Fishing Mahi Mahi

We haven't been out for a few weeks as Terry had to take a part to New Zealand for servicing.

He installed it on Friday so took Searov out for a run on Sunday to see if everything was working.

Everything seemed to be working well so decided to carry on & do a fish.

There was a lot of action on the mount when we go there, but it seemed like small stuff, we got a couple of Skippys, but nothing big seemed to be amongst them, so decided to look for something a bit bigger, elsewhere.

Soon we had a nice 10kg Mahi Mahi in the boat, a little later we had another Mahi Mahi on, this time it was a bull & he was jumping all over the place, this was a worry as we had a few lines out at the time.

Eventually he was in the boat, & into the box.
Now it was time to head home as it was getting really hot out on the water.

Last week we had a unexpected visitor, land in our property.
Close to midnight a truck traveling on the road beside us, stalled & came down the hill, & overturned into my garden.

No one was hurt but it took away a lot of my hedge & garden.

They got a crane in the morning to pull the truck out, but this also started to slide downhill & took more of the garden out as it came to a stop.

Eventually they took our advise & brought in a digger to pull the truck out.

Now I have to start getting cuttings to do a replant, I lost a lot of the red torch ginger plant, but fortunately the roots are still there, so it shouldn't be too long before they grow up again.

Good Days Fishing

We left the dock just at dawn, seeing the sun rising to the left as we headed out, was a lovely sight.
This great big red ball rising out of the water.


We had decided to leave early as there was a soccer match at 11am we wanted to watch, at the sea mount nothing was working, so we could have had a couple of hours more in bed.

Nothing really started to show until about 8.30. then we had these big work ups, we had friends on another boat, doing the same thing as us, circling the school, going through them but nothing happened.

Then we both had a Mahimahi on, both in the boat & we are on our way again, another hook up this time it is a nice Yellowfin Tuna, just over 12kg, is in the box.

Other big schools working up ahead so head off in the direction, this time the outer line starts to reel off, Terry yells out to come down & bring in the other lines, while he takes the rod, line keeps reeling out.

Terry tells me to hurry as he is just about spooled & needs me to start backing up. I am just about up the stairs when the Marlin snaps the line, & starts to jump out of the water, at one stage I thought it was heading towards us.

No time to grab the camera before it is now jumping & traveling off to the left of us. Our friends in the other boat got a great display as they were just behind.

Gone is the Marlin, don't really like to catch them, so don't mind, but have lost a good lure.

We end up loosing another lure & a Mahimahi, but after 15mins playing it, Terry lands another Mahimahi.

We get a small Barracuda on the way in, just to finish the day.
This has been an eventful day for us, & as it is now about 32 degrees, it's time to be home in the shade.

New Years Eve 2010

Wishing everyone that might read this blog, a very Happy New Years Eve.

This morning was one of the better mornings we have had for a while, so hope this will be a good sign for 2011.

The town of Savusavu has been fairly quiet this week, as it was a holiday until Wednesday, most people are still on leave until next week, enjoying the break with the family.

We were thinking of going fishing yesterday, but had fuel being delivered, so decided to leave fishing for another morning. There has been 2 price increases over the last month, so it is nearly $2 a litre for diesel, making it fairly expensive to do a run out to the sea mount.

As we haven't been out recently, so haven't any new photos, I'll just show some from earlier this year.

A Happy New Year everyone.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all.

After weeks of rain, yesterday was one of the best days we day in a long time.
This morning is even better, after a beautiful moonlight night with clear skies, today is lovely sunshine, blue skies with a light breeze.

We went out earlier in the week but didn't have a good catch, just a few small Yellowfin, not sure if it was because of the full moon or eclipse, but the fish just weren't there.

Was glade it wasn't just us, as the other charter boat was out with us & had the same problem, they didn't catch anything.

Guess that is why they call it Fishing & not Catching, it is just luck on the day.

There is a lot of very small fish out there, but it is too small for our lines, Fijians call the fish Salala, they catch these fish with hand lines using bread mixed with a little amount of sardines (for the smell)on very small hooks.

At night one can see lights from local boat all round the harbour, fishing for these fish, they are small but give you a good fight, & are a lot of fun catching.

A friend was trolling around the reefs hear his place yesterday & caught a very nice GT, so that went on the barbie last night.

Well that's me until the next time, just in case it is in the new year, A Happy New Years to everyone.

Cyclone Season

Well, it is that time again, when we have to be prepared for Cyclones in the area.

Already we have had the first warning, but luckily, the tropical depression didn't develop into a cyclone like they thought it might, & slipped down to the south weat of us.

We got so much rain the week the depression was moving towards us, that Savusavu experienced a few land slips.

The road to Cousteau Resort was closed off for a day, so all the guests had to be transported to the resort, from the Copra Shed Marina, by their dive boat.
This also makes a lovely approach to the Resort, as it was a lovely calm sunny day, & a boat trip is always nicer.

There were also minor slips on the way to the Airport from town, these were quickly cleared by the PWD department, so wasn't a major problem.

With all the rain & thunderstorms around, we haven't managed to venture out to see if the Yellowfin are still around, maybe next week?

Yellowfin in Savusavu

We have been very fortunate on our last few fishing trips. the weather has been good for fishing, & the fish have been there.

Out at our usual spot, we have come across Yellowfin Tuna feeding, sometimes really good work ups.

On one of the trips out, we got a 19kg, 2 11kg, & a few smaller Yellowfin, that was one of the best days we have had in a long time. A few families got to eat fish that day.

A lot of the time we had double & triple strikes, a couple of times, just as we put the line back in the water, it was hit again, that's what we call a good days fishing

The trip yesterday wasn't as good, the fish were harder to find, & didn't stay up for very long.

They managed to get 12 Yellowfin into the boat, loosing a few on the way in. While in a school of Yellowfin we had a double strike, but this time the sharks got to them before they could bring them in.

Tom played a bronze whaler for about 15 mins, got it to the boat a few times, but Terry saw it had the lure in part of his mouth, so cut the line.

This was the lure that had been catching most of the fish, so it was a disappointment, apart from the expense of loosing a good lure.

The guest took all the fish back to the Resort, to give to the village near the Resort.
There was a death in the village, & this would help feed them.
Fish is never wasted here, there is always someone to give the catch too.

Outrigger Canoes in Savusavu

People of Savusavu & surrounding villagers in the North, were treated to a special occasion this Diwali weekend.

Two Outrigger canoes, one from Suva called Uto Ni Yalo, & the Hine Moana from Tonga, were in Savusavu to take part in the 1st Outrigger racing weekend planed for Savusavu.

These two canoes were part of a group.
7 Pacific Islands got together, to preserve & develop their traditions of ocean voyaging in double hulled canoes.

Earlier this year, all the canoes set out from New Zealand, to travel onto Tahiti, Cook Island, Samoa & Tonga, on their first voyage.

Uto Ni Yalo arrived back in Fiji in July, having taken 4 months do do the voyage.

She was in Levuka & Makogai before travelling to Savusavu, doing a survey, helping with recording whale songs & transportation.
To record the whale songs, the crew were using a hydrophone.