Second Time Lucky..!!
My first trip to Fiji was excellent back in Febuary this year and we encountered Bluefin Trevally,emperor etc...BUT missed out on the GT's.
This trip however we enjoyed some success.
We left for Fiji on the 6-10-08 bound for Taveuni which is a long trip but one well worth the effort.For me it was a family trip however they know its always based around fishing.
I managed to fish 5 days but only for 2-3 hour periods on each day.
Here is a run down on the trip.
Day 1
On the first day we had a quick troll to see if there were any Wahoo about but after an hour of catching smelly Barracuda we called it quits and we headed for 'Vuna Reef' which looked spectacular.Shallow reef on one side and deep blue water on the other.We popped the deep side of the reef and five minutes into it I had a 100g 'BlackJack Cubera' smashed on the surface.
A good battle as you would expect and I had my first GT on the boat which at a guess would have been 16-17kg.
I was quite stoked with this early in the session but things only got wilder and I ended up landing 5 good GT's for the morning and missed about 3 other hits.
One fish that emerged from the depths was BIG and he simply nudged the popper gently but I didnt hook up.He was a good 30-35kg and looked unbelievable in the water.
Also along with GT's I managed to pop up a nice Red Bass.
One more neat 10kg GT after the bass and then we called it a day.
Day 2
The second day was a tad quiter but still an awesome day.
I started the day with a big nasty Trigger fish that decided to attack a popper.
I then was dealt a serious clobbering.
Popping with a 'Jai Kingfish popper' I casted near on the edge of the reef and a Massive GT smashed the popper.I fought him for about 30 seconds before he decided it was enough and ran along the reef nearly beaching himself on the rock and busting me on a 100lb twisted leader.
After this the GT's went quiet so I popped on the lighter gear 30lb in the hope of some more reefies for some variety.
Well...as you can guess a good GT decided to eat the small Roosta popper and he ran at lightning speed into the shallow reef.
I waited for the bust up and got 'Archie' (the Captain) to slowly reverse away from the reef.Amazingly the fish stopped,turned and came back into the deeper water.The fight on the 30lb was long,nerve racking and hard work that lasted for a good 30-40 minutes.Eventually I won the battle and landed my best GT for the trip at around 20kg.
Unfortunately after a long time trying to revive this fish the decision was made to keep it for the fijian villagers.The fish had just fought to the death and although I hated seeing the fish die 'Archie' assured me none would go to waste and the fijians would appreciate it greatly.
A small break after that fish and I decided to continue with the heavier outfit.
No more GT's that morning but I did land a beautifull reef fish of some kind (that the locals call snapper...?) that had some fierce pulling power.
Maybe some knows what this one is.?
Day 3
Again we did a morning session but the GT action slowed considerably and it was only very late into the session that I managed 1 fish for the day that went about 10kg caught on the 'Halco Haymaker'.
Day 4
A RAGING southerly hits and we had to deal with 25-30 knot winds.
The front of the reef wasnt an option so we did a short two hour session on the shallower protected side of the reef.
This turned out to be quite productive.Not for GT's but for some fantastic Red bass,Bluefin Trevally,cod and small trout.
Day 5
The southerley persisted so again a small inside session was the only possibility although we did sneak around the side of the reef where I managed another awesome Red bass on a 'River 2 sea Dumbell Popper' and one small jobfish.
The trip came to a close on the 14-10-08 and was for me pretty spectacular.
Now to plan for the next....New Caledonia (I hope).
Back to the lovely sunny coast now....Raining and howling wind.
Cheers
Pete
