Blue Marlin caught in Savusavu

We weren't able to go fishing last week,  as the Trade Winds have set in so it was  pretty rough once pass the lighthouse

Managed to put Searov up on the beach to check stern legs & change the oil in them, so that job is done.

Went out yesterday with a group of men from Australia, on our way a few birds were working but looked like small salasala so didn't waste to much time, a little further on, another bunch of birds, this time we got a small skippy.

Finally on the mount, but nothing was working, also no birds to be seen, so gradually made our way  toward the reef, to see if we could pick up something

This also was a waste of time as nothing was working there also. not even a barracuda!

Slowly worked our way to the sea mount, when all of a sudden we had our first strike, It was a Marlin, the boat suddenly came to life,  rods were brought in as the Marlin started to jump out of the water, peeling off line.

Now the work to bring it in, it had taken a far amount of line so it would take some time to wind it all back in.  After 45 mins the line just went slack, guess it just wasn't hooked!

Everyone now settling back in their seats & Terry starts to put all the lines back in the water, finally all lines are set & everyone relaxing when again the line just starts to peel out & another Marlin starts to jump at the back of the boat & peeling off line.

Richard settles into the game chair & starts to reel in line but the Marlin now just takes off, a scream from Richard, forward fast as I am running out of line!
Again the Marlin is jumping out of the water but screaming ahead reeling off line.
"I am just about out of line says Richard so Terry takes Searov ahead with more speed, finally Richard is able to get line back onto the reel so he won't be spooled.

This goes on for a while & all the anglers are given time in the chair to help bring it in.
Finally after a hour 45mins it was brought close enough to the boat to be able to be gaffed.
The last couple of mins the fish was easy to bring in, so once close to the boat we saw the reason for this.

Sharks had bitten off chunks of the meat close to the tail, & as it was brought in,

the sharks were following it to the boat. At last the Marlin is secured onto the buckboard & we head for home.

Brad With His First Black Marlin

The winds finally started to calm down on Friday so we were able to confirm a Fishing Charter with 2 couple that had been waiting to go out since arriving into Savusavu from Australia on Tuesday.

We had planned to leave the dock before 7am so had the engines warming up since 6.45, finally at 7.05 we switched off.  we guessed the taxi hadn't turned up to pick up the guests? sure enough about 7.10 they arrived & yes the taxi hadn't bothered to turn up, so it wasn't the start we wanted.

There was still a swell out pass the lighthouse so Terry decided to put the gear in the water & make our way slowly to the sea mount.

Saw a few birds working on the way & gave it a try but nothing was really working so kept heading out to the mount.

On arriving at the mount nothing seemed to be working so did the usual path to see if anything was around.  Finally saw birds working in the distance so headed towards them, but as soon as we got there, they all sat down on the water, this kept on for a while, there had to be something there but nothing was coming up.

Finally all of a sudden one of the lines on the outrigger started to peel off, then in the distance we saw a Black Marlin tail walking. now the boat came alive, lines were brought in while Brad got into the game chair.

Brad worked hard to bring in line only to have it taken out so many times we thought it would never come in.  In the end we were amazed it only took him about 50min to bring it in on 24kg line.

Nothing else was caught that day it was just fortunate we were in the right place at the right time.
Sadly the hook was well lodged in it's mouth so couldn't release it as it wouldn't have been able to feed, & eventually would have died.

The fish was estimated to be about 100kg, once photos were taken Terry had the job of cutting it up, this took close to 2hours, some of it was taken to the resort that the clients were staying at & most was given to the locals for them to enjoy for Mothers Day on Sunday.

After a month of not being out. because of weather conditions, we all had a lovely day, especially Brad as this was his first time Game Fishing & his first Marlin.

Congratulations Brad job well done.

Savusavu Weather

It's been a month since my last post, after the Marlin we have only managed to get out twice,  once only to the light houses as the lady was very seasick.

Terry has made a quick trip back to New Zealand for a break. & since he has return we haven't been able to get pass the light house as the seas have been so rough.

Anyway it has given Terry a chance to catch up with boat maintenance & odd jobs that need doing.

                     Fish caught on the last charter in early April.

Patrick's Black Marlin

After a few weeks without doing any fishing, this week has been fairly busy.

On Tuesday we set off just after 7am making our way to the a sea mount, after a while of not seeing any fish & bird life, we headed off to try the Koro sea mount

As we made our way across, there still wasn't any sign of any bird life, it was starting to get pretty boring & it didn't look as anything was going to surface.

Suddenly one of the lines on the outrigger went off, all on board suddenly come to life, & there was finally bird life, what ever it was dropped the line, a few minutes later it goes off again, & again the line goes dead.

Third time lucky it hooks up & the reel starts to scream  & line peels out, now we see what it is as a big Black Marlin starts to do jumps while taking out more line.

Slowly Patrick is able to bring in line, then another run this time just about spooling us, we slowly start to back up on it.
This continues for a hour & half, at one time we thought we had lost it as Patrick said there wasn't anything on the line, but the fish was now swimming towards us.

Panic on board as the fish now looks like going under the boat, quickly we put the boat ahead, & start to work the fish closer to the boat.

Patrick is a strong 6.7ft man so thankfully able to work the fish in a bit at a time, it got close to the boat a few times then took off again.

Finally the  fish was by the boat, it rolled over on it's back, at this stage we knew it was dead  so release it wasn't a option,  finally the flying gaff was put in, now the fun of bringing the fish onto the duck board began, another gaff was put into the fish as a added precaution 

While trying to lift the fish the gaff came off, oh no, lucky Terry had attached a rope to the tail, very quickly the gaff went back in & more ropes were attached.

Finally after  a long while the fish was on the duck board, the waves kept pushing the fish under the duck board making it harder to pull up. Thankfully Patrick & Toby (6.4ft) were both strong men.

It took 6 men to carry the fish off the boat & onto a truck to take to Namale Resort. the feed back was the resort served  it up to the guest & staff & it was enjoyed by all.

 

Cyclone Pam

Today we hear a huge tropical cyclone has formed , at this stage it isn't expected to be a direct threat to Fiji but everyone has been told to be prepared.

It is so so hot here which isn't a good sigh for us, we just have to be prepared, & keep safe.

Have had a couple of trips to Koro Island over the last week, also had to antifoul the hull as Searov was getting a little slow!

We were out on a fishing charter late last month but the fish weren't playing the game, we did manage to catch something for the clients, but this hot weather is keeping the fish down deep.

Thought I had better post this now in case the cyclone does come close to Fiji & leaves us without electricity.

Beautiful Savusavu Sunset

The weather has been amazing the last month we have been having beautiful sunrises & sunsets, with calm seas, but very hot temperatures through the day.

We had a slight scare earlier this week as a low developed above us & was expected to turn into a cyclone & maybe head in our direction, fortunately for us this didn't eventuate.

Have had a few charters since my last blog, the latest was with a couple from Alaska, it was a beautiful morning when we set out, but got hot so quickly it was hard to find any bird or fish life.

The birds finally did appear & the fish came up but for a very short time, we were lucky to catch 2 Yellowfin & 4 Skipjack Tuna in the end.
It was so hot at the dock when we came in we just bagged the fish & they headed off to the resort, so haven't any photos to put up.

One of the other charters we managed to catch a couple of Mahimahi, this couple were from the US.

The other charter we did was in the afternoon, with a couple from New Zealand, the Yellowfin were there but just wouldn't take the lures.
After a couple of hours of going round & in & out of the schools we did manage to hook one, when we gutted it we found it full of very very small bait fish, no wonder they weren't interested in our lures. 

Morning Fishing In Savusavu

Weather has been amazing this week, hot days & calm seas, so managed to get out fishing again.

What a beautiful morning it was, the sun was just peering over the mountains, as we arrived at the Copra Shed Marina, to get ready for our charter,

A hour later the guests arrived & we headed out, it was going to be a hot one today.

Arriving at the fishing spot we could see small groups of fish working just above the surface, time to put gear in the water.

It wasn't too long before we had a double hook up, a few minutes later one had thrown the hook, but thankfully the other was still on.

Thomas played it while all the gear was brought it, it reeled out line a few times before we had it close to the boat to see it was a nice Yellowfin Tuna. would have been nice to had caught the other one too!

Soon all the gear was back in the water & we were on our way, by now the sun was up & it was getting really hot, the fish were also getting harder to find.

Next fish on was a barracuda which Shirley took, she hadn't fished before so this was a learning experience for her, wasn't long before that was also in the box.

We could see small schools of Yellowfin but they weren't staying up long, just giving us the run around.
Another fish was on & this time a nice Mahimahi for Shirley to  practice on, this was carefully placed in the fish box as it wasn't a happy chappy to be caught kicking & jumping on the deck.

It went dead after this so made our way out to look for birds, we came across a patch working & had a hook up but this also drooped the hook as soon as Thomas got to the chair.

All of a sudden we had a nasty storm upon us so it was time to pull the gear in & head for home. this was probably all the fish disappeared?

Guest were happy so it was a good day out.