ono island fiji lure and tackle,gear advice

[andreas pichler]

hi guys going to ono island fiji in march .has anyone been there ? any advise in how much gear to take for 5 days and what size color lure stick and jiggs .thank u

[Brandon Khoo]

Andreas, there have been a number of reports from members who have been to Ono where there has been quite a bit of discussion on the gear used. If you do a search of the forum, I am sure you will find some useful information.

[Doug Lindsay]

Hi Andreas, I went to Ono a couple of years ago, great place! Take all the usual bloopers and stickbaits for the GTs along with some light tackle for the lagoon if it blows up outside. Whilst its pretty tough terrain around the reef edge, the GTs avg around 15-20kg with 35kg fish exceptional. I think pe8 is fine. When we went, jigging was a waste of time, as the boats sounder couldn't see the bottom in 60m, let alome fish and structure. You'll be better off if the owner doesn't come out with you. The local guides are fantastic, really lopvely guys. Be prepared for a week of little sleep. It gets VERY hot in the bures at night sheltering under the mozzie nets! But the open air shower is pretty special. I found the meals way too fish based, but hearty and well prepared. I was tonguing for a good steak by the end of the week!!! I've got no doubt you'll have a great time, but its not in the league of a Nomad trip. 

[Nick Darling]

Bula Andreas,

 I live in Fiji but on the other end of the Island at Volivoli Beach Resort. The fishing has been pretty good lately...

A couple of comments for you on what has been working for me lately... It may not work down in Ono but worth a try. I have found that stick have been much more productive in the morning sessions and the big poppers when the sun is higher in the sky. I have no idea why but thats how it has been around my way for the last couple of months. Colours have not seemed to matter to much
Stand out stick baits have been the River to sea Wide and the red and white short Goby

Hope the trip goes well for you.

Nick

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Hi Andreas, I went to Ono a couple of years ago, great place! Take all the usual bloopers and stickbaits for the GTs along with some light tackle for the lagoon if it blows up outside. Whilst its pretty tough terrain around the reef edge, the GTs avg around 15-20kg with 35kg fish exceptional. I think pe8 is fine. When we went, jigging was a waste of time, as the boats sounder couldn't see the bottom in 60m, let alome fish and structure. You'll be better off if the owner doesn't come out with you. The local guides are fantastic, really lopvely guys. Be prepared for a week of little sleep. It gets VERY hot in the bures at night sheltering under the mozzie nets! But the open air shower is pretty special. I found the meals way too fish based, but hearty and well prepared. I was tonguing for a good steak by the end of the week!!! I've got no doubt you'll have a great time, but its not in the league of a Nomad trip.

Doug, you must have been put on a "small fish only trip"
Ono and Kadavu in general has loads of big fish. I have personally seen on my boat GTs over 40kg and Dogtooth over 70kg. Wahoo are also a standout in these parts. Just need a guide that knows what he is up to as some places fish well for GTs on certain tides.
Sailfish are also large and they do take jigs here.
Ground species are anyones call as the variety we get jigging are truly execptional.
Like any place (Nomad and NC included) things can get shut down at times. Thats just fishing.

[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. 

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Was out there yesterday. Some big YFT in the D Urville channel but moving fast so we elected to troll. Dropped one and went jigging instead. Caught a load of ground fish mainly cod and coral trout as well as some monstrous rosy jobfish. Damn things were around a metre and gave damn good account of themselves. Got busted a few times and an hours popping produced 3 GTs, a swag of big red bass and a bust off before we headed off to Suva. Doug, no offence taken. Sometimes we can be at it a whole day in Kadavu without much to show for our efforts but that's the way it is I guess. I strongly suggest the months from June to August for best all round action in Kadavu. GTs, wahoo, doggies and ALL the ground fish seem to be on the chew then.