Headed back to New Cal in the last week of May to fish with Etienne and Manu once again. This time we decided to fish out of Nekweta Lodge, near Bourail. Whilst not being a regular to the place, my past 2 trips have been in rain and wind so imagine my delight to see light winds and sun...........what a nightmare that turned out to be. Whilst it was flat as a pancake and no wind, this fish refused to play ball. Apart from 5 fish in the first hour of fishing, things just got tougher. Sure the fish were there and so was the bait, but seeing GT's shadowing stickbaits and actually turning away from lures was an insight into how these fish react in certain conditions. I spotted a big GT cruising along a reef, cast well ahead of it and blooped the popper once, only to have the fish turn and hightail it from 30 meters away. I was scratching my head.
Then the wind and rain came back, and so did the fish. 2 days of sun and no wind saw a few GTs caught, 2 days of wind and rain saw many more GT's caught.
A good mixed bag in the doldrums kept us busy, with couta, spaniards, jacks and trout keeping us on our toes. Best fish tagged was 32kg, not as big as last weeks fish, which went 45kg and 52kg for Etienne. (These fish will appear in a NZ fishing mag soon, so I will post them up once I get some clearance from the Editors)
Even in the wind, best lure turned out to be a Squidpen, the bigger fish just loved gulping them down, only problem was they were all deep hooked. The smaller fish upto 30kg loved the 130gr Jai Bighead, it out fished all other poppers 5-1.
Tackle used ranged from 80 - 170lb, with those using the lighter lines losing a few fish. I stuck with the PE 12 all trip and had a ball and did not loose one lure.
Yes, The Black Mafia is brutal, but when working Squidpens its quite relaxing. I have already spoken to Jannelle at Fishhead about chasing up a few dozen copper colored Jai Bigheads for us, these lure were the standout. No matter how many Craftbits and Fisherman I have and will continue to buy, the Jai Bigheads have a permanent spot for me when fishing inside the lagoon. We also did some light tackle work on plastics and sinking smaller stickbaits like the Sashimi Slider and hooked way to many big GT's on the lighter gear that was healthy for us.
Next time I will pack more of these and hang on.
Service, accommodation and meals were top notch once again, how much locally caught mudcrab, wahoo, 'fin and prawns can you eat.....plenty.
What surprised us even more is that in November we have 7 days planned, and upon departure from New Cal Etienne pulled us aside and said for us to extend our holiday to 9 days, 2 free days were on him to make up for our doldrums in the becalmed seas.
We protested ( not much ) and said not to worry that's fishing and we have been on many trips when the fishing is slow, that's fishing, BUT in the end we were happy to take him up on his offer....2 extra days free of charge, who wouldn't!!.
Cheers
Stan
