family and Gt popping destinations

[Gareth Branicki]

From reading this forum and reading the expeditions page i have done a lot of research in regard to destinations  most gt trips tend be either live aboard or in the case of LPB  both either live aboard or stay at a fishing /surf lodge. With Fuji  i.e kadvu or ono both tend to be geared just for anglers or divers. And wont get a chance to visit the musandam till prob April 2012 . I have read about Bali  on this forum comments raging don't come just for the fishing to now trips out to the alor organised by gtpopping (is it live a board)

 Problem I have is that exceptionally difficult to convince my wife that i should go fishing oversease and her and the kids stay behind.  I need to find a destination which has a good  hotel etc for the wife and kids to enjoy so i can organise some non live  aboard gt popping  .

Don't know if anybody else is in the same boat with family commitments 
 Any destination's or idea's on combing both would be great
cheers

[Sam Cheadle]

Get rid of the wife mate!

[Sam Cheadle]

Only joking mate. Its always a bit of a tough one with the family. After my addiction with fishing i have to say i fully understand the term fishwife!

I find now the best way to plan a trip is to choose your moments carefully when broaching the subject of a trip - Wait until the time is right, which can be a difficult thing to judge, but if done correctly you can have the agreement of a trip made without the wife being fully aware of what has been agreed.

Also another tip is to leave it as late as you can to have this discussion - Otherwise you run the risk of having it thrown back in your face until departure date. This can also prove to be costly as each time the wife feels she needs a lunch out, trip to the hair dressers, new clothes etc you don't have much ground to say no. I have tried the 'no' approach in these situations and i refer back to the above comment 'Fishwife'

Hope this is useful 

[Paul Vogl]

Mate, you could always do the Coral Coast in Fiji or if you're keen to blow some money and spoil the wife, the Maldives is another option

[David Noble]

Hi Gareth,

Fisho's are pretty easy to satisfy but adding kids, wives into the picture only dilutes the options available to you (from a fishing POV)
I'd be asking more about your family, kids ages, what the wife's requirements are, ability to travel long distances, resort expectations, what adventures / stuff the family wants, are you fishing 100% or just a few days here and there.

I can't imagine a tropical holiday without fishing and plenty of other anglers are the same.  There are good options throughout the Pacific, parts of Asia and the Indian Ocean, all comes down to time, budget and planning well.  It doesn't have to be main steam either, not everyone wants huge resorts and kids clubs... 

As Paul said the Coral Coast on Fiji is a good easy place to start with plenty of accommodation options.  The fishing can be very good also, best if you have your own gear.

'I'll also throw in a curve ball and suggest New Zealand for kings, if you want a wicked fishing trip in a family friendly spot with good activities etc, hook up with Mark @ Extreme on this forum, a summer holiday over there would be awesome for the whole family.

Cheers David

[Gareth Branicki]

thank for the replies Sam great tactical advice but she knows me to well no chance.
Maldives way to expensive espically after a massive overseas trip which wont be happing for a while.
 The kids are 11 and 9 so swimmpool beach actvites etc the oldest will probably come fishing. I am not talking about 5 star resorts etc  but something nicer than the usual anglers camps  like to look at 7 nights and i go popping 4 days . Havent come across coral coast  gear wise i wise i have my own but need a 8-10 rod though pretty certain anthying higher wil kill me as i am not a big bloke.
 David any advice in regard to coral coast would be good and any guides would be appreciated
 now to start googling coral coast
cheers
   

[Mark Harris]

A common problem I am sure Gareth.

For Australians it would seem that both Bali and Lombok in Indonesia are obvious, good value options which fit the bill as family destinations with decent GT fishing.  I get a lot of inquiries very much along those lines - someone wants a day or 2 GT fishing while they are in Bali on a 7 or 10 day family holiday.

You mention Alor - forget that for the family. It is hardcore liveaboard fishing out there with no land-based facilities.  Komodo is an option though. Some nice resorts to stay at there and decent fishing sites reachable by day trip.

Maldives and Oman (based in Dubai) are also obvious but far more pricey.

[Peter Morris]

Gareth,

I have been there and done this.....(Im sure Brandon will remember me asking questions along this line).

I have done some successful missions with the family and as the others have said the easiest IMO is Fiji.

There are many islands or The Coral Coast and you can simply arrange to go out with guys who work at the resorts etc.
You will need to take all your own gear.
They normally just work out an hourly rate for the boat and thats good in a sense because you can go fishing for say three hours then come back and spend some time with the wife and kids.

May the force be with you.

Pete

[Gareth Branicki]

Peter good to here i am not the only one     you done it with family so fuji is definatly the easiest  i will take all my own gear like the idear of hourly rate  but either way as long as they no where the fish are i am happy lol  .  will pm you peter for some more advice  cheers 

[Serge de Bruijn]

Allthough maybe not the best destination for GT popping you might want to consider Mauritius as it caters for a family holiday and if you put in the time and effort some decent GT's are to be caught.

If interested I can provide more info.

Regards,

Serge.

[Gareth Branicki]

thanks for the suggestion Serge appreciate it  defaintly an area to consider family wise
cheers

[Andrew Pennisi]

Gareth, there are actually lots of options available when you start to look. Some of the trips i have done include: coral coast in Fiji is the family fav but also look at  dunk island, Hamilton, port  duglas these all offer good quality GT fishing. Don't overlook Daves suggestion of kings in NZ it's a trip well worth doing, see the recent trip report on here or another out of the box is Fremantle jigging for sambos, although we normally keep this as a boys only trip. Good luck

[Le Vi Hua]

Gareth

I fished the Coral Coast of Fiji before at the Mango Bay resort. It's geared more towards back packers  although they have some nice bures too. They do have a 25ft center console which is guided by a knowledgeable skipper. Boat costs are approx $900 Fijian per day.

http://www.mangobayresortfiji.com/fishing.htm

I have also been to Matava Resort (Kandava Island Fiji) and taken the wife and my 10 month old son. I'll never do it again. Although the GT popping there can be crazy awesome and a very cheap trip 7 days with 4 days popping and flights from Australia. Would set you back (for the whole family) approx $10000 AUD. Maybe worth a look. My last trip there with 2 adults and a baby cost $5000 6 days 4 days fishing.

www.matava.com

I also have done a short trip with Nomad for 3 or 4 days (I can't remember) aboard Fascination their 51ft game boat. We fished Bugatti reef during winter and the fishing was very slow one of the boys didn't even land a GT. This would be a great option for the family but expensive at +$15000. Then you still need to add flights to Mackay Australia. Ouch.

www.nomadsportfishing.com.au

Good Luck it's worth the effort taking the family along if you get to do some popping.

[Darren Cook]

Gareth,

I have just returned from another trip to Mango Bay and had a ball.
Mango Bay resort doesnt allow children so an option might be the resort just down the road and using the Mango Bay charter.
You can often find package deals including flights, meals and accom.

I'll remember the name of the resort eventually.

[Paul Chan]

Doesn't work for Asian wife...