Fiji Destination advice

[Michael Evans]

I have searched the forum and was hoping someone might be able to give me some up to date/recent advice on charters in Fiji.

Specifically, I am going to Fiji on a "family " orientated holiday in October, staying in the Denarau area, but I'm hoping there might be day trip options for operations catering to popper fishing out of Denarau. Not sure whether this is wishful thinking (out of Denarau vs. outer islands) and not interested in the numerous touristy gamefishing charters on the net.

Any advice or direction via post or pm would be most appreciative.

cheers

Mick

[Ryan Keith]

A couple of years ago, I found myself in exactly the same position. I went out of Denarau for a half day with Adrenalin Fiji, aboard a 25ft centre console. Caught one small GT on a popper, but the water didn't look incredibly fish-rich to me (at least in terms of GTs... there were some tuna around).

[Michael Evans]

cheers Ryan - that's kind of what I expected.

[Ryan Keith]

Not a problem mate. The waters around Nadi have been polluted and fished longer than most in Fiji. That's not to say you can't encounter some awesome fishing on family trips over there. If you find yourself on a cruise up in the Yasawa Islands, you can catch GTs off the deck when the ship's at anchor! I used soft plastics at night, but poppers would probably work too. The ship's lights attract plankton, which attracts fusiliers...

[Will Wragg]

There are Gts in the waters around Nadi, including some surprisingly close to Denarau, but unfortunately the local charters kill everything and their casting gear is  rubbish  (I'm happy to be proved wrong on both counts!)
I would see if you can wangle a day either down at Pacific Harbour with Callan at Xstreem Fishing Charters or up at Volivoli with Nick on Half Cast. Both these guys are forum members, have great boats set up for casting, and offer good quality hire gear.
If you can't make it away from Denarau, then talk to the operators there and tell them exactly what you want to do, emphasising releasing any Gts. Beware of them linking you up with other "anglers" as you'll end up trolling for hours! Make sure you bring your own gear.

Best of luck,

Will

[Ryan Keith]

Oh yeah - definitely BYO gear! I've seen fairly 'interesting' gear provided by some charter operators. In the most baffling cases, guides that advertise top-notch reels (i.e. Stellas) have still got some aspects wrong (i.e. half-filled spools... no - really!). Always good to have your own outfit as a safety net - sometimes, research can only get you so far.

[Mark Tamim]

me and a buddy fished aboard the "Bite Me" on Matava resort (Kadavu island) and had a good time