Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) > Tackle & Techniques

ono island fiji lure and tackle,gear advice

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Doug Lindsay:
Hi Sachin,
We did see a couple of absolute donkeys (50kg plus plus) but our host and guide declared the 35kg fish we boated ( 1 each for our group ) were well above the avg of 15-20kg. In fact, I'm pretty sure he said they were the biggest caught on board for months.
Sorry, but my comparison to the Nomad operation was not in relation to the fishing, but rather the overall experience. My 2 Nomad trips have been just about flawless in every aspect, whereas Ono is more "rustic". Even though Nomad is more expensive, in my mind, they deliver better value.
Cheers

David Noble:
Hi Andreas,

PE8 should cover practically all heavy situations easily - poppers and stickbaits from 80-150 work though 100-125g seems to be the main sizes used.
PE3/4 for lighter inshore lagoon stuff also, smaller 110/130mm halco roosta's and other casting lures. You're going in YFT season and this area sees a run of school tuna 15-20 up to 60kg fish. (on poppers)

The terrain isn't too nasty and gear losses aren't too bad. As Doug & Sachin said the Ono & Kadavu waters hold respectable fish, if you measure the experience in kg's. The crew are fine handling the boat once your hooked up to maximise your chance of landing your fish.

Just on a side note.  Doug's trip was one of the earliest ones to visit Ono, back in Jan 2010. From memory they caught a stack of GT's, missed some 50kg+ GT's and hooked cow yellowfin also.  Since then the crew has a heap more experience, a new sounder, T-top (soft cover) & bow rails added on the casting platform to make it more comfortable for anglers.

Seafood does make up a big part of the diet, as does home grown fruits and veg. Massages are available post fishing. No other guests share the anglers lodge. The staff are great, sometimes putting on a kava ceremony and lovo banquet for the guests last night all off their own efforts.
It's not Nomad.  Doug may have found this 'rustic', but for many this type of experience is paradise.

Cheers David

ps - you're coming from WA aren't you? Get Western Angler current issue, read Brad Bells article for an impartial report.
pps, Mods hope that's cool, please respond if you need to.

Doug Lindsay:
Hey, I hope my post wasn't too negative regarding Ono. It is a cool place! As Dave has said we did have some great sessions on Gts, including seeing a couple of genuine monsters. The local staff are fantastic, and all meals are certainly prepared with skill. Its great to see the boat has had a few upgrades, though the new bowrai would reduce the "stunt fishing" aspect of the front deck!
My issues with the experience were the owner of the resort fishing with us onboard, the heat overnight in the Bure (think cool thoughts!) And eating fish maybe 10 meals in a row. Overall, these negatives were out weighed by the many good points we found. I apologise for probably highlighting the bad stuff.  Anyone considering a trip to Ono should do it!

Peter Childs:
Hey Doug, you still sporting over the amount of Sashimi we consumed on that trip?............I luuuurrve sashimi!

In all truth, the trip was a cracker, great food, a great host and a heap of laughs!  We even managed to get a few fish to the boat as well.  The accomodation is luxury for a few weary fishermen and spot on for the location (the outdoor shower is a fantastic idea), let me tell you!

You'll have a great time Andreas.  From memory, one take home lesson if that helps, we scored most fish on small to medium cup sized poppers, which is a welcome relief from the big chuggers.  I think Piero's favourite lure for the area is actually the 120 g Skipjack (quite a small faced popper and very easy to cast and work) - chuck a couple of these in your pack, as well as a couple of Tuna 80s or 100s.

We didn't get much on the stickbaits here, but switched off working them fairly early when little interest was raised.  The yellowinfin are donkeys, if you are unluky enough to hook one in deep water, they will spool you striaght down before you can blink!

David Noble:
I think we consumed enough sashimi and fish protein that week to last us months.  For me that's ok, I have issues eating any bought commercial tuna or fish so rarely indulge at home.  Fijian Kokoda (civeche) is my favourite, & Kara cooks up a local fried banana also, I forget the name - the taste is pretty memorable. The curries were good too, I never thought you could do so much with seafood.

My wife buys an organic box of veges and you get sweet FA for $60 bucks.
Give me the Pacific islands with coconuts, fresh fruits and seafood you can catch, select and eat. 

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