Jalil's Marlin

It was a lovely calm morning when we arrived at the Copra Shed Dock about 5.30, for our morning charter.

We had spoken to a friend who was also leaving for his return to Nadi on his Black Watch fishing boat, about where the fish were running.

He had made the comment there wasn't anything at the bottom end Sea Mount, when he came through on Friday, so once past the entrance, we headed out towards the Top Mount, to see if anything was working.

To our disappointment there wasn't any sign of fish around, & no birds to be seen, so started the runs up & down around the fad.

Fortunatly  we finally got a hit, it was a Mahi Mahi,  this was brought into the boat without too much trouble by Oliver, then it was back to the trolling around the fad.

We were just talking about going to the bottom mount as nothing was happening, when a line went screaming out, a few seconds later I saw the first of many jumps, it was a Marlin.

Well at that point everything seemed to happen, Jalil was in the chair & all the other lines were being brought in, then another big run,  this time we all got to see the fish as it jumped out of the water.

Jalil handled the rod like a professional working the fish in a little at a time, sometimes the Marlin would take a run & take out all the line that Jalil had worked so hard at bringing in.

At one time I thought we were going to loose it at it jumped out of the water a few times then took off peeling off lots more line.
Finally it was at the boat, on its last jump the line got caught around its tail, so Jalil had to work harder to  bring it in tail first.

It was all  hands on deck to help bring in onto the duck board, finally it was up.
Just after it was tired up on the duck board, Terry went to take the lure out, to his surprise the lure just fell out, we were so lucky it hadn't happened earlier.

                               

Now we had something to bring back to shore for dinner.

And they had some kind words for us once we got back.

Terry and Trevina,

We had an absolutely fantastic time. Skipper Terry and his better half were awesome and the catch of a large black marlin (reputed to be 120kg, but who is counting), two mahi mahi and one skipjack were an experience of a lifetime. Locals were green with envy about the marlin (see attached photos) and we will remember this for a long time to come. Thanks for the wonderful outing.

Oliver, Jalil (the marlin expert) and Scott

Savusavu Kids Sailing

Just before the August school holidays the children from the Sailing club had a big clean up day.

Repair work was done on the the boats & then they were all painted in preparation for the trip to Viti Levu .
for the sailing regatta.

Trip To Koro Island

This month seams to have flown, it started off very quite, then the last few weeks have been really busy for us.

As usual when we have trips to Koro the weather seems to pack up, & last week it stayed true to form.

A couple of the trips we had to pick clients up from Dere Bay so we were able to take it slow & ride the waves more gently.

 The last trip we had on Monday was no different, early that morning the wind calmed down & the seas looked good, so we thought it is going to be a good trip across.

About  15 mins out from the lighthouse Terry said here it comes, & boy it sure did, winds gusting up to 25knts, thankfully the clients were settled down below & were able to take the rough conditions.

After putting the clients ashore, engine check, cuppa tea & sandwich, we made our way back.

This way isn't too bad as we travel with the waves but I can say we sure were traveling on  the top some of those waves, it was a lovely sight to see the lighthouse at the entrance to Savusavu Bay knowing we would soon be home. 

The calm waters of Dere Bay

                                                   Lighthouse at the entrance to Savusavu Bay

Savusavu

Where have the days gone?
We are now into August, Olympics are half way through, & Christmas is around the corner!

A few weeks ago we did managed to take a couple from Sweden out, on one of the days that the wind died down a little enough to get pass the lighthouse.

The seas were still rough, but as they were leaving the next day, wanted to give it a try.

Luckily we managed to pick up a few Yellowfin (small) & a nice MahiMahi, they also got to hear the line run out twice with nice fish on, but unfortunately, didn't manage to get it into the boat.

Over the last few months, we haven't had much rain & the ground was beginning to to dry out,& plants looking sad, but thankfully last night we got some nice rain to make things look that lovely green again. Now I don't have to walk around the garden with a bucket full of water.

The other day I was these young sailors from Savusavu Yacht Club, enjoying a sail with the wind blowing up the harbour.

Savusavu Sunset

The weather over the last month or so has been really unpredictable, we had a few really nice days with calm seas, but the day we had to take clients to Koro Island it was blowing 15-20knts.

Half way across the clients wanted to stop & fish, so they could have fresh fish for dinner.

Luckily we saw birds working ahead so headed towards them, we picked up a nice Mahi-Mahi for dinner, then carried on.

We had a fair bit of groceries to unload, as the clients were staying a month on the Island & needed a lot of stuff.

It was fairly late as we returned home so didn't have time to put the lines out again.

As we got closer to Savusavu the sun was setting & through a beautiful red glow across the sky & sea.

What a lovely time to be on the way home.

Weather

The beginning of July brought with it some very strong windy days, the weather itself was great, as the winds kept the temperature down.

But for some of us that needed to go out pass the entrance to Savusavu Bay, it was too rough.

There were a couple of charters that had to be cancelled because it was blowing too strong, & the clients flew out of Savusavu, before the winds came down

We did manage to take some young men out, Sunday last, but they were seasick not long after leaving the dock, we did warn them it would be rough but they wanted to try anyway.

 A Walu & a Mackerel Tuna were caught, which they took home for lunch , so it wasn't a wasted day.

Yachts Arrive Into Savusavu

Well it is that time of year again, when Yachts  from all over the world, head towards Fiji.

Savusavu is one of the ports they head to, for clearance from Immigration & Health Officials, before heading to other parts of Fiji,

A few of the Yachties decide to stay in Savusavu for longer then the week it takes to get all the permits in place, some just to relax after the long sail, some do repairs & maintenance,

 A week or so ago, someone  counted 60 boats in the anchorage area. That is a lot of boats for this township.