Lure Test – YahooWahoo
About a year ago (2006), Matava Resort Gamefishing was asked by Palm Fishing & Outdoors Australia to test and comment on a whole range of new skirted lures and bibbed minnows manufactured by Lurestreet in China. Palm Fishing was interested in stocking the best lures from the range and needed some field testing.
This of course gave my deckie Joeli and I the perfect excuse to jump in the inshore fishing boat on a quiet day with a fist full of new lures to have some fun….Sort of busman’s holiday you might say.
Over several months, we tried out everything from GT poppers to blue water skirted lures and a few of the lures impressed us sufficiently that they are now firmly part of our Gamefishing vessels available onboard lure rolls.Continue Reading …
For the Record – Bluewater Magazine – November 2007
Tim Simpson tries for a light tackle record on sailfish and wahoo on Bite Me at Matava in Kadavu, Fiji.Continue Reading …
Marlin Magazine – November 2007
Fabulous Fiji
Kadavu enchants a world weary fisherman in Marlin magazine – an article about Matava Resort and fishing aboard Bite Me
Rocket with Fins – Bluewater Magazine – 2006
Dr Jullian Pepperall examines the Wahoo, one of our most common fish caught on Bite Me at Matava in Kadavu, Fiji.
Tips On – Wahoo – Lures That Work Here In Fiji
From May to October, packs of wahoo congregate along the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef. The average size of wahoo is about 50lbs with a good fish weighing in at 75lbs. Each wahoo pack usually has a fish of close to 100lbs. We almost always use lures when targeting wahoo however we often get jumped by fish when bait & switch fishing for sailfish. If your teaser is rigged with mono…wave bye bye to the end of your daisy chain….Continue Reading …
Lure Test – Mother-in-law
About a year ago, Bite Me Gamefishing Charters at Matava was asked by Palm Fishing & Outdoors Australia to test and comment on a whole range of new skirted lures and bibbed minnows manufactured by Lurestreet in China. Palm Fishing was interested in stocking the best lures from the range and needed some field testing.
My deckie Joeli and I were happy to oblige and a number of lures proved particularly successful.Continue Reading …
Pacific Sailfish – Lures That Work Here In Fiji
When targeting Pacific Sailfish, we mostly use bait & Switch techniques or troll rigged skip baits. Sometimes however we want to cover more ground and increase by-catch of other species such as Wahoo, Spanish Mackerel, Yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi – so occasionally we run lures.
The Sailfish season coincides with the Wahoo season so all lures are rigged on 125lb 49 strand wire. Make the leader long or the sail will use the lure head weight to throw the hooks when he jumps. We tag 4 out of 5 sail hook-ups when using long leaders. We find our lure spreads work best at about 6kts in most weather conditions.
This is what works for us. Its not necessarily what will work in your neck of the woods !Continue Reading …
Trolling Lures For Pacific Blue Marlin
Although most of the Gamefishing my clients enjoy aboard Bite Me is light to medium tackle, I occasionally get the opportunity to break out the bent butt 80s and go after marlin. Every encounter with these monsters is a learning experience. We have learnt a few things along the way and for what its worth, I will be posting a few examples. You can learn from them, or laugh at them. I recommend both.Continue Reading …
Pacific Blue Marlin – Lures That Work Here In Fiji
When trolling lures for Blue marlin aboard ‘Bite Me’, we run a standard spread of four lures off bent butt chair rods and use Penn International 80STWs. We run a long and short corner from the transom rod holders and a long and short rigger from the chair. Sometimes we run a teaser such as a spreader bar or a Pakula Witchdoctor.
We never run a shotgun. We always aim to tag & release all billfish and use Billfish Foundation tags. We generally use lures that imitate or approximate to the baitfish in the area such as skipjack & Yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi or flying fish.
Although We use wire rigs a lot because of wahoo, we don’t double the wire inside the skirt to make a stiff rig. We just use a single wire to the hook allowing some flexibility and swing. Lures are tooth-picked or hooks set with the point or points upwards. Two hook rigs have the hooks offset at about 45 degrees.
Our recommendations are for normal general fishing on a reasonably calm day in bright or slightly overcast weather when targeting fish of any size. This is what works for us. Its not necessarily what will work for you!Continue Reading …
