New Caledonia Wild Camp Feb 2013

[Luke Wyrsta]

[Luke Wyrsta]

South Pacific Grouper (Loche)
Lure: Gamma 160 SE (White AU Edition)
Hook: Owner ST76
Rod: Fisherman GT Monster 72 RS
Reel: Shimano Stella 18000XG
PE: Tuf Line XP 130lb
Connection: Fisherman Super Stealth 220lb > Grommet

[Jeen Raj]

Great camp Luke. Heard about this trip :-)


Jeen

[Nathan Tsao]

Camping on the beach is absolutely the best way to go on a fishing trip! Your camp looks legit, jealous!!!  Someday you'll have to join our group for the 9 mile hike into Kilauea Volcano National Park to fish for GT from shore. Carry in all gear and water from the top of the volcano, and end up at the bottom of the lava flow at some of the last pristine GT grounds in Hawaii, living off of what you can catch. 

[Luke Wyrsta]

[Luke Wyrsta]

Great camp Luke. Heard about this trip :-)


Jeen

Thank you Jeen. David and I had some great recounts of the Mahseer fishing. He speaks very highly of you! 

[Luke Wyrsta]

Camping on the beach is absolutely the best way to go on a fishing trip! Your camp looks legit, jealous!!!  Someday you'll have to join our group for the 9 mile hike into Kilauea Volcano National Park to fish for GT from shore. Carry in all gear and water from the top of the volcano, and end up at the bottom of the lava flow at some of the last pristine GT grounds in Hawaii, living off of what you can catch.

My kind of trip! The best! Hopefully I will make it back over with Charles too.

[Charles Cintron]

Camping on the beach is absolutely the best way to go on a fishing trip! Your camp looks legit, jealous!!!  Someday you'll have to join our group for the 9 mile hike into Kilauea Volcano National Park to fish for GT from shore. Carry in all gear and water from the top of the volcano, and end up at the bottom of the lava flow at some of the last pristine GT grounds in Hawaii, living off of what you can catch.

My kind of trip! The best! Hopefully I will make it back over with Charles too.

Howzit Luke,

Your just all over the place, whenever I travel to Sydney you can sometimes see New Cal out the window, beautiful.

If you can get up here on little notice April might be doable unless the guys from Saltywater beat you to it lol. The kids are staying with their aunt this summer so have lots of time then too, and maybe an option to island hop to some outer reefs where wev'e been hooking up on a regular basis. The wife was thinking time together i was thinking nonstop fishing  .

[Jay Burgess]

However, the team had to resort to farming the lagoon reefs and shoals due to an untimely wind blowing in the worst possible direction.

Welcome to my world! It seems as if the weather is almost never in your favour when fishing NC 

Whilst the potential of the place can be mind blowing at times you almost need to have the planets aligned in order to do well... one of the most temperamental places I've ever fished!

[Luke Wyrsta]

However, the team had to resort to farming the lagoon reefs and shoals due to an untimely wind blowing in the worst possible direction.

Welcome to my world! It seems as if the weather is almost never in your favour when fishing NC 

Whilst the potential of the place can be mind blowing at times you almost need to have the planets aligned in order to do well... one of the most temperamental places I've ever fished!

Agree with everything you say mate. BUT, it's not meant to be easy!

[Luke Wyrsta]

Rudy finally getting one back for our team. Damn triggers!






Giant Trevally ~ New Caledonia
Lure: Carpenter Gamma 250
Hook: Decoy 10/0 Saltwater
Rod: Carpenter Wild Violence 80XH
Reel: Shimano Stella 18000XG
PE: JB Hollow 130lb
Connection: Bimini Double to custom Twisted w/400 Bite.

[Luke Wyrsta]

[Sydney Neal]

Great pics there Luke,
I used to do the extended bottom bashing trips there for a while, and then one day decided to take a break from the fishing to have a look at my suroundings and noted there was nothing to look at but sea and the back of the boat.... depressing.
Now days I spend my fishing trips were the scenery is just as good (if not better ) as the fishing.
From the look of your camp, catching fish is a bonus.
Cheers Syd

[Malcolm Crane]

Fantastic and evocative pictures from New Caledonia again Luke!

For me it's just the perfect destination for chasing GT's, and for us in Australia it's right on our doorstep.
Whilst Jay is quite right in saying that NC can be very temperamental and you feel at times you need divine intervention for things to move in your favour, I agree with what you say..."it's not meant to be easy"...

I've had to keep reminding myself of that on I don't know how many occasions in New Cal, when the wind is totally wrong, cyclones appear out of season, the Kanaks may seem a touch hostile, or just plain exhaustion from continual casting in 40 degree temps finally gets to you, but persevere with New Caledonia and you will be amply rewarded.

It's all there! You're targeting GT's but the by-catch can be amazing....huge coral trout, red bass in pest proportions, and grouper that belong in a nightmare erupting on surface poppers.

And all along you know that on what is the world's largest continuous barrier reef "there be monsters". Sooner or later your perseverance and the path of those monsters will intersect and then all bets are off and its down to your ability, the integrity of your connections and a very large dollop of luck!

I guess that's what draws us to GT fishing, where a lot of the time the fish beats us. That's what makes it so special when you actually win. For me New Caledonia really encapsulates that essence of GT fishing, it's challenges and also its rewards.  Your pictures really reminded me of that.

Thanks Luke.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Great pics there Luke,
I used to do the extended bottom bashing trips there for a while, and then one day decided to take a break from the fishing to have a look at my suroundings and noted there was nothing to look at but sea and the back of the boat.... depressing.
Now days I spend my fishing trips were the scenery is just as good (if not better ) as the fishing.
From the look of your camp, catching fish is a bonus.
Cheers Syd

Agreed! We are so lucky that GTs tend to congregate in some of the most pristine and gorgeous paradises around the world. It's always good to suck in the salty air and appreciate the moment you are in that so few get to experience....