hooks. If the fish jumps and twists a lot there is a possibility it will throw the hooks.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
Rosie showing the boys how it is done with her second GT.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
The weather is starting to get a bit rough. The swell picks up out of the South and so does the wind. It is all I can do to keep the boat off the reef. But the area just looks too damn fishy to quit. Perseverance pays off and Ricky lands a nice Bluefin Trevally.
From Exploration with Yuki & Ricky
By now the wind is howling and it is really hard to even stand in the boat. Just as well, Yuki has an appointment to get to and we have a ways to go to get home.
As we head for home the conversation is all about the potential of our newly found fishing spot.
We decide unanimously that we can't wait to get back there and fish it some more.

Tight lines

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Fishing for weather

I find it amazing how much the weather dominates what we do. In this day and age when we humans have been to the moon and back, seed clouds for rain and snow, damn rivers and hold back the oceans, yet when the weather is crappy we are stuck inside. Sure there are those that venture out into it with protective gear and rod in hand, but for what? The love of fishing, or just because.....? It's wet, cold and darn right miserable.
As I type this it is raining, no it is pouring and it is so loud that it is the only thing I can hear. If I were to go outside I would literally be soaked in seconds. As you know I live in the tropics so rain gear is really out of the question. I would sweat to death and then end up wetter than if I did not wear anything.
Ok you get the point that weather does play a major role in my/our fishing times and lives.
So it came to be, Yuki wants to go fishing again on Sunday. We make the plans to meet at 7:30 at the boat.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday all have fine weather. In fact the weather is so fine I start thinking Sunday is going to be fine. What a fool I am.
I wake up around 4:30 to the sound of wind and driving rain. I better text Yuki and see what he thinks. Not surprising he says we go. As my Australian friends would say, "fair dinkum". We go.
As Yuki, Jose and Imaken (Kanto) arrive at the boat the sky actually starts to clear up and for a brief moment I feel that the fish gods are smiling at us. Yeah right, dream on.
We head out with high expectations and visions of Giant Trevally.
As we clear the river mouth the first thing I notice is a Southerly swell and a NE wind. Not what the doctor ordered.
It does not take us long to arrive at our starting point and the first casts are made in no time.
With in minutes Yuki is hooked up to a nice GT. After a classic Yuki fight where he almost gets pulled out of the boat, he weighs maybe 60kg, the GT is boated.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Now before I go on I must first stress how much respect Rosie and I have for these fish. I refuse to let anyone kill one and do everything in my power to return them in good condition from whence they came.
This next image is Yuki and myself performing a bit of hook removal surgery. Notice the blue saltwater hose in the mouth. I had to remove the hooks from the popper to get them out. Luckily the gills were not hooked and only minor bleeding that was stopped by the time I released it.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Now for the grip and grin shot. I just love this guy.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
It went quiet for a little after that firecracker start.
The weather then started to act up. With the wind kicking up to 25knots and rain squalls blowing through, it's amazing we even caught another fish.
Here is a shot of Yuki and Jose doing the popping thing.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Here is a close up of Yuki in action.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Next up is a nice Red Bass that put up a good fight. Notice the size of the swell behind Yuki, and how rough it is.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
This is Kanto with a classic action shot.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Kanto had a bit of a rough go in the beginning. He was hooked up to a giant and could not really handle it. He was a bit overwhelmed by the shear power of the GT. Unfortunately he lost the fish but not the lure.
Good for him he persisted and never gave up. He eventually hooked a very large Unicorn fish, albeit in the ass, but a fish is a fish.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Yuki, not to be out done, lands a nice Bluefin Trevally.

From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
Another Red Bass and a Bluefin Trevally were boated. Unfortunately no more GT's were to be seen this day. All said 6 fish were boated and there was four misses. Not to bad for a half day out. We all had a good time and made plans for another trip.
From Yuki and friends April 18 2010
You can check out Yuki's blog at
http://orenostyle2008.blog17.fc2.com/
It is in Japanese but it is always fun to use google translator and look at the pictures.

Tight lines