Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.

It was a quiet Christmas in the Hidden Paradise. most enjoyed the day with family

I guess a lot of people cooked the Christmas meal in a Lovo, this is the most popular way of preparing the food in the Islands.

We are all keeping a eye on the weather as a depression is hovering around just north west of us, we should know in a day or so if it will develop into anything.

Haven't been out fishing the last week though have heard of a very nice Yellowfin  Tuna being caught, Terry managed to get a look at it & said its should have weighed in over 70kgs?

Well that is all the news from this end of the world.

Be safe

                 This was taken on the hill above our house overlooking Savusavu town.

Returning From Koro Island

We have had a few charters over the last couple of week, not the usual fishing charters, but transferring guest to Namena Island Resort, & taking Vodafone technicians to do repairs on the tower located on Koro island.

After dropping off the guests at Namena Island, we were able to fish on the way home, we caught a couple of yellowfin for lunch then on Saturday we were fortunate to catch a very nice Mahimahi.

It weigh in just over 12kg, the first time Terry tried to gaff it it got off, but fortunately it was still on the line so he was able to get it into the boat on the second attempt.

We were late coming home from the Koro trip so weren't able to fish,  the truck they hired had a problem, so had a very long drive back from the tower.

Anyway we had a beautiful calm trip back & saw a rainbow just as we got close to the lighthouse.

Savusavu Day Out

Had a charter with a couple of Australian men who were here in Savusavu, waiting to do the Tui Tai Adventures.

There weren't many people around the town as we drove through & for the first time, the bread shop wasn't open.  Realized after that Fiji Bati Rugby team were playing, so everyone was still glued to the TV sets

It was a beautiful morning as we left the Copra Shed Marina.
Once at the sea mount there didn't seem much happening so we trolled around looking for birds working, soon some were spotted in the distance.

This morning there didn't seem to be the big work ups, just lots of little ones happening all over the mount.
We were soon catching Yellowfin, up ahead I saw nice sized ones jumping out of the water doing the usual teasing stunt they do then disappear, still it was nice to see that they are here .

After  a couple of hours of catching & loosing Yellowfin it went dead, we did a few more big circles around the mount then started to head home.

 A lovely thank you from our customers.

 ''The fishing trip was a very big highlight for Gary and I. You provided an excellent experience that we will     find hard to forget  Thanks and keep fishing till we return for a go at the big ones.

Savusavu Yacht For Sale

What a beautiful morning it is here in the Hidden (not any more) Paradise.

Fortunately this weather has been around for a few days now, so Tourist visiting our shores will be having a great time.

There is this beautiful yacht for sale in the Marina called Timelord.

The owner has paid all duty for the importation of the boat, it is Fiji registered & is ready for someone to buy & set up a Charter business in Savusavu or somewhere else in Fiji.

For personal reasons the family need to sell & move back overseas.

This is also a beautiful boat for a group of sailors to buy & leave here in Savusavu & just fly over & sail here in Fiji without the hassle of the passage from your overseas destination to Fiji.

A great place to spend holidays?

If anyone is interested in the vessel I will pass on details on how to contact  the owner.

Weather in Savusavu

This morning we all turned our clocks back as daylight savings started.

What a beautiful morning it is, the rain has gone & the sun is out, so now the ground will have a chance to dry out.

We said farewell to a dear friend last week, Taka ran the handy craft shop in the Copra Shed with his wife Koleta, for about 11yrs, yachties will miss him for the generosity he showed them.by supplied fresh fruit whenever he harvested.

A few of us gathered at the Copra Shed to say farewell, before they boarded the ferry for Suva

We have been out of operation since early July, had to rebuild one engine, it did a sad on us after we caught the Marlin in July. after ordering parts from NZ, & having the job done, we are now back in service.

We have our first trip to Koro in the morning, so hope the weather holds, it is like a mill pond out there.

Savusavu Sunrise & Sunset

What a beautiful sight it was at 6.00am as we got ready to take Searov up to Savusavu Marina to scrubb & paint her hull. it is days like this that it is good to be alive & witness these wonderful sights.


The sunset  was also one of the best I have seen in a long long time, it just left you with a wonderful feeling inside.

It has been a long time since our last charter, we had a problem with one of the engines on the last charter so have had to do a complete rebuild on one motor.

After ordering parts in from New Zealand, getting them through Customs, at a lot of expense, we  have  now got the motor back in, had sea trials, been surveyed, antifouled the hull & are now ready to start charters again.

John & Steve

Thank you both for the wonderful article.
We enjoyed the day & have some lovely memories.
Hope to see you both & wives back sometime in the future.

John & Steve's Marlin

July 8th 2013

Jan had booked this charter for her husband John & friend Steve about 6 months ago.

Having made arrangements with them earlier, we left our dock at the Copra Shed Marina a little after 6.30, once we got to the Lighthouse at Savusavu harbour entrance, it was decided to troll first along the reef on the way to the seamount.

There wasn't much happening along the reef so decided to start heading towards the seamount.at 7.50am one of the reels started to peel out, then the Marlin started jumping out of the water, this is when all hell broke loose.

It had to take the lighter rod with only 1 gear & less line on, so very soon we had to start the backing up process to try & gain some line back, there was a swell running, so soon all on deck were wet through.

This went on for the next 4 1/2 hours, at times John & Terry helped Steve, all taking turns to try & bring it in a little at a time, not wanting to put too much pressure on the line as it was only 24kg.

When it finally got close to the boat we found out why, it had line wrapped round the tail, probably done during one of the jumps, & was dead, sadly we were unable to tag & release it.

Time now for a short rest, before getting ropes out to secured the fish on the duckboard,
There is going to be some sore arms tonight.

Once back at the Copra Shed Marine, the fish was taken ashore & hung up on a tree, so photos could be taken, then back on the boat to start the process of cutting the fish up.

News soon spread around the town, so people from all over arrived with plastic bags to get a share of the fish, in the end there was a small piece left for us to take home, at least it wasn't wasted & many good meals was had by all.

Fishing

Over the last week or so, once the weather cleared, we had a couple of charters.

On Friday 5th we took out a couple from one of the resorts,  the wind had died down a little so thought we would give it a try

We worked our way to the sea mount, but nothing much was happening, so along the reef we went.

Had a couple of good strikes & ended up with a decent size Barracuda, managed to land this making sure everyone was clear as it was brought in.

Nothing else happened so worked our way back to the sea mount, where we had a hook up with a Marlin, once Henry was in the chair the Marlin started doing some good jumps then tail walked right across the back of the boat, snapped the line & was gone. .

We did a few big circles but nothing else happened, the Marlin was probably half way to Koro with our new lure still hanging out of it's mouth.

On the way home we came across a long current line with lots of seaweed, trolled along this for a while we managed to get a couple of Mahi mahi, lost a nice one at the boat but did manage to bring the next one onboard.

Our next charter was to be a little more challenging!

Oyster World Rally

Thank goodness for a change in the weather this week, as Savusavu is the stopping point for the Oyster World Rally.

There are some impressive yachts moored at the Copra Shed Marina, & they make Searov look like a very small baby.

Last week we did manage to get out fishing, we lost a really big Mahimahi about 5 mtrs from the boat, fortunately the angler managed to play it for about 10 min before it got off.

We did  land 1 out of 4 Mahimahi & 9 yellowfin so the men were happy.

For the conditions, I think it turned out a good day for all in the end.

Lion Fish

It has been a while since my last post. have had a couple of trips to Koro Island, but with Terrry being down with the flu, we haven't been able to go on fishing charters.

We did manage to see a pod of Whales on one of the trips out, so spend at least half a hour taking photo of them.

This morning while down checking the boat, I spotted a Lion fish bathing in the early morning light, it looked so pretty as it moved gracefully in the clear water.

Savusavu anchorage area is slowly filling up with Yachts & by next week there will be a lot more arriving.

Moon over Savusavu

What lovely weather we have been having, finally a couple of weeks without rain, so at last the ground has had time to dry out.

Haven't been out fishing as Terry is away for a well earned break.

Not much to write about as I have been home nursing the flu, hoping I will be over it in a day or so!

Sailfish

We had a couple of really good trips to Koro Island over the Easter break, calm seas & managed to catch some Skippy & a small Sailfish, which we released as soon as Terry got the lure out.

Fishing hasn't been too great over the last few weeks, no birds & no fish around, but that has now changed.
Reports have come in that the birds & Yellowfin are back.

One of the local fisherman came in mid week, with a big Yellowfin head, that was all the sharks left him.
He said he got it right to the boat, before 2 huge sharks attacked the Tuna!
That is the anglers nightmare, loosing good fish to sharks.

Savusavu Fishing

 

This month has been a very wet one in Savusavu, unlike New Zealand we are getting so much rain that the ground is so soggy, we haven't had enough sunny days to dry things out.

We have managed to get out on a couple of fishing trips.

We had 3 men from Savasi Island Resort in Savusavu, who hailed all the way from Russia, on our first charter.

On our second charter,  we had 5 lines out  had 5 fish on, & managed to bring the whole 5 in. . We had a lot of fun, & caught some nice fish. that day.
Thanks for all the help Adam. We also hooked a baby sailfish which we released as soon as we had taken our photo.

Yellowfin Tuna

What a great morning it turned out to be, as we left the Copra Shed Dock about 6.30, it looked like we might get more rain, thankfully it stayed away today.

As we drew close to the usual fishing spot I saw a few birds working just left to where we were traveling, I pointed this out to Terry, who then quickly went down to start putting the gear out.

Within 5 mins of reaching the birds we had a triple strike, we got 2 into the boat then took off again.

This was how it went for at least a couple of hours, unfortunately a couple of the bigger fish got off, Andrew must have played his fish for close to 10 mins (while we had 2 other fish on), when suddenly it took line out then it was gone!

Terry was still putting a line out when another big fish took the line, causing a birds nest,  once sorted he started to feed line out again when wham! this time the line snapped, & the lure, a new cedar plug was also lost.

About 9.30 the birds started to disappear, then it got harder to find anything working, we managed to bring in another Yellowfin Tuna, before the clients from Savesi Island Resort, said to start heading back to Savusavu.

We ended the day with 11 Yellowfin, & 4 Skipjack Tuna. needless to say it was Sushimi for everyone tonight.

Trip to Koro Island

We had a lovely trip to Koro Island on Thursday,  we started off early so we could get across the Koro sea before the wind picked up.

About 30 mins out, we saw birds working so thought we would put the lines out & see what happens, we reached the birds but it was only small skippies & they were travelling so fast.

We didn't want to waste too much time as we had another 1 1/2 hours before we would reach Koro, so pulled lines in & carried on our way

Having done the business we went to Koro for, we headed home, first trolling along the reefs off the Island.
We weren't having any luck here so decided to pull the gear in & head for the seamount to see if there was anything working there.

There wasn't any sigh of birds or fish so after trolling around for a hour started to head home.

Up ahead I saw a few big splashes, Yellowfin I thought! as we got closer I saw that they were Dolphins jumping high out of the water, soon they were all round the boat, I tried to take photos of them, but somehow always missed them jumping.


They stayed with us for about 10 mins they headed off , so we did the same.  wish we could have caught a fish for dinner though.  with the weather being so hot think the fish had gone really deep.

Never mind there is always a next time to catch fish, seeing those Dolphins made the day for me.

Tsunami Warning

Yesterday just after lunch we had a Tsunami warning for Fiji, this was after a Earthquake hit just off the Solomon Islands.

As news filtered in everyone started to take action, fortunately we are up high on a hill overlooking Savusavu airport so well out of danger of the tsunami.
Searov isn't so Terry went down to make sure she was sitting secure & all her ropes were alright.

The news coming out from the BBC said that information received said that there was a 3ft wave generated.
This made us feel better, but still damage could be done to the coastal villages.

Relief at 4.00pm when the Tsunami warning was now cancelled, the earthquake was a lot deeper than first thought, so this was one of the reasons the wave wasn't so big!

Last Saturday Sea Princess visited Savusavu with her full load of passengers, fortunately the weather stayed fine for the passengers, who managed to carry on with all the tours that had been planed.

The Copra Shed Marina had just put in another set of floating docks, so this was a excellent day to test it.

                          
          All reports about it seem to be positive ones so that is good.