Hook Line and Sinker TV Filming aboard Bite Me

We were delighted to have the guys from Australian TV show "Hook Line & Sinker" filming aboard Bite Me for a couple of days. Presenters Matt and Nick with cameraman Mike had some fun fishing though the bite wasn't particularly great. There is a surface layer of zooplankton around colouring up the water and the big yellowfin were tough to find. Even so we managed a few GTs on poppers, groupers on jigs, yellowfin & mahi mahi on the troll and had some fun. I will post a short video clip when the show has been edited....

Hope the guys can come backs some time for the winter wahoo & Sails !

Summer Kadavu Fishing Update

The GT fishing recently has been pretty modest by our standards. We have been having to work harder than normal with La Nina weather patterns still affecting the ocean current directions along the outer barrier reef.  First off, some pics from Mark from the US who was kind enough to let me post a few pics from his trip.

 Dogtooth Tuna on a Jig

 

Coral Trout on a Stickbait

 Always fun the Red Bass

Mangrove Jack !

Not really any Kadavu Monsters in the mix but a very nice variety of species on both Poppers and Jigs. Offshore South of Kadavu there a lots of schooling skipjack tuna and along the reef, yellowfin to 100lbs but the really big cow yellowfin should move into Kadavu waters in the next few weeks.
They are coming in from the North so currently they are being seen between Kadavu and Beqa Lagoon. This 73kg fish below was caught yesterday aboard NoahRay (Freedive Fiji Charters) fishing off Beqa.

Nice Yellowfin guys !

Other recent news, Stephanie Choate, daughter of Tim Choate ( One of the founders of  The Billfish Foundation ) knocked off the Fiji Womens W-08 kg Narrowbarred Mackerel Record with this fish:

It made wonderful Kokoda for all the guests !

Simply paradise! - Review of Matava, Fiji - TripAdvisor

I recently stayed at Matava with my boyfriend and it was heavenly!  

We disconnected from the world and enjoyed the game fishing (We caught 3 huge tuna thanks to Joe the amazing guide and captain), ocean kayaking, hiking, and stunning food (Sammy, the gardener, is a genius). 

Go to Matava to reconnect with yourself and your significant other!

Simply paradise! - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor:

IGFA GT Record up for Grabs

As most anglers will be aware, the IGFA now has a new Record Catagory - The All Tackle Length Record. This is strictly a Release Catagory so all eligible fish must be released in healthy condition.
 As we release all GTs caught here, this record catagory is ideal for us to have a go at the World Record.

Wait ! Measure that !

The current record is 107cm so about 42 Inches, held by Patrick Sebil
We have released plenty of GTs larger than that... This season we will be measuring all the big ones with our brand new IGFA Length Scale !

For those of you aware of the hand made custom Eyre rods we use on Bite Me, you might like to take a quick look at the new Eyre Nano Technology GT Bone Popping rods. I expect them to compare well this season against the top end Ripple Fishers and Hots...

This fish would have taken the IGFA Length World Record !

US Billfish Conservation Act becomes Law

Great news for Marlin, Sailfish and Spearfish !
On October 5, 2012, President Obama signed the Billfish Conservation Act into law, effectively banning the importation of all billfish into the continental United States. The signing marks the culmination of a united undertaking by a diverse coalition of angling and conservation organizations working in cooperation with a bipartisan group of congressional champions.  Although there are no commercial fisheries targeting billfish in the US, the US has been the largest importer of billfish in the world, importing about 30,000 billfish annually.
More details here on the IGFA Website here.

More of these guys around for future generations

There are many sustainable alternatives for restaurants and retailers to offer in place of billfish; thus most restaurants have taken marlin and other billfish off the menu.

Issue 94 of BlueWater magazine out NOW!

Issue 94 of BlueWater magazine

FISHING FEATURES

where even the bad days are sensational!

BlueWater Readers’ Trip to Canada

Editor Tim Simpson led a troupe of Aussie and Yankee anglers to Prince Edward Island where they hooked enormous bluefin tuna in magnificent surrounds. But the trip was not without some unexpected challenges!

australia’s 75 years of organised gamefishing

For 75 years the Game Fishing Association of Australia has provided the organisation and framework to grow our thriving sport and evolve it to become a world leader in sustainable gamefishing. Along the way, Aussies have landed many remarkable captures, as historian John McIntyre recounts.

the longranger

In search of giant yellowfin

Imagine trying to land one of the biggest yellowfin tuna in the world from a stationary boat, amid a bunch of fellow anglers also hooked-up and jostling to follow their tuna around the railing. It’s all part of this long-range adventure.

creatures of the deep

Remoras

These fish aren’t suckers, they know what they’re doing! Why swim when you can hitch a ride?

a day to remember

A Pink Flamingo for Thanksgiving

A remarkable true story with Capt Ron Hamlin and his weirdest catch.

cairns black marlin hall of fame

Three individuals that made exceptional contributions to the development of the Cairns fishery.

prey species

Predators as prey

It’s a dangerous ocean out there! Even the mightiest predators must run a deadly gauntlet from birth.

lure lore

Part 12: A catalogue of the bizarre

Thinking outside of the box can produce some exceptional lures.

big fish small boats

Hooked-up all year

With the mobility of a trailerboat you can follow the seasons and keep catching fish all year.

classic tomes

Saltwater Game Fishing in New Zealand

A great guide to New Zealand’s history and best fishing spots.

smoke and mirrors

Mold Craft ‘Chubby Chugger’

Its big, its chunky, and it’ll catch you a lot of big fish ... just don’t expect it to look pretty.

BOAT FEATURES

a classic reincarnated

O’Brien 34 Custom Express

This custom-built gameboat has been designed with meticulous care by one of Australia’s foremost craftsmen with decades of experience in the gamefishing business.

bluewater tinnies don’t get any better

Vindicator 580

What this plate aluminium pocket-rocket lacks in physical size it more than makes up for in design, craftsmanship and rough-water performance.

REGULAR FEATURES

Newslines

Hot Bites – Australasia

Hot Bites – International

Rum Lines

IGFA Rule Book

BlueWater Calendar

A Site to See

Classic Tomes

Tournament News

IGFA Report

On the Waterfront

Charter Operators

Out of the Blue

COLUMNS

Editorial – Simpson

Pepperell

Butler

Saul

Boyce

The IGFA

The Billfish Foundation

Fiji Winter Season Gamefishing Summary

Well we are pretty much done with the 2012 Fiji winter season now. I think it could best be described as um....lets say "Challenging". A second year of continuing La Nina weather patterns reinforced last year's unusual oceanic currents and higher than normal water temperatures. Last year's wahoo season suffered a bit but the double La Nina whammy just killed the normal spectaculor wahoo fishing here.

 

Peak Wahoo Season but La Nina intervened (again)

 
 The colder ocean currents that normally run West to North East along the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef reversed direction and any wahoo that did venture into our unusually warm waters didn't gather into packs but simply moved on....We caught wahoo but the crazy 30-40 wahoo packs just didn't exist.

 A few decent sized solitary Wahoo were landed....

 

 

  But most fish were lean around the 20kg weight....Much smaller than normal

 The winter Yellowfin Tuna fishing wasn't to bad though. Occasionally a little patchy, it did produce some decent fish around 40kg aboard Bite Me. That's a decent size for the winter time. (Summer is when we see the really big 70kg+ Yellowfin Tuna)

 

 

 We did have some fun with the Ultra-Light tackle Avets & Custom Eyre outfits. Graeme above fought several Wahoo on 3kg line class as we targeted the M-03 IGFA World Record. We got one probable WR boatside but the fish was just a bit too green and made a last ditch run, ripping the leader through Joe's hand and snapping the Double. With so few Wahoo around we just didn't get enough shots to take out the World Record...

The winter Pacific Sailfish season was reasonable but not spectaculor... We did see quite a few large sails around 60kg and surprisingly, a fair few juveniles that couldn't have been more than 15kg !
Generally the sails here average around 40kg but this year seems to have been a year of extremes.

 All in all, a pretty disappointing winter Wahoo season compared to normal years. The good news is that the La Nina conditions are definitely now coming to an end. The general consensus in the scientific community is a possible reversal to an El Nino weather pattern.....In fact there are already signs on El Nino conditions developing in the Eastern Pacific.
The best Wahoo season I have ever experienced here was during the last El Nino event. Next season could well be the best Wahoo season in 10 years....A happy thought to end with.

Issue 93 of BlueWater magazine out now – 29th Aug 2012

BlueWater Magazine is dedicated to bringing gamefishers the essential cutting-edge wisdom on offshore gamefishing, boats and equipment.

With stunning photography blended with exciting features from the world’s leaders of the sport, we aim to deliver knowledge and inspiration that will make a real difference to the success and enjoyment of beginners and experts alike.

Issue 93 of BlueWater magazine out now – 29th Aug 2012

FISHING FEATURES

Tony ludovico – a life underwater

Driven by a fierce passion to capture the underwater realm on camera – particularly the large pelagic gamefish we love – Tony Ludovico has travelled the world and spent countless hours submerged. His stunning photography reveals a world hidden to most of us behind the surface veil.

riding the current edge

This issue marks BlueWater’s 15th birthday and there have been many extraordinary changes to our sport during that time.

tackle to tackle bigger fishSubstantial advances in reel and line technology have revolutionised gamefishing over the past 15 years.

Issue 93 of BlueWater magazine out now – 29th Aug 2012 — Gamefishing Fiji - The best of Fiji Fishing:

New Shortbill Spearfish Fiji Record

Fishing report from Rick & Sheila from Australia who recently completed a live-aboard fishing trip aboard Charterboat Ika Levu. He writes;

The trip I just had was an awesome trip fishing from first landing and heading out wide to the inside of the Yasawa Islands. Then East through the Bligh Waters and onto Koro Island. Next we headed for Savusavu for a re supply. We then headed out wide and took a North direction and headed onto Taveuni, then further North to the Ringold Isles. We had a really good trip and will do something similar next year and hope to extend our trip from the 12 days this year to maybe 21 days next year and travel a further a feild.

Over the course we caught some nice Mahi Mahi to 20 kg, Spanish Mackeral to 23 kg, Wahoo to 25 kg,

 

Some large GT's, some big Rainbow Runner ( 14 kg ), a Blue marlin 130 kg, Short Bill Spearfish 24.8 kg,

Yellow Fin Tuna to 35 kg, the other Tuna Species and also Travelly Species, scad were around, barracuda in numbers, whales were very playful........so all in all we had a wonderful trip.

Its great to hear of successful fun fishing trips from all over Fiji, not just from our Kadavu neck of the woods !

Fiji 3 Day Gamefishing Tournament Returns

I am delighted to report that the Fiji International Game Fishing Association will be running their annual 3 day Tournament in September !
This Tournament is based out of Pacific Harbour so very convenient for visiting international anglers and game boats from Denarau, Suva and maybe even Kadavu ! From Pacific Harbour anglers can fish The Golden Triange - an area bounded by Bequ Lagoon, Vatuleilei island and Kadavu Island - generally recognised as the best gamefishing area in Fiji including sites such as The Golden Mile, The Washing Machine and Cakaulekaleka....
Special accommodation rates are being arranged at Club Oceanus, Uprising Resort and The Pearl Hotel. Currently being discussed is the possibility of some charterboats starting the first day from their home bases....
Great to see this prestigeous Tournament up and running again !
Here is some basic info :

Thursday 6^th September

1830 - 2100 Registration at Club Oceanus.

Team briefing for Anglers and Skippers All Skippers & team Captains must attend. Kegs and pass around food provided. Drinks of your choice can be purchased at the bar at SPECIAL Happy Hour prices.

IGFA Reps available for questions and one on one discussion to clarify the IGFA rules and fishing regulations.

Official Opening.

DON’T FORGET YOUR IDENTITY BRACELET! These will be in your Boat Bag which you will collect at registration.

Friday 7^th September

0645* Leave River for Fishing Tournament starts outside breakwater with firing of flares from the breakwater at 0700 sharp.

0700 - 1600 Fishing Start / Finish

1700 Weigh in Fish to be off loaded at Weigh in area riverside at Club Oceanus, then proceed immediately for refueling if required. Food and beverages will be available.

Saturday 8^th September

0645* Leave River for Fishing Tournament starts outside breakwater with firing of flares from the breakwater at 0700 sharp.

0700 - 1600 Fishing Start / Finish

1700 Weigh in Fish to be off loaded at Weigh in area riverside at Club Oceanus, then proceed immediately for refueling if required. Food and beverages will be available.

Sunday 9^th September

0645* Leave River for Fishing Tournament starts outside breakwater with firing of flares from the breakwater at 0700 sharp.

0700 - 1500 Fishing Start / Finish

1600 Weigh in Fish to be off loaded at Weigh in area riverside at Club Oceanus, then proceed immediately for refueling if required. Food and beverages will be available. Prize giving will commence 7pm with roast pig on a spit and happy hour beers.

*earlier departure times will be given for those that request it - still based on all boats actually starting fishing at 7am

REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY BRACELET.

Boat mooring will be tight but we would appreciate courtesy and helpful docking with rafting up a necessity….bring buffers, fenders and ropes. Fuel will be available please see Mark (9993675), you may wish to use your own fuel filter for added safety because of the general quality of fuel in Fiji...

Boat ice will be available daily please see please see Mark (9993675), empty bags must be returned to receive a replacement.

For an Entry & Registration form, contact:

Mark Spurling
Managing Director
Marketing Solutions (Fiji) Ltd
Tel : (679) 999 3675
Fax :(679) 345 0767
Email : msolutions.mark@gmail.com