Hey Anthony great post, just beat me to it!
..........another photo of that cracker GT for the collection, I reckon he was every bit of 45 kg!......and of course, he was released
I knew a couple of photos of the fish would likely solicit some concern from the forum - we are all obviously committed to our sport and to release. In defence of the team on this trip, Anthony and Craig are committed Marlin fishos who have developed (in particular) special techniques to release their catch unharmed using special light weight hooks and leaders allowing them to be broken off boat side - the boys don't even tag their catch. Much Kudos to their efforts across the board. As for myself, well I don't even carry an esky on board.
It should be remembered that this was a very special once off trip which was designed as an exercise in public relations as much as it was a fishing trip. The trip centered on accessing new ground and forging new relationships with the locals (and I mean dug out canoe padling, no electricity, saggy personal bits type locals (not traders) - who had not even seen a modern sport fishing boat before). We changed locations on a couple of occasions, which necessitated baring new gifts - the pressure was really on. And in answer to Rob, it was only the last day that we came across the big schools of small yellowfin, which as you point out, would have made great inroads into diplomatic relations.
As stated I'm not a fan of taking any fish, but on one night we were invited to be the guests of honor of a local tribe of an island near our anchorage. On arriving after dark, we were escorted into a shallow lagoon by dugout canoe (after nearly running the poor guy over with the Edgewater - no nav lights over there). We arrived baring the obligatory gift of fish, and were received by beaming smiles under torch light by what must have been 80 - 100 locals all gathered round to welcome there new friends.
Whilst only the chief and his assistant spoke any English at all, the universal language of fish was clearly very well received, as the local 'butcher'carefully cleaned and cutletted the fish provided on the beach where we landed. The locals formed a long line in the dark on the beach, where each family was immediately issued there ration of fish from the catch. The chief explained to us, that this fish was being distributed amongst 44 families on the island - and we could see by the size of their smiles - the meal was very well received.
To greet us, the whole island had obviously worked tirelessly to decorate the most substantial structure on the island (the school house cum meeting room cum hall cum place of worship) to make us as comfortable as possible and treated us to a feast of karva, oysters, mudcrabs and sweet potato. It was one of the best meals I've had anywhere. I recall a recent post on this site asking what draws us fisherman to exotic destinations like this - clearly this it. It is experiences like these which often outweigh the fishing itself, and without a little planning and preparation would of course be impossible to achieve. As I said, a great boost for public relations as well.
I know this won't be the end of the topic, I've hugged as many trees out there as the next guy, but I hope the concessions made on this trip will help pave the way for many others on the forum, to now be able to access these waters and enjoy these same experiences - as a direct result of this pioneering work.
On a lighter note, our team specifically targetted Dogtooth on poppers for the trip, and filled in the space in between chasing GT's on Poppers and doggies and occasional reefies on jigs.
Vanuatu clearly IS a destination where dogtooth can be effectively (and successfully) targeted on poppers......and what a buzz it is!
The boys from Ocean Blue are now getting the techniques and times wired (the bite time is quite short) to the point where they can be effectively targeted and relied upon. Nothing quite prepares you for the first time a 40 kg Doggie slides up on your popper..........man those things hit quick. If you are not on your game, they will boil, inhale and spit your popper out in the blink of an eye!
It's well worth the trip......not a lot of destinations which provide reliable tuna popping, tuna jigging and GT popping side by side in the one location - particularly one as beautiful as this.........and its right next door.
