Fish-On Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hi Raiders, Just started posting so apologies in advance for any warbbling! Just got married and went on honeymoon to a couple of islands in Fiji. Took my trustie 10-13kg spin stick and new 24kg Beast master. Lucky enough wife fully supports my habit and she loves her fishing to! Don't think we would have gotten this far if she didn't! So at least I can wet a line when I want and disappear on a Sunday with no complaints...well none yet anyway! So two weeks in Fiji with nothin better to do thank drink, eat, married stuff and FISH! 2nd day there booked a morning charter at sparrows. Head out & was bumpy as. But managed my first YFT, even though it was a pup; but was stoked! Chef prepped us fresh sashimi then seared steaks for main! BEAUTIFUL! a couple of days later and a new island went on a charter with the older cousin of the guy who took us out last time! & tell u what he knew his fishing better than his cousin, thank buggery for that! Again up and out at sparrows with the wife ' we were greated by a much better day! Pop out to the outer barrier reef and set the spread, lures were rudimentary at best and shredded to bits (a good sign); luckily I came fully prepared with a couple of brand new skirts and hardbodies which were popped out the box and sent in to get wet. Saw a few birds working but was a hard job to get a bite. The first fish was the wife's (still feels weird calling her that). She fought it well, pumped and winded like a seasoned pro, all those trips out prepped her well (& she had a good teacher might I add)! In she pulls a good sized barracuda. Well determined not to be show up (& all of you out there know the risk you run taking the mrs out fishing) i managed to get on the board with a skipjack tuna. getting worried we didnt really have anything to write home about & i know my boyz were waiting to hear all about the manic Fiji fish! Have faith...gotta have faith!!!! Kept on the troll for the next few hours with not so much as a fish looking at the spread. Faith....what faith? Then bang & run! After a 5min fight saw colour & whooped as a nice sized spaniard comes up from the depths! Nice gaf job made short work of him. Finally things looking up with 20mins left on the clock! As we start trolling back something smashes my new redhead rapala like a cat on a mouse, and the cat starts running like a wolfhound is after it. It has has nasty headshakes and continues to take 20metre runs one after the other. After 10 minutes we see colour; & it's a big slab of silver coming up from the deep. I can't believe my eye....it's my first GT!!! BOOM BABY!!!! Got that boy on board and I'm so pumped, I'm yelling and jumping around, hugging the wife and hi-fiving the skipper! Brilliant day out! We head back to base where the chef cook us up Spanish mackerel for lunch; can't beat it Two days later I book an arvo charter with the same skipper & head out cause the wife wants to go off and have a massage. Suits me fine! Off we go about 3pm to the same old faithful spot as last time. Only today there are thousands upon thousands of birds working the area. Never seen so any birds working in my life. Dolphins riding the bow wave, spinning and jumping all over the place. As we get to a mass of tuna busting up on the surface for about an area of 300sqm & that's when we start seeing 20kg YFT torpedoing a metre out of the water and spearing back in. These things really do look like absolute weapons, built for the job they do best & thats decimating baitfish! We troll through the thick of them and get a double hook up. I bring in a jellybean about 6kgs and the skipper hands me the 2nd rod. A bit better fish about 8kgs. As soon as he is in I flick out my trustie redhead and as soon as it gets wet bang on again! Another nice YFT same size! I realise this isn't fishing this is catching; two totally unrelated sports, the latter I've never had the privilege of! Next fish we have a problem; this unit starts taking line like there's no tomorrow, I don't even think he knows he's hooked! Back and forth we go, I get a wind and he takes two; I get two winds he takes one...back and forth until finally after 40mins, we see colour way down; don't think he likes the look of the boat (I know it's beat up but that's just rude) and off he goes again taking line like it was his first run. Finally after an 1.20hr he starts circling and finally giving in. Just before 1.30 he's gaffed and on board and we realise he was foul hooked. My emotions run wild, absolutes inhalation, exhaustion, excitement, fatigue...where am I?? Ha! Now I've fought some big fish in my time inc a couple of marlin over 150kgs; but this $)(-&-!?" fish shattered me. Thank heaven for the gimble, otherwise I'm sure the rest of the honeymoon would have been pretty quiet and divorced my the time we get back from the honeymoon. With my arms stretched a couple of inches longer and my back screaming, the skip says "ok one more"!!! I look at him and think u have to be kidding, only to hear my mouth say, bring it on! Idiot! Well at the end of the day how many opportunities do you get like this! What the hell! As we set the spread and hit the middle of the pack we're on again with the redhead. Now this fella is running like the last, but i got his measure and knocked him over in 10mins and had the fish on deck. When we got back to shore and weighed the fish there was only 2kgs different between the two beasts. Goes to show how foul hooking can foul the fight! With the sun setting and light fading we head for shore and to bring home the bounty and see the look of utter disappointment on the wife's face when she realises what she missed. And I quote her words "no massage is ever worth missing out on that"! Biggest YFT went 25.5kgs, the second 23.6kgs and the rest were between 6kgs & 8kgs totalling 9 fish all YFT. Unbeatable fishing! Each trip we only kept enough for me and the wife, the rest went to feed the local village where the skip was from. At the end of the trip left a couple of poppers, and 1/2a dozen deep driving lures for the skip and locals to use. It was like all their Xmas' came at once. Had a great time, caught some brilliant fish and made some new friends. It's a great feeling getting emails from the guys with the fish they're catching and seeing the lures I've given them hanging out of the fishes gob; good to see they're getting a good workout from people who really appreciate a gift! Sorry for the essay, but once I started couldn't stop. Tight lines peoples, see you on the big blue! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosh7 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Mate what an adventure!! Awesome slabs of fish you've got there, congrats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbdshroom Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Congratulations on the marriage. Sounds like you are having the trip of a lifetime. I hear that night fishing in Fiji is off the hook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hawkesbass Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Very nice well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nautica Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hi Fish-on, I will be in Fiji in 3 weeks. Would you be able to send me the name of the charter if possible? Can only dream of having a day half as good as that. Awesome catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish-On Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) Hi Fish-on, I will be in Fiji in 3 weeks. Would you be able to send me the name of the charter if possible? Can only dream of having a day half as good as that. Awesome catch Hi nautica, will pm you Edited March 14, 2013 by Fish-On Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsarini Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 That's some tasty sashimi right there! Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Williams Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Awesome fish, awesome report. Which islands were you fishing from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish-On Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Awesome fish, awesome report. Which islands were you fishing from? Hi PatW, we were on Toliriki Island then Matamanoa Island. The latter was from when were caught the most fish! Although from each island we basically went to the same spot which is known as Mana Passage that's between two sections of the outer barrier reef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil D Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Sounds like you are having the trip of a lifetime, Congratulations on the marriage. Whats els did you catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish-On Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Sounds like you are having the trip of a lifetime, Congratulations on the marriage. Whats els did you catch The trots from a bad curry 1st night there! Laid me up for 48hrs. Was not happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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