Merry Christmas everyone, it is such a glorious morning here in Savusavu, hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas.
Just before Cyclone Evan threatened Fiji, we took out a lovely young couple from Australia.
This is his story.
Luther's Yellow Fin Tuna - Friday 14 December 2012
Arriving
into Savusavu on a Tuesday, our first few days were spent getting
settled, stocking up on provisions, and figuring out what to do before
Cyclone Evan arrived, which was due to hit us some time over the coming
weekend. I had to patiently wait for the right conditions before I could
spend a day out with Terry & Trevina who run Transtar Charters.
I
rang on Thursday night with only a couple of days left before the
storm, hoping that we could get out and get a line wet! We all agreed
that the following day was looking much more promising than the previous
few days. I had been lucky enough to get out the day prior for a rainy
morning spearfishing session off the lighthouse reef. Taking 4 fish in
total, I was joined by a few curious white tip reef sharks for most of
my dive, only loosing 1 fish to a decent size bronze whaler shark which I
had to fend off from taking the rest of my catch before I could get
back to the local guides boat.
I
was looking forward to enjoying some sun and getting out past the
reefs! I arrived at the wharf at 6:30am with my girlfriend Belinda who
had never been game fishing before, we were greeted by Terry &
Trevina with their boat Searov prepped and ready to go. It was a calm
morning with a fews clouds hovering in the distance, a beautiful day lay
ahead of us.
After cruising
through the bay enjoying the view from the water, we hit the point which
was the beginning of the reef which I had nicknamed 'Shark Alley' and
the Searov engines opened up as we headed South West in search of some
birds. All 4 lines were in the water soon enough and it didn't take long
before we found some activity. The birds were working a school of
baitfish and Searov began dancing its way through the mild swell.
Soon
enough the first reel went off and we had our first hook up for the
day, a 6kg Yellowfin Tuna. Searov continued her dance and shortly after
our first catch, we had all 4 lures hit with a quad hook up! I quickly
landed the first Yellowfin Tuna around 5kg to avoid any tangles as
Belinda and Terry worked on quickly landing the next 2 Yellowfin of
similar size. All of the fish from our first 3 hook ups were landed and I
grabbed the last rod, the line starting peeling off again as soon as I
picked it up with that magical sound of the reel screaming at me, I knew
that it wasn't another 5kg Yellowfin Tuna, we assumed a shark must have
grabbed the last fish.
Taking a
reasonably casual approach over the next 20 minutes just trying to win
some line back, we watched as a school of Yellowfin Tuna returned with a
massive boil up on the surface with plenty of action happening all
around us. I quietly cursed the shark on the end of the line. There was
still a bit of fight left in the fish and as I brought the line closer
to the surface, the fish took one last decent run and went deep.
I
started getting edgy to get stuck into some more Yellowfin Tuna so I
turned the pace up on bringing in more line. I finally saw the trace and
made the call to Terry who joined me at the back of the boat to cut the
line. As the fish drew closer to the surface, the dark object I was
expecting to see was much shinier than expected. Terry's confirmation
over the sound of the Searov engines made the hair stand up on the back
of my neck and the goosebumps were instant "He's a big yellowfin!!!"
Terry swiftly guided
Trevina with orders to manoeuvre the boat so we could land this trophy
fish which was now hovering at the back of the boat. Terry guided the
fish to the side of the boat and I quickly placed the rod in the holder,
grabbed the gaff and prepared to end the fight. My first strike was a
miss, I quickly struck again hitting the fish in a perfect position to
bring him onboard. With the help of Terry we used our combined strength
to awkwardly heave the fish into the boat. We all finally had a chance
to see the true size of the fish. At 160cm in length, 108cm girth, this
75kg Yellowfin Tuna was a true specimen, with amazing pectoral fins
measuring 60cm & 70cm respectively.
We
continued on for the next couple of hours with a bit of rain on
approach, landing 6 smaller Yellowfin Tuna in total, all approximately
5-6kg each and the 1 trophy fish, it was a solid outing. It was a great
introduction to fishing in Fiji with Terry & Trevina providing a
magical day out on the water, an unforgettable introduction for
Belinda's first fishing adventure, and another trophy catch for myself.
By
far, my highlight of the trip however was sitting on the back of a
moored Searov in Savusavu Bay, cleaning all of our catch, enjoying a few
cold beers in the sun, accompanied with some fresh sashimi, wasabi and
soy sauce. Thank you to Terry & Trevina who treated us like family
during our stay in Savusavu and showed us what fishing in Fiji is all
about. Terry & Trevina compliment each other's skills and are an
awesome team out on the water and a must do for any angler visiting
Savusavu. I can't wait until our next trip….
Thank you for the wonderful write up Alex ,we really enjoyed the day out with wonderful people.
Many thanks
